Siglent SDS800X HD 12 bit DSO's

[awakephd]

Hmm, same time zone as me.  Not sure what might be happening.  I did have a bit of a brain fart in setting the time zone though.  Just check that it is New York.  First time I did try it didn't work and can't for the life of me remember what I did wrong the first time, or right the 2nd time.

I checked, and sure enough, it reverted to the first choice in the list for time zone - Azerbaijan (sp?). I have tried several times to set it to New York, but it just won't stick; every time it goes back to Azerbaijan. I tried setting it to New York, then clicking on sync; still no luck. I tried turning the time display off, setting to New York; still no luck. There's not a "confirm" button anywhere that I can see. I'm out of ideas on what to try next. Is this, perhaps, part of the NTP bug? Has anyone else run into this problem?

[awakephd]

One step closer - somehow I missed the "modify time zone" right under the time zone drop down list. Talk about myopia ...

So now it retains New York as the time zone ... but it is actually giving me the time in California. Sigh ... apparently I'm still in need of help!

[BillyO]

One step closer - somehow I missed the "modify time zone" right under the time zone drop down list. Talk about myopia ...

So now it retains New York as the time zone ... but it is actually giving me the time in California. Sigh ... apparently I'm still in need of help!

Click "Sync".

It normally only syncs on power-up.

[tautech]

A follow up report: Success! Well, 90% success. I am now able to sync with the NTP server that Billy-O provided, and I can access the scope via wifi. Tried it on my phone first, and wow - could not believe how immediate it is when I touch the phone screen and the scope responds.

But ... so far ... the date is correct, but the time is off by 4 hours. Yes, before you ask, I changed the time zone ... but maybe not to the correct choice? I set it to "America/New York" since I'm in the same time zone as New York. Is there something else I'm doing wrong? Or <ignorance alert> do I need to use an NTP server that is specific to the US east coast? </ignorance alert>

NY NTP server:
https://support.ntp.org/Servers/PublicTimeServer000162

[awakephd]

Complete success at last. I tried switching to the nist server in Maryland at 129.6.15.28 ... and now the time zones work correctly. Yay!

(All the time zones - before changing to the server above, I tried setting other time zones across the Americas ... and every time zone I chose was off by 3 hours.)

[BillyO]

https://support.ntp.org/Servers/PublicTimeServer000162

Hey Rob,

You cannot enter an NTP server with a 209 first octet.  Try it, it will only take a minute.  It's a real bug, not just my imagination.

[BillyO]

Complete success at last.

[awakephd]

I was typing my latest report at the same time as Rob and BillyO. Billy, I tried sync after setting the time zone, but that didn't work. Not sure why I kept getting 3 hours off with the server you are using, when you are getting the correct results. But at this point it's working, and I'm not going to touch it again for fear that I'll mess it up!

[BillyO]

I was typing my latest report at the same time as Rob and BillyO. Billy, I tried sync after setting the time zone, but that didn't work. Not sure why I kept getting 3 hours off with the server you are using, when you are getting the correct results. But at this point it's working, and I'm not going to touch it again for fear that I'll mess it up!

You've got to go with what works! 

[tautech]

https://support.ntp.org/Servers/PublicTimeServer000162

Hey Rob,

You cannot enter an NTP server with a 209 first octet.  Try it, it will only take a minute.  It's a real bug, not just my imagination.

Oh yeah, 2N3055 reported that. 

Here's another NTP server list that could be of use to those in the US:
https://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi

[mawyatt]

Many thanks, all. Tautech (is it Rob? I think?), thanks for the specific menu path to follow - I kept looking for something that would let me see or set the IP address, but apparently in all the wrong places. And also for the information that the vonets will be invisible in bridge mode. I have so much to learn ... !

Rob is the "Valued Added" benefit for all Siglent instruments here, few folks appreciate this until they own Siglent gear, then find his value. A few like to bash him for his Siglent alliance, those usually don't own Siglent gear, less knowledgable, and/or jealous

BTW Rob pointed us on how to acquire the IP address for the NTP time server (nice feature), and has helped with numerous questions and recommendations.

New folks should follow tautech, rf-loop and Performa01, realizing they represent Siglent, however provide an enormous TE technical resource for those "willing to listen and understand"  

Best,

Thank you Mike and I would recommend 2N3055 be added to this list.

We just do what we can......

Agree, my bad and oversight!!

Done!!

Best,

[mawyatt]

Complete success at last. I tried switching to the nist server in Maryland at 129.6.15.28 ... and now the time zones work correctly. Yay!

(All the time zones - before changing to the server above, I tried setting other time zones across the Americas ... and every time zone I chose was off by 3 hours.)

Also use the Maryland NIST site, they have a few IP addresses available.

Best,

[BillyO]

Oh yeah, 2N3055 reported that. 

LOL!  I reported that to you a month ago in an email!

[TomKatt]

Apologies if this has been discussed already, but I searched the forums and could not find an answer...  Didn't see a need to create a new thread for this question.

Looking at the specs, it appears that the 200Mhz SDS824X HD model might have different hardware - it has more memory (100Mpts vs 70Mpts) and also faster updates (120K wfm/s vs 80K wfm/s).  Or are those specs also software limited and the keygen licenses enable faster operation in addition to adding bandwidth?  Meaning that the SDS804X is capable of faster updates if 'updated' to an SDS824X ?

[newbrain]

the 200Mhz SDS824X HD model might have different hardware - it has more memory (100Mpts vs 70Mpts) and also faster updates (120K wfm/s vs 80K wfm/s).

The 70 and 100 MHz models have 50 Mpts, (not 70), and the 200 MHz one 100 Mpts, all to be shared among the active channels.
When the bandwidth is 'liberated' you'll get also the extra memory.
IIRC, that goes also for the wfm/s.

Briefly, the hardware is exactly the same.

[TomKatt]

Ah yes - my bad.  I mixed up the BW and the memory.

But good to know that a simple license code gets you so much improvement.  My 804X is scheduled to arrive tomorrow 

[eTobey]

... how to acquire the IP address for the NTP time server (nice feature)...

What is so nice about this feature?

[mawyatt]

... how to acquire the IP address for the NTP time server (nice feature)...

What is so nice about this feature?

Have accurate NIST time stamp on this low cost DSO

Best,

[awakephd]

Ah yes - my bad.  I mixed up the BW and the memory.

But good to know that a simple license code gets you so much improvement.  My 804X is scheduled to arrive tomorrow 

I am still in the learning curve, both for DSOs in general and this scope in particular - but so far, I am very much liking this scope. And the community here has been fabulous in helping me to understand and set it up.

[TomKatt]

Does the SDS800X HD series offer a datalogging feature like the SDS1000X-E does?  I looked through the manual but did not see any reference to datalogging abilities. 

I thought perhaps the improved accuracy and increased memory might benefit this, but now I'm wondering if the new HD models include data logging at all...  That would be a shame, as the datalogger worked pretty well - especially if you don't have a DMM with some kind of interface.

Numerous test and measurement applications require data acquisition over a long time duration. Instead of milliseconds of measurement time, you may need tens of
minutes or even hours of data. Normally, a data acquisition system is used for this type of application. But this may require developing software and troubleshooting
code. SIGLENT has added a data logging mode to the four-channel SDS1000X-E oscilloscope series that makes it easier than ever to collect long-time duration data. The SIGLENT Data Logger continuously records original sampling points and measurement values.

EDIT - Does Siglent monitor any kind of user feedback portal or similar to gather 'wishlist' features like this?

[KungFuJosh]

You could add a definition to HKJ's TestController software to do some datalogging that way. It already has some Siglent scopes defined, so you would only need to edit one of those to spec and add it with the correct model name.

[TomKatt]

You could add a definition to HKJ's TestController software to do some datalogging that way. It already has some Siglent scopes defined, so you would only need to edit one of those to spec and add it with the correct model name.

The datalogger feature worked great for standalone applications, so it would be nice if Siglent carried that over to the new models.  But I will certainly keep your suggestion in mind - I'm guessing that I'd need to get the scope on a network for this to work?

[eTobey]

What is so nice about this feature?

Have accurate NIST time stamp on this low cost DSO

Best,

What use case could this be useful?

I would have been happy with an inaccurate time stamp, without having it to connect to a LAN.

[ebastler]

I would have been happy with an inaccurate time stamp, without having it to connect to a LAN.

A battery and RTC add extra cost to the BOM, while the LAN is built in anyway and hence NTP time comes for free. It's a very good tradeoff for an entry-level scope in my opinion. (All the larger Siglent scopes have the battery-buffered RTC to my knowledge.) I don't think a quest for ultimate accuray was involved...

My scope is connected to the network anyway, for remote control, screenshots and file transfer. I wish Siglent had added support for a WiFi dongle to the firmware, especially given the fact that there is an extra USB host port on the back. If I could get a feature wish granted, I'd much prefer WiFi support over a hardware RTC. (Hint to Siglent: WiFi support does not add BOM cost either! )

[KungFuJosh]

You could add a definition to HKJ's TestController software to do some datalogging that way. It already has some Siglent scopes defined, so you would only need to edit one of those to spec and add it with the correct model name.

The datalogger feature worked great for standalone applications, so it would be nice if Siglent carried that over to the new models.  But I will certainly keep your suggestion in mind - I'm guessing that I'd need to get the scope on a network for this to work?

Who knows, they might eventually. The product is super new, so I would guess they'll hold off on extras like that until at least after the new scope bugs are settled.

TestController is probably better, but I'm basing that on my experience comparing TC to EasyDMM. TC can work with scripting, and has all sorts of customizations.

I'd much prefer WiFi support over a hardware RTC. (Hint to Siglent: WiFi support does not add BOM cost either! )

There's a chance they'll add that support. Rob is certainly going to harass them a bit until they do. 😉