Siglent SDS2000X Plus

[2N3055]

Maybe they need DAkkS Calibration ?

[tautech]

First register it into our equipment list, then sending away for calibration - without calibration, we´re not "allowed" to use it.

Mine came with a calibration certificate in the box.  Not good enough?

Sometimes not depending on the company involved and their 'inhouse' practices.
A Cal lab we sell stuff to must have instruments logged into their system and Cal checked before anything can be placed into service.
The Military are similar.

[Martin72]

Mine came with a calibration certificate in the box.  Not good enough?

"ours" too, but it´s too less.
For example, what exactly was measured, what are the tolerances, which values were measured, where is the individual measure-protocol...
Example two, lets say, a value is specified with a tolerance of 1%.
Siglents "one sheet" says, everythings fine.
But did they really tested exactly this point ? And what are the value, is it inbetween the given tolerance or hard on the edge...
And so on.
Of course we can do measurements with the scope without calibration, but then we couldn´t use it for our factory acceptance tests
Our couple of "little" rigol and siglent scopes (DS1000Z and SDS1104X) aren´t calibrated, we use them for pre-tests only.
But our need of calibration is an advantage for all who wanted to know how good the sds2k+ in detail is - I´ll present the results here...

Maybe they need DAkkS Calibration ?

Not for everything, but everytime from a DAkkS accredited cal-lab.

The pics: SDS2104X+ and WS3024Z side by side - I coud swear, they got the same lcd screen..
Pic of the version, pic from the certificate.
BTW:
Maybe nothing new for others, but for me it was new:
The power-button of this new sds2k+ doesn´t lit/glow anymore when in standby, only when in operation.

Martin

[dreamcat4]

SDS2104X+ and WS3024Z side by side

this would be a great comparison. if you can spend some more time with the equipment, after some weeks of usage. to come back later on?

 

after mentioning this lecroy model, i found only 1 video on youtube. and it demonstrate a feature for detecting 'unusual' anomalies. like irregular events

[tautech]

SDS2104X+ and WS3024Z side by side

this would be a great comparison. if you can spend some more time with the equipment, after some weeks of usage. to come back later on?

 

after mentioning this lecroy model, i found only 1 video on youtube. and it demonstrate a feature for detecting 'unusual' anomalies. like irregular events

Quite differently spec'ed scopes.
LeCroy is 4 GSa/s and 20 Mpts/CH
SDS2000X Plus is 2 GSa/s x 2 ADC's each with 200 Mpts

[Martin72]

This makes a comparison not impossible..

Rob, did you noticed this :

Maybe nothing new for others, but for me it was new:
The power-button of this new sds2k+ doesn´t lit/glow anymore when in standby, only when in operation.

?

[tautech]

This makes a comparison not impossible..

Rob, did you noticed this :

Maybe nothing new for others, but for me it was new:
The power-button of this new sds2k+ doesn´t lit/glow anymore when in standby, only when in operation.

?

Yes there are small subtle HW changes in all models from time to time.
We don't get notification about them as they're part of ongoing product improvements. 

SDS6000A has a constantly lit power button however now with a grey front so only the edges/sides show power is connected.

[Johnny B Good]

@Martin72

 The power button on my SDS2104X+ (bought 20 months ago) glows very dimly when powered down as does that on the SSA3021X+ bought 5 months later. My very first Siglent DSO, purchased jut over three years ago, an SDS1202X-E, does wink smoothishly so this was a slightly unsettling change to its powered down status indicator.

 In a brightly lit lab, this very dim power down status indication could very easily be missed - take a closer look next time you're about to power it up (or down).

[Martin72]

Hi John,

Will do it tomorrow - Although I´ve covered the "area" around the button with my hands, to make sure I´m not too blind...
But I´ll check it again.
Martin

[famalex]

Hi all.
 Since the probes that come with SDS2104 are not of great quality, I'm looking for something better. I found an Pico TA133 probe at a very attractive price, but its data sheet states that this probe is optimized for a specific type of oscilloscope from Pico Technology (only? ). While I don't see any reason why this probe can't work just as well with my Siglent, I'd like to hear more experienced friends' opinions on this.

[mawyatt]

@ John,

Our SDS2102X+ (older) the power button is dim when off, our SDS2104X+ (newer) the power button is not lit when off.

Best,

[bdunham7]

Since the probes that come with SDS2104 are not of great quality, I'm looking for something better. I found an Pico TA133 probe at a very attractive price, but its data sheet states that this probe is optimized for a specific type of oscilloscope from Pico Technology (only? ). While I don't see any reason why this probe can't work just as well with my Siglent, I'd like to hear more experienced friends' opinions on this.

How attractive a price?  They don't appear to be cheapies!  That is a very nice probe, I wish I had one but I have too many already.  It looks to have a very nice accessory set for small component probing.  It should work fine with your scope, the only issue regarding compatibility would be the compensation range.  In this case the 10-25pF easily covers your scope model, and probably most decent 100MHz+ models. 

[famalex]

I think €170 for a pair of probes, including shipping costs, is a very attractive price .

[tautech]

I think €170 for a pair of probes, including shipping costs, is a very attractive price .

The 350 MHz Siglent autosense 10x are even cheaper:
https://siglentna.com/product/sp2035a-auto-sense-350-mhz-oscilloscope-probes/

[TopQuark]

I share the exact same feelings on the provided probes, and I also bought 2 sets of TA133. The TA133 works fine with the Siglent scope, but I deal with a lot of analog circuits and often need the x1 range, the cable on the TA133 is also stiffer than my liking. I ended up buying 4 sets of Rigol PVP2350 350MHz probes for less than one TA133, as they have a 35MHz x1 range, the build quality is way superior than the Siglent proveded probes, no regrets so far, and they are my go-to probes.

[Domitronic]

The Pico TA133 look very much like the PML 711A manufactured by PMK. They are also available with readout pin and then called PML 711A-RO. And they are as well available with other bandwidth:

http://www.pmk.de/en/products/pml_high_z_tastkoepfe

https://www.batronix.com/shop/pmk/PML.html

I'm also thinking about replacing my Siglent probes with them. Especially i like the smaller size in diameter of the PMK probes. I think they also manufacture some OEM probes for LeCroy.

[famalex]

Thank you all for your advice. Now I have a reason to think about a better choice.

[Domitronic]

The 350 MHz Siglent autosense 10x are even cheaper:
https://siglentna.com/product/sp2035a-auto-sense-350-mhz-oscilloscope-probes/

Unfortunately the SP2035A are quite pricy in europe. At least here in Germany it is still 189,- € at Welectron. So the price drop in the US has not arrived here.

[dreamcat4]

the thing about probes is that it would also be convenient those sensepeak pcbyte kit with the magnetic base and articulated arm

https://cdn.abicart.com/shop/ws40/74640/art21/168030021-1c8b79-UG_SP200_Rev1.0.pdf

however the highest quality probe they have is 200mhz, 14-18pF. which is worse

so maybe its possible to take their (even cheaper?) 100mhz probe. then discard the probe itself. but keep and modify the stand holder parts. to take a different probe like those excellent PML / PMK. for easier setup

[rf-loop]

The 350 MHz Siglent autosense 10x are even cheaper:
https://siglentna.com/product/sp2035a-auto-sense-350-mhz-oscilloscope-probes/

Unfortunately the SP2035A are quite pricy in europe. At least here in Germany it is still 189,- € at Welectron. So the price drop in the US has not arrived here.

It might be wise to be patient for a little while now... 

[blurpy]

Unfortunately the SP2035A are quite pricy in europe. At least here in Germany it is still 189,- € at Welectron. So the price drop in the US has not arrived here.

Not really, it's just Welectron who "forgot" to update the price.

I asked my local distributor about the SP2035A probes, and was told that the European prices (updated this January) are still not adjusted
Waiting to hear back from Siglent about this being an error or if Europe is excluded from the new lower price.

Good news Turns out that Siglent Europe forgot to update the price, so we get the new price as well.

No stock though, so don't know when I'll get hold of any.

Still out of stock for me though

[famalex]

Well, if it's only for a little, I can be patient.   
But judging by the Welectron, where I bought a lot of different devices, prices are only going up.

[blurpy]

Well, if it's only for a little, I can be patient.   

The new price was from February, so just ask them about it

[Performa01]

I surely do not mean to be impatient, but if you can give information about investigations or if there is official information from Siglent I would love to hear.  I think it is (although speculation) in interessting idea if Siglent might have changed dot-mode algorithms on perpose because they introduced eye diagram.

I've identified several bugs:

• In Dots display mode, the selection of x versus sin(x)/x should be irrelevant. Other scopes based on the same platform show a correct behavior in this regard.
• Waveform update rate generally is a bit on the slow side, and there is a huge difference between x interpolation and sin(x)/x reconstruction. This problem does not exist in an  e.g. SDS6000A.
• Auto Trigger does not work as expected. it is slow and erratic if there's no signal present, e.g. for noise measurements.
• Mains Line Trigger does not work as expected. it only provides about 9 triggers per second on a 50 Hz grid.

All the above bug reports have been accepted by Siglent, entered into their bug-database and will be corrected with the next firmware.

[Martin72]

Excellent work !