Siglent SSA3000X and SSA3000X-Plus Spectrum Analyzers

[rf-loop]

It looks like Siglent internal frequency reference looks stabile and accurate. (after warm up and stabilizing time)
For more accurate watching about drift,  I have used here 2GHz where of course 2Hz is 0.001ppm.  (1ppb)
(also in same time looked how it survive with quite low level signal. Also 20Hz AM modulation in signal is with some reason but it is not related to this)

Specs say initial error in freq is under 0.5ppm.  (in my unit error was nearly -0.1ppm)

[PartialDischarge]

Thanks rf-loop for all those tests....
Am I the only one who thinks this SA looks like a really good deal?? 

[cio74]

Yes indeed, thanks for testing and sharing the screenshots, looking to get one for myself, should be more than enough for ham radio hobby projects.

[nctnico]

Thanks rf-loop for all those tests....
Am I the only one who thinks this SA looks like a really good deal?? 

Yes, I think you are the only one  . I'm still waiting for Signalpath's review to see if it is still a bugfest or not and whether it can be hacked.

[EEVblog]

I have one 

[tautech]

I have one 

Preliminary thoughts Dave?

[EEVblog]

Yes, I think you are the only one  . I'm still waiting for Signalpath's review to see if it is still a bugfest or not and whether it can be hacked.

I was told it can be hacked to 3GHz. If so, it's a bargain and will completely kill the Rigol.

[EEVblog]

I have one 

Preliminary thoughts Dave?

Sorry, have done literally nothing with it apart from turn it on for the photo.
But from that, great big screen, heavy, fan a bit annoying, and cheapish look'n'feel on the plastic case.

[EEVblog]

Hack thread is here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hack-of-sigllent-spectrum-analyzer-ssa3021x/

And specific post here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-ssa3000x-spectrum-analyzers/msg938261/#msg938261

[EEVblog]

Dave Jones has this big red "FAIL" button on the shelf behind his desk, which makes this "big fail" sound when you press it. That's the very same button which I like to press now at this very moment of writing.

Well Shahriar it was always going to be after the unprofessional display Dave gave with his review of the SDS1000X.
He got a fail for that.

Ok, I'll bite, what was wrong with it?

[nctnico]

Yes, I think you are the only one  . I'm still waiting for Signalpath's review to see if it is still a bugfest or not and whether it can be hacked.

I was told it can be hacked to 3GHz. If so, it's a bargain and will completely kill the Rigol.

Only:
IF is stays hackable
IF the advanced features are actually usefull/working and not checkbox features / pray-ware
IF it is free of bugs

Even with the SDS2000 dissaster still fresh in my mind it is mighty tempting to get one but it will take a full functional test and everything has to work before I'd decide to keep it.

BTW I really don't care if something looks cheap on the outside. All test equipment is a light to dark grey box with a display and buttons. Nowadays the Panda-look is hot to make the display look bigger.

[cio74]

I have one 

Preliminary thoughts Dave?

Sorry, have done literally nothing with it apart from turn it on for the photo.
But from that, great big screen, heavy, fan a bit annoying, and cheapish look'n'feel on the plastic case.

Do you think you got the time to do a [short] review, I'm just about to buy one to complete the RF generator acquisition.

Thanks.

[tautech]

Dave Jones has this big red "FAIL" button on the shelf behind his desk, which makes this "big fail" sound when you press it. That's the very same button which I like to press now at this very moment of writing.

Well Shahriar it was always going to be after the unprofessional display Dave gave with his review of the SDS1000X.
He got a fail for that.

Ok, I'll bite, what was wrong with it?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1000x-series-oscilloscopes/msg823502/#msg823502

I too cringed when I watched it for the first time.

Dave, you must know that your every action when reviewing new equipment is carefully scrutinised by all, some many times over, so apparent user mistakes can reflect poorly on any brand when better familiarity with the UI or the equipment's features would result in a fairer review. You've made and hurt manufacturers and that's the risk they take by sending equipment for you to review.
You're good at what you do, well organised and we know you have to edit an episode to make it watchable while not excluding the important content and of course that's why you now have one in your hands.

Like many I'll now wait for your apparent "worlds first" review and trust Siglent has presented you with an SA that you can report is worthy of consideration by buyers.

[PartialDischarge]

Only:
IF is stays hackable
IF the advanced features are actually usefull/working and not checkbox features / pray-ware
IF it is free of bugs

I count on SW bugs, but im more interested in the HW specs. The former can be fixed with time, but the latter can't. Take for example the SDG2042x, the HW is very good, capable of generating rise times of 4.5ns, and outputting 10Vpp at high frequencies, something the Rigols signal gen can't even dream of. It has however some minor SW issues which are simply unimportant details to me.
From what I've seen from rf-loop posts, the HW in the SSA3000x looks great, but I'll wait for more in-depth reviews anyway....

BTW I really don't care if something looks cheap on the outside. All test equipment is a light to dark grey box with a display and buttons. Nowadays the Panda-look is hot to make the display look bigger.

Agreed

[nctnico]

Only:
IF is stays hackable
IF the advanced features are actually usefull/working and not checkbox features / pray-ware
IF it is free of bugs

I count on SW bugs, but im more interested in the HW specs. The former can be fixed with time, but the latter can't.

True but how much time does Siglent need to get the firmware to an acceptable level if they aren't there yet? Their software team working on their oscilloscopes is horribly slow; you can count progress in years. OTOH a spectrum analyser is far less complicated from a software point of view so it shouldn't take too long to come up decent firmware but seeing is believing. As a general rule of thumb you have to make sure you can live with the device as it is out of the box with the most recent firmware and not wait for the firmware to mature because that may never happen within a reasonable timeframe.

[PartialDischarge]

Sorry, have done literally nothing with it apart from turn it on for the photo.
But from that, great big screen, heavy, fan a bit annoying, and cheapish look'n'feel on the plastic case.

Heavy is good, heavy is reliable 
Oops, was supposed to start at 1:05

[TheSteve]

Yes, I think you are the only one  . I'm still waiting for Signalpath's review to see if it is still a bugfest or not and whether it can be hacked.

I was told it can be hacked to 3GHz. If so, it's a bargain and will completely kill the Rigol.

I assume they sent you the 3 GHz model, if not will you be demo'ing the hack for us?

[rf-loop]

Not checkbox feature but TG.

Looked RLC Electronics 1.8-2GHz band pass filter.
Limit is dynamic range.  Most narrow  RBW is 30kHz when TG in use.
Sweep time is with this RBW and span quite long, naturally.
If use 1G RBW it do same with 192ms. But bottom (noise) level rise so it reduce useable  level range.
Also in sweep mode sweep speed can adjust and if go too fast result is "Uncal".
80-90dB is not so much and if need more it is game over and then need different tools.
But imho it is well enough still for many purposes.

Image colors... this is my fault.. (original reason was that I forget inverse save mode in SA settings on and it is not same as negative and then I adjust it but data is there so I do not use more time for cosmetics.

[nctnico]

30kHz RBW versus a couple of GHz is close to irrelevant . If the frequency response of a filter operating in the GHz area has a 1% accuracy you are already talking about a range of tens of MHz in which the filter meets it's specifications so even a much wider RBW would yield accurate results.

edit: written more clearly

[rf-loop]

30kHz RBW versus a couple of GHz is close to irrelevant . If the frequency response of a filter operating in the GHz area has a 1% accuracy you are already talking about a range of tens of MHz in which the filter meets it's specifications so even a much wider RBW would yield accurate results.

edit: written more clearly

Of course. But....

Do you know what happend when we reduce spectrum analyzer RBW bandwidth. RBW is irrelevant...omg... 

Perhaps it need tell that filter stop band may be also interesting.
Of course, this can also  bend  using a iron wire. But I try first with this image.
Here attached image is exactly same test setup and same normalize. Whan was changed, RBW from 30kHz to 3000kHz.

[nctnico]

  I see I forgot about the noise floor if you also want to check the maximum attenuation of the filter.

[EEVblog]

Dave Jones has this big red "FAIL" button on the shelf behind his desk, which makes this "big fail" sound when you press it. That's the very same button which I like to press now at this very moment of writing.

Well Shahriar it was always going to be after the unprofessional display Dave gave with his review of the SDS1000X.
He got a fail for that.

Ok, I'll bite, what was wrong with it?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1000x-series-oscilloscopes/msg823502/#msg823502

I too cringed when I watched it for the first time.

It was a quick "first impressions" review. I did not extensively test it, it was me basically playing around with it for the first time.
With that in mind, what was wrong with it?

You're good at what you do, well organised and we know you have to edit an episode to make it watchable while not excluding the important content and of course that's why you now have one in your hands.

I have one in my hand because the local dealer lent me their demo unit as soon as they got it. It did not come from Siglent to me.

[tautech]

Dave Jones has this big red "FAIL" button on the shelf behind his desk, which makes this "big fail" sound when you press it. That's the very same button which I like to press now at this very moment of writing.

Well Shahriar it was always going to be after the unprofessional display Dave gave with his review of the SDS1000X.
He got a fail for that.

Ok, I'll bite, what was wrong with it?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1000x-series-oscilloscopes/msg823502/#msg823502

I too cringed when I watched it for the first time.

It was a quick "first impressions" review. I did not extensively test it, it was me basically playing around with it for the first time.
With that in mind, what was wrong with it?

What can I say that won't be taken the wrong way other than you looked like a newbie operating his new toy, aimlessly twiddling this and that however if that's done to demonstrate the responsiveness of the UI and resistance to simple lockups......well done, I've overlooked that.
Hey, it's your show and I certainly couldn't do better so rather than send this thread more OT .......

I have one in my hand because the local dealer lent me their demo unit as soon as they got it. It did not come from Siglent to me.

Thanks to Charles then.

[nctnico]

IMHO it is difficult to tell what makes a good review. From a technical buyers perspective I'd like to see a full functional test (especially when it comes to Chinese equipment) so at least I can see it works and how easy it is to operate. However such a video would be boooring    where was I... oh reviews... All in all I think Dave has to make a tradeoff between showing all the ins & out versus a cursory look to show a device exists and what the pros & cons are when compared to similar products.

[TheSteve]

Dave functions best when he follows his own motto - "Don't turn it on, take it apart". I find the internal shots and details of the electronic equipment a thousand times more interesting then seeing a basic functional review. It is also generally easier to find someone who shows off the user interface and functions versus seeing what makes a device tick internally as many people are afraid to take stuff apart.

So Dave, don't turn it on(we'll leave that to Shahriar), take it apart!