Hi everyone, newbie here from England. I'm about to make my first foray into the world of Scopes and I'm currently watching a 212 on eBay that finishes tonight. I know its quite old and no longer available but my question is would it still make a good starter scope if the price is right or would I be better off with something else. At the moment in my day job I work on a lot of modern diesels but my private jobs tend to be older vehicles, petrol and diesel up to ten years old.

Still have a 212-3 I use sometimes in addition to the newer USB scopes.  The 212 is pretty good unit. It does require a dedicated power supply unlike the USB scopes that are powered instead from the USB.   The other thing is it communicates using a parallel port connection.  Pico used to offer a USB adapter.  Unfortunately the adapters are no longer offered from Pico and according to Pico only their adapters will work.  Tom might have one around but I doubt it.

If you go for it make sure it has both the power supplies one is a wall plug it and the other is 12V that can be used on car or using a jump box on cart.  I would also ask if it has the USB adapter. It is still a decent scope just do not expect it to be as convenient or as powerful as the newer USB scopes.

Sam

As far as I know, the USB adapters are extinct.  If it does not come with the USB adapter, then it would not be of much use unless you had a PC with a parallel port.

There may be something else out there that would work but nothing that I can recommend.

Thanks for the info. Fortunately my workshop PC has a parallel port, I was thinking about buying an old toughbook to run this and my autodata from so I can use it in car. I'm guessing any laptop that can run XP should be man enough for it.
it does come with both power adaptors, it looks like the only thing missing from the kit is the low amp clamp.