Rigol DG Frequency Display Convention??? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 07:02:28 am
content: What's up with the decimal point location and all the following 0s and commas and two more 0s in the Frequency display line on the Rigol DG generators? This is just one example, but other videos show the same thing:It looks like it says Freq 2.000,000,000,00 MHzHow are you supposed to be able to read that at a glance?Maybe this is a convention used in some country other than the U.S.? Maybe it's adjustable with a preference setting?Why not show 2 MHz or 2.000 MHz or 2,000 KHz or 2,000,000 Hz or 2,000,000.000 Hz, etc?I can see adding 3 zeros to the right of the decimal point if you want to see thousandths of Hz on a MHz signal, but why not put the commas (and a decimal point) where they belong and show 6 zeros to the left of the decimal point if you are trying to display MHz?This should be a preference setting like in an Excel spreadsheet - pick your format and the number of digits you want displayed, no?PS, and maybe the line that is selected could be shown with a change in color or be reversed out (with a background highlight) rather than being designated by a micro dot?The DG models look like great products but these two User Interface issues might be good enhancements; maybe it's something that could be done with a firmware update?

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 07:31:41 am
content: The only difference In convention I know about is the use of a "comma" sign for a decimal point where most English speaking countries use a "full stop" sign,or a proper "point" sign (mid level on the numbers).The display as shown doesn't make sense in either system.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 08:02:06 am
content: 2.00000000000 MHz would be standard, and 2.000 000 000 00 MHz is also quite common, so I can see why they'd also use the comma there. 2.00000000000 MHz is easier to read at a glance than 2,000,000.00000 Hz in my opinion (have to count groups of zeros), and just 2 MHz would give less resolution. What would you display if is was 1 mHz higher?

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 09:24:48 am
content: Why not 123.000'000'000'000 as we do in italy?

author: KedasProbe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 09:34:05 am
content: I have a DG4000 and a Rigol DMM DM3068 both came with this default settings.Both can be customised in the settings (to your own need, no ' though) but you have to make sure it saves the last settings (every time) and loads it at start-up otherwise it's reset to default again.But true having a decimal point and space for grouping would be a much better choice for a default setting.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 04:16:07 pm
content: Quote from: alm on July 30, 2013, 08:02:06 amI think as you get more and more digits (lots of digits) that some type of grouping with commas, or periods, or just some periodic separation of the numbers helps to recognize the numbers at a glance. Having said that, it appears that the convention in other countries (such as Italy as noted above) is quite different than the U.S. convention for numbers in general; and perhaps there is a test equipment convention?Just take a look at Excel, right click on cell, select Format Cells, and then click on the Number tab. Each user can easily have their own preferred format. The manufacturers go through lots of gyrations trying to make their test equipment measure signals accurately; it might make sense to make sure each user is able to quickly and accurately read the numbers - some of which have many digits representing large and/or small values.

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 04:38:06 pm
content: Quote from: Electro Fan on July 30, 2013, 07:02:28 amPress Utility > System > Number Format, and you can set the decimal marker and digit separator to be whatever you prefer.My DG4062 seems to save these settings straight away, no need to do anything else to have them restored at power-up.

author: KedasProbe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 05:41:35 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on July 30, 2013, 04:38:06 pmSo you have Utility>System>Power on left on 'default' and it doesn't reset??

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 05:45:49 pm
content: I have the PowerOn setting set to "Last". With it set to "Default", it reset the number format to the form "1.000,000"

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 06:47:41 pm
content: Quote from: AndyC_772 on July 30, 2013, 04:38:06 pmWell, that's cool! Maybe it has more or less the format flexibility I was suggesting. I probably just need to find the user's manual - maybe it shows the possible formats in there? Thanks!

author: nealfox
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 30, 2013, 10:08:04 pm
content: If you look at Agilent you will see that they use the same format. Remember you can specifiy freguency with a resolution of 1 uHz.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 31, 2013, 09:26:01 am
content: http://www.tequipment.net/ProductImages/Rigol/DG4062/media/DG4062_doc_2.pdfHere it is on page 10-12 of the Rigol DG4000 User's Guide:You can set the display formats of the decimal point and thousands separator in number parameters. This setting is stored in non-volatile memory.Press Utility ? System ? Number Format to enter the number format setting interface.Decimal Point: could be set as dot “.” or comma “,” and the default is dot “.”.Thousands separator: could be set as “On”, “Off” or “Space”. The default is “On”.Number format has 6 combinations, as shown in the figure below:Dot + On (Comma)Dot + SpaceDot + OffComma + On (Dot)Comma + SpaceComma + OffNotice: Decimal point and thousands separator cannot be set as dot or comma at the same time.I guess you just have to get used to the available convention(s), there are 6 formats to choose from.