Thinking of getting my first 'real' scope, is the Rigol DHO804 still buggy? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Gazz_292
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 02, 2025, 11:22:57 pm
content: I only play with electronics as one of my many different ADHD hobbies, and when i am at the electronics bench i am mostly playing with arduino's, ESP32's etc.Now i don't really need a scope, i have one of those little toy DHO shell, single channel 200Khz scopes that i made from a kit years ago, but when i do use it i am finding it's far too limited.So looking to spend around £400 or so to get my first proper scope,i've seen that the Rigol DHO800 and Siglent SDS800 series of 12 bit scopes seem to be a lot of scope for the money, especially as you can pretty easily make a lower bandwidth scope into the top end one (is that still the case today?)and i've learned that i must get 4 channels (i do like the idea of decoding SPI signals etc), and .... erm... yeah that's about it.There's so much info on the threads i am getting confused with it all, so apologies for asking yet another 'which scope should i get' question.I came to the conclusion that the siglent is recommended over the rigol because siglent are faster at fixing bugs... but as the rigol runs android some people have produced custom software that fixes most of the more annoying bugs.I only have a small space on my bench for a scope, and the smaller form factor of the rigol is appealing, especially as the place a scope will go is against a wall, so the vesa mount would come in very handy, likely i'd get a small wall mounted vesa mount arm for it.That the rigol runs android is also a plus point for me, as i've seen you can sideload android apps to it,Because to make room for a scope i'd have to get rid of the android tablet i have mounted on the wall right now, i use that mostly to run the 'electrodroid pro' app for component pinouts, electronics calculators etc,And then i sometimes run a Home Assistant dashboard to control a few things when sat at the bench, as currently that's what i am playing with when doing an ESP32 project.But are those enough reasons to choose the rigol over the siglent? and are there newer scopes to consider or about to be released?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2025, 11:56:50 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/choosing-between-entry-level-12-bit-dsos/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/owon-12and-14-bit-scopes-vs-new-rigol-and-siglent-lines/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/considering-a-new-rigol-dho924-vs-siglent-sds120x-e-model-any-bug-stoppers/

author: Gazz_292
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 05:24:15 pm
content: ok... i kind of hoped for a :'i've had both, and the way siglent is better'Or :'i've got the rigol, and most of the bugs have been fixed now, and they won't affect a beginner anyway'so basically it's :feck off and read through 43 pages of posts about which is better, the last post being 7 months old (excluding one last post saying 'i wish i'd seen this back in march) And half the posts look to come from fanbois who'd buy one brand even if it litterally had dogshit inside the case.then a page mentioning a 14 bit scope, with the last post being over a year ago.then 6 pages about bugs.... which i haven't got a clue if they are ones that would stop me learning how to use a proper scope, or would just affect someone doing advanced stuff, and the last post is 5 months ago.Maybe i'm best sticking with my little toy scope.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 05:41:01 pm
content: Yeah, technical answers can get complicated.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 05:55:20 pm
content: Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 03, 2025, 05:24:15 pmGo to any AI engine and ask it to make you a summary of what the thread says.Never looks good when, at the 2nd post, you are already complaining for not having your plate served hot...

author: metrologist
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 06:21:26 pm
content: In a professional setting, on the Adobe forums specifically, an expert consultant in the field states that, sure, he can tell you the answer, but he spent years of study, research, and trial and error to figure out that answer and he's not just going to give it away for free, so if you want his assistance, you can pay for it, or put in the work to figure it out for yourself.I'd probably buy a 4 channel if I had confidence in performing a hack to increase the bandwidth and a few features.

author: SP3TA
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 06:51:00 pm
content: Hello Gazz,I own both of these - Siglent SDS814 (unlocked to 200 MHz) and Rigol DHO804 (with @norbert.kiszka paid SW installed - BW ~295MHz, unofficial AWG board to be fitted in the future).However, I'm far from revealing all technical problems with these as more often I use them for single-channel VHF/UHF work.FWIW, buy Siglent if you want to have bode plots with non-Siggy AWG (viahttps://github.com/hb020/sds1004x_bode), 2GSps and nice Lecroy-like interface.Buy Rigol, if you want to have a HDMI external display output, third party firmware and superb portablity (size and 15V/3A USB-C power).

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 07:18:47 pm
content: As I have reported, the Rigol DHO914S has a working generator (AWG) integrated into the package, but the firmware for Bode plot is not accurate.I have no personal experience with the Siglent discussed above, which needs an external AWG connected to the DSO, but the reports sound good for Bode plot.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 08:47:01 pm
content: Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 03, 2025, 05:24:15 pmNothing major has changed in the past 7 months, other than release of MHO900 which is above your budget.Simply reading the first page would have given you a good overall idea.QuoteIts not going to stop you learning, no.

author: Smepic
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2025, 09:42:32 pm
content: I've the Rigol DHO804 and still has some bugs.UltraAcquire mode it's quite broken. Almost every time I use it, at some point stop working properly (shows only some frames or nothing). Although it's unhelpful, you only use it to show off and you end up forgetting about it. So it's not a big deal.It's most annoying for me the SPI decoding/zoom bug(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/rigol-dho800900-oscilloscope-bug-reports-firmware/msg5836471/#msg5836471). Since the scope only decode what is on the screen, you need to use the zoom function to see details in any "long" communications (most of them).Also has some "meh" details. Zoom mode it's only horizontal. You can decode protocols and show decoding tables, that it's nice, but you can't touch that row and go to that event. Search function is very limited, only have 2 types, by Edge or Pulse Width.Of course, in general is a decent scope, the basic functions of traditional scope works fine. Its UI it's fast for normal task and < 1Mpts, altought if you use full memory and/or advanced things like XY mode or math channels the scope get heavy and will take several tenths of a second or even seconds to respond. In addition, has HDMI (mirror screen) and remote control via web works very well and fast.Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 02, 2025, 11:22:57 pmMaybe if VESA mounting and Android is important to you. If I had to buy another entry oscilloscope today, I'd still be undecided, even knowing the bugs of the Rigol and that Siglent has better sampling rate, more memory and it's more bug free. Because i ended up using HDMI quite a bit, and Siglent lacks it.There are other options: Owon ADS8x4A or Uni-t UPO1x54HD. They are very similar to Rigol HDO8x4 series. Are slim, 12bit, USB C powered, VESA, and HDMI. But no reviews and there is no one in the forum who has one. That means no hacking and unknown bug state.

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 01:07:14 am
content: The right answer to the original query is definitely the Siglent SDS804X HD.An alternative is to try to find an older/used scope for cheap to at least get you beyond the toy level. Then some time later when you really have a need for something specific you can buy with more confidence.

author: Gazz_292
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 05:43:49 am
content: Quote from: tv84 on October 03, 2025, 05:55:20 pmsorry, i was a bit annoyed with myself at a few things... one being i had lost access to my old account on here, my own fault as i deliberately let the domain registration for an email address i'd had for decades run out, as i was fed up with a stalker ex constantly finding ways around filters i tried to use (she can't stalk me if that email and username does not exist anymore),But i forgot to change my email on a few forums, and as i hadn't posted on here for a while on here, at first i thought the account was deleted for non use, then i realised it was my own doing and had to set up a new account.The AI thing is actually a good idea, i just paid for another month of Claude Ai to help with my lack of coding skills, i keep forgetting it can be used for other things.I didn't want someone to give me all the answers... i am reading through the posts, just there's so many of them it gets a little overwhelming, and if i try to skip pages i lose track of things,So i was sort of after a 'xxx is crap, yyy is better, but have you considered zzz' from someone who has read and likely contributed to those posts.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 08:39:17 am
content: Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 03, 2025, 05:24:15 pmThat's because there's no clear answer.Either will blow you away compared to your toy 'scope.If you like the idea of Android and a VESA arm then the choice seems clear."Is it buggy"? Not really.The Siglent has a bugs thread, too...https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/sds800x-hd-bug-reports-firmware/

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 10:30:14 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 04, 2025, 08:39:17 amYou have to push it ..To OP:Yes Rigol is still buggy. There are some big bugs that were fixed so it is mostly functional. Many bugs persist. Will those bother you depends what you do. It might as well serve you for your purpose if you don't use this and that. This permanent policy of half finishing products is Rigol corporate standard. You check the product at what it state is in now and if it is Ok for you you can buy it. Don't expect they will fix or improve anything. They might, but probably won't.And yes, there is a bug thread for Siglent sds800xHD. That served for fixing bugs quickly. It had many FW releases since release. There are no known fuctional bugs. Many people abuse bug thread to ask for "musical wishes" where they would like to change how scope works, not because something doesn't work.They also released many improvements since release, like better FFT..If you need simple scope for simple things and don't mind "niggles" that occasionally something will bug out, DHO800 is cheap scope that will do that job. It has good analog front end and decent ADC, and as replacement for CRT scope or "toy scope" it will be good fit. It is small, has monitor out, external PSU and some of those things might be of use to you..If you want entry level professional grade instrument for little money, SDS800xHD is it.

author: egonotto
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 11:26:31 am
content: Hello,In my opinion, you can also use the DHO if you essentially want to use it like a tube device.However, if you want to analyze the data, perhaps even on a PC, then the SDS800 is much better.The SDS800 can save the waveforms in Matlab format, which can then be easily processed further.The DHO800 can handle segmented memory, but if it is not significantly better than the DHO1074, you can only use it for segments that are several ms apart, otherwise there will be gaps. It also doesn't help that the DHO800 probably has more memory for segmented memory, but you can't save it.Best regards,egonotto

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 01:07:24 pm
content: Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 03, 2025, 05:24:15 pmWe have both the Rigol DHO814 and Siglent SDS814 HD and prefer the Siglent, our other 2 DSOs are Siglent so this influences our use case and preference.The Rigol is an excellententry levelDSO with good value, however the Siglent is a higher general performance and refined DSO IMO. Having a long career of electronics R&D and IC design well over 1/2 century, we've used an extensive list of TE, and have a good understating of what's involved in developing and producing something as complex as theseentry levelDSOs. Both Rigol and Siglent should be applauded for creating such a wonderful pair of affordableentry levelDSOs, every time we use one of these DSOs (mostly SDS814 HD) it brings a smile.....how can an instrument this affordable be this goodBest

author: Macguiwer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 03:17:00 pm
content: It took me almost 15 days to read the 161 pages of DHO800/900 to decide which oscilloscope to buy. I think it will take me months to make a decision.You are not alone.

author: Gazz_292
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 03:57:17 pm
content: Quote from: egonotto on October 04, 2025, 11:26:31 amThat's the kind of thing i want to hear, thankyou... i play mostly with microcontrollers (arduino's, STM32's, ESP32's etc) and i have a feeling digital things may be more what i will end up doing.one of the things i want to do is try and figure out how to use an 1990's LCD from a German bus (bus as in, ding ding, tickets please 🚌, not an electrical bus) it's a weird LCD that is 2 lines for about 7/8 of the display, but right at the end is a single segment that spans the 2 lines, and is used to display the running time, i.e. early or late,It's not any of the typical LCD standards that arduino's have libraries for, and afaik no one in the bus driving simulator 'geekdom' has figured it out yet, they just remove the original and put in a 2 line LCD that uses the typical HD44780 'signals'As i have the device with the weird LCD in it, and it's functional, i thought i'd try to capture it's data being sent to the LCD, as it uses the 4 bit method... so 4 oscilloscope channels 'should' read it,And as it's unlikely to be SPI, can or lin bus etc, i will need to capture and save some of the data to analyse.I know this should really be done with a logic analyser on the laptop, but if i can convince myself i can do this with a scope then that's another reason i 'need' oneAnd at least the siglents have the logic analyser option for the cheaper scopes as an external device.. i've seen people adding the components and cutting a hole in the case of a DHO800 to turn it into a DHO900 with the built in logic analyser, but that's a little more than i want to go.

author: egonotto
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2025, 06:42:19 pm
content: Hello,Then segmented mode could be usefulif the data is sent in blocks to make better use of memory.Presumably, the DHO800 has more memory in segmented mode than the SDS800 (this would still need to be checked), but my DHO1074 already has gaps at a segment interval of 5 ms. And I can't save the segments.I think the SDS800 is better in this respect. According to the SCPI manual for the SDS800, all segments can be transferred to a PC using an SCPI program.Best regards,egonotto

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2025, 12:05:36 am
content: What about a used Digilent Analog Discovery 2? it covers a lot of instruments if your requirements aren't too steep. You will need accessories for the various functions. You have to be OK with using your computer to run it.https://digilent.com/shop/analog-discovery-2-100ms-s-usb-oscilloscope-logic-analyzer-and-variable-power-supply/Also, I checked out Eleshop.eu and see there are quite a few benchtop 2-channel scopes from Owon, Hantek and Uni-T in the €200-range that might be an interesting discussion. This would be a continuation of my previous thought of getting something cheap for the time being.One thing about budgets is that sometimes they are self-imposed where you just pick a number and sometimes they are out of a real need to keep food on the table.Regardless, I think there are other items you may want for your bench in the near future. So maybe the decision is more complex.

author: rpro
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2025, 12:37:36 am
content: Quote from: egonotto on October 04, 2025, 06:42:19 pmNot that I’d ever buy another Rigol until they get their act together with respect to software, but for what it’s worth, you can get every recorded segment (frame) from the DHO via SCPI. Here is a minimalist sample script:Code:import pyvisa, numpy as npimport matplotlib.pyplot as pltr = pyvisa.ResourceManager().open_resource("TCPIP0::192.168.0.10::INSTR")r.timeout, r.chunk_size = 20000, 2**20r.write_termination = r.read_termination = '\n'r.write(":STOP;:WAVeform:SOUR CHAN1;:WAVeform:MODE RAW;:WAVeform:FORM ASCii")pts = int(float(r.query(":WAVeform:POINts?")))r.write(f":WAVeform:STARt 1;:WAVeform:STOP {pts}")n = int(r.query(":RECord:WREPlay:FMAX?")) # number of recorded framessegs = []for i in range(1, n + 1):print(f"Working on frame {i}")r.write(f":RECord:WREPlay:FCURrent {i}")pre = [float(x) for x in r.query(":WAVeform:PREamble?").split(',')]pts = int(pre); dx, x0, xr = pre, pre, int(pre)t = x0 + (np.arange(pts) - xr) * dxy = np.fromstring(r.query(":WAVeform:DATA?"), sep=',', dtype=float, count=pts)segs.append((t, y))if i < 11:plt.plot(t,y);plt.title(f"Seg{i}");plt.show()

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 05, 2025, 04:55:12 am
content: Quote from: Gazz_292 on October 04, 2025, 03:57:17 pmYou wouldn't bother "saving" it in any format. You can just download it directly over the network.Speaking of networks, WiFi is really cheap/easy to add to the Rigol, all you need is an 8$ USB WiFi adapter and Android does the rest.

author: Macguiwer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: October 06, 2025, 11:06:28 pm
content: I just bought a DHO924S on Amazon during a Prime Day sale for 739 euros. It should arrive at my house in a day.Practically the same price as BangGod, but with the advantages of Amazon.I didn't hesitate.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2025, 11:47:27 pm
content: Quote from: Macguiwer on October 06, 2025, 11:06:28 pmBest of all, returns should be easy if you don't like it.