The processing power of this scope seems really nice.
If I recall correctly it is built on the Xilinx Zynq 7000 series.
The software features look pretty nice too!
However there are 3 things holding me from making a purchase:
1) Design: The design is not inline with Rigol, Siglent, or even Owon.
It really looks like a toy. Come on GW-Instek... you can do much better!
Why don't you look at Rigol, Siglent or Owon?
Note that the new XDS series from Owon looks really nice!
2) PCB construction: Fabricated design using existing prototyping boards lying around
In the video Dave showed that it seems like they were in a hurry and fabricated some existing boards together. This seems very unserious design! Why not one single PCB board like the others are doing?
Even if you use several PCB boards, at least make it in a more structured way, and make sure
the boards are not flapping in the breeze, to use Dave's words.
In his video he showed several weaknesses in the design. Some bigger than others, but I have seen enough to not trust this construction whatsoever.
3) Shielding: They only shielded the front-end. Really?
While Siglent and Rigol have a very sturdy construction and shielding that covers the entire PCB board,
and the power supply, GW-Instek just shields the front-end.
Come on GW-Instek.. get your act together! Your scope is not cheap at all.. so people expect decent shielding. How can you expect such a huge sales price for something that is literally built like a toy.
Obviously GW-Instek has smart engineers in house, as they managed to pull of a very performant design, built on the Xilinx Zynq 7000 architecture. No doubt about that.
But why don't they get the other things correct? Decent PCB board construction, decent shielding.
And please, hire some industrial designer, that can make your scopes look like Rigol, Siglent or Owon.
GW-Instek.. do you really think yourself that this scope looks nice? Really?
How is it possible that taste can differ that much between Asia and Europe?
I don't think it differs that much.... at least all the others know how to do it.
Really... even if you are using a fancy Xilinx Zynq 7000 architecture, it does not weigh up against all the current drawbacks..... the scope looks like a toy! and it is not built to last... the clips that are used to keep those fabricated PCB boards together will certainly not last.. it almost looks like a prototype product, that was put together in a hurry to make it in time for a demo at a tradeshow.
I think it's a shame that in one and the same company, there can be extremely smart engineers who can pull a working scope together that is based on a state of the art Xilinx Zynq 7000 architecture, but that at the same time, the engineers have no clue whatsoever about basic construction, shielding, and design. Honestly, even the software and hardware engineers should recognize that their scope does look like a joke. One does not need expert industrial designer skills to recognize that