Advice regarding new scope. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Atomillo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 06:32:13 pm
content: Hello:For quite some time now I've wanted to upgrade my 2 channel 50MHz SDS1052DL+. Mainly because there have been some situations where I would have appreciated a lot 4 channels as well as a better thought out FFT. Occasionally, higher bandwidth have been desirable (but only very occasionally). Due to a series of fortunate events, I have about 550 euros that I can spend buying whatever equipment I want. This is the highest amount of money I've spend in a sigle piece of equipment so I would like to think carefully about this.The first answer and the one that seems most desirable is a new Siglent SDS1104X-E. It fullfils all the previous requirements, seems quite easy and comfortable to use as well as having a decent screen. Shipped to Spain from Siglent.eu this comes to 510 euros, including 4 100Mhz probes! I'm aware of the various techniques that can "upgrade" it, but at least for now I would like to stay within the original product and preserve the warranty, since as I said this for me is a very significant amount of money and this bandwidth is more than enough to fill my current needs.Also recently I've found the wonder of eBay. Thanks to this I've had access to test equipment which I didnt even expect to be able to see in person. But when I started to search for second hand oscilloscopes, things seemed to be a lot worse than, for example, bench multimeters or high voltage supplies. Old oscilloscopes with very small memory or oscilloscopes that have specs like 500Mhz-200Msamples (i.e that work mostly as an analog oscilloscope with bad single shot bandwitdh) sell for crazy high prices: with no guarantee of course. Am I looking in the wrong places? Or is this common?And finally, if there is any model with similar characteristics and price tag that I've missed in my search, I would of course be grateful for anyone bringing it up.Many thanks!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 07:10:24 pm
content: Any of the X -E’s are a substantial step up from the DL and you will need to learn their more modern UI.SDS1104X-E by far offers the greatest feature set and certainly is a scope you can grow into although if your needs are less demanding the cheaper SDS1104X-U could be worth considering.Siglent.eu is a reseller and not the EU branch and maybe you can find a closer supplier here:https://www.siglenteu.com/how-to-buy/

author: Atomillo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 08:10:19 pm
content: Many thanks Tautech.I've checked the various Spanish distributions and prices are all the same. Curiously, they however don't include any proved, so Siglent.eu (I feel like that name is chosen to make it seem like an official distributor) still seems the best option

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 08:20:48 pm
content: Truth is siglent.eu was in existence some years before Siglent opened a regional branch in Germany however they are just a long standing reseller.Yes, it still causes confusion to this day.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 09:05:28 pm
content: Hi,First, with the SDS1104X-E you can´t get wrong - I´ve got it before and at work we got one too.It doesn´t have super fancy stuff on board like others may have, but what it got, it works...A fine difference..QuoteWith a little bit luck, you can get a lecroy waverunner lt model for appx 500bucks, whichIwould prefer against the siglent, when you don´t need decoding stuff and "deep memory"...We bought an old WR344LT, 500Mhz 4ch for under 500€ in 2016, still working good.It got several features, other DSOs of today will have only in a priceclass no hobbyist can afford.But it´s old, no USB, "big", "no" memory, no support...Go for the siglent, then you are on the safe side.

author: RichardM
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2022, 11:54:21 pm
content: I have the Siglent 1104x-e and as a hobbyist love it.Something inside me wants to purchase an old 500MHz scope like the Waverunner but they never seem to come with probes ? Each probe costs as much as the scope itself so be warned I guess. Unless there are cheaper probe options for these 2nd hand scopes?

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 06:45:38 am
content: Quote from: Atomillo on March 30, 2022, 06:32:13 pmYou cannot really go wrong with SDS1104X-E, like Martin said.Quote from: RichardM on March 30, 2022, 11:54:21 pmRichard,classic probes are passive devices. You don't have to buy original probes. Except where manufacturer explicitly states some scope has to be used only with certain probes because they were specifically designed and tailored to work with each other, probes are mostly universally interchangeable with good results. Only thing you need to pay attention to is compensation range. Scopes do have slightly different input capacitance and probe must have range of compensation such that it can work with scope input capacitance. Which they mostly do, just something to keep in mind.There are many OEM choices and plenty people are even happy with some cheap Ebay noname probes.There were dozens of topics on EEVBLOG where probes were discussed in detail..It is actually a good read, because there is a lot to learn and to pay attention to when probing with a scope...

author: RichardM
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 12:25:36 pm
content: Thanks for the advice about the probes. There is a lot I don’t understand but will do some reading. It does appear though that >= 500MHz probes still cost hundreds of dollars each ? In Australian dollars anyway.Cheers Richard

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 05:34:42 pm
content: 500 MHz probe for less than $200https://probemaster.com/5900-series-oscilloscope-probes/

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 05:39:59 pm
content: Quote from: RichardM on March 31, 2022, 12:25:36 pmHigh-impedance 500MHz probes are pretty much a waste of time for most practical applications that would actually need 500MHz bandwidth. You either need an active probe or something like the P6156 designed for a 50-ohm scope input.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 05:42:08 pm
content: Quote from: rstofer on March 31, 2022, 05:34:42 pmBut those are not practically useable at 500MHz.For general purpose probing you can buy good probes from (for example) Testec that cost US$50 to US$75 each. You can buy these in double packs as well to get even better value for money.If you want to measure high frequency signals then you can either use a direct cable connection or use a low-z passive probe (which is a resistive divider with very low input capacitance). These can be bought relatively cheap from Ebay. Like the P6156 bdunham7 mentions; I have a few of these as well. There are also various active probes on the market which are designed & sold by individuals that are a good alternative to way more expensive active probes.All in all, getting high frequency signals into an oscilloscope doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 05:49:07 pm
content: More about probes than you care for:https://entertaininghacks.wordpress.com/library-2/scope-probe-reference-material/from our member @tggzzzI agree with Nico, with classic passive probes will not show much over 200-300Mhz because of probe loading on your circuit, except where source is really low impedance...

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 10:12:05 pm
content: Quote from: RichardM on March 30, 2022, 11:54:21 pmI´ve bought 4 used, elder lecroy probes for my siglent 500Mhz scope on ebay, for under 100€ all together.Autosense and 350Mhz bandwith, still in superb condition so keep your eyes open on ebay...

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 10:17:45 pm
content: Yuk. Used general purpose probes are like used underwear. You never know what happened to them and whether they are trustworthy. I have come across enough probes with contact issues and breaks in the cables.

author: Martin72
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 10:42:27 pm
content: If they won´t work proper, send them back...No problem.

author: Atomillo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2022, 05:03:51 pm
content: Just pulled the trigger on the Siglent!I also found out you have a 5% discount in Siglent.eu with the code SIGLENT5PERCENT so I'm even happier with the purchase.

author: Mirgus
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 05:22:36 pm
content: The code still works thanks

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2025, 07:18:07 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on March 31, 2022, 10:17:45 pmHow many tries before you learned that lesson? 😉😉

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2025, 05:32:04 pm
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on July 01, 2025, 07:18:07 pmWell, IMHO it is reasonable to assume people are wise enough to stay clear from used underwear. Over the years I have bought quite a few used scopes and in general the probes that came with them where crap. Nobody gives away their good probes. However, when selling a scope buyers seem to pay good money for a scope with probes. And kind of probes.... In several cases I got some 5 dollar probes from Aliexpress to be able to get around 100 dollars more for an oscilloscope. In the past I have tried to reason with buyers that they will be better off to buy their own probes but with little effect. A fool and money are easy to separate I guess.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2025, 05:36:02 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on July 02, 2025, 05:32:04 pmThat depends on their intent. There is a whole industry out there.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2025, 05:36:46 pm
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on July 02, 2025, 05:36:02 pmI don't need to know...

author: themadhippy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2025, 05:50:32 pm
content: Quotesome places even have vending machines so you can get your used undies even if the shops are shut,never seen a used scope probes vending machine though.