OWON HDS 200 Handheld Oscilloscope w/ builtin DMM/AWG

[csuhi17]

One problem with Owon / Hantek is they seem to constantly modify their pcb design based on what inexpensive surplus parts are available at the time.  The result is many different hardware versions of the same product, which beyond possibly affecting operation or performance can also require different FW to run.  This leads to a lot of variations in performance from version to version and also reduces likelihood of FW updates, since they need to create FW for several hardware boards of the same product.  If you get a product from these companies and it works well, you cannot necessarily expect earlier or later versions to operate the same way - there is a LOT of variability in their products.  And if you discover software bugs, you cannot always assume they will address them with future updates.  Same applies for clone products from other companies that all share the same basic BOM - they all look the same, but can operate very differently.

I have old Owon HDS1021M and it still works ok for what it is but never a FW update for my version - instead they release new HDS1021M-N version which is the same product but different pcb.  Very frustrating.

Are you sure they are the same?
From what I found, the N got more memory, a higher sample rate, etc.

[TomKatt]

Yes - the N revision did include improved specs but nonetheless replaced the M version.  When the N version was released no new FW was available for the original version.  That is representative of Owon / Hantek support from my (albeit limited) experience.

Different hardware builds are not uncommon, but more upscale companies tend to continue supporting their earlier releases rather than simply replacing them and dropping all support.

[electr_peter]

I agree with the sentiment on too many HW revisions and limited supported for previous versions. On top of that, Owon has too many similar handheld models with minimal differences (consider HDS300 with almost the same specs as HDS200).
Still, Owon HDS200 range is pretty reasonable handheld scope with real specs. UI needs some improvements and there are some small bugs, but other than that scope is very usable.

[LiberaVeritas]

Got a 242S
HW version 3.3.2
FW version 8.6.4

Doesn't seem like there are any v8 FW downloads on the website

The ohmmeter auto ranging is quite slow

[alank2]

I tried to get the latest firmware from the OWON site, but it doesn't seem to work.  I select my model HDS242 and type in my firmware V8.1.0 and it doesn't find any.