Siglent Software issue - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: chromex
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2016, 04:11:35 am
content: Everyone looks like they cant support siglent software because of some bugs...and lack of support from technical service from S.Im still trying to take a decision between the DS1054Z and the SDS2104X (money is not a problem) but i want to know how bad are those bugs/instability? Is it driving you nuts ?I'm looking for the SDS2104X because i can see the potential of this scope being hacked to get 300Mhz, plus all the nice hardware for that price. But i dont want to start a topic about that.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2016, 05:59:54 am
content: Quote from: chromex on January 15, 2016, 04:11:35 amIt's a little early to fully know now the SDS2kX series will perform although from what I've heard very well.They are supposed to be a new HW version of the SDS2k series but with a few major enhancements like 16 ch MSO and 140 Mpts memory and minor tweaks to the front panel layout.For FW it uses Siglent's V2 FW, versions of which are also used in the SDS2k and the newer SDS1k series.This means a greater focus on fixing bugs and making improvements for these 3 series of DSO's so they all benefit. Much like the older SDS1000 series where the FW was the same for a significant number of models.But the SDS2kX series will always be a more capable DSO than the 1054Z, hacked or not.Study of the datasheets will reveal significantly better specs for the Siglent.AFAIK there will be reviews of the SDS2kX to help guide you in the near future.

author: Messtechniker
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2016, 06:38:24 am
content: If the software side of things is important to you and money is not a problem - as you say - I'd currently stay clear of anything Chinese, and for software suport reasons go with one of the big players. Just my opinion.Yours - Messtechniker

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2016, 06:38:33 am
content: Quote from: chromex on January 15, 2016, 04:11:35 amDS1054z and SDS2104X are not really comparable, the former one is a low-cost scope with OK-ish specs and the latter is a more expensive entry-level scope with much better specs that is supposed to compete with Rigol DS2000 and Keysight DSOX2000.As to firmware, well both scopes are made by Chinese B-brands, so I'm not sure what you expect. Doing software right is difficult, and the Chinese B-brands still have a very long way to go until they can compete with the big brands.As far as Rigol and Siglent are concerned, my experience is that Siglent's firmware is regularly a lot worse than Rigol's. There's theSiglent SDS2000 v2 firmware threadwhich you should have a look at,. It's for the SDS2000 but chances are good that the SDS2000X suffers from the same problems because it's essentially just a SDS2000 with more memory and a nicer housing. And after reading decide if you want to invest that money in the face-lift variant of a scope which is on the market for approx 2 years and still suffers from major firmware issues (most of them which I don't think will ever be fixed, as Siglent doesn't seem to really know what they're doing there).I had an SDS2204, and while the hardware quality was good the firmware was really embarrassingly bad, which made the scope pretty much useless for any real work. Test equipment needs to be reliable, it's no good if you do measurements and always have to wonder if what you see is the waveform or another bug. There are other SDS2000 users in this forum who made similar experiences, it's pretty much just the ones who are Siglent seller who recommend this scope.The Rigol DS1054z does have bugs as well but Rigol seems to be more successful in squashing them. Plus the DS1054z is shockingly cheap, and the price does somewhat compensate for the less than perfect firmware. IMHO the same can't be said about the SDS2000(X).Also, I'd recommend you also consider 2nd hand big brand scopes as an alternative, which quite often are a much better deal than the new Chinese B-brand stuff.

author: CustomEngineerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2016, 10:17:37 pm
content: Quote from: chromex on January 15, 2016, 04:11:35 amWhat potential? The SDS2000 line has been out for a while now and there has never been any indication of anyone being close to unlocking the bandwidth upgrade so I wouldn't expect that its going to happen anytime soon. Its not like they just came (sure the X series have just been released, but there is not much difference from the original) out and there hasn't been enough time for someone to find a way. I certainly wouldn't buy one hoping that maybe some time in the future it might be hackable.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2016, 02:38:50 pm
content: Quote from: chromex on January 15, 2016, 04:11:35 amI pretty much gave away my SDS2204 (for which I paid around 2000 euro) because of the bugs and the second owner got rid of it as well! My worst mistake was believing Siglent would fix it soon where I should have returned it immediately. The thread about the new V2 firmware tells me the firmware is still a big unusable mess.If you want to buy a Chinese oscilloscope make sure you:1) are able to return it without hassle2) are able to return it without questions asked3) don't expect firmware issues to get fixed ever4) test the shit out of it the moment you get it and return it if you find bugs you can't live with