New Rigol DC PSU's

[Uup]

I think the hi-res option is likely software only, since there is a menu option to enter licence keys. It may require a calibration afterwards though, but there's also a menu option for self & factory calibration.

I have a DP832A and can confirm that the pictures posted above of a DP832 are more or less the same as an 832A. I also took some pictures of the internals of mine and will post them tomorrow. I'll also post some pictures of the UI and menu options for comparison.

[olsenn]

I think the hi-res option is likely software only, since there is a menu option to enter licence keys. It may require a calibration afterwards though, but there's also a menu option for self & factory calibration.

I own the DP832 and the Hi-Res add-on. I can confirm that this add-on (as well as the others) is just a matter of entering the license code and cycling power (no recalibration is required). There actually is an option in the utility menu for recalibrating, but I wouldn't bother unless you know it's out of calibration -- each unit comes factory calibrated, and since this device was just released, they should all be in spec right now.

[nack]

I just bought the High-res option for my DP832. You have to buy a serial key which is to be submitted together with your Supplies serial number on a Rigol website which returns your license code. Still excellent bang-per buck if you ask me. Build quality is really nice, really solid materials. The graphic LCD screen is fabulous, the viewing angles amazing. Much better than the character LCD Rigol uses on my DG1022.

Accuracy wise, it appears to be in spec too. Mine was calibrated in the middle of June 2013

Two pictures before and after the high resolution option.

[nack]

A small downside is the fact that the voltage on the display is not shown (reads 00.000) if a live voltage is present on the input terminals with outputs disabled.

[Corporate666]

I have not been following these supplies much, but just realised the DP832 is almost half the price of the other two model in that series:
http://www.eyou.com.au/category/programmable-dc-power-supply/
Even without hi-res upgrade that, it looks like great value. Tempted to get one and ditch my stupid Atten.

I had a DP832a on order, but I changed to the 832.

When you look at the specs, there is really nothing that makes the A model worth the price premium, especially considering the hi-res option on the standard 832 model.  I guess the color screen is nice.

The guy over at Signal Path did a good review of the older model (higher current) Rigol supply.  He seemed pretty impressed, but I think he's sponsored by Rigol too (not that it means he's a shill, his review still seemed very factual).

[nquantum]

Do you think new one DP832 will beat old one on everything? DP1116A, DP1308 I mean.

[enclab]

Hey, Mickpah:

That 8-pin chip looks like a serial EEPROM.  They may be storing all the configuration on that chip.

Now that you've got it open, feel like putting a couple probes on there and snooping the start-up sequence?

[mickpah]

Hey, Mickpah:

That 8-pin chip looks like a serial EEPROM.  They may be storing all the configuration on that chip.

Now that you've got it open, feel like putting a couple probes on there and snooping the start-up sequence?

misleading , more pic's to come. That appears to be a local controller for each of the regulator sub boards. The main controller looks to be a freescale arm , not the AD blackfin Rigol have been using in other products.

http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX283&webpageId=128508650710870538A24A&nodeId=018rH3ZrDRA24A&fromPage=tax

[Corporate666]

Do you think new one DP832 will beat old one on everything? DP1116A, DP1308 I mean.

I don't think the 832 is designed to replace the 1116.  The 1116 is significantly higher powered, with 10A on the 16V output and 5A on the 32V.  The 832 can only do 3A on each of it's outputs. 

As for the 1308, it seems to be beaten in every way by the DP831, IMO.  The 831 has higher (and lower) voltage, more current on every channel, finer resolution, and it's $140 cheaper to boot.  The 831 definitely seems superior to the 1308.

The 832 is not superior to the 1116, just different.  I almost went with the 1116, except I would use the third output more than I would use the extra current of the 1116, and I HATE power supplies without a rotating knob for adjustment - absolutely hate when they don't have it.  I already have a 20V/120A Agilent supply for when I need high current. 

[nquantum]

Yes! That is what I'd like to hear for comment.

As for the 1308, it seems to be beaten in every way by the DP831, IMO.  The 831 has higher (and lower) voltage, more current on every channel, finer resolution, and it's $140 cheaper to boot.  The 831 definitely seems superior to the 1308.

Actually for 832 ,if I invert connection wire to their terminal (ex. Connect - to terminal + and connect + to terminal - of ch1) I got the - voltage already, am I right?
Is there any problem with that?

[nack]

Wiring the plus terminal of one channel to the negative-ground terminal of the other channel, and using the negative-ground terminal of the first channel indeed gives you a negative output (with respect to the negative-ground reference of the second channel). I use it all the time this way... The outputs are floating so no problem. There is a option in the menu to track channel one and two which is quite handy  in that case.

[mickpah]

This wasn't really meant to be a tear down - I ain't' no Dave ! just giving you guys a peek inside the box
A few more hurried (from phone only) pic's as promised, sorry the job that the pays the bills is getting in the way of fun.
These are of the main controller board front and back and the display/keyboard pcb. The mess of glue on the keyboard pcd is to hold the pass through ribbon  from the display in place, it looks messier in the photo than it really is.

Overall I have yet to find any bodges, the boards are all version 2 and the only thing I can't pick is a bit of flux residue from hand soldered connectors


Interesting they have moved away from Blackfin and use a Freescale iMX28 series processor in this, Freescale call this a multimedia processor. Interesting choice. I wonder if the inbuilt DRM for license management was a consideration?
http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=i.MX283&webpageId=128508650710870538A24A&nodeId=018rH3ZrDRA24A&fromPage=tax

[olsenn]

Interesting they have moved away from Blackfin and use a Freescale iMX28 series processor in this

I imagine the Blackfin in the DSA815/DS2000/DS4000 were used accross more than one line of prodcusts because the software layout is very similar for all of these prodcuts and it just makes sense to re-use code that's already been written. For this power supply, the screen is different; the menus are different... there really isn't much software in the DSO's that can be used in something like this. May as well use a cheaper MCU. Besides, without the need for signal processing capabilities, I can't see why to choose Blackfin.

Nice pictures!

[nquantum]

Wiring the plus terminal of one channel to the negative-ground terminal of the other channel, and using the negative-ground terminal of the first channel indeed gives you a negative output (with respect to the negative-ground reference of the second channel). I use it all the time this way... The outputs are floating so no problem. There is a option in the menu to track channel one and two which is quite handy  in that case.

That is interesting! Also the price of it!
So think I'll get DP832A so soon. That is sound better than DP1308A. And maybe I'll have DP1116A later.
 

[EEVblog]

I've got a DP-832 on order, should come end of next week. Also the hi-res option.
Cost practically the same as my ATTEN PSU, but looks like it will work infinitely better.
The ATTEN has the 3rd channel isolated and slightly better specs, but I think it will be chalk and cheese.
Will find out...

[mickpah]

I've got a DP-832 on order, should come end of next week. Also the hi-res option.
Cost practically the same as my ATTEN PSU, but looks like it will work infinitely better.
The ATTEN has the 3rd channel isolated and slightly better specs, but I think it will be chalk and cheese.
Will find out...

too funny !! did we influence you to buy something ? the ratio must be at least 8:1 in your favor now in my case

[EEVblog]

did we influence you to buy something ?

No, the price did!
I had no idea the 832 model was so cheap (relatively)

[mickpah]

yep the bang/$$ ratios is good.
Disabling features in software for entry is annoying or good marketing depending on which side of the fence you sit, but that being said they would not have got a sale from me at $700-800. Most of the options are far from essential for needs.

As i said before it has quirks, the niggle for me is not the numerical keypad layout it's having to use the cursor to jump between decimal places when setting voltage or current via the knob. There might be a preference to change this but haven't seen it yet.
overall though I am very happy

[EEVblog]

yep the bang/$$ ratios is good.
Disabling features in software for entry is annoying or good marketing depending on which side of the fence you sit, but that being said they would not have got a sale from me at $700-800. Most of the options are far from essential for needs.

Exactly. I would not have paid that personally for my own use. The $400 mark is much closer to the "impulse" buy range. And they sucked me into the hi-res option with it's attractive pricing too.

As i said before it has quirks, the niggle for me is not the numerical keypad layout it's having to use the cursor to jump between decimal places when setting voltage or current via the knob.

That will annoy the crap out of me too, but still infinitely less than the ATTEN supply I'm sure.

[Uup]

I had a DP832a on order, but I changed to the 832.

When you look at the specs, there is really nothing that makes the A model worth the price premium, especially considering the hi-res option on the standard 832 model.  I guess the color screen is nice.

I went through the opposite situation. I bought a DP832, for a good price too (AUD$340+GST), then while waiting for delivery discovered that it didn’t come with LAN or the digital I/O. So I called them and was able to change to an 832A, for a similarly good price as well. 

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.

[Uup]

the niggle for me is not the numerical keypad layout it's having to use the cursor to jump between decimal places when setting voltage or current via the knob.

I also found the cursor a little awkward to use at first as well. I now like it, as it is a quick means of setting the adjustment precision. For example, if the cursor is moved to the right most position then turning the knob gives a more precise adjustment. Moving it to the left provides a coarser adjustment. I consider it a feature now. 

What I find annoying is the multiplexed controls and finding myself constantly pressing buttons. There's not much that can be done to prevent that though. I found configuring the presets, as well as using the PC control, to be a time saver.

[neslekkim]

I went through the opposite situation. I bought a DP832, for a good price too (AUD$340+GST), then while waiting for delivery discovered that it didn’t come with LAN or the digital I/O. So I called them and was able to change to an 832A, for a similarly good price as well. 

Do anyone have picture of the backside of the DP832?, I wonder if the hardware for LAN and digital io is there (Not sure if the pictures on rigol site is of the 832a or 832, but it shows with this hardware in place there)
If so, software upgrades would enable this.. and based on another thread here.....

[Uup]

Since mickpah has already posted internal pictures of his DP832, and that it is essentially the same as the ‘A’ version, then I won’t duplicate the effort and post the same pictures.

However, I will post some other pictures of a DP832A that may be interesting.

The following three pictures are of the three standard screens.

The first displays all three channels, the second is the dial display and the third is the waveform display. The animation on the dial screen is good but I find it too laggy to be useful as an instrument.









The following is a picture of the top board flipped over, exposing the internals. It gives an idea of the orientation of the boards. The back of the unit is towards the front of the picture.




The toroid is labelled slightly differently in my one… 400VA?




Looks like those “Motherless Goats” also laser etched the chip IDs off many ICs in my one as well.




The following screen shows the default options on an 832A. What are the default options on an 832?




The following are the functions available on the Advanced screen. Are these functions available on an 832?




I worked out how to display the full details in the system info screen. It also enables an extra option to clean (clear and factory reset) the memory.

To display the full details press the following soft buttons in sequence, when in the system info screen.

1 – 3 – 4 – 2  where the soft buttons (buttons under the LCD) are numbered from left to right.




Looking at the top board picture that mickpah posted, it appears as though the DP832 has the LAN, RS232 and digital I/O connectors populated. The back of those connectors can just be seen in his picture.  If they are installed on an 832, then (cosmetic differences aside) the hardware would most likely be identical between the 832 and the 832A. Looks like another exercise in ‘sniffing’ is warranted…

[EEVblog]

I really don't like the triangle layout of the A version main screen, it's just stupid. The column based one on the non-A version is much nicer.

[Uup]

I really don't like the triangle layout of the A version main screen, it's just stupid. The column based one on the non-A version is much nicer.

Yes, I agree. It’s not intuitive to look at and caused me to often take several seconds to identify the information that I was looking for. Although, I’m familiar with it now.

I can’t think of a good reason why they would choose such an unintuitive layout. All I can think of is that they were somehow pressured into coming up with a means to differentiate between the two models in an obvious way. Hence the minor cosmetic and UI differences with otherwise identical hardware. 

At least it got my wife’s approval. She has only ever made two memorable comments about my gear, and one was about the DP832A. She said it was ‘cute’. Not the sort of comment I was really expecting.    The ‘Hello Kitty’ version, posted earlier in this thread, immediately came to mind. She would have loved that version!