My ancient Gould analogue scope's EHT supply has gone phut, and it's about time I got myself some storage.
Does anyone have any experience or recommendations of either of these manufacturers?
At these sort of prices, they're cheaper than second-hand.
The other option is a USB scope like a Picotech, but they seem expensive.
I believe Rigol sources the low-end Agilent scopes so they must have some quality to them.
I'd recommend against the USB PC-based scopes. The refresh rates just never seem to be fast enough and every time you update your computer you have to worry about updating the software, etc. A scope really should be a standalone instrument.
I occasionally use a BitScope (less expensive than Picotech) when travelling but am rarely satisfied with it.
I bought a cheap 25 Mhz Digimess scope brand new on Ebay. From appearance it is obviously the same scope as the Owon and several other rebadged versions as well. The quality of it is cheapish but I paid £190 for it and it is worth every penny.
There is an interesting vlog somewhere (maybe EEV blog) about the 100Mhz versions of these scopes having the adc (I think, from memory) chips overclocked by the scope manufacturers.
Overall I would say go for it, I am not disappointed with it at all.
The 50MHz Rigol DS1052E can easily be hacked into a 100MHz model. The hardware is the same but the 50MHz model is low pass filter limited.
FWIW, I went for the Rigol 1052, from AideTech via eBay.
Just $400US, or a shade over 250 quid including shipping from HK to UK in just a week.
So far, I'm very happy with it.
The build quality is good, the case is sturdy and the features would be extremely good for an instrument costing twice as much.
Now for the 100MHz upgrade...
I believe Rigol sources the low-end Agilent scopes so they must have some quality to them.
The relationship goes the other way. Agilent OEMs their 1000 series from Rigol.
Of the low-end scope companies, Rigol is putting the most money and engineering resources into their products. If I was buying a scope for personal use, I'd go for a Rigol. (And I've worked for 2 of the 3 largest scope companies.)
Now for the 100MHz upgrade...
Hi Groove, would you keep us posted on how your upgrade goes? I read somewhere that the hack was only applicable to the older firmware?
I read somewhere that the hack was only applicable to the older firmware?
I think the trick is to first downgrade the firmware to 2.02, do the hack then upgrade back to 2.04.
The tough bit is locating the earlier firmware.
(Most of what I do at home is perfectly OK with 50MHz, so if it looks too difficult, I won't bother)
Anyone who got a DS1052E and is annoyed by the fan noise, (if you use it for audio stuff you might be)
I replaced the fan with a "Silenx iXtrema Pro Case Fan 60MM 1700RPM 14CFM 12DBA Fluid Dynamic Bearings 3/4PIN"
And it is almost inaudiable, yet the scope still stays cool.
you have to change the header though, the fan has a standard 3 pin motherboard header, and the Rigol uses a 2 pin one, you have to just ignore the fan sense signal wire.