Picotest G5100A/Array 3400A/Keithley 3390 or Siglent SDG2000X - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Timpert
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 08:54:56 am
content: Hi everyone,I have the opportunity to buy a NOS (unused, but a couple of years old) Picotest G5100a AWG for an attractive price. I know this is the same generator as the Array 3400A the Keithley 3390, and it looks to me like a decent quality knockoff of the Hagsight 33220A (to be discontinued in December this year).A couple of months ago, Siglent introduced the SDG2000X, and it seems to be the same or superior to the above generator in almost every aspect, and as an extra bonus, it is two-channel.Both generators will cost me about the same amount. The Picotest/Array/Keithley is already around for quite a while, so clearly the Siglent benefits from the technology advances made in the last years by providing better spec for less money (given the list price for both devices when bought new). But I get the feeling that I might be missing things. Does anyone have some experience to share (especially on the Picotest) that might help me in my decision? Experiences like build quality, reliability, ease of remote programming, stability of the PC connection and the device actually meeting its published specs are what I am after.Thanks in advance!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 09:53:03 am
content: If you are really after the AWG functionality where you need to create waveforms on a PC and then upload to the device you definitely want the generator with the best PC software. If you are looking for a fancy function generator then the Siglent may be the better choice because it has two channels but be sure to check the threads about it because it does have it's issues.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 10:11:50 am
content: If you haven't seen it, here's the thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/the-siglent-sdg2042x-thread/Dig through it, you'll find they can be hacked to the max BW for the series; 120 MHz.

author: Timpert
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 03, 2016, 04:51:02 pm
content: Thanks for the replies!I have indeed found and dug through the thread on the Siglent, and it is definitely interesting. But I am also after experiences with the other gen, especially because I can get it for a price close to that of the 40 MHz Siglent. It seems that it is a somewhat obscure device with few people having experience with it, or that people just buy it, use it and bother about what they do with it rather than fret about it in a forum. Which is actually a good thing, but without people chiming in with their experience nobody will ever know if that's the case. The spec/list price combo of the Picotest make it seem to me as a hard to sell device in the current market, unless I am missing some crucial point about the quality of the instrument.Regarding PC connectivity, I usually write my own scripts, so the supplied software is actually less of an issue. If the command set is well documented and it has stable performance under remote control, that is a plus. It seems that both gens have decent documentation of their command set, but the stability of the operation is an unknown to me for both.A thing I miss in the Siglent spec: its sine wave looks a bit cleaner than that of the Picotest, but Picotest gives a spec up to the rated output voltage, while Siglent only spec the sinewave at an output level of 0 dBm, which is a measly 223 mVrms into 50 Ohms. What happens when you turn it up? Okay, this is a question for the other thread, I will ask it now.