A little offtopic, but is there any info if the "new" MSO (MSO7102TD, MSO8102T, MSO8202T) and PDS (PDS8102T/PDS8202T) scopes, which have a 2M point record length, have a full speed memory like in the SDS series?
According to the manual they have "2M points on each channel for the record length" - there is no word of "max" or limitations regarding the sampling rate. In contrary, the record length for the logic anayzer part is specified as "4M max storage for each channel" and later on there is a detailed specification which record length is possible for which frequency.
This sounds as if the 2M record length in scope mode was full speed (which is good) and can't be lowered for faster updates (which is not so good).
I got my employer to buy a PDS8202T for a great price and have used it only a few hours.
The specs only say that the record size is 2.5M points on each channel, not if it is reduced
at high speed. Since I have limited time on this scope and it doesn't have the friendliest
user interface, I can not even confirm if has this 2.5M point memory working. When I hit
"stop" and move the horizontal position, it does not seem to show 2.5M points, only what
is on the screen. Maybe I haven't figured out how to use the full memory yet.
One drawback of the PDS8202T versus the similar SDS models is that although it too has
a large 8 inch TFT screen, it is only 640x480, not 800x600. I didn't notice that when I looked
at the specs sheet originally. For those of you who remember using VGA screens, they look
a bit "cartoonish" compared to 800x600 or higher resolutions. Oh well, the price was right.
On another subject, as mentioned elsewhere, the Owon seems to be picky about the kind of
USB drives it saves waveforms too. Firstly, the documentation is not clear on this but you
select the waveform format not when you press the "U-disk Copy" key, but instead when you
press the "Display" key under "Carry" ( how inscrutable is that?). I haven't figured out
how to save 2.5M points yet, it only seems to save what's shown on the screen.
The other issue is that the Owon won't save to some USB drives. I tried three different
ones and it only saved to one of them, a 1GB FAT32. On the other two, a 256MB FAT and
a 4GB FAT32, nothing happened, not even an error message. It may be that the Owon
only works with FAT32 and certain cluster sizes (see discussion elsewhere). I don't have the
time or expertise right now to determine the cluster sizes of my flash drives - I'm off on a
plane tomorrow with the scope to do some debugging.
I don't have enough time on the machine to make more comments. It seems to be worth
the low price we paid (about $US700), and as long as you're not expecting a $2000 Agilent, is a good deal.
Fan T.
First, I have no any experience how to use these new PDS models yet (never mix
new PDS and
old PDS they are different machines "totally").
(and not old PDS models what I do not want never touch).
So with this disclaimer I continue:
Carry (in Chinese menu (I have looked chinese version paper) it can understand that it meand transported data type)
It means what format it carry data. But name is not problem becouse after one time learn it you know it. It can name what ever symbol what human can then remember.. (old some machine may use name TDFS or what ever.. hehe)
And selections are: bitmap or vector.
Bitmap is picture and vector is whole captured data just as ADC samples.
----------
Memory, manual tell that 2M points on each channel
Owon catalog tell: Max 2M points on each channel
(this is always confusing, btw, how fuck you can find what memory depth Agilent some infinii Vision use in different horz speeds if look manual or datasheet... I have not yeat find it, but they tell that scope is clever and it can select it automatically for optimize result... yess heheh)
Always it is good to read some datasheets and add term "up to"
With oscilloscopes it is samplerate and memory. Both are "up to" numbers and not always so that both together can be same time its "up to" value. Mostly not. This kind of things I hope ALL oscilloscope and equipments maufacturers specify better and more "truth" on the datasheets/specifications and in advertisements of course. (this is for all manufacturers starting from Rohde&Schwarz and ending to Siglent or Uni-toy.)
top of screen you see same kind of information row where is information how is screen window wide and position compared to whole captured memory.
If you stop capturing and zoom in with horizontal time/div knob you may find there are more datapoints. This is very common method with digital scopes.
How many sample points there are per one div (without zooming in or out) depends user settings, memory, samplerate etc.
This how they relate each others is good to learn. (basic learn how stuffs work and then learn how this individual scope model work what is on the table)
(look this table example what I have published for SDS series.)
Up to horz speed where reached maximum samplerate whole 1k to 10M (user selected) is inside 20 time divs. (there TFT itself is 15.2 div wide) So nearly just whole 10Mpoints are packaged to these 20 divs. After go higher horz speeds scope have reached maximum samplerate (for selected memory amount) and then only can add these divs. So screen is then more and more narrow window to whope captured data and this you can see in this information line top of screen line. (same kind of information you find also example Rigol or Hnatek and many others)
Now what ever you picture is but if you store vector data you can easy look that it have 2M vectors. (ADC sampled voltage level bytes. 8 bit signed bytes)
I do not know this new PDS serie if it is same kind of .bin file what is SDS serie.
If SDS want it to .csv mode it need convert with Owon convert tool.
-------------
(but this last with big smile
)
Now you're reviewing oscilloscope, although we should talk about that can you use it, and you understand how an oscilloscope works in principle. And this is very common problen around this forum --
including also myself -- up to highest level this forum.