Oscilloscope option discussion

[pdenisowski]

Since the topic keeps coming up in other threads, I'm creating a separate thread for discussion of oscilloscope options (hardware and software) across all manufacturers.

[pdenisowski]

Do I understand correctly that if you have an RT-ZL04 from the RTA4004, you can use it with the MXO4 or MXO5?

Yes, it's the exact same probe.

[2N3055]

Question: If I have 2 RTB2000 scopes and would like to share RT-ZL03 Logic probes between them, I buy RTB-B1, and install license on one of the scopes. Can I buy just software license for the other one?
I couldn't find that info. I know I can buy only hardware probe separately (to replace missing/ damaged ones).

But can I just buy SW "unlock" for the second scope so I can share probe between 2 scopes because I want to use it just occasionally?

[pdenisowski]

We sell a hardware option (MXO-B1) for the digital channels / mixed signal option:  this is physical hardware that has to be installed in the scope.  Note that this comes with the probes (2 times RT-ZL04, 8 channels each, so 16 channels total).  There's no additional software license needed for basic logic analysis / digital channels.

Thanks for clarifying. Maybe some would find it more convenient to just install a SW-license whenever they want to, instead of needing to have some physical hardware installed inside the scope.

Specialized hardware is needed for acquiring the digital / logical channels, especially for HW based triggering and filtering, so we couldn't make this a SW only license

Mask test doesn’t even seem to be available at all – and if it was, it most likely would be another expensive option.

It's going to be out later this month, will be hardware-based (extremely fast), and will be free

[pdenisowski]

Question: If I have 2 RTB2000 scopes and would like to share RT-ZL03 Logic probes between them, I buy RTB-B1, and install license on one of the scopes. Can I buy just software license for the other one?

I'll check with the product line, but I'm pretty sure that we don't sell the license without the probes (since we don't have an order number for that).

[tszaboo]

OK, here is an interesting question for you all. I have a scope, and I connect a N2795A 1GHz active probe to it, and it just works. I can take that probe, plug it into another oscilloscope, and that works as well, none of them has licenses for the probe. I can take any number of active probes from the same mfg. and they just work after plugging in.
Or I can buy a R&S NRX, RF power meter, and connect any number of RF probes to it. No license necessary.
Or take a VNA, and connect any number of active calibration standards to it. It downloads the data, does the clicky-click inside with the relays, and calibrates the VNA (*artist depiction of VNA calibration).

Yet if I want an oscilloscope to to use an external active or passive logic analyzer module, I need a license for it.

[pdenisowski]

Yet if I want an oscilloscope to to use an external active or passive logic analyzer module, I need a license for it.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by an "external" logic analyzer module.  At least in R&S oscilloscopes, most of the logic analyzer hardware is internal to the scope.  We (R&S) only require you to buy the hardware to do logic analysis - no software license is needed.

[nctnico]

Yet if I want an oscilloscope to to use an external active or passive logic analyzer module, I need a license for it.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by an "external" logic analyzer module.  At least in R&S oscilloscopes, most of the logic analyzer hardware is internal to the scope.  We (R&S) only require you to buy the hardware to do logic analysis - no software license is needed.

What I think tszaboo means is that you can use the logic analyser probe from R&S on any R&S scope which has the same logic analyzer probe connector. And to be honest, this would make sense to me. The license should be linked to the probe, not the oscilloscope.

[pdenisowski]

Yet if I want an oscilloscope to to use an external active or passive logic analyzer module, I need a license for it.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by an "external" logic analyzer module.  At least in R&S oscilloscopes, most of the logic analyzer hardware is internal to the scope.  We (R&S) only require you to buy the hardware to do logic analysis - no software license is needed.

What I think tszaboo means is that you can use the logic analyser probe from R&S on any R&S scope which has the same logic analyzer probe connector. And to be honest, this would make sense to me. The license should be linked to the probe, not the oscilloscope.

Ah, okay - thanks.  It's an interesting idea (and I'll share it with the product team), but realistically that would require a complete redesign of all our logic probes and all our scopes, so not likely to happen. 

It's also unlikely we could fit all of the logic analyzer hardware into an external probe, so we would have to include the LA hardware in every scope (adding expense even for people who don't ever do LA).  And if you ever lost / broke your probe, that would be problematic as well.  There are probably other reasons why we don't do this, but those immediately come to mind. 

We do have some scopes (like the RTO6) where the logic analyzer hardware option can be field-installed by the user without opening up the scope (I've personally done this, so it's obviously not hard to do ... lol)   See photos

[tszaboo]

Yet if I want an oscilloscope to to use an external active or passive logic analyzer module, I need a license for it.

Sorry, but I'm not sure what you mean by an "external" logic analyzer module.  At least in R&S oscilloscopes, most of the logic analyzer hardware is internal to the scope.  We (R&S) only require you to buy the hardware to do logic analysis - no software license is needed.

I've seen 4 different type of logic analyzers in scopes:
- passive ones, that are not really used anymore. HP54600 and similar.
- active ones, that have some termination and comparator maybe some power supply built in
- external active ones like the Siglent SLA1016. Built in FPGA.
- whatever Tektronix is doing with their flexchannel inputs. I think it qualifies as external active.

[egonotto]

Hello,

I think it would be great if there was a programming interface with a connection to the UI so that you could program your own options.

Best regards
egonotto