new killer scope in town - a true game changer from R&S - RTB2002 & RTB2004

[TK]

So did some more poking around (literally, with a long probe).    The battery itself seems to be fine.  Measuring from the cell (+) to the chassis gives 3.1V.  Measuring from the battery clip to the chassis though gives nothing (0 V).   If I press down on one of the contact spring tabs on the battery clip I can get a voltage but as soon as I release pressure it loses contact again.  This is the same for both of the contact tabs.  With some effort I managed to move the battery around.  For a brief moment it made contact and survived two power cycles then failed again. I've managed to rotate the battery 180°, testing at multiple spots, but failed to make it connect again.  Strangely the battery seems to be in there pretty good.  I have no idea what's holding it in yet not making electrical contact.  Anyway looks like a bum battery clip or some kind of contamination. It is likely a 5 minute fix although I'll let them do that.

R&S has agreed to FedEx it back to their factory on their dime.  Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Can you check continuity from the battery (+) to the battery clip?  Maybe the battery clip is not soldered correctly to the PCB.

[nctnico]

Were you able to get to the battery to see if it was perhaps dead? Would be a shame to send it back if a new battery does the trick.

It is better to send faulty new gear back and not mess with it.

[agdr]

Buying a single item off ebay is probably not the preferred way to purchase test equipment for companies/professional users, so doesn't necessarily say much about what they (the main market) would pay.

Good point!  I know that R&S is targeting the educational market for the RTB.  A school buying 50 scopes would have to go through a distributor.  A lot of larger companies have "preferred vendor" lists that have to be followed too, no eBay purchases allowed.

[ws2812b]

Just wanted to look at the ebay offer posted yesterday and guess what: it's gone
http://www.ebay.com/itm/352040549226

[Robaroni]

Joel,
When I got my scope I checked for new firmware. It showed the latest firmware as 1.203 as of about March 17.
Rob

[Robaroni]

Not surprised! It's still a good deal.

Look what this scope sold for.

Keysight Used DSOX3024T Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 200MHz(Agilent). No bus, 200M, no MSO and used:

[Robaroni]

I think these guys aren't making much on these scopes so they aren't eager to serve customers. The one I found best was ConRes. They seemed to be genuinely interested in working with me and make sure I was happy.
TE has the EEVblog promo but I've found on equipment I purchased other sellers sold equipment for about the same as TE with the promo. TE works best if you buy a new piece of equipment at list when everyone else is selling for list. This way the EEVblog promo works for the buyer.

Shop around before you buy.

[Joel_l]

That's what I found 3/14/17 1.203. I was just curious because Myrv's scope shows 3/22 and 1.204. Wonder if there's a new version waiting to be released.

Joel,
When I got my scope I checked for new firmware. It showed the latest firmware as 1.203 as of about March 17.
Rob

[TheSteve]

Not surprised! It's still a good deal.

Look what this scope sold for.

Keysight Used DSOX3024T Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 200MHz(Agilent). No bus, 200M, no MSO and used:

Don't let ebay fool you.

The R&S actually sold for $3650.00 and the Keysight sold for $2281.00.

Ebay tends to hide accepted best offer prices.

[Robaroni]

Here's the address for updates if anyone wants to check:

www.rohde-schwarz.com/firmware/rtb2000.

[Robaroni]

Not surprised! It's still a good deal.

Look what this scope sold for.

Keysight Used DSOX3024T Oscilloscope, 4-channel, 200MHz(Agilent). No bus, 200M, no MSO and used:

Don't let ebay fool you.

The R&S actually sold for $3650.00 and the Keysight sold for $2281.00.

Ebay tends to hide accepted best offer prices.

Yes, I saw the "best price accepted". What's key is how long it was up before it was gone

[TK]

Used Keysight instruments (sold by Keysight from Malaysia) do not include any probes.  I wanted to buy a DSOX2000 once and I asked if they could include used probes that are hanging around the factory and they replied NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBES.  If you want to have the instrument and the original probes (used), you need to spend another $600

[Pinkus]

Don't let ebay fool you.
The R&S actually sold for $3650.00 and the Keysight sold for $2281.00.
Ebay tends to hide accepted best offer prices.

I am wondering about where this has been hidden? I only can see "best offer accepted" but not any value.

[TheAmmoniacal]

Used Keysight instruments (sold by Keysight from Malaysia) do not include any probes.  I wanted to buy a DSOX2000 once and I asked if they could include used probes that are hanging around the factory and they replied NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBES.  If you want to have the instrument and the original probes (used), you need to spend another $600

It's a major annoyance with their store, on used equipment they always say it does not include any accessories (unit only). But everyone I know that has ordered from them has received the full set of accessories, everything.. I'm not sure what to make of it.

I once messaged them about it and really stressed it, will I get any accessories or not? They seemed to suggest that they do it as a courtesy if you buy at the set price, but will not if you make a lower offer that they accept.

Might just be a lottery.

[kaz911]

Used Keysight instruments (sold by Keysight from Malaysia) do not include any probes.  I wanted to buy a DSOX2000 once and I asked if they could include used probes that are hanging around the factory and they replied NO, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PROBES.  If you want to have the instrument and the original probes (used), you need to spend another $600

That depends - sometimes accessories are incl - other times they are not. Read the advert -  I have been pleasantly surprised a few times. All premium certified devices are complete w/ all accessories.

My current probe looked at the pictures like it would not have the channel 2 adaptor included - and I used that get a better price - but when it arrived it looked brand new with everything in the box.

/k

[agdr]

Here's the address for updates if anyone wants to check:

www.rohde-schwarz.com/firmware/rtb2000.

Nearly 7 weeks now since the first firmware release.  Equals what, about 7 months in brand-new test equipment dog years?    About time for some new firmware, I would think.  Mike's observations alone should equal one new firmware release.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Here's the address for updates if anyone wants to check:

www.rohde-schwarz.com/firmware/rtb2000.

Nearly 7 weeks now since the first firmware release.  Equals what, about 7 months in brand-new test equipment dog years?    About time for some new firmware, I would think.  Mike's observations alone should equal one new firmware release.

With a new product like this, in the absence of serious issues, I think it make  sense for them to wait a while to gather feedback from users and fix everything in one go, rather than doing it piecemeal.

[Robaroni]

Pinkus -
By not specifically stating it in the listing the option is left to them. Tomorrow someone could get a bare bones scope and have no recourse, personally I don't want to take that chance. $3650 or $4k still seems like a better deal to me for a new scope with all the option listed and included in the purchase.
I don't know how many more of these will show up but I'll bet they don't last long if they do.

With that said R&S has opened up a whole new vista here. If I make scopes and I see how this promo went down I'd seriously try to come close to it. OK, so maybe no MSO or gen. but a 300M scope with all the bus features included for say $2.5k? Not that far fetched especially with the newer faster chips coming. Tek and Keysight, are you listening?
Rob

[Harb]

So whats the current price for a fully optioned 2004 via a dealer ?

[Robaroni]

~$7920.00 - 4 channel - RTB2K com4

(corrected)

[mikeselectricstuff]

According to Tequipment, RTB2K-304M 300MHz MSO $4760 plus RTB-PK1 app bundle $1260 = $6020

[agdr]

Here's the address for updates if anyone wants to check:

www.rohde-schwarz.com/firmware/rtb2000.

Nearly 7 weeks now since the first firmware release.  Equals what, about 7 months in brand-new test equipment dog years?    About time for some new firmware, I would think.  Mike's observations alone should equal one new firmware release.

With a new product like this, in the absence of serious issues, I think it make  sense for them to wait a while to gather feedback from users and fix everything in one go, rather than doing it piecemeal.

So I don't look like a fortune teller I should add that I asked Rich @ R&S a few week ago when a new release would be out.  He seemed to think it would be the first part of May, unless plans change.    I agree, good to collect several fixes and especially **test** the changes!  Nothing more frustrating than bugs in the fixes.

[Hydron]

So I finally picked mine up and had a quick test in the hotel room yesterday.

Very early impressions are that the screen is a major positive, about time someone bothered to put something of reasonable size and resolution in a sub 10k instrument! I'm sure this will also help with taking advantage of the 10 bit ADC, which is also very welcome (my first scope was 10bit, made the 8 bit rigol feel limiting sometimes when zooming into an already captured waveform).

Negatives are lag in the menus (especially scrolling) and those darn detents in the knobs. Touch screen thankfully makes up for the detents somewhat (moving traces is responsive enough to substitute for the knobs in many situations), but I'll probably buy a spare encoder or two to experiment on disabling the detents - they're unfortunately not available without them

One strange thing I noticed was that the waveform rate seems to slow for a brief time after changing any setting, before going back to normal - anyone else seen this?

I also grabbed the front cover before getting the scope - it's rather expensive for a piece of vacuum formed plastic, but fits securely, feels strong and I think it will protect the front well. Downside is that it's a bit of a fiddle to put on, but I think it was a sensible purchase given I'll be hauling it around in hand luggage. I'm most afraid of damage to the rear grill now, with the cover on it's now by far the weakest point.

[mikeselectricstuff]

One strange thing I noticed was that the waveform rate seems to slow for a brief time after changing any setting, before going back to normal - anyone else seen this?

Yes - only looked at it briefly, but the update rate is rather inconsistent and jittery. Also jumps significantly as you cross particular timebase settings for no obvious reasons.

[Robaroni]

Sorry I flipped 2 digits:

Tequip: $7,920