I use a (modded) Rigol DS2072 scope myself (2ch 200MHz 2 GSa/s 56Mpoints). Plus Siglent SDG2042X arb gen and SPD3303S bench PSU. When I worked with a Keysight 2000X at a friend's there was an undeniable jump up in responsiveness, screen contrast and layout, hardware and menu ergonomics, better build quality. Although I could not find the same bandwidth and memory capability in same price from Keysight at the time, the newer 1000X as a package with onboard gen and bode plotting plus superior FFT challenges the sheer value aspect as well. I agree that the Siglent X-E series is the one to go for budget Chinese designed scopes today.
I’m happy with my purchase, and very grateful for your time and advice. Now I just need more time to put it to good use.
I have however got one channel of my FSP running and it sounds sweet!
Last edited:
Hi Calvin,
Have you compared the current "big name" scopes to the one you just bought? Just asking.
Normally when anyone buys a test instrument the expectation for a home user is that it lasts for 30 years or more. Most do / did. So lifetime matters a great deal. So does measurement confidence. I buy used equipment normally, but the few HP / Agilent things I bought new have more than satisfied me. It was money very well spent in each case. I'm pretty frugal, so there needs to be a compelling case for me to part with any funds.
-Chris
Have you compared the current "big name" scopes to the one you just bought? Just asking.
Normally when anyone buys a test instrument the expectation for a home user is that it lasts for 30 years or more. Most do / did. So lifetime matters a great deal. So does measurement confidence. I buy used equipment normally, but the few HP / Agilent things I bought new have more than satisfied me. It was money very well spent in each case. I'm pretty frugal, so there needs to be a compelling case for me to part with any funds.
-Chris
Hi,
compared the Siglent to the afore mentioned Teledyne LeCroy and Rohde&Schwarz.
To get matters straight ..... If I had the money I'd certainly take a deeper look in the Keysight portfolio .... but not in their budget class.
Why should I pay more for less when its a rebranded Rigol Owon or Siglent anyway?
Those, I doubt, won't last any longer than the OEMs.
Since the new devices are almost all single PCB, embedded Sytems, I don't think they will last as long as those cherished old stuff from Tek, Hameg or Agilent, nor is it as easy serviceable.
But I'm still in hope that it'll last just long enough that I can recognize it sitting in my wheelchair at the shady pines: "Hey Nurse, look, that's my good ol Scope ... You want me probe Ya?"
Got a couple of Tek 575 and 576 at work .... most still running fine and in daily use .... great stuff .... huge stuff ... heavy stuff .... my Siglent weighing just under 3kg *lol*
jauu
Calvin
compared the Siglent to the afore mentioned Teledyne LeCroy and Rohde&Schwarz.
To get matters straight ..... If I had the money I'd certainly take a deeper look in the Keysight portfolio .... but not in their budget class.
Why should I pay more for less when its a rebranded Rigol Owon or Siglent anyway?
Those, I doubt, won't last any longer than the OEMs.
Since the new devices are almost all single PCB, embedded Sytems, I don't think they will last as long as those cherished old stuff from Tek, Hameg or Agilent, nor is it as easy serviceable.
But I'm still in hope that it'll last just long enough that I can recognize it sitting in my wheelchair at the shady pines: "Hey Nurse, look, that's my good ol Scope ... You want me probe Ya?"
Got a couple of Tek 575 and 576 at work .... most still running fine and in daily use .... great stuff .... huge stuff ... heavy stuff .... my Siglent weighing just under 3kg *lol*
jauu
Calvin
Hi Calvin,
I know for a fact that they aren't rebadged. As nice a thought as that might be for someone who owns one (oops). They are made in that same factory, and that is as far as it goes. The software design is different, the circuitry is different and the chips aren't the same beasties either.
What is the time honoured way of getting more bandwidth out of a circuit? Crank the current of course! With that comes heat. The more expensive way to do that would be to use faster circuits, perhaps running at lower temperatures too. A company like HP / Agilent / Keysight tends to make more reliable stuff. If it wasn't, may as well buy the least expensive thing on the market.
Anyway, the name brand products tend to be designed and built better - even if the same factory builds a less expensive off-brand product. The two are not the same product.
-Chris
Well, just to set the record straight on that.
I know for a fact that they aren't rebadged. As nice a thought as that might be for someone who owns one (oops). They are made in that same factory, and that is as far as it goes. The software design is different, the circuitry is different and the chips aren't the same beasties either.
What is the time honoured way of getting more bandwidth out of a circuit? Crank the current of course! With that comes heat. The more expensive way to do that would be to use faster circuits, perhaps running at lower temperatures too. A company like HP / Agilent / Keysight tends to make more reliable stuff. If it wasn't, may as well buy the least expensive thing on the market.
Anyway, the name brand products tend to be designed and built better - even if the same factory builds a less expensive off-brand product. The two are not the same product.
-Chris
I suspect software more than hardware differentiates a Keysight or Tek from a Rigol or a Siglent. At the higher end the Keysight/Tek/LeCroy will have some custom ASIC and justify the astronomical costs but in the lower price range most of the parts will come from the same bins and software/patents will differentiate the products.
Keysight got a big jump many years ago when they were still HP in digital scopes. HP's analog scope business was faltering and Tek was really strong. The Tek digital implementations were pretty marginal at the time and HP made a major investment in digital scopes. Things have changed in the intervening years buy the advantages of being early do show in Keysight's implementations.
Anyone have experiece with the Micsig tablets? They look good in the reviews and having an external HDMI to go to a real screen is really attractive. Battery power as well.
Keysight got a big jump many years ago when they were still HP in digital scopes. HP's analog scope business was faltering and Tek was really strong. The Tek digital implementations were pretty marginal at the time and HP made a major investment in digital scopes. Things have changed in the intervening years buy the advantages of being early do show in Keysight's implementations.
Anyone have experiece with the Micsig tablets? They look good in the reviews and having an external HDMI to go to a real screen is really attractive. Battery power as well.
Hi Demian,
The higher end products have always used specialty ICs and thick film circuits to get the job done. From what I have seen with the Keysight products lately, they are not the same animal. I can't speak to LeCroy or Rohde & Schwarz, but Tektronix still has temperature issues with their products as far as I'm concerned. So at least Keysight and Tek are not the same as the value brands. Just because they are made in the same factory doesn't mean the products are the same.
Keysight has tended to use seperate controllers for user input which really improves the feel of the instrument. They also use a seperate memory controller for faster update rates and lower "dead time". This trickles down to the lower end products predictably as the model years pass. You can't mimic this stuff with different code.
-Chris
The higher end products have always used specialty ICs and thick film circuits to get the job done. From what I have seen with the Keysight products lately, they are not the same animal. I can't speak to LeCroy or Rohde & Schwarz, but Tektronix still has temperature issues with their products as far as I'm concerned. So at least Keysight and Tek are not the same as the value brands. Just because they are made in the same factory doesn't mean the products are the same.
Keysight has tended to use seperate controllers for user input which really improves the feel of the instrument. They also use a seperate memory controller for faster update rates and lower "dead time". This trickles down to the lower end products predictably as the model years pass. You can't mimic this stuff with different code.
-Chris
Hi,
the Siglent SDS1000X-E series relies on the capabilities of two 2-channel ADCs and a Xylinx Xinq 7020, so its rather a 2+2 channel scope than a 4-channel scope.
The double ADCs allow for 1Gs/s in 2-channel mode .... same as a typical 2Gs/s, 2-channel scope.
The Xylinx combines a powerful Process System and programmable Logic in one Chip, with more bandwidth/more data throughput than with separate devices.
That is a comparable technique to the asic chips the big names use in their upper level devices.
And Rigol btw just released their Phoenix analog frontend chipset, targeting the mid- to upper range scope market.
jauu
Calvin
the Siglent SDS1000X-E series relies on the capabilities of two 2-channel ADCs and a Xylinx Xinq 7020, so its rather a 2+2 channel scope than a 4-channel scope.
The double ADCs allow for 1Gs/s in 2-channel mode .... same as a typical 2Gs/s, 2-channel scope.
The Xylinx combines a powerful Process System and programmable Logic in one Chip, with more bandwidth/more data throughput than with separate devices.
That is a comparable technique to the asic chips the big names use in their upper level devices.
And Rigol btw just released their Phoenix analog frontend chipset, targeting the mid- to upper range scope market.
jauu
Calvin
Hi everybody. I would like to ask for advice with regards to mains earth looping and the effects it has on signals displayed on my dso. I have read various opinions with regards to safety and interference with oscilloscopes. Some suggest isolation transformers, UPSs, some even suggest cutting the mains earth on the oscilloscope.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Hi Bix,
Under no circumstances are you ever to damage the mains earth connection in any way! Whoever suggested that just told you they aren't worth listening too. Wow!
A UPS won't help you in any way unless they are suggesting you unplug it and run "off the grid". I wouldn't if I were you. Most UPS' output a rectangular wave, not a sine wave. This is generally pretty noisy.
I use an isolation transformer, but if there is one piece of equipment that isn't properly designed, it's that piece that is causing your problems. Your Oscilloscope is designed correctly, the signal ground will be referenced to earth exactly as it should be.
-Chris
Under no circumstances are you ever to damage the mains earth connection in any way! Whoever suggested that just told you they aren't worth listening too. Wow!
A UPS won't help you in any way unless they are suggesting you unplug it and run "off the grid". I wouldn't if I were you. Most UPS' output a rectangular wave, not a sine wave. This is generally pretty noisy.
I use an isolation transformer, but if there is one piece of equipment that isn't properly designed, it's that piece that is causing your problems. Your Oscilloscope is designed correctly, the signal ground will be referenced to earth exactly as it should be.
-Chris
Hi Chris, thank you. Yes I thought after posting here, my question was better suited to the DSO thread. Sorry if this is not well regarded. Thanks for your reply.
There’s no way I’m going to cut mains earth, that would be just plain stupid. From my research on the subject of ground loops though, it seems many people have done this, although it is not recommended.
Thanks Salas for your comments also. I’ll continue any further questions in my DSO thread.
There’s no way I’m going to cut mains earth, that would be just plain stupid. From my research on the subject of ground loops though, it seems many people have done this, although it is not recommended.
Thanks Salas for your comments also. I’ll continue any further questions in my DSO thread.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.