Is Rigol DS1054Z still a good entry level DSO to have in 2022? Need advice... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: GeorgeLouis
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 09:14:45 am
content: Planning to buy an entry level DSO and viewed videos of Rigol DS1054Z in EEVBlog youtube channel. Currently in a cross road where I cannot decide to go in the path of Rigol DS1054Z 4CH DSO or Rigol DS1202Z-E 2CH DSO. Unfortunately Siglent SDS1104X-E seems to be bit expensive for me (in India). Below are reasons for buying DSO and need an advice to go with 4CH 50 MHz (Rigol DS1054Z) or 200 MHz 2 CH (Rigol DS1202Z-E)1. My plan is to relearn the Analog Electronic circuits with the help DSO.a. Basic to Advanced Oscillator & Amplifier circuit design (VCO, Collipit Oscillator etc, tinkering with OP-AMP's configurations etc)b. Basic power supply design (Linear LM317, LM337 Based as well as SMPS's, buck boost converters Viper22a etc)c. AM & FM circuits basics (If possible other digital communications like PCM, PSK etc)d. Thyristor based circuits (AC light bulb dimmer circuit etc), Motor controller design ESC(a bit of digital electronics too), H-Bridge etc.e. Some high voltage stuff like Tesla coil design.2. For digital signal part I have a Chinese cheap logic analyzer which serves me till now. So NOT planning to go with a DSO which have Logic Analyzer in it.a. Occasionally program Microcontroller but never used DSO to analyze any part of it.b. So not sure how DSO become handy in the case of Digital Electronics, please point any use of DSO below for Digital electronics part.3. Also planning to get deep in to the design of SMPS later. (One book suggested you need at least 100MHz DSO, but number of channels are not specified)Above mentioned are purposes for which the DSO which I plan to buy will be utilized. Need help and advice with below confusions1. Do I need a DSO with higher bandwidth for learning analog electronic stuff mentioned above.2. Is having a 4CH DSO is better for my learning plan. Do I get more clarity in the learning by using 4CH DSO to measure multiple point in the circuit than going with a 2CH DSO ?3. Rigol only provide 4CH 50 MHz and 200MHz 2CH DSO in my 'Budget Range' and cannot go with Siglent as it is bit expensive for my buget.4. From EEVBlog youtube channel came to know about Rigol DS1054Z hack to 100MHz So can I forget about Rigol DS1202Z-E 200MHz 2CH DSO option by rigol.5. More over for Rigol DS1054Z the current seller I am planning to contact is providing all paid options FREE for limited time( memory depth options, serial bus decode etc...). This optional offer is not given for the Rigol DS1202Z-E.Good suggestions and advice are needed. I am confused by watching too much DSO review videos, reading PDF on how to choose a good DSO, but still cannot settle on one DSO for my learning plan and requirement. My budget range is is b/w $500 - $600 ( Maximum Budget: Rs45,000 in Indian Rupee).Hope my above requirement give you guys clear idea what I am up to so that you people could point me in the right directions.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 10:30:00 am
content: What is the difference in price between them in India?I'd get 4 channels and unlock it to 100MHz.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 10:41:32 am
content: Try to get the GW Instek GDS-1054B. It has a faster platform compared to the DS1054Z and can be hacked to 100MHz as well. Price depends on region though.

author: T_guttata
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 11:50:05 am
content: On the rigol you can save a print screen with one press. What I'm missing though is the same possibility to save the raw data (CSV). Don't know if the GW Instek is better in this regard?Otherwise I'm ok with the Rigol DS1054Z. I unlocked it to 100 Mhz and have used it for display of transients in the range of microseconds.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 11:50:26 am
content: Quote from: GeorgeLouis on January 24, 2022, 09:14:45 amWelcome to the forum.Is SDS1104X-U available to you in India ?They do have lesser specs than 1104X-E however measure up pretty well against the other DSO's you're looking at.Comparison chart attached.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 12:01:31 pm
content: Quote from: T_guttata on January 24, 2022, 11:50:05 amThe Rigol can save CSV but it's very slow. It's much faster to grab the data with a network cable and save it as CSV on the PC. You can use Sigrok for this.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 12:19:32 pm
content: Yes CSV files can be massive and BIN format is much faster to save and then convert on PC with the free convertor embedded into the OS in Siglent DSO's. One click downloads it to PC and another installs it as ready to use.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 12:36:54 pm
content: Quote from: tautech on January 24, 2022, 12:19:32 pmEven on the 'U' version?

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 12:50:32 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on January 24, 2022, 12:36:54 pmYes.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 01:47:49 pm
content: Quote from: T_guttata on January 24, 2022, 11:50:05 amGW Instek can save raw data to CSV; it has a fast mode as well to speed up the process.

author: GeorgeLouis
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 03:00:11 pm
content: Thanks to all for your replies.Siglent SDS1104X-U is available in India. When contacted Siglent sales office they help me to get in touch with Indian authorized dealers. Unfortunately Indian dealers are saying Rs.47,000 INR Plus 18% GST for SDS1104X-E which crosses Rs55,000 INR while I can get the same DSO on Amazon for around Rs.52,000 INR. Same deal goes for SDS1104X-U. Siglent SDS1104X-U doesn't have dual 1GSa/Sec as for the SDS1104X-E (which is why I was interested at first) and don't think SDS1104X-U have those feature. Compared to that Rigol DS1054Z is affordable and recommended by majority of people.Guys for the Rigol DS1054Z current seller offer all the premium features unlocked for free, will include a screenshot from the website. So I think the only part that needed to be hacked is the Bandwidth. See below imgur link (find bit difficult to attach img in this forum).https://imgur.com/a/pSANvBzSo my final decision is to go with Rigol DS1054Z 4CH 50 MHz DSO which comes with all features unlocked by the OEM expect I need to hack it for the 100MHz bandwidth. Thanks to all for helping me to conclude to a final decision.If possible can you guys give bit more explanations (Technical explanations) why majority of people prefer 4CH 50MHz DSO over 2CH 200 MHz one

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 03:28:40 pm
content: Quote from: GeorgeLouis on January 24, 2022, 03:00:11 pmWe don't prefer 50Mhz, we all unlock it to 100MHz.MHz is diminishing returns, 200MHz is only slightly more useful than 100MHz.4CH ismuchmore useful than 2CH.

author: T_guttata
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 05:50:44 pm
content: Be aware, that the rigol has a noisy fan (which I will replace as soon as wareanty ends).

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 07:08:36 pm
content: Quote from: T_guttata on January 24, 2022, 05:50:44 pmNo noisier than any other brand.Looking back I wish I'd replaced my fan a lot sooner. It's really easy to do. If your Rigol has been running for a few months then itveryunlikely to die.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-799-how-to-remove-warranty-void-security-stickers/nb. If you remove the sticker, don't put it back on afterwards. Keep it somewhere safe on a piece of waxy sticker paper.You can even buy a $2 roll of stickers from Aliexpress to practice with first.https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=warranty+void+stickers

author: kcbrown
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2022, 08:12:28 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on January 24, 2022, 10:41:32 amIt can??Last I saw, as I recall, people who tried it got at most 75 MHz bandwidth (i.e., the -3 dB point) out of it. An improvement, to be sure, but not 100 MHz.

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 25, 2022, 09:29:33 am
content: The Rigol DS1054Z should be fine. Everyone unlocks them fully and it's completely reversible.The fan isn't the source of most of the noise it's the actual airflow, I've not touched mine but it's trivial to replace it or modify it. For the attention it's received it seems that most have not investigated the actual acoustics and just gone for a lower airflow fan. Which is probably fine if you are working in a climate controlled room. In the world of test equipment it's by no means loud.As for reliability and robustness it's looking like it's holding up really well over many years. This model has probably the largest community support and 3rd party tool collaboration in the history of oscilloscopes. Rigol is still manufacturing and supporting the previous model so looks like it will be around a long time.Many people have managed to get by with oscilloscopes that are several decades older than this current generation of models so it's unlikely they will become instantly superseded. If you use the oscilloscope to it's full potential it's well worth the cost of entry and even if you discover you need to make a considerable investment in the future it's likely to be an easy model to sell due to their popularity, but most people would keep it anyway.These screenshots give you an idea why 4 channel oscilloscopes are useful, as soon as you start doing advanced troubleshooting especially in the "digital domain" or use your oscilloscope for differential measurements, you start to run out of channels fast. A 4 channel oscilloscope aside from some bandwidth and memory limitations can be more powerful than two 2 channel oscilloscopes. Don't forget also in that price you are getting an extra 2 150MHz probes included. They are about $70 alone as accessories.