New Rigol DC PSU's

[MasterOfNone]

I actually wish the screen was bigger, Siglent seem to have the right idea putting a whopping 4.3” screen in the SPD3303 PSU’s.  It wont be long before watches have lager screens than the DP800 series, you mark my words (and that‘s also ladies watches). You almost need a magnifying glass to see the voltage/current that is set for each channel. The large numbers used for the output voltage/current is easy to see, I wish they had another layout on the DP832 with larger fonts for the voltage/current set.   

Also if you like tweaking the voltage on your PSU’s using the knob (while the output is enabled), then it's a really good to set the OVP on the DP832 because the knob defaults to changing the 10v units and you can’t seem to change the default to something sensible like 10mv (or even 100mv).

[mickpah]

I don't mind the front design, actually, I grown to like it.  I have both the Atten which Dave owns and I can say that I like the Rigol much better. I brought my Rigol in to work and showed it to my boss. He liked it and ordered two units.

Robert

for me it does what the primary job is - supply power and the interface is not that bad really.

For another piece of gear I  was actually going to setup a dedicated key pad controller for shortcuts/preset , but I can't find a USB/TMC library for any mcu. I think someone - harvs ?  has done something like this using a Raspberry pi ? so if it distresses you that much you can make your own interface.

[Uup]

That does of course depend on how the OVP and OCP is implemented in the hardware. Some are just GUI software solutions.

You are right of course. I haven't used that function yet so I can't say how well it works. 

[Uup]

I actually 'test drove' the Siglent and really liked the display. The waveform screens show much more detail than what can be seen on the screen on the Rigol. Unfortunately, it has half the functions and is not as good as the Rigol. So I ended up getting the Rigol.

I may still get one if those Siglent power supplies for the heck of it. The display is very nice, but only has indication for two channels.

[echen1024]

Wow. So this is where the test equipment industry is headed. Industrial design inspired by Fisher-Price and putting ever larger LCD's into these. I'm just waiting to snap up my mickey-mouse branded 50" 4k Agilent 344601!

I love the big graphical screens, it can present lots of useful info.
Yes, the industrial design looks stupid with the round keypads and wanky flared rubber boots.

See Dave, the problem is, big graphical displays come in handy, but only until a certain point. Sure, one may argue that this display is great, and I think the size is good for a DC PSU. However looking at the trends, pretty much we are soon going to have PSU's with HDMI outs so you can show your guests your PSU/Spectrum analyzer/DSO on your TV.

[Bored@Work]

but I can't find a USB/TMC library for any mcu.

I have implemented USBTMC for a commercial project (sorry, no code). It is not too difficult to do so when you already have a basic USB library for the MCU. The specs are available and readable, the protocol is relatively simple, although a bit silly.

[mickpah]

but I can't find a USB/TMC library for any mcu.

I have implemented USBTMC for a commercial project (sorry, no code). It is not too difficult to do so when you already have a basic USB library for the MCU. The specs are available and readable, the protocol is relatively simple, although a bit silly.

yes, you're right of course  thanks for saying don't be lazy so politely 

[Bored@Work]

but I can't find a USB/TMC library for any mcu.

I have implemented USBTMC for a commercial project (sorry, no code). It is not too difficult to do so when you already have a basic USB library for the MCU. The specs are available and readable, the protocol is relatively simple, although a bit silly.

yes, you're right of course  thanks for saying don't be lazy so politely 

Just so you no longer have an excuse http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/USBTMC_1_006a.zip The main USBTMC spec is just 40 pages. The optional USB488 subclass is a bit more annoying, although it is just 30 pages.

[mickpah]

Gee thanks

[MasterOfNone]

I actually 'test drove' the Siglent and really liked the display. The waveform screens show much more detail than what can be seen on the screen on the Rigol. Unfortunately, it has half the functions and is not as good as the Rigol. So I ended up getting the Rigol.

I may still get one if those Siglent power supplies for the heck of it. The display is very nice, but only has indication for two channels.

That’s the trouble it looks like Siglent designed a nice dual output power supply and at the last minute decided to make it triple output by tacking-on an extra output. They added the output without even providing basic features like current limit, or showing how much current is being drawn.
I was really tempted by features like being able to internally switch to parallel mode (for double the current), or serial mode (for split rails).  But I knew I would be using that third output a lot, so the Siglent wasn’t for me and I’m pretty sure I made the right choice by getting the Rigol.
By the way, I was only joking about the watch size screen, in my opinion Rigol just need to make some of the fonts a little bolder and sort-out a few UI quirks with a firmware update. 

[signals]

Well, after waiting a little over 4 months from the time I ordered to delivery. I finally have my new DP832A! I haven't done any serious testing with it yet, but I did hook it up and play a little this afternoon. So far, I haven't found anything too egregious. It seems like a fairly high quality unit.

It came with a nice (but thin) shorting bar, and 3 (count 'em THREE) fuses. Nice touch, and certainly unexpected from a Chinese import. I'm kind of surprised I even got one. The quick-start guide and PDF manual aren't too shabby either, at least if you consider where they came from.

Under normal loads (well, normal for me) the fan is actually significantly quieter than my Rigol DS2102, and only a little louder than the scope when running full bore on all 3 channels. I was expecting its fan to be much louder, but I was pleasantly surprised.

One odd thing I noticed is that in CC mode, it is overshooting by 100% when you turn the output on. But, it's back to the proper voltage after about 300 us. The 100% overshoot might have something to do with the extremely low value resistor I'm using as a load (It's the best I could do with the scraps in my junk drawer) and the tiny voltages it needs to hit the CC limit. Maybe if I was looking for 10V instead of 0.1V to hit the CC limit, the overshoot wouldn't be so bad. I'll have to check it out if I can find an appropriate value power resistor to use as a load.

EDIT: I found a larger value power resistor. The overshoot seems to have been from the extremely low voltage required to get to the CC limit. There is no overshoot at all (that I can see with my scope) when powering on now. Since it would be unlikely that I would be powering anything that looks like a <1Ohm load with this PSU, it's probably not a big deal at all.

It's voltage setting and read-back seem to be spot on. Or at least it's close enough that I can't measure the error with my 87V. I'm within 1mV in absolute terms, and relative changes are perfect. I haven't attempted any external measurements of current yet.

The UI is wonky. The triangular 3-way display is odd to say the least. But, I do like the color coding for the waveform display; it changes the background to the color for whatever channel is currently selected. I probably shouldn't have sprung for the A-model, but when I ordered it the only pictures I could find of a non-A model had a red display, and I'm red-green colorblind so that wasn't going to work. Only recently have I discovered that you can change the colors on the non-A version. Oh well. I'm pretty sure it won't take long to get used to, but if I were to do it again I might go for a fully upgraded non-A model over the 832A. The other minor UI gripe is that the display for setting the voltage and current is so small it's hard to read unless you are very close to the display. My typical use case will be to set it and forget it, so it's a minor annoyance to me.

I discovered there's a Display->Custom GUI menu that asks what file to load from USB storage. It got my hopes up that maybe I'd be able to change the layout of the GUI. Unfortunately, after consulting the manual, it appears that you can only add custom graphics to the boot-up screen that says "Rigol." You can't change anything else.

So far I'm impressed and I think it's a fine unit for the money. I don't have the expertise to conduct a thorough test of the unit, or to do a proper write-up/review, but I figured I'd probably better post some sort of initial impressions because the product is so new, and so few people have one yet. Honestly, I'm dangerously under-qualified to be telling people if this thing is good or not, so take anything I've said with a boulder of salt. But, what's the Internet for if not to read the opinions of noobs?

[Electro Fan]

Quote from: rbola35618 on Today at 03:06:22 PM
The problem I see is that the two main supplies are not isolated. In some applications you want isolation. The Rigol does not appear to have this since they share the same ground.

That seems to be pretty common/typical for triple power supplies (even Agilent, etc.).  Dual supplies are usually isolated.

That is why I am interested in the BK 9130. All three sypplies are isolated.

RB

I saw some subsequent discussion about this; what did you guys determine?  Is there any isolation in the Rigols or not?  Thx

[Electro Fan]

There’s actually more differences between the two versions than what is indicated in the Rigol specification comparison doc. If you're developing a product and need a (semi)automated means of testing and verifying your product then the extra features of the ‘A’ version are useful. The analysis function is good for documentation as well.

However, you are right. The 832 is much better value if you don’t need those additional functions.

Can you please elaborate on the differences; what does the 832A do that you can't get to with the upgrades on the 832?  Thanks

(I realize the two are very different when the upgrades are not installed in the 832, but what are the features of the 832A that can never be achieved even with the addition of all the upgrades on the 832?)

[warp_foo]

Just received my 832 today, and so far it seems like a very nicely built unit.

I decided, at this time, not to get any of the options enabled. Although I am likely to get the ethernet option enabled sooner or later, I'm curious about the 1mV/1mA 'high resolution' option. I'm sure someone will consider replying with 'if you don't know, you don't need it' answer, but under what circumstances/use cases are increments that small useful?

Thanks,

m

[olsenn]

I decided, at this time, not to get any of the options enabled. Although I am likely to get the ethernet option enabled sooner or later, I'm curious about the 1mV/1mA 'high resolution' option. I'm sure someone will consider replying with 'if you don't know, you don't need it' answer, but under what circumstances/use cases are increments that small useful?

It is entirely up to you to decide whether or not you will need the extra precision; however, I will just say to remember that this add-on does not improve the accuracy of the PSU, only the precision in which you can fine tune the output. So for instance, if you tell the PSU to output 5.000V, it may actually output 5.003V. With the default precision of the instrument, you will be stuck with either 4.993 or 5.013 when you move the knob. However, with the added precision, you can fine tune the output to be 5.000 (as read by a multimeter).

Another potential useful use for this is determining the current-gain of BJT's for instance; you can increase the Base-Emitted current by 1mA and see how much the Collector-Emitter current increases. Just food for thought.

[EEVblog]

There is a delay in my 832 shipment, so I won't get mine this week.

[ElectroIrradiator]

There is a delay in my 832 shipment, so I won't get mine this week.

In other news somebody at Rigol HQ just received a Blue Letter, after which the shipment to Mr. Dave Jones, Sydney, has mysteriously been delayed. The delay happen to have the same length as the time required for an express shipment to Australia, plus a bit for 'extra' testing at the factory.

[echen1024]

There is a delay in my 832 shipment, so I won't get mine this week.

In other news somebody at Rigol HQ just received a Blue Letter, after which the shipment to Mr. Dave Jones, Sydney, has mysteriously been delayed. The delay happen to have the same length as the time required for an express shipment to Australia, plus a bit for 'extra' testing at the factory.

In Chinese newspapers today: EXTRA! EXTRA! Chinese Test Equipment Manufacturer Goes Down!

(Xinhua) Chinese test equipment manufacturer Rigol has recently went down after a delayed DC power supply to the crazy Aussie, Dave Jones, host of the popular YouTube(Which is blocked here) channel, EEVBlog. He is quoted as saying "That's a heap of shit!" Mr. Jones, who ordered a new DC power supply, commonly used in electronic circuit design, expected it to arrive on 8/7/2013 Beijing time. However, due to unforeseen circumstances at the Rigol factory, his shipment was delayed for 3 days. In an internet video, he is seen ranting on about Chinese products, calling them impure names. Millions of Chinese are outraged and want full nuclear war on Australia. More on this story when we come back. (9:46 Beijing time)

[MasterOfNone]

Quote from: rbola35618 on Today at 03:06:22 PM
The problem I see is that the two main supplies are not isolated. In some applications you want isolation. The Rigol does not appear to have this since they share the same ground.

That seems to be pretty common/typical for triple power supplies (even Agilent, etc.).  Dual supplies are usually isolated.

That is why I am interested in the BK 9130. All three sypplies are isolated.

RB

I saw some subsequent discussion about this; what did you guys determine?  Is there any isolation in the Rigols or not?  Thx

The outputs are isolated from ground (earth) however Channel 2 and Channel 3 have their negative terminals connected together. For example you cannot connect all three outputs in series, the maximum voltage is 33V+33V not 33V+33V+5.5V.

[Corporate666]

I had the opportunity to put the DP832 through some more challenging tests today... I needed to chart the thermals on an LED board.  The board has a divider with a thermistor to measure temperature... so I had the DP832 going through various voltage/current levels and my Fluke meter was recording the voltages and my cheap POS temperature datalogger (actually it's not bad, just not that accurate) measuring voltages.

I really like the DP832!  Really nice bit of kit... easy to program, very accurate and stable.  Haven't tested whether it overshoots under various loads, but I love the supply.

I haven't looked at the manual yet but I dislike that it resorts to 0V/0A upon startup - I wish it went back to whatever I had it set to last.  I see a Preset button so I realize I can program it but it would be nice if it booted in the most recently used setting.

Now I am just convincing myself I need a DM3068 for nice accurate temp measurements, and of course another to replace my Fluke 

[mickpah]

I haven't looked at the manual yet but I dislike that it resorts to 0V/0A upon startup - I wish it went back to whatever I had it set to last.  I see a Preset button so I realize I can program it but it would be nice if it booted in the most recently used setting.

Now I am just convincing myself I need a DM3068 for nice accurate temp measurements, and of course another to replace my Fluke 

Had a play with this - from my foggy old memory the output is disabled - I hope it is but you can set it to remember where you left  the settings
C& P from the manual

Power-on Setting
Select the instrument configuration (“Default” or “Last”) the instrument uses at power-on and the default is “Default”.
 Last: use the system configuration before the last power-off.
 Default: use the factory setting (except those parameters that are not affected by reset). For details, refer to Table 2-2.
Press Utility  System  Power On to select the desired configuration type. This setting is stored in the non-volatile memory and will not be affected by reset.

[Uup]

Had a play with this - from my foggy old memory the output is disabled - I hope it is but you can set it to remember where you left  the settings
C& P from the manual

Power-on Setting
Select the instrument configuration (“Default” or “Last”) the instrument uses at power-on and the default is “Default”.
 Last: use the system configuration before the last power-off.
 Default: use the factory setting (except those parameters that are not affected by reset). For details, refer to Table 2-2.
Press Utility  System  Power On to select the desired configuration type. This setting is stored in the non-volatile memory and will not be affected by reset.

More simply put...

Press the Utility button, then press the System button. The left most soft button will be for the power-on setting. The initial setting is 'Default'. Press the button to change it to 'Last'.

[Corporate666]

The Internet.

Helping lazy asses who are too lazy to read the manual since 1991.



Thanks guys

[olsenn]

Helping lazy asses who are too lazy to read the manual since 1991.

The instruction manual that came with the "Tool Time" video game for SNES, was a one page leaflet that simply read, "Real men don't need instructions!"

[mountaindude]

Hos about connectivity on the DP832?
USB and Ethernet are optional, or?
If so, are the jacks still there (allowing for later software upgrade)?

Edit: seems my question was already answered in post 102 (and others) of this thread - sorry...