Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[Mr. Scram]

Rebadged GW Instek ones. Probably go for more than they are worth at those things. Anyway - DG822 arriving tomorrow so too late now 

DG822 can be cracked to turn it into a DG922 which will give you (with some calibration error) 100MHz arb worth a few quid more https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/Rigol-DG992-Waveform-Generator-p/dg992.htm

Edit: also DGxx does two tone one one channel which means you can do linearity testing easily.

Edit: also this looks like fun https://youtu.be/9rFvFh8yjCs

Those Rigols sound like fun but I can't stand the look of them.

[bd139]

Rebadged GW Instek ones. Probably go for more than they are worth at those things. Anyway - DG822 arriving tomorrow so too late now 

DG822 can be cracked to turn it into a DG922 which will give you (with some calibration error) 100MHz arb worth a few quid more https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/Rigol-DG992-Waveform-Generator-p/dg992.htm

Edit: also DGxx does two tone one one channel which means you can do linearity testing easily.

Edit: also this looks like fun https://youtu.be/9rFvFh8yjCs

I did the upgrade and for someone like me, living in less-than-100-MHz-two-significant-digit reality, it was a bargain. The biggest interface problems: the touch screen is a little squirrelly and the power button is just plain stupid: too small, upside down, and in the wrong place.

Plus I can still pull out the 6061 or an 8460B if I really need something more...

Only thing I haven't figured out is how to keep the upgrade and update the firmware to take advantage of a couple of recent bug fixes. Have to go back and read through the thread here on that one more time.

Yep it certainly is a bargain. I did consider going with the rock bottom 10MHz single channel unit and cracking it straight away but literally I need an audio, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m band signal generator and it was ~£50 to get an officially sanctioned 2x 25MHz optioned unit which wasn't worth arguing with now. I figure if and when I need more megadoodles it'll be worth the couple of hours to crack it at that point. As it's from Telonic it'll have been updated before it arrives so I'll wait and watch the firmware thread.  I expect the touch screen to be wonky and in fact I bitched fairly heavily about it on the forum a while back. Worst case there's LXI 

I would love an 8640B but the gearing and the failure rate scares the crap out of me. I have used Rigol DG1022Z pretty heavily for about 2-3 years now on and off for RF'ey tasks and they're good enough for amateur radio use on HF. Probably not lab grade but it makes a perfectly acceptable LO for example. Not too fugly phase noise. DG800 is similarly spec'ed.

Hopefully the counter in this isn't a piece of crap like the DG1022Z but I don't hold much hope. Not buying it because it's a counter though.

Mini rant about NanoVNA here. Hit a wall. Absolutely useless for crystal characteristic measurement due to the min frequency step.  Another reason I need this...

Rebadged GW Instek ones. Probably go for more than they are worth at those things. Anyway - DG822 arriving tomorrow so too late now 

DG822 can be cracked to turn it into a DG922 which will give you (with some calibration error) 100MHz arb worth a few quid more https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/Rigol-DG992-Waveform-Generator-p/dg992.htm

Edit: also DGxx does two tone one one channel which means you can do linearity testing easily.

Edit: also this looks like fun https://youtu.be/9rFvFh8yjCs

Those Rigols sound like fun but I can't stand the look of them.

That sounds like my marriage described succinctly from start and end 

....

Edit: have put a SDS1202X-E on the TE budget this year. To the dark side it is.

[Mr. Scram]

I always get the feeling that Rigol is trying to replicate the succes of the DS1054Z but doesn't understand what went into that success. Everything they do seems a mixed bag of excellent and confusing choices. Spending more than absolutely required sounds like the Ferengi days are over though.

[worsthorse]

Yep it certainly is a bargain. I did consider going with the rock bottom 10MHz single channel unit and cracking it straight away but literally I need an audio, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m band signal generator and it was ~£50 to get an officially sanctioned 2x 25MHz optioned unit which wasn't worth arguing with now. I figure if and when I need more megadoodles it'll be worth the couple of hours to crack it at that point. As it's from Telonic it'll have been updated before it arrives so I'll wait and watch the firmware thread.  I expect the touch screen to be wonky and in fact I bitched fairly heavily about it on the forum a while back. Worst case there's LXI 

I would love an 8640B but the gearing and the failure rate scares the crap out of me. I have used Rigol DG1022Z pretty heavily for about 2-3 years now on and off for RF'ey tasks and they're good enough for amateur radio use on HF. Probably not lab grade but it makes a perfectly acceptable LO for example. Not too fugly phase noise. DG800 is similarly spec'ed.

Hopefully the counter in this isn't a piece of crap like the DG1022Z but I don't hold much hope. Not buying it because it's a counter though.

Mini rant about NanoVNA here. Hit a wall. Absolutely useless for crystal characteristic measurement due to the min frequency step.  Another reason I need this...

For £50, 2 channels and 25MHz is a good deal. 

Yes, the frequency counter sucks. And if that's the feature that gets someone to buy the rigol instead of some other sig gen, well they'll get what's coming to them. 

I can't imagine trying to use it at 1GHz as some people do but there's lots of interesting stuff you can do within the features/specs (for example, as HF antenna analyzer)  that makes it a good way to learn about VNAs. And for fifty bucks, it is actually pretty amazing. We'll see whether the "version 2" device that someone is bringing to market addresses some of the shortcomings of the current versions.

[bd139]

Sorry £50 more than the base cost I should have said. Whole unit was £258 which was still over £100 cheaper than a DG1022Z was! I don’t mind some compromises for that price.

I’m going to buy the V2 NanoVNA once the clone market has kicked off properly. I want to play with 23cm band for the hell of it so it’ll hopefully be useful there.

[Specmaster]

Rebadged GW Instek ones. Probably go for more than they are worth at those things. Anyway - DG822 arriving tomorrow so too late now 

DG822 can be cracked to turn it into a DG922 which will give you (with some calibration error) 100MHz arb worth a few quid more https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/Rigol-DG992-Waveform-Generator-p/dg992.htm

Edit: also DGxx does two tone one one channel which means you can do linearity testing easily.

Edit: also this looks like fun https://youtu.be/9rFvFh8yjCs

Another free Brymen DMM as well. It has to be said though that only its mother could love the look of that Rigol  .  It might well be a very capable machine but it has the look of a machine that was designed by a committee stoned out of its mind 

[Kosmic]

The biggest interface problems: the touch screen is a little squirrelly and the power button is just plain stupid: too small, upside down, and in the wrong place.

I was about to say the same thing. The mix of hardware button and touch screen is weird. You need to use both to operate the thing 

[bd139]

I always get the feeling that Rigol is trying to replicate the succes of the DS1054Z but doesn't understand what went into that success. Everything they do seems a mixed bag of excellent and confusing choices. Spending more than absolutely required sounds like the Ferengi days are over though.

I would agree. If they did a faster UI 2 channel 200Mhz unit with an FFT which didn’t suck as hard Id probably buy it. Looking at the Siglent videos the measurement UI is inferior. Can’t win at this price point but it would be ridiculous to spend more.

Ferengi days are over now due to a couple of recentish situation changes  . Was owed some good karma for once after all those tant battles 

[URI]

The biggest interface problems: the touch screen is a little squirrelly and the power button is just plain stupid: too small, upside down, and in the wrong place.

I was about to say the same thing. The mix of hardware button and touch screen is weird. You need to use both to operate the thing 

And that does exactly specify a bad UI design. 

The function set has some highlights though.

[grizewald]

That said, a couple of weeks with the scope and I'm liking it. The only time I'm less than fully chuffed is when using the horizontal position control (and to a lesser extent vertical position an trigger level controls), the laggardness makes you wonder whether you're turning the knob the right way.

My Rigol DS1054Z drives me mad with that! I was trying to position four traces on the screen earlier today when I looking at the clock board from my Solartron 7061 and it takes so long between twiddling the position knob and something happening on the screen it's crazy.

It's still hard to beat for features vs. price though which is the only reason I haven't sold it on and replaced it with a proper 'scope.

I bought a Siglent SDS1104x-e as my second unit but daily driver* after some research and comparing it to the Rigol DS1054Z.
I like it; It's not so laggy as the Rigol and has the younger (perhaps "fresher") design and -according to many postings on the net- less bugs and design flaws.

--
*-For the purpose of avoiding too much wear of my first unit, a DSO-X3034A.

I didn't know it has has twice the sample rate of the DS1054Z in four channel mode! But 10M less points capture memory, a hefty price tag and the logic analyser pod plus firmware costs nearly as much again. Ouch!

[URI]

That said, a couple of weeks with the scope and I'm liking it. The only time I'm less than fully chuffed is when using the horizontal position control (and to a lesser extent vertical position an trigger level controls), the laggardness makes you wonder whether you're turning the knob the right way.

My Rigol DS1054Z drives me mad with that! I was trying to position four traces on the screen earlier today when I looking at the clock board from my Solartron 7061 and it takes so long between twiddling the position knob and something happening on the screen it's crazy.

It's still hard to beat for features vs. price though which is the only reason I haven't sold it on and replaced it with a proper 'scope.

I bought a Siglent SDS1104x-e as my second unit but daily driver* after some research and comparing it to the Rigol DS1054Z.
I like it; It's not so laggy as the Rigol and has the younger (perhaps "fresher") design and -according to many postings on the net- less bugs and design flaws.

--
*-For the purpose of avoiding too much wear of my first unit, a DSO-X3034A.

I didn't know it has has twice the sample rate of the DS1054Z in four channel mode! But 10M less points capture memory, a hefty price tag and the logic analyser pod plus firmware costs nearly as much again. Ouch!

It comes with functions that rigol sells as option. 
..it's also hackable..   

[tautech]

Edit: have put a SDS1202X-E on the TE budget this year. To the dark side it is.

 
But  as you might find the Bode plot feature in the 4ch X-E's really useful for your stuff.
A bit of fluffing around with an interface between the DG1000 and the X-E should allow the X-E to take control of the AWG frequency steps. Others have done this with those cheap FG AWG's.

[mnementh]

From the "Idle Hands Are the Devil's Playthings" Department...



mnem
*toddles off to ded*

[bitseeker]

Rebadged GW Instek ones. Probably go for more than they are worth at those things. Anyway - DG822 arriving tomorrow so too late now 

DG822 can be cracked to turn it into a DG922 which will give you (with some calibration error) 100MHz arb worth a few quid more https://www.rigol-uk.co.uk/Rigol-DG992-Waveform-Generator-p/dg992.htm

Edit: also DGxx does two tone one one channel which means you can do linearity testing easily.

Edit: also this looks like fun https://youtu.be/9rFvFh8yjCs

I did the upgrade and for someone like me, living in less-than-100-MHz-two-significant-digit reality, it was a bargain. The biggest interface problems: the touch screen is a little squirrelly and the power button is just plain stupid: too small, upside down, and in the wrong place.

The UI is also inconsistent between encoder and button usage. It's like no one had a complete picture of the interaction design.

Only thing I haven't figured out is how to keep the upgrade and update the firmware to take advantage of a couple of recent bug fixes. Have to go back and read through the thread here on that one more time.

Yeah, it looks like about 50% of people upgrading to the v2 firmware have no problem maintaining the "enhancements", but the other half does.

[syau]

Yeah the MK socket blocks are a piece of shit. I buy the Brennenstuhl ones now. Seem to not be made of poo. I would have got some Crabtree ones in but that means hauling my arse down the road to Screwfix and I already had some RS crap on the way I was waiting in for. MK it was

I am favour with their Duraplug series, using single piece of copper 

[AVGresponding]

Yeah the duraplug line is nice, impact resistant.

I like a nice metal housing rack mount distribution strip myself, though they are so expensive I have to take what I can get, recovered from surplus equipment rather than buying them.

[bd139]

Edit: have put a SDS1202X-E on the TE budget this year. To the dark side it is.

 
But  as you might find the Bode plot feature in the 4ch X-E's really useful for your stuff.
A bit of fluffing around with an interface between the DG1000 and the X-E should allow the X-E to take control of the AWG frequency steps. Others have done this with those cheap FG AWG's.

Bode plotting like that is really a toy. You can measure the phase shift and response with an analogue scope and an analogue function generator easier. Mostly concerned about 3dB point and phase inversion which you can just whizz the main frequency control up and down. In RF stuff just use a NanoVNA  . I never got that feature TBH and it’s certainly not worth bagging a 4 chan unit for.

[bd139]

Yeah the MK socket blocks are a piece of shit. I buy the Brennenstuhl ones now. Seem to not be made of poo. I would have got some Crabtree ones in but that means hauling my arse down the road to Screwfix and I already had some RS crap on the way I was waiting in for. MK it was

I am favour with their Duraplug series, using single piece of copper 

Had one of them catch fire a couple of years back. Was not impressed. Fortunately it was in the office in the middle of the day. There was about 5A of load on it at the time (medium weight DL380G7)

[Specmaster]

Yeah the MK socket blocks are a piece of shit. I buy the Brennenstuhl ones now. Seem to not be made of poo. I would have got some Crabtree ones in but that means hauling my arse down the road to Screwfix and I already had some RS crap on the way I was waiting in for. MK it was

I am favour with their Duraplug series, using single piece of copper 

Had one of them catch fire a couple of years back. Was not impressed. Fortunately it was in the office in the middle of the day. There was about 5A of load on it at the time (medium weight DL380G7)

Did you open it to investigate? If so, was it one with proper flat busbars or one of the earlier ones that used preformed bare circular copper wires to connect each socket together?

[Specmaster]

Yeah the duraplug line is nice, impact resistant.

I like a nice metal housing rack mount distribution strip myself, though they are so expensive I have to take what I can get, recovered from surplus equipment rather than buying them.

I've never been a fan of those TBH, seen to many of those warp making it very difficult to get the plug to engage correctly due to the shutters jamming up.

[bd139]

It was a bus bar one for ref. Think it was only a couple of weeks old. They replaced them with rather expensive data centre grade PDU ones with rack lugs on. Can’t remember the manufacturer.

[McBryce]

Just for the cool picture that they obviously let their child draw...

https://www.ebay.de/itm/164117422722

McBryce.

[Specmaster]

From the "Idle Hands Are the Devil's Playthings" Department...



mnem
*toddles off to ded*

Gah, Wi-Fi, give me a copper network any day of the week, wipes the arse of Wi-Fi. Sitting at my bench, with the router sitting just 4 metres away I get 28/8 on Wi-Fi but wired I get 552/34, different leagues.

[bd139]

Yeah same. Hate WiFi.

[beanflying]

I have been running Data over Power to the shack (30m+) for the last few years but still WiFi for distribution when it gets here to 6 or 7 devices (only 1-2 use any real data quantity). I gave up with WiFi range extenders and aerials very quickly.

Call me a Blended Family