I am starting to gather the items I need for my laboratory. I'm getting a logic analyzer with a 500 MHz sampling card, and trying to get both an analog and a digital oscilloscope.

I'm not currently winning the digital scope. I might bid higher (or even hit eBay's "buy it now" price), but (a) I'm not sure how well that scope works, and the "as-is" bit is a tad worrisome, (b) the scope doesn't come with any probes (and 500 MHz probes are not cheap), and (c) I've used that model of scope before and found its interface a bit unintuitive. On (c), I prefer scopes that have separate knobs for controlling vertical and horizontal gains and offsets; having to navigate a menu and whirl the single knob around can be annoying.

Ah, well. At least I'll be able to get a lot done with the analog scope (if I win it) and logic analyzer. If only I could win the lottery or stumble upon a bag of gold; the LeCroy WaveRunner 6200 is like the Nimbus 2000 of electrical engineers. Sadly, the WR6200 runs more than $100,000. Expensive toy, neh?