I have a Tek bench scope that does wonderful things as far as seeing very small details of anything that I have had the need to see, but it can't decode data streams. Ebay purchase, needs a tune-up.

I have a Velleman HPS40 hand held and it is nice for portable work. Single channel makes it a bit limited, and it does like to feed on batteries if you don't have external power, but I DO like it. Again. this is for signal viewing, not data stream decoding.

I had some advise from a well known magazine author and he loves his Clever Scope. At the time, I couldn't afford it, but wanted the ability to decode data streams, I tried a Saleae Logic pod for the data work and I love it @ $149. The 5 vdc input makes it limited for signal level problems, but since I already have a analog scope to see the electrical signals, the USB pod does a lot of work for me.

Hope that helps
Bo