After using that 64Xi for almost 6 months now as basically my main scope I have to admit, I like it! Really, for a general purpose scope I like it a lot!
Wait! What?
I thought this thing was a piece of crap, that you hated with a passion?
I remember you going on and on about how pathetically poor it was.
To Joe's defense the WR(M)Xi
is a particular bad scope, at least in terms of the overall build quality (the actual performance/specs is top-notch, though). Mine didn't lose knobs but when I opened it for the first time I was pretty shocked how poor the overall build quality was, especially considering that this was a pretty expensive (lower) high end scope. I've never seen anything so shoddy from Agilent or any other big brand.
The thing with LeCroy is that they generally out-source the simpler parts of the design (i.e. chassis) to a manufacturing partner and focus on their core strength (the scope stuff, i.e. acquisition, front end and software), and unfortunately this particular Malaysian manufacturing partner (I couldn't find out its name yet) did a pretty poor job designing the chassis, and did an even worse job manufacturing it. Later WR(M)Xi models (IIRC end of 2007) where produced in the US and as far as I know resulted in a better build quality, although even those suffered from design flaws like delaminating screen protectors and broken carrying handles, or cracks in the plastics shell.
Having said that (and I guess it won't be long until the trolls arrive to call me names), it's a great scope if the particular scope had its connector problem and screen delamination fixed and is mostly sitting on a bench, as it's really a very advanced and capable instrument, even when compared with current high end scopes. There are tons of options available for it including serial decode for a large range of common and obscure protocols as well as a Spectrum Analyzer option (which turns it into a VSA), and all WRXi can be upgraded to MSO (WRMXi). Plus there are lots of probes available often at cheap prices.
No air pockets, the protective sheet just becomes comes loose and eventually falls off. It's a common problem with the particular touch panel used in the WRXi (it does not affect the WM or other LeCroy scopes, or the successor WRXi-A).
Wow!! That would be real bad but expected after the knobs fell off.
Indeed, but it was fixed pretty quickly (you mentioned your scope has been repaired before, maybe they also replaced the screen), and not every unit was affected anyways.
I mention cold start for a reason. Until it warms up, seems you really want that auto cal on, and after it warms up, it's not a problem as it does not autocal very often.
If I disable autocal under preferences, turn the DSO off, the next time it is turned on, autocal is enabled. If the DSO is in auto trigger at the time it was turned off, it will run an autocal as soon as it boots. If you then disable autocal, it will cal for each of the input range selections and or after several minutes after it has warmed up. Expected.
If it was in normal trigger when turned off, it will not run an auto cal on the next power up (assuming no input signal). If normal trigger selected and it is powered up from cold, and then the autocal is turned off (so it has not yet ran a calibration), then let the system sit for 20 minutes. So the units exhaust on right fan, center measures 43.3 with an ambient temperature (also starting temp) of 24.7. At this time, no calibrations have been performed. That is what I would consider a big temperature swing.
More interesting, I then apply a signal for the first time from power up. I would fully expect the system to run it's first cal. But it does not! It just runs along fine with no cal!! Do you think the results are within spec with a 20 deg change in temp??
Now enable auto cal. Again, still no calibration is performed. DSO has been on now for almost 35 minutes! The exhaust temp is now 48.4 degrees!
Now let's trigger it. Bang, there's the cal. Very strange. Give it a try on your WP.
I'll do as soon as I get a chance (which considering current workloads might take a while).
BTW: my WRXi is now going to LeCroy for repair (I'm just sending in the Front End module and the acquisition board). We'll see how it goes.