New Rigol 5074 user - Help me put it through some tests to see if I hate it  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Rigel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 04:31:11 am
content: I was originally going to buy a Keysight 1000x series scope. Things happened the purchase got delayed school started back up and I need a scope I could afford quickly. I ended up choosing the Rigol 5074 with logic analyzer. I confirmed with the retailer that I could return it within 30 days if needed. I previously owned a Agilent dsox 1000 x series it was a 2 channel model. I had some concerns after browsing the forums here. They had the software bundle with it which included the decodes wavegen etc, The only thing it doesn't have is the deeper memory. well and the bandwidth upgrade. My projects are currently focused around the MSP430 so above 70MHz is not that much of a concern at the moment.The only lighting issue regards to brightness so far appears to be the LED behind the 1 button. The screen seems plenty bright. The Fan did not seem excessively loud and less noisy than my PC when gaming.I just got my breadboard some resistors LED's Cap etc yesterday. but prior to that I just had the MSP430 LP - I configured an 8 bit port to output some hex values and hooked up the logic probes. Worked no issues. Although I did have some trying to get the signal to display on the PC using Ultra Sigma (I could see channels 1 - 4) but could not get the Logic Analyzer to show up. (Somewhat annoying) I also did not have a lot of time to trouble shoot it.I was thinking of ordering the RIGOL Demo board to learn/relearn some skills but its pretty pricey. I do not have a lot of time to cobble together test projects but I would not mind a couple ideas - I would be willing to post some screenshots of the results.I really wanted to go with a R&S RTB2004 scope but by the time I include the software and their LA its almost twice the price I paid. I also want to buy a bench supply, bench multimeter and maybe a better function generator. Which I could not afford with the R&S. I was tempted by the Siglent Brand but they were still 30% more.Would love to discuss this more with the excellent community here!

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 01:11:48 pm
content: Start around Reply 170 in this thread where we start a new user with a Siglent SDS1202 X-Ehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/what-an-oscilloscope-recommended-for-a-woman-passionate-about-electronics/150/There's a bunch of function tests using an online sine generator (whatever that is) and the built-in compensation signal. FFT, math functions, triggering and a host of topics are reviewed.There's a long video re: scopes in the 'stickies' at the top of this forum but I don't recall if DSOs are covered.Watch any of w2aew's scope videos - search YouTube for 'w2aew dso'.Search YouTube for 'eevblog dso' or maybe 'eevblog oscilloscope'

author: Rigel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 01:54:33 pm
content: Thanks for the response.I was probably more excited about having a scope again and more tired than I should have been while posting I will have to see about cleaning up my language or clarifying my intent. I had read the thread you suggested from the beginning to a little bit past where you had suggested. You are right there is a lot of good information in it, I stopped after the third or forth reference to testing mains voltage with or without and isolation transformer or floating the scope and her focus being more on the repair side of electronics. I will read on some more to see about some different tests.The one thing I did not pick up initially was a BNC cable for the function generator(s). (Yet)..Aside from Hacking the scope (which is something I am not really interested at this time especially because I am trying to keep my option open to return it) I know there is a way to clear the 'Hack' or Unlock.I am kind of hoping there maybe someone else curious about its response or characteristics - I get a quick project to put it through some of its paces and I can tell if I hate it or not and they may get some interesting information or confirmation. I was pretty scared to order it based on quite a few posts here. If you search the interwebs with Rigol 5074 you get a billion ads and very few articles of substance. (My experience trying to get the logic analyzer to show up using Ultra Sigma.I am currently hooked up through USB Cable but I would like to run a ethernet cable to see if that is any better. I believe that is how I remotely accessed the Agilent I had.I am also maybe hoping this will turn into a YAY I am happy with the RIGOL it worked very well for my needs thread. and maybe reassure someone else in a situation close to mine.Thank you again for your response, I do appreciate it. I will search again and rewatch - reread in more detail some of the suggestions you offered.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 05:03:38 pm
content: If you're looking for a fan club, you might find something over in the Test Equipment forum here on eevblog. The Beginner's forum might not have what you're looking for. Most of the interest in hobby level scopes is in the DS1054Z arena or the Siglent SDS120x X-E series. These are around half the cost of the Rigol DS 5000 series so there are fewer out in the wild.Keep reading Charlotte's thread - we have some fun with functions most people have never used and there are some mathematical justifications for what we see on the screen. There's a lot of education in one thread. I learned a LOT!As to measuring mains - don't even think about it. It's one of those deals where, if you have to ask how to do it, you're not qualified to do it. Dave's famous "How Not To Blow Up Your Oscilloscope" video talks about the problem. It is best avoided.https://youtu.be/xaELqAo4kkQ

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 03, 2020, 05:38:06 pm
content: A quick project would involve a uC and some form of bus decoding. See Chapter 11 in your User Manualhttps://www.batronix.com/files/Rigol/Oszilloskope/MSO5000/MSO5000_UserGuide_EN-V2.0.pdfThe easy one is RS232 on page 11-7, I2C is on page 11-14 and seems to be an option (for money) while SPI is my favorite and it's on page 11-18 and it seems to be an option as well. I hope these are included free in your scope because SPI decoding uses 4 channels and it is the entire reason I bought the DS1054Z - I could unlock it to have the feature. Later on, Rigol started just including all the options (except upgraded bandwidth, I believe) so it became a non-issue.To decode I2C you actually need a master (uC) and a slave device (ADC?) because the transfer aborts if there is no slave device. RS232 and SPI don't require an actual slave device.That's a pretty comprehensive User Manual. You should probably work through it like Charlotte is doing.Dave made a video on the 5000 series scope

author: Rigel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 12:46:24 am
content: Quote from: rstofer on October 03, 2020, 05:03:38 pmYa I am fortunate we have a power lab in school - we were using some really good differential probes - they even still have some cool old analog scopes that we use for a lab or two.So I do not feel the need to try and measure mains at home!In some ways I wish I was retaking that course as well. So much I have forgotten while I was ill. Between the illness and the crazy medications my memory is pretty messed up.I appreciate the advice.*editQuote from: rstofer on October 03, 2020, 05:38:06 pmThanks for the link to the user manual - I downloaded all I could find on the Rigol Canada site - I missed the user manual. - Considering how many hundreds of pages the user manual for the MSP430 is I should not be surprised it was available just needed some more digging.*They do have some decent educational linkshttps://rigolcanada.com/education/RIGEL

author: Rigel
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 06:34:31 pm
content: I am attempting to correct my lack of Cables for the wavegen and to increase my kit diversity.I get why the 50Ohm terminator - but how useful is the 40db Attenuator... and is it worth getting.https://beyondmeasure.rigoltech.com/acton/attachment/1579/f-06fa/1/-/-/-/-/RA5040K.pdfThank you

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 04, 2020, 06:54:15 pm
content: Neither has ever been useful to me but I don't work on very high frequencies (RF). I do have a couple of 50 Ohm terminators and my Siglent AWG has 50 Ohm output impedance but when I do use analog signals, they are usually in the +-10V range in kHz, not MHz.The 100:1 attenuator is also typical of RF projects where the transmitter voltage is quite high. BTW, look at the voltage versus frequency spec for your scope. At very high frequencies, the voltage capability drops off quite a bit - hence the attenuator.I think both of those attachments could come later. When you need one, you'll know it. My scope applications tend to be digital signals and only enough analog to participate in Charlotte's thread. I don't do audio or RF.