GW Instek GDS-1062A (60MHZ) vs. LeCroy WaveAce 222 (200MHZ) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: BillW50
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2015, 11:06:44 pm
content: I am tired of not having my Tektronix Type 545B scope (30MHZ) around (I have it in storage). And I really don't really want to dig it out and I am not sure if it works anymore (10 years ago it did). It has like 100 vacuum tubes, weighs a ton, and dims the lights when you power it up. So I have been searching for a newer smaller scope. Being an retired EE, I used to use a scope all of the time and I couldn't live without one. But nowadays I would like one only as a hobbyist.Well I found a GW Instek GDS-1062A for $210. Not great, but probably far better than my Tektronix Type 545B anyway. So I thought that would be the end of the story and my search was over since I purchased it (currently in the mail). Then I found a LeCroy WaveAce 222 for $150. Sure they are nowhere worth $2,043.22 which Amazon is asking for it. Supposedly it is 100% functional, but the intensity knob is just missing and doesn't come with probes, manual or anything.Now I am no expert when it comes with newer scopes over the last two decades, but that LeCroy is far better than the Instek, right?

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2015, 12:21:28 pm
content: Quote from: BillW50 on July 25, 2015, 11:06:44 pmWell, the good thing is that these days there are quite a few options for a decent low-cost scope.QuoteWell, it's a pretty basic scope, and a quite old one as well (came out 5 yrs ago), with a horrible low-resolution display, low update rates, and from what I know some still unresolved firmware bugs. But then, $210 isn't a lot of money for a new scope (I assume this is for a new scope and not a used one!).QuoteYes and no. LeCroy makes great scopes (the best IMHO) but that is not true for the WaveAce (which are all made by Siglent and just re-badged as LeCroy). The WaveAce 100/200 Series is even much worse, it was the first generation of these scopes which accumulated a horrible reputation due to a ton of firmware problems (and pissed off quite a few long-term LeCroy customers along the way). In many instances LeCroy had to take the scopes back because Siglent couldn't solve the problems in a reasonable timeframe.The later WaveAce 1000/2000 are better (i.e. a lot less firmware issues) but they are still vastly overpriced Siglent rebadges which as original Siglent version only cost a few hundred dollars. LeCroy's good stuff starts with the WaveSurfer 3000 (another Siglent scope, although the software comes from LeCroy), for everything smaller I'd look at a different vendor.In your price range, I'd suggest you have a look at the Siglent SDS1072CML/CNL (which is the same as the WaveAce 1072) which can be had for around $290 brand new, and which is a simple but decent 2Ch scope, and still better than the GW Instek GDS-1062A.

author: BillW50
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2015, 07:04:37 pm
content: Many thanks for all of the insightful information Wuerstchenhund. It helps a lot. And no, that Instek is used, but just barely. And yesterday I feared that someone would grab that LeCroy before I did, so I bought that one too. Well maybe they won't be too horrible. And if they are, maybe it will be worth it for the experience anyway. They might be ok as an emergency backup or something.

author: Loboscope
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2015, 09:08:43 pm
content: My first digital Scope was a GW-Instek GDS-1022, the most simple scope they did offer some years ago. It has only 20 MHz bandwidth and 250 Megasamples. But I could buy it new relatively cheap (remaining stock) and it had tons of options more than my old analogue Scope. And it was small, lightweight and easy to use.It depends on what you want to do. I did use it for testing and maintaining my audio gear, and although meanwhile I did add a Rigol DS-1104Z to my bench, I still use this simple scope in addition.The GDS-1062A is far more better than the simple 1022 and I would guess, it would do a good job for you as long as you know its limitations an especially when you will make your first experiences with digital scopes. Have fun with it!Greetings, Jürgen

author: commie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2015, 09:51:13 pm
content: Hi Bill,My first digital scope was a GW Instek GDS-1152A, IMO a good scope, built like a tank and was heavy comes with a limited life time warranty.The only malfunction that happened was the fan used to make a grinding noise for the first 20secs of power up and then it went silent(nothing to worry about).I bought a RIGOL DS1104Z about 2 years ago or so, I Ebayed my Instek, mainly to release space on my crowded workbench but I liked the Instek so I've just bought a GDS-2202E(200MHz), haven't got it yet still in the post.

author: BillW50
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 29, 2015, 01:23:39 am
content: Wow! Many thanks Loboscope and commie. My GW Instek GDS-1062A was supposed to be here yesterday, but according to the tracking it was loaded on the wrong truck yesterday. So I got it today instead. And I must say I am quite impressed. It looks like this will get the job done for me for many years to come.

author: BillW50
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 02, 2015, 06:05:18 pm
content: I got the LeCroy WaveAce 222 last Friday and wow! The controls were a little glitchy with the 2009 firmware. And I had to go to 2010 firmware first before installing the 2013 firmware (according to the documentation anyway). And boy is that a really nice scope. It definitely beats the Instek scope, even though they both have a 5.7 inch screen at 320x234 resolution. Signals looks so much better on the LeCroy. As when the Instek is looking at a 1KHz square wave for example, it will be jumping between pixels on the screen. On the LeCroy, it is solid as a rock. And the LeCroy has that analog intensity look to it too and while the Instek doesn't.The LeCroy has far more features and ranges too. It isn't that the Instek is a bad scope or anything. But you can tell that the LeCroy is a more expensive scope. It also has a counter that tells how many times it has been powered up. When I turned it on, it was the 25th time it was turned on. Weird whoever owned it must have just let it sit for most of its life.Now the Instek PC software (Freewave) is so much better than the LeCroy PC software (EasyScope). The LeCroy software looks like it was designed for Windows 3.1. It works ok, but it is slow without modern features. I am not even sure it supports USB2 speeds. As it seems more like it is stuck at 1.1 speeds. All and all, I am enjoying both. And if I had to do it all over again, I probably would. ;-)