Anyhow, regarding your mention of those forty dollar FY6600s on Ebay, I was intrigued enough to investigate what was on offer for myself. I did check out the prices on the FY6800s btw, before placing an order just half an hour ago on a FY6600-60M from Hong Kong for a mere £40.41p (just over half of the £75.66p I'd paid for my now much modded unit some seven months ago).
I didn't fancy paying a 30 quid premium just to get a slightly nicer revamped front panel and a big butch switched C14 socket on what is essentially still an FY6600 inside. Besides which, it's a case of "Better the Devil you know." and it makes for a very cheap "Spare". The only concern with these "last available FY6600s" being whether they're unsold stock of all those models which had been afflicted by the version 3.0 firmware bug. Hopefully not but I should be able to determine that in some two to three week's time.
JBG
I agree that it looks like the original FY6600 with the latest firmware is the best option at this point--unless a teardown of the FY6900 reveals a new level of excellence. I actually ordered two with the cheapest-option AU plug since I plan on converting them to US/C5-C6 and adding a 10K resistor to the existing Y-cap and running it to ground. Then I'll see how it works and if my EMI and noise is acceptable. I have a use case for two--or three--using either the sync feature or using one to control the other thru the VCO port. I paid a total of US$84.86 for two, shipped, so I can't imagine a better deal. I can live with the output limitations--20Vp-p at 20MHz (let alone 60) is pretty hard to do with an inexpensive op amp. And this thing has two channels! I'd like to see a comparison with more expensive DDS AWG models--I've seen some at over 10X the price that don't seem to do as well as the lowly (and now dirt cheap) FY6600. If I need more power I'll get or make an amplifier.
Hi bdunham7,
Apologies for the tardy response. I'm not sure how I overlooked your reply but, after reviewing the recent postings here, I realised my oversight hence this response.
One thing that did catch my attention was your reference to attaching a 10KR to the Y cap. Presumably (just to be absolutely clear on this point), connecting the resistor between the protective earth pin on the C6 connector and the side of the Y cap going to the zero volt rail and the BNC grounds rather than across it.
The Hong Kong dealer I bought mine from was out of stock of the UK plug versions so, since the crappy UK plug with C8 lead was destined for the scrap bucket anyway, I chose the (no doubt equally crap) US option (sadly, no additional discount for this cheaper mains lead option).
At an effective price of $42.43 each, you got an even better bargain than my own £40.41 'prize' which equates to a 49 dollar price tag (give or take a dollar or two). However, we Right Pondians have long since come to accept this disparity in pricing between the US and UK markets for 'foreign goods' so it still represented a massive reduction on the £75.66 I'd originally paid for the first one some seven months earlier.
I had hoped to be able to report on the firmware loaded into my unit by now but it hasn't arrived yet, some two days after the latest of the estimated delivery dates. It looks like a cheap MESTEK 9999 Counts Digital Multimeter I ordered just four days ago is likely to arrive before the signal generator according to Yodel's tracking info[1] - there's no tracking option for the generator so its delivery is a matter of blind faith.
I guess I'll have to give it another week before I start pestering the seller/ebay over this delay.
I have just one other ebay order in the pipeline race to my front door but that's just a 99p order for a pack of 10 SN74HC14Ns due to arrive by the 25th. Unbelievably, there's even a tracking number on this 99p order but ICBA checking the progress of a 99p package that will probably arrive before the ETA expires anyway and isn't holding up progress on any of my current projects (at least not yet!).
Regarding whether the FY6900 actually shortchanges you on the 20Vpp in the 10 to 20MHz frequency range or not remains an open question since (apart from the 24Vpp claim for the FY6900), the same limitations are quoted in the manuals for the 6600 and 6800 models making the specifications published in the manuals rather suspect to say the least. We're not going to know the truth of the matter until someone finally gets hold of one to report actual test figures.
As for the business of 24Vpp for the DC to 5MHz range, that appears to be an attempt at one-up-man-ship in the specifications battle. It seems to me a rather pointless distraction since, as you mentioned, this is nothing a linear amplifier couldn't address more effectively anyway if higher outputs are needed. The only thing about the 24Vpp figure, along with the extended +/-12v dc offset specification, is the implication that they've raised the PSU board's +/-12v rail voltages to +/-15v which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how they've achieved this.
It seems rather doubtful that they've moved from a switching psu board to an analogue one if this is the case. The extra voltage will provide more margin but if they've simply rejigged the existing transformer windings to raise the voltage without using a beefier HV switching chip or adding a discrete HV switching transistor to take the load off the existing chip, this could all end up in 'Tears Before Bedtime' as far as the service life of the PSU board goes. I can't wait to see a competent tear down review video on this latest version of the FY6600 from Feeltech / Feelelec when it's eventually released to the market.
[1] I just had another look at Yodel's tracking website and it's now, at long last, offering an ETA of Saturday the 6th (tomorrow) for that Mestek DMM so it looks like the result in the "Slow Boat From China" race as far as that FY6600 is concerned is going to be a draw at best. My money's on the Mestek winning this race but the possibility of a "dead heat" for all three orders still remains intact, making this Saturday a little on the special side for me to look forward to.
[EDIT] The DMM arrived at 1pm but I'm still waiting on the cheap FY6600 and that pack of hex inverters.
JBG