Brand new Rigol DS1052e makes clicking noises - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: [Chrille]
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 01:55:24 pm
content: Hi,I just bought my first oscilloscope this week. I bought a Rigol DS1052e which looked like a good buy since I wanted a quality scope to learn more about electronics and didn't want to pay too much for my first scope.I just unpacked it and plugged it in and everything looks fine. I tuned the probes using the built in square wave generator and it seems to work fine. But I did hear some clicking noises though and I just wanted to know if the scope is supposed to have clicking noises once in a while. It might be some relays or something. I don't really know much about oscilloscopes and I have never owned one before I bought this one so I have no idea if this is OK or not.What do you think? Is it supposed to be like this or did I get a lemon?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 02:14:37 pm
content: Quote from:  on October 30, 2021, 01:55:24 pmIt's a good little 'scope.Quote from:  on October 30, 2021, 01:55:24 pmIt has relays inside. They'll click when you change the vertical scale between low/high ranges.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 02:29:32 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 30, 2021, 02:14:37 pmI wouldn't call it nice. It's a very old model which did not age well, and is much worse than DS1102Z-E which costs the same for a brand new unit.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 02:37:56 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 02:29:32 pmI bet you're fun at parties.You don't know anything about this one, how much was paid, literally nothing at all but you're still calling it names.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 02:55:18 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 30, 2021, 02:37:56 pmConsidering he said it's brand new, I don't think he paid some low price for it. It was good for the money at its time (2000's, early 2010's) but not today.

author: radiolistener
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 04:49:46 pm
content: Quote from:  on October 30, 2021, 01:55:24 pmThis is very outdated scope and don't cost it's money. You can buy SDS1202X-E which is much better, modern and has more functions for the same price

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 05:36:16 pm
content: The ranges are done by relays, so you may hear them clicking as you manually change ranges, or by themselves if you press AUTO. If it is just sitting there displaying a steady signal, I wouldn't expect there to be any relays clicking. It's probably just fine.Just ignore everyone crapping on your scope. Yes, it is an old model, but if you are new to scopes it will be a while before you even know what to do with a more advanced one. And it actually has a few features missing from newer models as well. After you've used it a bit, you can hack it to 100MHz if you like:

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 05:48:49 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on October 30, 2021, 05:36:16 pmIt's just not a good investment, especially considering you can get much better from the same manufacturer for the same money. Even if it does the job, newer models are so much nicer to use.QuoteWhich features? I guess there could be some which are not important. But it certainly lacks so many features newer scopes have.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 06:42:08 pm
content: Quote from: radiolistener on October 30, 2021, 04:49:46 pmReally? Where I buy my oscilloscopes the SDS1202X-E costs 100 Euros more than the Rigol.https://www.batronix.com/shop/oscilloscopes/DSO.html(That page shows sales ranking: Note that the Rigol DS1052E is currently outsellingallSiglent models)Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 02:29:32 pmDS1102Z-E is also over 100 Euros more expensive.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 06:46:13 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 30, 2021, 06:42:08 pmThey cost the same.https://www.tequipment.net/Rigol/DS1102Z-E/Digital-Oscilloscopes/https://www.tequipment.net/RigolDS1052E.html?v=0

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 06:50:53 pm
content: Personally I prefer the Rigol scopes as they have square graticule divisions while the Siglents that I've seen have rectangular divisions that look weird to me. A lot of people don't care but I'm kind of OCD so it bothers me.Either way an old model scope is just fine, for many years I used an old analog scope that is as old as I am before I finally got a DSO and my DSO is about 25 years old. It doesn't matter, scopes are not constantly changing the way phones and other toys are.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 06:56:17 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 30, 2021, 06:51:45 pmhttps://eleshop.eu/rigol-ds1102z-e-oscilloscope.htmlhttps://eleshop.eu/rigol-ds1052e-oscilloscope.html

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 06:58:05 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 06:56:17 pm"Out of stock..."

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 07:00:34 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 30, 2021, 06:58:05 pmGive me a breakhttps://www.amazon.de/-/en/oscilloscope-DS1102Z-2-channel-triggers-decodings/dp/B089WHC4MK

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 07:05:52 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 05:48:49 pmHere's a video. If you are in a hurry, go to 6:48 andwatch for at least two minutes.https://www.tequipment.net/RigolDS1052E.html?v=0

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 07:14:51 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on October 30, 2021, 07:05:52 pmYou could just write it instead of wasting my time. Alternate trigger is a rare feature because it has barely any practical use. And with larger memory you can just capture 2 dissimilar waveforms and then look at them.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 07:23:08 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 07:00:34 pmWhatever, dude. You have no idea where he got it, how much he paid, what he wants to use it for... but he was happy with his new oscilloscope until you started crapping all over it just to prove a point on the Internet.I hope you're proud.The DS1052E is a solid little beginner 'scope without the hundreds of menus and feature overload of newer 'scopes. It still sells well and maybe it's just what he needs.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 07:27:49 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 07:14:51 pmALT trigger was a ubiquitous and very useful feature until DSOs adopted digital triggers. It is omitted because it would be difficult to implement with newer DSO architecture. However, the DS1052E has alot morethan just the ALT trigger, this is what is explained in the brief section of video. It's true that you can just capture single shots, but if you want to see two signals live, completely independently triggered and at different timebases, the DS1052E will do it and most others will not. Most analog scopes won't even do the two-timebase thing unless you set it up as a B-sweep on a scope that has that feature.

author: [Chrille]
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 09:31:15 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on October 30, 2021, 02:29:32 pmActually it was quite a lot cheaper than buying a DS1102Z-E. I bought it from Amazon and I paid the equivalent of ~185 EUR for it brand new including shipping. I think that is a very good deal. Of course I understand that you can get better scopes if you pay double or tripple that amount of money but for the price I paid for it I think it's well worth it. Besides, this thread was never about if it is worth the suggested retail price of today or not. I only asked about the clicking noises and some forum members like "Fungus", "bdunham7" and "james_s" got the point and replied to my real question.Also consider that I am going to use this as a hobby scope to learn about electronics and for basic troubleshooting of old computers etc. If it was a good scope for these basic tasks when it came out in the late 2000's it's still as good of a scope as it was back then if used for the same tasks as it was being used for back then, and if I ever find it to be insufficient for my needs in the future I can always upgrade to a newer and more capable scope but for the time being it will suit my needs.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 10:43:15 pm
content: Sounds to me like you got a reasonably good deal, I'm sure it will work just fine for you. It's not high end but it's not a bad scope either. Ignore the scope snobs, no matter what you have there is probably something better out there for more money. Ultimately you get something that is within your budget, the important part is to learn to use it properly and make the most of it. A high end scope doesn't magically make someone a good engineer or technician and people have developed all kinds of amazing stuff with far less capable instruments.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2021, 10:44:46 pm
content: Quote from:  on October 30, 2021, 09:31:15 pmYes it is an outdated scope, but any scope is better than nothing and you got your money worth. Enjoy your hobby! And as you said yourself, if you realize you need a better one than you can worry about that then...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2021, 04:58:11 am
content: Quote from:  on October 30, 2021, 09:31:15 pmThat's averygood deal.(Are there any more at that price?)

author: rf-loop
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2021, 07:46:52 am
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on October 30, 2021, 07:27:49 pmAs also same era Siglent ones what also have Dual timebase and independent trigger ALT mode (nearly as two 1 ch scope with one display).Of course it can easy use for example compare two asyncronous signals edges shape even if signals have huge frequency difference. Etc some more complex things. But yes, quite rare needs if look whole range of different needs for using oscilloscope, specially in entry level. Old times we need do some things with Tek 7844 true dual beam scope.

author: [Chrille]
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2021, 07:14:22 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 31, 2021, 04:58:11 amUnfortunately I think it was a limited offer. I just checked and it seems to cost > 300 Euro now.

author: Adrian_Arg.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2021, 10:14:52 pm
content: Do not make problems for what they comment negatively on your purchase. It is a very good oscilloscope, sometimes they recommend the opposite of what you buy, if you buy rigol the ideal siglent, if you buy GW the ideal Tek, it is easy to buy with someone else's wallet, there is no banana that suits them, enjoy your purchase and I get a lot out of it.No te hagas problemas por lo que comentan negativamente por su compra. Es un muy buen osciloscopio, a veces recomiendan lo contrario a lo que uno compra, si compra rigol lo ideal siglent, si compra GW lo ideal Tek, es facil comprar con billetera ajena, no hay banana que les venga bien, que disfrute su compra y le saque mucho provecho.

author: kinswad
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 02, 2022, 08:40:42 pm
content: I could not agree more.It does not (really) matter what equipment you buy.Buy what you can afford to pay - you can upgrade later if needed.Con Respeto..No podría estar más de acuerdo.No importa (realmente) qué equipo compre.Compre lo que pueda pagar; puede actualizar más tarde si es necesario.