new killer scope in town - a true game changer from R&S - RTB2002 & RTB2004

[WattSekunde]

Looks like at least Farnell Germany might have the app bundle available soon?
http://de.farnell.com/rohde-schwarz/rtb-pk1/software-bundle-oszilloskope/dp/2723131?ost=RTB-PK1.02&selectedCategoryId=&categoryNameResp=Alle&searchView=table&iscrfnonsku=false

Thank's! That looks good. But it's a software only bundle. Better than nothing.
Two days ago I asked R&S about the early adopter bundle for Europe and they are moving the question to some sales office...

The complete bundle (RTB2004 OSCILLOSCOPE 4 CHANNEL, 300MHz PROMOTIONAL PACKAGE) is for 5500,- Euro + VAT. Compare that to $ 2080+VAT in the US? 

http://de.farnell.com/rohde-schwarz/rtb2k-com4-launch-edition/rtb2004-complete-bundle-300-mhz/dp/2723153?categoryId=700000005797&searchView=table&iscrfnonsku=false

And now the "rtb2k-com4-launch-edition" at de.farnell is gone even before there was a unit available ... Let's hope it come back with a similar price point to the US offers.   

[Gabri74]

Starting today they are listed by Elpav (Italian distributor):

http://elpav.it/pagina_oscilloscopi.htm


RTB2002 (70MHz 2Ch)            euro 1.250,00
RTBM2004 (70MHz 4Ch)            euro 1.900,00
RTB-221 (up 100MHz 2Ch)    euro 275,00
RTB-222 (up 200MHz 2Ch)    euro 895,00
RTB-223 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.700,00
RTB-241 (up 100MHz 4Ch)    euro 225,00
RTB-242 (up 200MHz 4Ch)    euro 745,00
RTB-243 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.750,00
RTB-B1 (up to MSO)                    euro 700,00
RTB-B6 (gen. arb. 25MHz)    euro 700,00

No mention of decode options cost 

[irakandjii]

To: Mike

I watched your teardown and remembered your comments on the beeper.  Turns out you can set the beeper to beep on trigger.

From pg. 181 of the manual, Remote Control Commands

SYSTem:BEEPer:TRIG:STATe
Enables or disables the beep if a trigger occurs.
Parameters:
<TriggerBeep> ON | OFF

I was under the impression that there is a button / menu choice for all commands, but I have no way to test my assumption. yet

Cheers and thanks again for all your work.

[mikeselectricstuff]

To: Mike

I watched your teardown and remembered your comments on the beeper.  Turns out you can set the beeper to beep on trigger.

From pg. 181 of the manual, Remote Control Commands

SYSTem:BEEPer:TRIG:STATe
Enables or disables the beep if a trigger occurs.
Parameters:
<TriggerBeep> ON | OFF

I was under the impression that there is a button / menu choice for all commands, but I have no way to test my assumption. yet

This does work, and it is persistent across power cycles, However it's extremely quiet - if you have something next to it with a more noisy fan you can barely hear it. On the plus side you can leave it on and it won't be annoying

Haven't seen it in any menus, and don't think there is a way to enter SCPI on the scope - you can do it via the web interface.

Incidentally I just noticed that interfacing is via USB OR Ethernet, but can't have both enabled at the same time, and it's not smart enough to auto-swap to ethernet if USB is not plugged in.

I did a port scan and looks like HTTP is the only service on Ethernet.

[salviador]

Starting today they are listed by Elpav (Italian distributor):

http://elpav.it/pagina_oscilloscopi.htm


RTB2002 (70MHz 2Ch)            euro 1.250,00
RTBM2004 (70MHz 4Ch)            euro 1.900,00
RTB-221 (up 100MHz 2Ch)    euro 275,00
RTB-222 (up 200MHz 2Ch)    euro 895,00
RTB-223 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.700,00
RTB-241 (up 100MHz 4Ch)    euro 225,00
RTB-242 (up 200MHz 4Ch)    euro 745,00
RTB-243 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.750,00
RTB-B1 (up to MSO)                    euro 700,00
RTB-B6 (gen. arb. 25MHz)    euro 700,00

No mention of decode options cost 

Grazie Grabi!

[irakandjii]

To: Mike

I watched your teardown and remembered your comments on the beeper.  Turns out you can set the beeper to beep on trigger.

From pg. 181 of the manual, Remote Control Commands

SYSTem:BEEPer:TRIG:STATe
Enables or disables the beep if a trigger occurs.
Parameters:
<TriggerBeep> ON | OFF

I was under the impression that there is a button / menu choice for all commands, but I have no way to test my assumption. yet

This does work, and it is persistent across power cycles, However it's extremely quiet - if you have something next to it with a more noisy fan you can barely hear it. On the plus side you can leave it on and it won't be annoying

Haven't seen it in any menus, and don't think there is a way to enter SCPI on the scope - you can do it via the web interface.

Incidentally I just noticed that interfacing is via USB OR Ethernet, but can't have both enabled at the same time, and it's not smart enough to auto-swap to ethernet if USB is not plugged in.

I did a port scan and looks like HTTP is the only service on Ethernet.

  Just wait, some dude will come out with a "hack" that puts a whacking great buzzer on it! (won't be me!)

[JoHr]

To: Mike

I watched your teardown and remembered your comments on the beeper.  Turns out you can set the beeper to beep on trigger.

From pg. 181 of the manual, Remote Control Commands

SYSTem:BEEPer:TRIG:STATe
Enables or disables the beep if a trigger occurs.
Parameters:
<TriggerBeep> ON | OFF

I was under the impression that there is a button / menu choice for all commands, but I have no way to test my assumption. yet

This does work, and it is persistent across power cycles, However it's extremely quiet - if you have something next to it with a more noisy fan you can barely hear it. On the plus side you can leave it on and it won't be annoying

Haven't seen it in any menus, and don't think there is a way to enter SCPI on the scope - you can do it via the web interface.

Incidentally I just noticed that interfacing is via USB OR Ethernet, but can't have both enabled at the same time, and it's not smart enough to auto-swap to ethernet if USB is not plugged in.

I did a port scan and looks like HTTP is the only service on Ethernet.

Nice ... if the beeper is still available. The HMO & RTB series do support a kind of open setup file format which is called  SCP (from SCPI).
This is a simple text file which can be loaded as device setup, e.g.

CHAN1:STAT ON
CHAN2:STAT ON
CHAN1:SCAL 0.5
CHAN2:SCAL 0.5

[JoHr]

To: Mike

I watched your teardown and remembered your comments on the beeper.  Turns out you can set the beeper to beep on trigger.

From pg. 181 of the manual, Remote Control Commands

SYSTem:BEEPer:TRIG:STATe
Enables or disables the beep if a trigger occurs.
Parameters:
<TriggerBeep> ON | OFF

I was under the impression that there is a button / menu choice for all commands, but I have no way to test my assumption. yet

This does work, and it is persistent across power cycles, However it's extremely quiet - if you have something next to it with a more noisy fan you can barely hear it. On the plus side you can leave it on and it won't be annoying

Haven't seen it in any menus, and don't think there is a way to enter SCPI on the scope - you can do it via the web interface.

Incidentally I just noticed that interfacing is via USB OR Ethernet, but can't have both enabled at the same time, and it's not smart enough to auto-swap to ethernet if USB is not plugged in.

I did a port scan and looks like HTTP is the only service on Ethernet.

  Just wait, some dude will come out with a "hack" that puts a whacking great buzzer on it! (won't be me!)

...   no need for a "hack" just use the arb gen or the trigger out pulse ...

[ebastler]

Starting today they are listed by Elpav (Italian distributor):
http://elpav.it/pagina_oscilloscopi.htm

RTB2002 (70MHz 2Ch)            euro 1.250,00
RTBM2004 (70MHz 4Ch)            euro 1.900,00
RTB-221 (up 100MHz 2Ch)    euro 275,00
RTB-222 (up 200MHz 2Ch)    euro 895,00
RTB-223 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.700,00
RTB-241 (up 100MHz 4Ch)    euro 225,00
RTB-242 (up 200MHz 4Ch)    euro 745,00
RTB-243 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.750,00
RTB-B1 (up to MSO)                    euro 700,00
RTB-B6 (gen. arb. 25MHz)    euro 700,00

Why would the 4-channel upgrades to 100 or 200 MHz be less expensive than the corresponding 2-channel upgrades?? 

Or do I have to buy them both, e.g. RTB-222 to upgrade the first 2 channels to 200 MHz, plus RTB-242 to upgrade the other two channels?

[NA5WH]

Why would the 4-channel upgrades to 100 or 200 MHz be less expensive than the corresponding 2-channel upgrades?? 

Or do I have to buy them both, e.g. RTB-222 to upgrade the first 2 channels to 200 MHz, plus RTB-242 to upgrade the other two channels?

That does seem silly.
In the US market, looks like the
100MHz Upgrade is $305 for 2, $250 for 4   ... eh? ....
200MHz upgrade is $790 for 2, $815 for 4. 
300MHz upgrade is $1860 for 2, $1915 for 4 ...

Saa..... that is pretty weird.

[Lukas]

Don't get me wrong, the RTB2000 are perfectly usable scopes, but lack the fun of using the Agilent/Keysight infiniivision scopes. On the dated MSO5000/6000 series, turning the dedicated intensity knob brought up a vu-meter style popup indicating the intensity level. One may believe that the needle and the knob are linked with gears, there's zero lag. The same goes for the timebase knob: Spinning the timebase knob makes you forget that you're operating a DSO, it's as fast as with a good old analog 'scope. Perhaps I'm kinda spoiled, but that's what I expect from DSOs these days. Agilent managed to do it with a PowerPC CPU and an ASIC 10 years ago, so it shouldn't be rocket science today...

[TK]

Don't get me wrong, the RTB2000 are perfectly usable scopes, but lack the fun of using the Agilent/Keysight infiniivision scopes. On the dated MSO5000/6000 series, turning the dedicated intensity knob brought up a vu-meter style popup indicating the intensity level. One may believe that the needle and the knob are linked with gears, there's zero lag. The same goes for the timebase knob: Spinning the timebase knob makes you forget that you're operating a DSO, it's as fast as with a good old analog 'scope. Perhaps I'm kinda spoiled, but that's what I expect from DSOs these days. Agilent managed to do it with a PowerPC CPU and an ASIC 10 years ago, so it shouldn't be rocket science today...

I still use my Agilent 54622D scope a lot more than my Rigol MSO2702A.  It boots very fast.  It can trigger CAN, LIN, SPI, i2c, pattern... even USB on CH1, CH2 and any of the 16 digital channels.  It lacks color and serial DECODE, but for a 15 year old scope, it is amazing.  And as Lukas says, the vu-meter intensity indicator works very well.  You can buy used units on eBay for around $250-$300 and they are usually in a good shape.  Digital probe cable is missing on most of these items, but you can get replacements also on eBay for little money.

[WattSekunde]

Starting today they are listed by Elpav (Italian distributor):

http://elpav.it/pagina_oscilloscopi.htm


RTB2002 (70MHz 2Ch)            euro 1.250,00
RTBM2004 (70MHz 4Ch)            euro 1.900,00
RTB-221 (up 100MHz 2Ch)    euro 275,00
RTB-222 (up 200MHz 2Ch)    euro 895,00
RTB-223 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.700,00
RTB-241 (up 100MHz 4Ch)    euro 225,00
RTB-242 (up 200MHz 4Ch)    euro 745,00
RTB-243 (up 300MHz 2Ch)    euro 1.750,00
RTB-B1 (up to MSO)                    euro 700,00
RTB-B6 (gen. arb. 25MHz)    euro 700,00

No mention of decode options cost 

These are nearly copies from http://shop.rohde-schwarz.com

The decode options are:
RTB-K1 (I2C/SPI)                   euro 480,-
RTB-K2 (UART/RS232)            euro 480,-
RTB-K3 (CAN/LIN)                  euro 480,-
RTB-K15 (seg.mem & hist.)     euro 700,-

Farnell have/had been some packages:
RTB-PK1 (? ? ? )                             euro 1172,-
RTB-COM4 (RTB2004+B243+B1+PK1)  euro 5500,- (It's now gone.  )

[WattSekunde]

Don't get me wrong, the RTB2000 are perfectly usable scopes, but lack the fun of using the Agilent/Keysight infiniivision scopes. On the dated MSO5000/6000 series, turning the dedicated intensity knob brought up a vu-meter style popup indicating the intensity level. One may believe that the needle and the knob are linked with gears, there's zero lag. The same goes for the timebase knob: Spinning the timebase knob makes you forget that you're operating a DSO, it's as fast as with a good old analog 'scope. Perhaps I'm kinda spoiled, but that's what I expect from DSOs these days. Agilent managed to do it with a PowerPC CPU and an ASIC 10 years ago, so it shouldn't be rocket science today...

I still use my Agilent 54622D scope a lot more than my Rigol MSO2702A.  It boots very fast.  It can trigger CAN, LIN, SPI, i2c, pattern... even USB on CH1, CH2 and any of the 16 digital channels.  It lacks color and serial DECODE, but for a 15 year old scope, it is amazing.  And as Lukas says, the vu-meter intensity indicator works very well.  You can buy used units on eBay for around $250-$300 and they are usually in a good shape.  Digital probe cable is missing on most of these items, but you can get replacements also on eBay for little money.

I think I go for HMO1212 or Rigol DS4014E (all options free until June 30th) or DSOX1102G if I win one this month . The RTB with the needed options is out of my personal range.

[Zebble]

Ordered from the Canadian site, and the order went through!  Only to get an email today from Newark that the order has been cancelled due to "export restrictions".

Fail #2.

[irakandjii]

Ordered from the Canadian site, and the order went through!  Only to get an email today from Newark that the order has been cancelled due to "export restrictions".

Fail #2.

Oh man that sux ...

[Gabri74]

You can buy used units on eBay for around $250-$300 and they are usually in a good shape.  Digital probe cable is missing on most of these items, but you can get replacements also on eBay for little money.

Yeeahhh... not in my country 
Buying used equipment outside USA at honest prices seems almost impossible

[irakandjii]

To: Mikeselecticstuff

Would it be possible for you to try setting up the decode to capture very long frame delayed captures?  One (1) protocol packet every x seconds. 0<x<7200+ for example.

I understand the method would be:
1) Select the sample size of the record in memory.  (10k Sa, 13k of them) for instance
2) Set trigger (Frame start)
3) Not sure how you do the next part, to ensure just one capture in a single record
4) Review the records in history

The idea is there could be minutes between each frame / record.  Yet we could look at them contiguously in history, and even save that history to a file.

I trust this is not a bother, and thanks in advance.

[mikeselectricstuff]

 That should be doable with segmented memory. I've not explored that yet.

[TK]

3) Not sure how you do the next part, to ensure just one capture in a single record

Trigger Mode: NORMAL

[mikeselectricstuff]

3) Not sure how you do the next part, to ensure just one capture in a single record

Trigger Mode: NORMAL

That only gives you the last record. You need segmented to capture multiple records

[TK]

3) Not sure how you do the next part, to ensure just one capture in a single record

Trigger Mode: NORMAL

That only gives you the last record. You need segmented to capture multiple records

Sorry, I was answering only question #3. 

You need segmented + Trigger Mode in NORMAL.  I don't have the RTB2000 but I tested on the Keysight 1000X series and you can capture up to 50 segments using any delay between one segment to the next.

[agdr]

WOW - R&S still hasn't sent a review scope to Dave after all this time?

[MrBungle]

Dave still hasn't reviewed scopes he does have 

[agdr]

I'm looking forward to Mike's next reviews. Hopefully that test of a 20Hz 400uV sine on high res mode to see if it can do what the HMO1212 did.