The Owon XDS2102A with 12 bits & OWON XDS3202A 14bits look good on paper. They might be great, but I just want a scope that works well & is not a pain to use. The Owon scope is an unknown to me in these respects. If I was more of a gambler, I might have tired one of those Owon scopes.
I guess it is a question of Trust whether reliability, ergonomic usability & accuracy will be OK with the end user. I went with the Keysight unit mainly for these reasons.
I am more used to scopes like the Tektronix 7904. Unfortunately these old scopes are big and heavy. Even the Tektronix 2465B is too big and heavy for my current space and usage.
I've been using a Siglent SDS-1202X-E (It's the $380 model, if that's more helpful than alphabet soup). I don't have a lot of complaints.
-500 uV / div range is really, really useful and is very much worth having.
- UI on the Siglent is really pretty good, and the cursors are about the same level of annoyance as any scope. Not bad. I would put the UI ahead of the old Tektronix TDS scopes (like the 2024 or whatever the number was), and that puts it a good bit in front of the Keysight scopes I've used. In particular, selecting and adding a measurement is easy and convenient. It's one menu, and it's easy to scroll through. It also does NOT overlay measurements over the top of the waveforms like the Keysights I use at the university (which is an utterly, utterly stupid mistake on Keysight's part).
-Single shot triggering works as expected and isn't glitchy. This is the biggest thing I love about having a digital scope, because you can look at a full-power 10 kHz square wave and measure the rise time / look at overshoot without absolutely beating the life out of an amplifier while you do so.
Cons:
-It has a fan in it. It's not loud, but it's audible.
-Too light, and the built-in feet aren't good enough. Seriously, I'd have paid more for a model that is 3" deeper with a brick inside. I know everyone wants to make their stuff "ultra light and portable!!", but 90% of the time these things live on a shelf above a bench. I know it seems like a total first world problem, but it's very aggravating to try and push a single shot button, while holding a probe, then have the scope slide across the shelf instead of triggering like I need it to because it weighs about 3 pounds at the most. Seriously, a brick costs about $4 at Menards, and I bet they get cheaper if you buy in bulk. What ever happened to loud grunting noises whenever you have to drag a scope off the shelf to calibrate it?
I got around it by putting a 30 pound granite angle plate behind it, and I really shouldn't have to do that.
-500 uV / div range is really, really useful and is very much worth having.
- UI on the Siglent is really pretty good, and the cursors are about the same level of annoyance as any scope. Not bad. I would put the UI ahead of the old Tektronix TDS scopes (like the 2024 or whatever the number was), and that puts it a good bit in front of the Keysight scopes I've used. In particular, selecting and adding a measurement is easy and convenient. It's one menu, and it's easy to scroll through. It also does NOT overlay measurements over the top of the waveforms like the Keysights I use at the university (which is an utterly, utterly stupid mistake on Keysight's part).
-Single shot triggering works as expected and isn't glitchy. This is the biggest thing I love about having a digital scope, because you can look at a full-power 10 kHz square wave and measure the rise time / look at overshoot without absolutely beating the life out of an amplifier while you do so.
Cons:
-It has a fan in it. It's not loud, but it's audible.
-Too light, and the built-in feet aren't good enough. Seriously, I'd have paid more for a model that is 3" deeper with a brick inside. I know everyone wants to make their stuff "ultra light and portable!!", but 90% of the time these things live on a shelf above a bench. I know it seems like a total first world problem, but it's very aggravating to try and push a single shot button, while holding a probe, then have the scope slide across the shelf instead of triggering like I need it to because it weighs about 3 pounds at the most. Seriously, a brick costs about $4 at Menards, and I bet they get cheaper if you buy in bulk. What ever happened to loud grunting noises whenever you have to drag a scope off the shelf to calibrate it?
I got around it by putting a 30 pound granite angle plate behind it, and I really shouldn't have to do that.
No, I don’t have one but based on technical specs and demonstrations on youtube, that would have been my choice, were it was on sale from a local supplier.
I don’t dare to order a scope through internet sources these days. I have placed 5 orders (total 200 Euro) on electronic products and none has arrived during the last three months.
The 12 bits ADC and low inherent noise plus the large actual display of Owon are the two big plus on this instrument.
The software and menu choices among Siglent, Rigol, Owon is suspiciously similar, only difference is some pushbuttons and menu hierarchy.
H713 I agree, the scope shouldn’t be too light.
That’s why I made a note on the weight of the Rigol DS1202Z-E. (I’ve weighted it, it’s 2.9kg)
Pushing a knob on the facia or plugging in a probe, the scope doesn’t move.
George
They are still at 2Gs even higher freq models. They have 20MHz limit with higher resolution, 50E switch, nice probe attenuation as customs.
may better look at eevblog.com forum
Siglent SDS2000X Plus AWG is nice, high output impedance or 50E, all are in Vpp levels so may more for RF. A little touch keypad to change freq., not for gorilla fingers.
Siglent SDS2000X Plus negative:
. The cooling Fan gets very noisy
. No 10Mhz Ref input
. Are very expensive to upgrade the Freq as double, double the entry price
Hp
Fan noise does not bother me.
EEVblog.. Hacking-free BW upgrade: Siglent SDS2000X Plus Hack - Page 1
I got an SDS1104X-E and have been quite happy with it. I now have 9 scopes in the shop. What is telling is which ones I am using. Most recently the little battery powered one input unit because its so convenient. Its like a handheld meter that you take to the device under test (in this case a Fluke 8506A DVM). My 7854 has not been powered up in months. My Siglent has been hacked to 200 MHz and I have confirmed its performance. I would not hesitate to recommend it. But my point is that for fixing analog audio equipment this New Digital 2.4" LCD Handheld Oscilloscope DSO1511E+ 120MHz 500MS/s ARM FPGA ADC | eBay may be enough for most tasks.
I have had a variant of that scope for a couple years. It is an interesting device and does tell if an AC signal is there. I would not trust it for anything important. You can find it on Aliexpress & Amazon also.
Attachments
Cool now plug in a usb stick and press print! Or connect via a web browser and you have complete control.
I think a digital phone photo is fine & quicker.
Someday I may add a WIFI extender/router to the garage
Rigol and Siglent are both good quality, reliable brands with fairly comparable features and quite accurate measurement and math capability. One could compare them to Sony and Canon cameras as both of these camera Companies make excellent cameras but their customers often criticize the brand they did not purchase.
Perhaps the important consideration is that both of these brands (Rigol and Siglent) come with full 3 year parts and labor warranties, are backed by "real companies" with a US based service department, a true web presence, US 1-800 numbers for support, and are responsive to the Universities, Companies and individuals they sell to.
One thing I would recommend is to verify with Rigol or Siglent that you are purchasing through their authorized reseller and not randomly off of Amazon. Many gray market products are sold which are not supported by the manufacturer.
Perhaps the important consideration is that both of these brands (Rigol and Siglent) come with full 3 year parts and labor warranties, are backed by "real companies" with a US based service department, a true web presence, US 1-800 numbers for support, and are responsive to the Universities, Companies and individuals they sell to.
One thing I would recommend is to verify with Rigol or Siglent that you are purchasing through their authorized reseller and not randomly off of Amazon. Many gray market products are sold which are not supported by the manufacturer.
My Siglent scope has been a solid product.
List of dealers in various countries here: https://int.siglent.com/map/
Europe listed countries: https://www.siglenteu.com/how-to-buy/
If you are located in USA, approved dealers are listed here: https://siglentna.com/how-to-buy/
I purchased from: https://www.tequipment.net/
List of dealers in various countries here: https://int.siglent.com/map/
Europe listed countries: https://www.siglenteu.com/how-to-buy/
If you are located in USA, approved dealers are listed here: https://siglentna.com/how-to-buy/
I purchased from: https://www.tequipment.net/
I agree.
I've had a Siglent SDS2104X-Plus for many months now and it's a keeper.
It replaced a Rigol (trigger problems), LeCroy (horrible interface), and an old analog Hitachi that I had for 40+ years.
The touch screen is very nice and fairly easy to navigate and the display is nice and big.
I do a lot of embedded digital and analog audio design/repair and it's been able to do anything I need it to do quite nicely and reliably.
It's now my main instrument.
If you can afford it, I highly recommend it.
Steer clear of the U variant of the SDS1104. Go for the E model SDS1104X-E as that has the 200MHz front ends that can be software unlocked along with the features. The U variant has a cheaper 100MHz only front end and you loose the most sensitive voltage setting (500uV iirc).
Been running a SDS1104X-E unlocked to 200MHz. Interwebs testing has shown it’s happy to over 250Mhz. Also the bode plot is useful!
Been running a SDS1104X-E unlocked to 200MHz. Interwebs testing has shown it’s happy to over 250Mhz. Also the bode plot is useful!