Tek/Rigol/Siglent/Keysight or usb logic analyser? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Claus1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2019, 03:00:23 pm
content: Hello, as another beginner hesitating what to buy i have to ask this. Im looking to buy decent scope/logic analyser. I have been looking for scopes for months but still cannot decide. First of all my budget is up to like 500-600 euros. I have been looking for used scopes as well since they are way cheaper. I need a scope/logic analyser for learning purposes and basic projects. Im looking for something that could decode SPI, I2C, UART. To decode SPI i obviously would need 4 channels, but also could buy 2 channel scope and decent logic analyser.I have been looking many brands and i have noticed that Tek and Keysights scopes usually come only with like 2500 points deep memory. Just why? And they are way more expensive. So i have put my eye on Rigol/Siglent scopes mostly. They have millions of points deep memory. I have been looking for Rigol 2000 series but they only have 2 channels. I was looking for fully unlocked 2072A for 600 euros(used). So im really not sure what to buy. I have read that many people suggest Rigol 1054Z which indeed looks good for the price. But sampling rate drops a lot when using multiple channels. Also Siglent SDS1202X-E looks good but again 2 channels only. I started to think about buying perhaps logic analyser? I used in school Digilent Analog Discovery 2 and it was pretty nice. Only for 300 euros. But all logic analysers tend to suck as a scope(analog channels). Also theres many brands. Picoscope for example also i read lots of people suggesting DSLogic Plus.Im struggeling what to buy? Can you give me some advice? Thanks in advance.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2019, 04:19:08 pm
content: Read this (fully):https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/first-oscilloscope-for-third-year-ee-student/Contains the info you search.

author: Claus1
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2019, 08:10:21 pm
content: Thanks! Very interesting reading. I should of noticed that thread myself too though.Just curious how bad is 2,5k memory depth?

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2019, 08:17:34 pm
content: Very bad..Buy Siglent SDS1204X-EIt fits in 500-600 € budget.You can always buy cheap LA if you want to decode more...

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2019, 04:13:46 am
content: I think I understand your predicament. I, too, have a difficult time making big purchasing decisions.My advice is this... whatever you do I would not base your o-scope purchasing decision with the idea that it will satisfy your digital needs. For one thing you can only get 4 channels which preclude any digital system involving busses. Secondly, the power of the cheap usb-based logic analyzers lies in the software running on your computer. Being able to trigger on complex events, quickly peruse the million of data points you've captured, setting up and initiating captures from the command line, etc. are what make those things really useful. You don't want to be scrolling through a million data points with a rotary encoder.I would get a $10-$20 sigrok/pulseview compatible logic analyzer and see it will work for you. Then decide what you analog needs are.A list of known sigrok/pulseview devices may be found here:https://sigrok.org/wiki/Supported_hardware

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2019, 06:31:57 am
content: Quote from: 2N3055 on June 30, 2019, 08:17:34 pm+1 for Siglent SDS1204X-E (or 1104) and this approach assuming you want an oscilloscope scope;if you aren’t sure if you want a scope you can try an inexpensive Sigrok Pulseview LA first as ledtester suggested;you will probably wind up with the scope and the LA.

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2019, 07:14:28 am
content: Forget logic analyser with analogue front end, just a gimick. They have almost 0 analogue front end.Get logic analyser and seperate scope, 4 channel if you can find/afford one.Get LA that is clone of Saleae (sigrok compatible). This allows infinite capture (at just below max capture rate) because it streams to the PC. The sw should handle protocol decode but not fully decode to application level decode. For that, you may have to do further post processing.Most scopes with LA have limited memory trace depth and you may have to pay extra for each protocol decode.

author: e0ne199
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2019, 01:07:28 pm
content: you should definitely go for dslogic plus if you want a cheap but powerful LA

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2019, 02:18:08 pm
content: As for LAs, I got theKingst LA2016that has proven to be quite a good unit as well.To the OP, another thread that may be an interesting read is:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/rigol-d1052e/