GDS-2000A series New economic oscilloscope by GW Instek comes to market

[EEVblog]

There is new firmware for this scope that fixes a lot of stuff apparently:
http://webfile.gwinstek.com/ftp/GDS-2000A/GDS2K_V1.17.upg
Will go install it now.

[Yaksaredabomb]

There is new firmware for this scope that fixes a lot of stuff apparently:
http://webfile.gwinstek.com/ftp/GDS-2000A/GDS2K_V1.17.upg
Will go install it now.

Thanks for the link!  Just visited their site and it wasn't obvious how to get to it from there.  I won't have a chance to install it myself until next week, but I'm very curious to know how it goes for you and what the updates are!

[EEVblog]

Thanks for the link!  Just visited their site and it wasn't obvious how to get to it from there.  I won't have a chance to install it myself until next week, but I'm very curious to know how it goes for you and what the updates are!

Here are the changes:
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=547.0

[Yaksaredabomb]

Here are the changes:
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=547.0

Interesting.  Hope the knob sensitivity adjustment fixes the bug where the selection occasionally goes against the direction of rotation a step or two when turning the knob slowly.  That's been one of the more annoying things for me so far - makes the knob feel really cheap and wishy-washy.  Thanks for the extra info!

[hmlittle59]

Hello All,

Wanted to purchase the Rigol DS2102 today and talked to a "Tech" at the location and he preferred the GDS-2102A over the Rigol DS2102.  What's ya'll thoughts on that.   Besides the Instek is on SALE now at "TEquipment". 

This is making my head spin. Once again "OWON" is out after reading all the reviews. 

RIGOL 2102

or

GDS - 2102A(I don't like the non-expandable memory).

This is my first scope to buy and I work on Parallax Micro-Controllers. 

Thanks for any help

Howard

[grego]

For a 2 channel the Rigol hands down.

I had a 2204A from Instek and I ended up returning it.

[Chalky]

[...]
RIGOL 2102

or

GDS - 2102A(I don't like the non-expandable memory).

This is my first scope to buy and I work on Parallax Micro-Controllers. 

Thanks for any help

Howard

I don't know anything about Micro-Controllers, but I do know you can buy a Rigol DS2072 (70 MHz) and upgrade it to 200 MHz with just a licence code.  Some people have even figured out how to do that for free.  Rigol display is way better than Instek I reckon.  Much easier on my eyes.

[hmlittle59]

The Tech said that the Instek had a better Quality Display and better trigger capture, whats your thoughts on that.  It would be nice to have a larger memory but I'm not even sure that I would even use whats comes with the Instek.(for now anyway).  I've saw one video on the breakdown of the Rigol and getting ready to check out the Instek now.

Howard

[Chalky]

Instek has more pixels, but the display is far inferior to the Rigol.  Not just the waveform, but all of the display, incl. menus etc.  Rigol's advance triggers on Rigol can be unlocked with a key code, same as the bandwidth.  Some people have figured out how to make those codes with a keygen, but the proper way to obtain them is to purchase them.

[hmlittle59]

Well my mind was set on the Instek til I seen you last post about un-locking more triggering points.  I don't mine paying a little more if it will make it a Head -to- Head matchup.  I will be paying USA prices and both were at $1143.00 but the Instek is on sale for $971.00.  I do like the ability to expand the Instek with the Two(2) modules.  I may never use the 2 meg. memory but it does seem a bit low by todays standards.   

Dave seems to be the main Man for doing all the Main testing, do you know if a Head -to- Head was ever done on these Two(2) units?  I could not find any true test on this Website.

Thanks again.

Howard

[Chalky]

US$839 for the Rigol DS2072 would be price I'd look for.

[grego]

Well my mind was set on the Instek til I seen you last post about un-locking more triggering points.  I don't mine paying a little more if it will make it a Head -to- Head matchup.  I will be paying USA prices and both were at $1143.00 but the Instek is on sale for $971.00.  I do like the ability to expand the Instek with the Two(2) modules.  I may never use the 2 meg. memory but it does seem a bit low by todays standards.   

Dave seems to be the main Man for doing all the Main testing, do you know if a Head -to- Head was ever done on these Two(2) units?  I could not find any true test on this Website.

Thanks again.

Howard

The 2 meg is a bit of a marketing gimmick.  It's only 2 meg in single-shot mode.  Otherwise it's 1 meg.  And if you use both channels it's 500k.  Just FYI.

[echen1024]

Yea, that's the problem with most of these scopes. Marketing gimmicks. But I still think, for what you're paying, just go buy an Agilent.

[marmad]

Yea, that's the problem with most of these scopes. Marketing gimmicks. But I still think, for what you're paying, just go buy an Agilent.

Like I'd buy an Agilent 2000 X-Series over a Rigol DS2000 series.    Talk about throwing money away for less features!

[Chalky]

Yea, that's the problem with most of these scopes. Marketing gimmicks. But I still think, for what you're paying, just go buy an Agilent.

Agree with Marmad 100%.  DS2072 is great.  I considered Agilent, before buying the Rigol, glad I didn't waste my money.

[echen1024]

Probably. After looking in detail at the Rigol DS2000 series, I can say it's significantly better at a lower price. The only thing I miss is 4 channels.

[hmlittle59]

Thanks....You guys are not helping with this, have to buy now mood I was in    .  Now I will go and look at the Agilent 2000 series. 

Thanks for all the input...

Howard

[hmlittle59]

Hello Again,
 
Another day in the Scope search.  After looking at more You Tube video's, I going to buy the Rigol 2072.  Looking a the comparison with the Owon 3000 series, that made up my mind.   

Thanks for all the help. I was set on the Owon until I saw all the reviews and demo video's. 

Thanks again

Howard 

[rbola35618]

One of the things that I did not like was that in certain settings the rigol's display looked very dim even when the intensity was set to high. I experience this on a ds4000 scope. Does the Rigol ds2000 have the same problem?

Robert

[Chalky]

Hello Again,
 
Another day in the Scope search.  After looking at more You Tube video's, I going to buy the Rigol 2072.  Looking a the comparison with the Owon 3000 series, that made up my mind.   

Thanks for all the help. I was set on the Owon until I saw all the reviews and demo video's. 

Thanks again

Howard

For a 2-channel scope, nothing beats it (DS2072) on price.  Specially once it's laden with all the extra features! 

[Yaksaredabomb]

There is new firmware for this scope that fixes a lot of stuff apparently:
http://webfile.gwinstek.com/ftp/GDS-2000A/GDS2K_V1.17.upg
Will go install it now.

...

Here are the changes:
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=547.0

Has anyone had a chance to try out the new firmware yet?
 
This scope definitely isn't a "clear winner" for everyone and does have its shortfalls and annoyances, but for a budget 4-channel DSO with relatively inexpensive MSO and decoding options it doesn't seem too bad.  I was tired of waffling back and forth on my scope decision and procrastinating on projects that would benefit from a scope (or even require one) so I bought a GDS-2204A a few weeks back.  I do find the extra vertical pixels come in handy (LCD is 800x600), especially with the 4 analog channels or when using the 8 digital channels (there's a 16-channel option too but I only bought the 8-channel version).
 
Sadly I'm still swamped and haven't had a chance to try out the update myself.  We'll see about this weekend.  I hope the knob sensitivity adjustment smoothes out the knob action.  The enhanced SW and VPO performance also sounds great - maybe someone will be clever enough to find a way to measure the performance improvements?

[Hydrawerk]

Thanks for the link!  Just visited their site and it wasn't obvious how to get to it from there.  I won't have a chance to install it myself until next week, but I'm very curious to know how it goes for you and what the updates are!

Here are the changes:
http://www.ittsb.eu/forum/index.php?topic=547.0

Well, oh...
At Agilent it is very easy to find new firmware and changelog on their website http://www.home.agilent.com And you do not need any registration.
It is strange to find the GW Instek changelog on a greek forum... 

[Hydrawerk]

Have you seen this competitive datasheet DPO2000B vs. GDS-2000A?

[Hydrawerk]

Well, come on... The GW Instek has a search function, too. Don't you know it, Tektronix guys??

[Yaksaredabomb]

Well, oh...
At Agilent it is very easy to find new firmware and changelog on their website http://www.home.agilent.com And you do not need any registration.
It is strange to find the GW Instek changelog on a greek forum... 

Felt off-topic at first getting into how Agilent does things but I see how it's relevant as a comparison.  Would be nice if Instek took a page from Agilent's book on firmware updates.

Have you seen this competitive datasheet DPO2000B vs. GDS-2000A?

On this gwinstek.com page you can find their own "Comparison fact sheet between GDS-2000A and Tek MSO/DPO2000B".  Of course it's biased to show the Instek having more checks and the Tek having more x's haha.

Also note that, although prices vary, I got my GDS-2204A and 8-channel LA option for about $1000 USD less than the Tektronix DPO2024B costs without any options.  So of course you would expect the Tek to significantly outperform or have other desirable features to justify the cost (and I'm not saying it doesn't).

Well, come on... The GW Instek has a search function, too. Don't you know it, Tektronix guys??

Nice catch - I've actually used the search feature and it's kind of nice.  Way better than scrolling and scrolling and scrolling.  Still a little "clunky" but I might not notice that as much when I'm more used to how it works.


So - has anyone tried the new firmware yet?  I see I still can't find it very easily on gwinstek.com so maybe it's still pending final release.  Or maybe this is as close as we'll get.