Also I noticed that the Rigol model he mentioned comes with an optional function generator for $250 more [Model DS1074Z-S] which might save money over buying one separately.


Something to consider with built-in extras is the shared user interface. On a scope, you'll access this stuff using the menus, which are already packed with tons of scope features. Budget scopes have lots of crafty ways to share knobs, like only 1 set of vertical controls among all channels & math. It usually works pretty well, with only minor inconvenience for saving a lot of $$$, but those menus do tend to get pretty crowded.

With a dedicated function gen, you get a big knob to vary the amplitude and/or frequency, buttons to change waveform and settings, and usually a display that shows what it's doing. The controls are optimized for the function generator features, which makes using it quite a bit easier and more natural than a function generator shoehorned into the scope's menu system.

If it were under $100, of course the decision would be easy. There are many dedicated DDS function generators in the $250 to $350 range, and a lot of used gear well under $250. If you only need basic signals at modest frequency and you don't need the frequency stability of DDS, there are a lot of old/used but good quality analog function generators under $70.

There's also some really cheap DDS stuff out there now, which might actually work? If anyone actually takes a chance buying these, or already has one, I'd be really curious to play with it sometime at a Monday meetup.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10MHz-DDS-Function-Signal-Generator-Carrier-Debugging-Source-Frequency-Counter-/281310662043?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417f6c0d9b

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2MHz-Dual-Channel-DDS-Function-Signal-Generator-Sine-Square-Wave-Sweep-Counter-/111407197529?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19f062ed59

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2MHz-DDS-Function-Signal-Generator-Frequency-Counter-Square-Wave-Sweep-BNC-TTL-/281295638078?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item417e86ce3e#
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