Rigol DS1054Z-- Expiration of "Feature Bundle"

[Johnboy]

I've noted that Rigol is apparently no longer offering the "feature software bundle" for new purchases of their DS1054Z model after March 31, 2018.

Does anyone know exactly what this means? Does this mean that the purchasing code will no longer unlock these functions, or that the unit can no longer be hacked, period? I've been looking at picking up one of these scopes for a while, but am not entirely prepared to pull the trigger on it just yet. Since this deadline is quickly approaching, I thought I'd ask the users of this forum, and I'd be surprised to discover that I'm the first to do so at this late date.

[Gandalf_Sr]

I suspect that Riglol will still provide a path to apply whatever upgrade you wish until Rigol change the firmware (unlikely); the expiry of the free options will just mean that you'll either have to pay or use Riglol.

[sokoloff]

What free bundle? The software has been cracked thanks to the collaborative efforts of this forum, and there are online keygen made by a forum member to unlock all DS1054 features.

Several vendors were offering Rigol scopes with bundled "official" licenses for the upgrades. That campaign is ending, which is of no practical difference for users inclined to use riglol in the first place.

[sokoloff]

What free bundle? The software has been cracked thanks to the collaborative efforts of this forum, and there are online keygen made by a forum member to unlock all DS1054 features.

Several vendors were offering Rigol scopes with bundled "official" licenses for the upgrades. That campaign is ending, which is of no practical difference for users inclined to use riglol in the first place.

Yep, I know that, but who cares? If you are a big corporation, just for the support service, you probably want to talk with Keysight or Tek, not Rigol. If you are a small player, who cares if you use pirate firmware or not?

Look, if you don't want to know the answer to "what free bundle?", don't ask the question...

I agree with you on the importance and relevance of the marketing campaign, but you asked a question that I answered and then you seem to want to jump down my throat about it. Chill...

[Miti]

I've noted that Rigol is apparently no longer offering the "feature software bundle" for new purchases of their DS1054Z model after March 31, 2018.

Does anyone know exactly what this means? Does this mean that the purchasing code will no longer unlock these functions, or that the unit can no longer be hacked, period? I've been looking at picking up one of these scopes for a while, but am not entirely prepared to pull the trigger on it just yet. Since this deadline is quickly approaching, I thought I'd ask the users of this forum, and I'd be surprised to discover that I'm the first to do so at this late date.

I have a feeling that it is just a commercial stunt, buy now if you want the bundle.
I bought one just a week ago and it came with the serial decode, record, long memory and advanced trigger straight from the factory. I've got a paper from the vendor with a licence code but I didn't need to use it. All those options were "Official" at the first power up.
So I suspect it will always come with those options enabled from now on. Just my two cents.

[Johnboy]

Thank you, all, for sharing your insights and interpretations. I apologize for my obvious ignorance in this matter.

My concern was that Rigol might have unwittingly allowed this model to supplant the sales of their other models sold at a higher price point, and might well want to do away with the current firmware version in future manufacture runs of the same model. Of course, the firmware could be changed aftermarket, no doubt, so I doubt that's an issue either. But I've also noted that there's a vocal minority of prospective customers who are publicly stating that they are buying Siglent scopes specifically because of Rigol's "cancellation of free features" alone. They aren't any better informed than I am, of course.

[Fungus]

I've also noted that there's a vocal minority of prospective customers who are publicly stating that they are buying Siglent scopes specifically because of Rigol's "cancellation of free features" alone. They aren't any better informed than I am, of course.

Yes. The Siglent might appear better value if you're just looking at a web page and don't know how easy it is to enable all extra features on the Rigol.

Rigol's "feature bundle" was a response to the new Siglent because of this difference. Rigol knows everybody hacks their 'scopes, it's part of their marketing strategy but there's a whole bunch of people out there who don't know bout it and might buy Siglents.

Let's see what Rigol's next move is. 

[simone.pignatti]

Hello, it may be possible Rigol stops the promo, however there are Rigol sellers (like us) have big stock with free bundle. I'm pretty sure that the end of March will not be the end of the availability of DS1054Z + free bundle. 

[Fungus]

Hello, it may be possible Rigol stops the promo, however there are Rigol sellers (like us) have big stock with free bundle. I'm pretty sure that the end of March will not be the end of the availability of DS1054Z + free bundle. 

How does it work? Do they arrive unlocked or do you have to give people the unlock codes so they can unlock them themselves?

[Gallymimus]

Hello, it may be possible Rigol stops the promo, however there are Rigol sellers (like us) have big stock with free bundle. I'm pretty sure that the end of March will not be the end of the availability of DS1054Z + free bundle. 

How does it work? Do they arrive unlocked or do you have to give people the unlock codes so they can unlock them themselves?

the scope comes (in separate shipment) with a license certificate.  You use this license certificate on the Rigol website along with your serial number to generate an unlock code that you input into your scope.

I have 4 extra certificates (licenses) laying around now.

[simone.pignatti]

Hello, it may be possible Rigol stops the promo, however there are Rigol sellers (like us) have big stock with free bundle. I'm pretty sure that the end of March will not be the end of the availability of DS1054Z + free bundle. 

How does it work? Do they arrive unlocked or do you have to give people the unlock codes so they can unlock them themselves?

We send the certificate with the key codes via email to the customer. Certificates are not locked to the serial number which makes things easy for us to manage.

[Fungus]

We send the certificate with the key codes via email to the customer. Certificates are not locked to the serial number which makes things easy for us to manage.

the scope comes (in separate shipment) with a license certificate.  You use this license certificate on the Rigol website along with your serial number to generate an unlock code that you input into your scope.

Makes perfect sense to do it that way.

[Johnboy]

Sorry to kick a question that's already been more than adequately answered...
Tonight I spent a great deal of time reading about this model, and found a relatively ancient thread on this forum that was no less than astonishing in its breadth and scope (pun intended). Not only was my question answered, but a number of others which I would've liked to ask had I considered to ask them.
Despite its exhaustive length (and countless digressions from its central topic), I'd like to include it here in case someone else wasn't able to follow the discussion in this thread to a logical conclusion. I understand why it's not "stickied" since it's not one of Dave's products, but I certainly feel it's one of the more interesting (and revealing) threads I've read here in its entirety, and certainly so on this particular topic.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-rigol-ds1054z-oscilloscope/

I'll merely add as an additional explanation that I had to use Google's "site:" and "range" filters to access the thread linked above. This site's search wouldn't allow me to find it directly.

[bitseeker]

Impressive that you survived all 4000+ posts in that thread.

[Gandalf_Sr]

And that awesome thread has been read over 1.2 MILLION times!

[Observer]

Hi,
I am a bit confused as I noticed that my scope (DS1054Z) already has all the features officially activated when I received it in March 2018. I got it through Amazon Canada. What is confusing is that the 100 MHz option is not in the list when I query the installed feature list.

 So, has it  been activated or is  not a feature option anymore? and we can't upgrade to 100MHz anymore?

Thanks,

[cs.dk]

Hi,
I am a bit confused as I noticed that my scope (DS1054Z) already has all the features officially activated when I received it in March 2018. I got it through Amazon Canada. What is confusing is that the 100 MHz option is not in the list when I query the installed feature list.

 So, has it  been activated or is  not a feature option anymore? and we can't upgrade to 100MHz anymore?

Thanks,

Rigol offered the decoder and memory options for a limited timeperiod, not the 100 MHz option. The official 100 MHz BW option is to buy a 1104Z
You can still unlock it via riglol though

[Gandalf_Sr]

According to Riglol, 'DSEA' is just the 100 MHz option if that's what you want to apply but are you sure you have all the options permanently? They are enabled for a trial period by default.

Although not shown in the Riglol list, 'DSER' is the recommended code for a 1054Z to permanently enable all available options and increase the BW to 100 MHz (makes it into a 1104Z).  I am pretty sure you can apply DSER to a scope that already has other options enabled and it won't cause any issues.