Rigol DS2072 is Dying!!

[Marc M.]

  Arrrgghh!  This issue started a couple of months back and seems to be getting worse over time.  When I first turn the scope on, my screen is filled with trash.  Changing the vertical scale will change the size of the 'trash' for a second, then the amplitude of the 'trash' jumps back to the original size  ?? 

The first 3 pictures were saved a few months ago.  The last 2 were saved tonight.  The trash seems to have changed a bit over that time.  There is also about 1 subdivision (1ns @ 5ns/div) of jitter. 

When it originally occurred, I did a CAL and it seemed to cure it for a few days but then it came back.  The 'trash' disappears after about 10 minutes or so after power up.  After the 'trash' clears up, if I power cycle the scope it doesn't come back.  Originally, once it disappeared it simply vanished but now it's intermittently appearing for a few minutes before finally disappearing completely. 

Something else I just noticed, at 500mV/Div. there is an artifact on Ch.1 (also on 2 if I set it to trigger on 2).  I put on infinite persistence and took another screen shot (the last pic).  During that time the 'trash' popped up a few times. Interestingly, I just now set the trigger back to channel 1 and the artifact disappeared, but re-appears if I go back to triggering on channel 2 . 

When the problem appeared, nothing had changed like gel updates.  Applying the latest 'update' supplied by the superlative Cybernet ( ) had no effect on this issue.  Because it appears to be thermally related, I suspect it's likely a BGA soldering issue.  Since it clears after a little while I've just been putting up with it, but at some point I'll have to ship it back for warranty  .  So far at least my heatsink retaining clips haven't fallen off!

[tom66]

So the heatsink is still present on the FPGA? It hasn't fallen off?

[mcinque]

If the heatsink has fallen off, the problem would be worse after 10 minutes, not better, don't you agree?
For me if the issue vanish after a warm up, it should be a matter of bad solder joints. Imo probably the FPGA needs a reballing.

[AndersAnd]

The best way to locate an intermittent fault like this is to use diagnostic freeze spray and a blow dryer.

But since the scope is still under warranty you could just get an RMA and return it. You might want to install an original firmware again first and possibly uninstall all options installed with the keygen.

[SLJ]

+1 Get a RMA and send it back it now.   Let us know what they say the turn around time is and what it actually is.

[Marc M.]

The best way to locate an intermittent fault like this is to use diagnostic freeze spray and a blow dryer.

But since the scope is still under warranty you could just get an RMA and return it. You might want to install an original firmware again first and possibly uninstall all options installed with the keygen.

I use "chewing gum remover" as a cheap alternative to freeze spray and picked up a cheap Chinese hot air gun after seeing Dave's review on them.  They work a lot better than my Master heat gun since the nozzle is much smaller allowing you to concentrate the heat in a smaller area.  But since it's still under warranty I'm not going to bother.  And I don't know what you're talking about... OEM firmware, Keygens .

+1 Get a RMA and send it back it now.   Let us know what they say the turn around time is and what it actually is.

I'll keep you folks up to date on the process.  I'll likely procrastinate and not get it done for a few weeks though.  I purchased it thru TEquipment so I'm expecting the process to go very smoothly.

So the heatsink is still present on the FPGA? It hasn't fallen off?

Correct, moving the scope around yields no detectable noise so it must still be present.  I'm assuming it's a failed bga joint likely on the FPGA.  When it heats up, it's expanding enough to make connection.  With time the pad underneath is oxidizing causing the more intermittent issues as I go along.

[AndersAnd]

I use "chewing gum remover" as a cheap alternative to freeze spray

A gas duster turned upside down also becomes a freeze spray.

When used as an actual gas duster you should never shake the can before use, unlike some other sprays. Otherwise it just becomes a freeze spray. But to use it as a freeze spray you should just turn it upside down and freeze agent will come out instead of the canned gas.

There's different kinds of freezing agents though, so be careful when using som unknown sprays, especially when your circuit is powered while using it.

Gas dusters are also mistakenly known as "air dusters" / "canned air" or similar. But usually they don't contain air, but other types of gas that are much easier to compress into liquids.

[Hydrawerk]

Well, this can maybe happen to any scope, even Tektronix or Agilent... On the other hand, all the manufactured Rigols DS2000 are under the 2 year warranty. OK, It is 3 years. I wonder what will happen after it expires.

[Marc M.]

Well, this can maybe happen to any scope, even Tektronix or Agilent... On the other hand, all the manufactured Rigols DS2000 are under the 2 year warranty. I wonder what will happen after it expires.

Quite true, nature of the technique.  I posted it in hopes that if any other's have similar issues they will drop a note as well to give the EEVBlog community an idea of potential production problems with these units.  After the warranty expires I'd imagine how things are handled will vary from distributor to distributor.  Some may honor out of warranty units depending on the exact nature of the problem and when it was purchased out of "good will".  If it was purchased thru 3rd parties, Fleabay, etc. good luck even if it's within the warranty period.

[AndersAnd]

On the other hand, all the manufactured Rigols DS2000 are under the 2 year warranty.

Rigol has 3 years warranty: http://www.rigolna.com/warranty

The mainframes of RIGOL’ s products have a three-year warranty and the accessories such as probe and test pen (with the exception of power cord, USB and BNC cable) have a one-year warranty . In above-mentioned periods, any hardware or software error caused by quality flaws will be examined and repaired by RIGOL Maintenance Center or its authorized maintenance branch free of charge if the customer provides the warranty card and maintenance record card. RIGOL provides paid maintenance for products outside of the warranty period.

[marshallh]

It's f***ed, get it repaired.

Mine did the same brand new out of the box (6 weeks for RMA)
It looked very much like MSB data lines were disconnected from A/D to fpga.

If you press AUTO the scope should lock up. Moving the horiz. offset will also cause glitching.

[Hydrawerk]

How does this story continue?