I want a scope....fanless ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: jemangedeslolos
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 04:00:36 pm
content: Hello,I bought two years ago a Rigol DS2202A with full options.Im happy with it. Maybe I would like 4 channels sometimes but the problem for me is the fan noise.Few years ago, I had an old Tektronix TDS2014 which was fanless and it's really a killer feature for me.I don't want to replace the fan, I want to change but....which modern oscilloscope exists today fanless or really silent ?For a maximum of 1500€ ?How much can I sell a DS2202A in your opinion?I have the invoice, original box probe...everything in perfect condition.Thank you for your help

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 04:05:29 pm
content: IIRC Hameg (now R&S) has some fanless scopes.If you don't need features like decoding then the Tektronix TBS2000 series is also worth looking at. I use one every now and then and it isn't a bad oscilloscope at all.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 04:44:35 pm
content: Does theMicsig TO1000 serieshave a fan? If not, that may be an alternative...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 05:27:37 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on April 05, 2019, 04:05:29 pmI think they stopped making them (HMO series)

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 05:30:40 pm
content: Quote from: rsjsouza on April 05, 2019, 04:44:35 pmThese have two small fans. These are temperature controlled so at room temperature the TO1000 isn't particulary noisy but you can hear it.

author: TK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 05:43:23 pm
content: The OWON scopes are fanless... and featureless as well...

author: DaJMasta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 09:11:50 pm
content: Very few modern DSOs are fanless, some certainly could be in terms of power consumption, but are built to be inexpensive so spending for the big heatsink required wasn't worth it in the design...As mentioned, though, R&S scopes are some of the quieter ones, but it's probably looking up model to model in other options. My experience has been that Siglent is a bit quieter than average than Rigol.... but honestly, my advice would be to just buy the scope with the features/price you want, then if it turns out to be loud and in otherwise good shape, crack it open and replace the fan. You can't expect noisy to no noise, but you can expect a notable reduction, so if you end up with one that's a little too noisy, it would be an easy fix.That's me, though, I don't really have an objection to sticking my hands in test equipment when I've already verified its condition. I swapped the fan and added some heatsinks to my DS4024 that was a bit loud, and it's much better now (though certainly not silent, it needs a fair bit of airflow).

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 09:37:37 pm
content: Yeah that's the thing, a modern scope with fast UI, good processing and heaps of memory and features needs to be cooled sufficiently.For the OP and I know this is lower spec than the DS2000A you have, I've just done my PD checks on one in a new shipment of SDS1202X-E and like previous shipments these units are very reasonably quiet.Not perfectly quiet, much like a modern laptop.FYI, SN# SDS1ECDC3R****Early units did have a different fan and they weren't so quiet.So if you can get by with 1/2 the sampling rate but similar mem depth, good FFT, excellent sensitivity, free Decode and a 7" display these 200 MHz 2ch Siglents @ just 339 Euro might be worth considering.The 1kX-E 4ch models and 2kX-E 2ch models are not as quiet but not turbine like.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2019, 09:40:23 pm
content: I wouldn't recommend swapping fans randomly. There is more to selecting a fan than just the airflow. Pressure is just as important but it is often not specified.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2019, 02:13:39 am
content: Not only that, but in my case describedhere, the fan replacement of my Rigol DS4014 did little to reduce the noise, mostly because I also added lots of heatsinks which added turbulence. One particular detail that helped was adding rubber bumpers to reduce vibration.

author: hgjdwx
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2019, 03:01:03 am
content: The Micsig sto1104c has a temperature-controlled fan, which is very quiet and much quieter than the to1104

author: Mr Nutts
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2019, 11:28:46 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on April 05, 2019, 05:27:37 pmNo they didn't, they just changed the color and relisted under a new model numberhttps://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/product/rtc1000-productstartpage_63493-515585.html

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2019, 04:28:13 pm
content: Quote from: Mr Nutts on April 06, 2019, 11:28:46 amCool!They're nice little oscilloscopes. Perfect for all the people who go to Rigol threads and whine about how they don't mind spending a bit extra to get a quality instrument.

author: jemangedeslolos
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2019, 12:25:20 pm
content: Hello,Thank you for all your answers.The R&S is a very nice peace of scope. Do you know if the RTC2000 series is silent ?There is a fan but I never had the opportunity to hear it.Im pretty much in love with the RTB2004 based on online reviews

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2019, 12:49:45 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on April 06, 2019, 04:28:13 pmThey are, except the fact that they cost more like 5-6x more than DS2202A OP has.They have tiny 6.5" screen that will look really small after DS2202A. They have max 2MS memory, 1M per channel, opposed to 56/28 MS, which means it will start undersampling at 28X faster timebase.. No segmented memory, much less triggering options...It may be nice, quality wise, and quiet, but as a scope is a serious downgrade from much more modern (and by this time well debugged) DS2202A

author: Jan Audio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2019, 01:00:39 pm
content: Can you hack the R&S already ?, then i am intrested also.Does Rigol give away the hacks themselfs ?, very smart.Oh wait, i mean the newest R&S with 10bit ADC.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2019, 01:08:10 pm
content: An alternative could be to simply look at the circuit board and figure out which chips get hot and then make a BIG custom heatsink out of a big chunk of aluminumCould be as simple as drilling out holes for taller components and using a bunch of thermal pads to transfer heat from the chips to the aluminum heatsink.They may have used smaller heatsinks for linear regulators on the board and some airflow is needed to keep those heatsinks at reasonable temperatures. Increase the heatsinks area and fans may no longer be needed.If you don't care about power efficiency... maybe place a peltier element on the big heatsink you make, cooling the heatsink but heating the other side of the peltier element, which could be on the outside cooled by air...Maybe use a small AIO water cooling thing in the center of the custom heatsink to cool it down... the water pump would not be noticeable and you may only have to start fans on the radiators when/if water temperature goes too high.Maybe fans are needed to keep the switching power supply cool... maybe you could replace it with a linear power supply (a toroidal transformer and some linear regulators or pass transistors on the outside of the case or maybe have a 18-24v DC in psu and just a smaller cooler psu inside to create the voltages the scope expects.

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2019, 10:20:45 am
content: If the scope rocks and it's just the fan noise that drives you nutstake a look on the internet to see what methods gamers use to ice up their overclocked PCs silentlyFWIW: fanless coupled to processing power/grunt (HEAT) is asking for DRAMA

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 11, 2019, 10:56:03 am
content: My TO1104 fan is horrible. "Temperature controlled" means it starts already noisy, and in 15mins it becomes loud. I also think that TO1104 is only equipped with one fan nowadays, as well as with only one speaker (contrary to what some youtubers received for review).I wanted to replace the, but it has very rare dimensions, didn't find anything remotely close.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2019, 11:33:38 am
content: Quote from: exe on April 11, 2019, 10:56:03 amThat's something that I don't think has ever been mentioned by the resident Micsig fan club.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 11, 2019, 12:04:17 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on April 11, 2019, 11:33:38 amMay be because it's all individual. But it is definitely not noiseless, and definitely noticeable when works at full speed. And in 10-15mins it goes full speed, so...

author: frogg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2019, 12:11:21 pm
content: Maybe it's more accurate to say that what you want is asilent or near-silentscope, not necessarily afanlessone.It might be worth looking at making a small enclosure that can help you accomplish your goal. Clever ducting and sealing of the enclosure can create the requisite airflow while simultaneously reducing the noise generated by the scope.