13-01-2015, 09:52 PM
What model did you go for?
I'm rather tempted by the new Rigol DS1054Z. It's certainly getting a lot of positive feedback at the moment, but it's very new, and issues have emerged (and been fixed with firmware updates). Stock levels are very low as well. I'll give it 6 months or so to settle down, while keeping an eye on the competition...
It's an astonishing amount of functionality for the money. At just shy of £300, it's more than £100 cheaper than a Fluke 87V DMM. I read somewhere that Agilent worked with Rigol a few years back - Rigol produced the entry-level Agilent models, and in the process, Rigol learnt a lot from Agilent... These cheap models are having a good effect on the prices of 'scopes from the big names - you can get a Agilent Keysight DSO1052 for not much more.
I like analogue 'scopes, but there are some tasks that require the storage of a digital 'scope. I have an old Fluke Combiscope, which switches between analogue and storage modes at the press of a button, and it is quite useful at times. But it is a product of the time. The sample rate is only 100MS/s, and as far as I can tell, it lacks the ability to "pan and zoom" the captured trace. To be honest, I bought it because I needed a decent 100MHz analogue 'scope, and I regarded the digital sections as a bonus. But what I do like about the digital processing is the measurement capability - even simple things like getting a direct (and pretty accurate) RMS voltage readout without having to reach for a calculator are really useful.
Based on my experience of digital 'scopes so far, I'd say that a digital 'scope compliments a good analogue 'scope, and a well-equipped workshop should have both (though obviously it depends on exactly what you're doing - YMMV). The thing is, digital 'scopes can tell lies. Just recently I was demonstrating this to a newly recruited graduate - during his degree course, he only used digital 'scopes and had never clapped eyes on a good analogue model. While assisting with a practical (which involved using a Tek 2465 to measure the length of a drum of cable), we got chatting about analogue vs digital 'scopes, and as the conversation developed, I decided to fetch an oscillator and a digital 'scope (just a basic Owon model) to demonstrate aliasing. He was somewhat shocked by this! As always, you have to know your gear
All the best,
Mark
I'm rather tempted by the new Rigol DS1054Z. It's certainly getting a lot of positive feedback at the moment, but it's very new, and issues have emerged (and been fixed with firmware updates). Stock levels are very low as well. I'll give it 6 months or so to settle down, while keeping an eye on the competition...
It's an astonishing amount of functionality for the money. At just shy of £300, it's more than £100 cheaper than a Fluke 87V DMM. I read somewhere that Agilent worked with Rigol a few years back - Rigol produced the entry-level Agilent models, and in the process, Rigol learnt a lot from Agilent... These cheap models are having a good effect on the prices of 'scopes from the big names - you can get a Agilent Keysight DSO1052 for not much more.
I like analogue 'scopes, but there are some tasks that require the storage of a digital 'scope. I have an old Fluke Combiscope, which switches between analogue and storage modes at the press of a button, and it is quite useful at times. But it is a product of the time. The sample rate is only 100MS/s, and as far as I can tell, it lacks the ability to "pan and zoom" the captured trace. To be honest, I bought it because I needed a decent 100MHz analogue 'scope, and I regarded the digital sections as a bonus. But what I do like about the digital processing is the measurement capability - even simple things like getting a direct (and pretty accurate) RMS voltage readout without having to reach for a calculator are really useful.
Based on my experience of digital 'scopes so far, I'd say that a digital 'scope compliments a good analogue 'scope, and a well-equipped workshop should have both (though obviously it depends on exactly what you're doing - YMMV). The thing is, digital 'scopes can tell lies. Just recently I was demonstrating this to a newly recruited graduate - during his degree course, he only used digital 'scopes and had never clapped eyes on a good analogue model. While assisting with a practical (which involved using a Tek 2465 to measure the length of a drum of cable), we got chatting about analogue vs digital 'scopes, and as the conversation developed, I decided to fetch an oscillator and a digital 'scope (just a basic Owon model) to demonstrate aliasing. He was somewhat shocked by this! As always, you have to know your gear
All the best,
Mark
