Suggestions on a new 'scope...

[mzacharias]

Sometime over the next year or two I will be retiring. I don't expect to have much more than a card-table space for a "bench" from that time forward.

This means I will have to downsize dramatically. Among other things, the analog 'scopes will have to go, but I might be able to use a small-format digital 'scope such as an Owon, Rigol, etc.

I am soliciting suggestions for this 'scope. My interest is audio, so I won't need really high-end spec so far as glitch-capture, etc but I would like intensity-graded display, maybe 7" or so diagonal, and a user-friendly interface. Oh - and a bandwidth limit function would be good as well.

Bandwidth is negotiable - I like my 100mHz Tek 465 and 2246's, but in truth, I have only rarely ever needed that bandwidth, so I think even a 25meg model might do, and there's lots of 60 to 70 meg models I sure I'd be happy with.
Probably like to keep it under $400 U.S. with a U.S. warranty and I think GOOD FIRMWARE SUPPORT is important.

I don't want an orphan.

Suggestions?

[Solder_Junkie]

Currently the most popular scope under $400 is the Rigol DS1054Z. I got mine last December. The only firmware upgrade it needed was the recent one to cure the trigger jitter problem, as that firmware was released at Christmas any new scope should already have it installed.

Mine replaced a failing 100 MHz analogue scope, it is quite small and works way beyond 50 MHz - without hacking, mine is 3 dB down at 95 ~ 98 MHz as measured using a 50 Ohm terminator and commercial grade RF sig genny. The triggering is excellent too...

I don't have a dedicated work bench, so keep my 1054 in a cool bag which is a much cheaper option than a Rigol bag. Mine is a fishing cool bag, TF Banshee Cool Bag item number on www.eBay.co.uk 121498387909 (£9.99). If you keep a scope or spectrum analyser in one of these bags it's worth placing a slab of closed cell packing foam in front of the screen to protect it from knocks.

[necessaryevil]

Just based on reviews I advise against anything chinese that isn't Rigol. You can take a look at the Rigol DS1054Z, DS1074Z and the DS1074Z-S. I think those have intensity graded displays.

Dave has done a review, here is the summary with some links to some more of his video's about this scope:


Here a review on an Owon, which got a thumbs down:

I also advise to search youtube and this forum.

[Coliban]

@necessaryevil,

Rigol is not the only chinese producer of good  test equipment, i own the SDG5082 signal-generator which is decent, solid and accurate for that price and my Siglent SDS1102CML has 100Mhz for 299€ (about 336usd, don´t know, which country is the OP) while the correspondent rigol has only 50Mhz (ok, you can "hack" the rigol to 100Mhz, i think, this is a smart marketing trick by rigol but not everybody is willing to).

Nevertheless, if i should by a new oscilloscope, i would as well go for rigol, because in the meantime is seems as if it became mainstream (because of the hack). So my recommendation would be the rigol DS1054Z.

[Fungus]

There's only one sub-$600 'scope worth buying at the moment, the Rigol DS1054Z. You can get it for $400.

Size? It's actually very compact. More than you'd imagine.

To try it out you could find out the dimensions and cut a cardboard box to the same size. I don't think it will be a problem even on a "card table".

[Howardlong]

Currently the most popular scope under $400 is the Rigol DS1054Z. I got mine last December. The only firmware upgrade it needed was the recent one to cure the trigger jitter problem, as that firmware was released at Christmas any new scope should already have it installed.

FWIW, today I received a DS1074Z-S from Batronix, a surprise present for my nephew who's showing an interest in electronics with building his own fuzz boxes and what not (he's an accomplished musician, but is looking for other remuneration options, session musicians are not exactly short on the ground). It shipped on Monday, and when it arrived today in the UK (Thursday) it had v4.00 firmware on it which is fairly old. I had a bit of head scratching as applying an option over SCPI ended up with "Invalid input" showing up on the scope. The option it turned out had been applied. Once I'd updated to the latest firmware, the erroneous error (if there can be such a thing!) no longer showed up when applying the option.

So the latest firmware doesn't necessarily always ship, although it seems that in the UK both Telonics and Lambda Photo have delivered the latest available firmware to me on the various purchases I've made from them. (Euro:Pound is such that it's cheaper to buy fromEurope at the moment when free shipping is offered).

[extide]

Yeah, go for the DS1054Z, by far the best scope for that ~$400 price point. It has a few shortcomings, but nothing major. I have one and it is great, there are several reviews on line, so check them out if you want, but seriously, just go get one.

[ebastler]

Since you are looking for a compact solution, you might want to consider a scope with built-in signal generator? I second the Rigol DS10x4Z recommendation -- got the DS1054Z myself earlier this year, and love it! But if you want the signal generator option, you have to spring for the 70MHz DS1074Z-S, as Rigol do not offer the -S option for the entry-level 50 MHz model. That brings the price up to $800 or so, unfortunately.

Regards,
Juergen

[Fungus]

Since you are looking for a compact solution, you might want to consider a scope with built-in signal generator? I second the Rigol DS10x4Z recommendation -- got the DS1054Z myself earlier this year, and love it! But if you want the signal generator option, you have to spring for the 70MHz DS1074Z-S, as Rigol do not offer the -S option for the entry-level 50 MHz model. That brings the price up to $800 or so, unfortunately.

Or make your own:

http://www.analog.com/library/analogdialogue/archives/48-10/signal_generator.html

http://alternatezone.com/electronics/files/hsfglc.txt