Rigol DSA875-TG 9kHz - 7.5GHz Spectrum Analyzer Review, Teardown & Experiments - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 12:54:27 am
content: Watch the video here: [1 Hour & 13 Minutes]youtu.be/0wVlH1lPZdEMore videos at The Signal Path:http://www.TheSignalPath.com

author: JoeN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 01:00:05 am
content: Rigol DSA875-TG 9kHz - 7.5GHz Spectrum Analyzer & Tracking Generator Review, Teardown & Experiments50 views 9 minutes agoWill be watching that for sure. Right after The Walking Dead. A man's gotta have his priorities...

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 02:57:50 am
content: Good review, thanks

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 05:48:02 am
content: Enjoyed the video - I wouldn't say it was really a teardown, lol.The various measurements and setup were nice to see though and they transfer over to many other spectrum analyzers.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 10:19:11 am
content: Nice, but a shame that we didn't get to see the analyzer front end. Were you worried about upsetting the calibration?

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 02:13:34 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on October 19, 2015, 10:19:11 amHi, sorry about that. I have been really stressed for time with a million ideas for new videos! So I have to rush a few things here and there. I thought focusing on experiments in this review would be more valuable.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2015, 08:56:24 pm
content: Quote from: TheSteve on October 19, 2015, 05:48:02 amYes, these are all the basic measurements you would want to do. Too bad it doesn't have a digital down-conversion stage.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2015, 03:05:14 am
content: Quote from: German_EE on October 19, 2015, 10:19:11 amI don't think that it would have a strong impact on the calibration either way... Once I get some more time, I'll take it apart more.

author: uski
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2015, 08:51:27 pm
content: I wonder if a DSA832 can be upgraded into a DSA875...

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2015, 11:54:46 pm
content: Quote from: uski on October 20, 2015, 08:51:27 pm99.999% (with a margin of 0.001% error) not possible.

author: _Wim_
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2015, 08:25:04 pm
content: Excellent video as always! Very good information. Keep em comming...

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2015, 10:44:07 am
content: Kind of a bummer not to see a real "teardown" on this one (likewise the Signal Hound unit from your other video.)Glad to hear you're planning a follow-up.Also, was that IEC power connector just a piece of plastic with contacts embedded in it, or was there a proper line filter? If the former, all that nice shielding beneath the back cover was a complete waste of time/money on Rigol's part.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2015, 12:33:41 am
content: Quote from: KE5FX on October 22, 2015, 10:44:07 amUnfortunately no filter as far as I can remember.

author: Tobias89
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2017, 09:08:03 am
content: Hello,has anybody had any luck with unlocking all options on DSA875?I would appreciate any help!

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2017, 07:54:30 pm
content: I'll check! Hopefully I will remember...

author: Wall-E
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2017, 04:30:36 pm
content: Quote from: Hugoneus on October 10, 2017, 07:54:30 pmEdit - While your checking something (whatever),Could you please also do more of a teardown as you previously mentioned you would try to do. It would be nice to see more of what is in there under the those shielded compartments. At least pictures, or a video of the top sides of the hidden boards. Thank you for consideration, Stijn

author: KE5FX
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2017, 09:19:57 pm
content: Quote from: Wall-E on October 11, 2017, 04:30:36 pmSeconded. You don't have to go into a lengthy dissertation on the low-level details, but at least show closeups of the board so that components and subcircuits can be identified in still frames.Recent teardowns from all of the major YouTube stars have fallen well short in this respect.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2017, 10:30:20 pm
content: Quote from: KE5FX on October 11, 2017, 09:19:57 pmMy repairs all do have teardowns!

author: technogeeky
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2017, 12:52:14 am
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on October 12, 2017, 12:02:04 amI agree with your sentiment (and I suspect Hugoneus does too), but he's a busy man and he's already using a lot of his free time for TSP. If this isn't a strong enough argument, then an easier argument are the combined facts that:he often repairs things whose calibration can be disturbed (or ruined!) by opening internally shielded partshe often doesn't need to open every shielded part in order to do the repairI think it would be silly to request that he do things which could damage the calibration of his own equipment for the sake of our educational (or equipment repair) opportunities.In any case, it is not our role to tell him what to do. One does not walk into one's classroom and start making demands of the teacher.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2017, 02:35:50 am
content: I certainly agree with the sentiment, but of course time is limited.

author: AF6LJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 12, 2017, 02:59:24 am
content: There is too much at risk, this stuff costs money..Take it from someone who has spent her career repairing expencive gear, and taking chances at home on broken items and thinking of it as an investment on one's career.Those days are past.

author: tmbinc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2017, 06:54:28 am
content: I will second the suggestion to provide high quality teardown _pictures_ - Hugoneus, I _love_ TSP, mostly for the fact that it allows me to peek into devices that are too expensive for most other people to open up. And I'm very thankful for your work! I know TSP must be an even larger time sink than it is a money sink, so it feels really bad to give a suggestion that would require you to spend even more time on it.For example in the MDO4000C review, you did a full teardown, but then the resolution of the video wasn't good enough to identify a few parts that I always wanted to know what they are ("unpopulated mystery device" inhttps://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO476qh31x8zEEjAioZGXwLE8N_c5yuo6B3rg4k55-MQk-gu35gzyiasX5_aQCPfw/photo/AF1QipNmGJ5eG6rrdl6JyVaks7f8WoFbTegYycS1BEzu?key=OXR1c0VUdEdEOU45aG5QdmdId1hLejNCOWRqS3ln- based on the housing I suspect it to be a clock generator?).Pretty likely a photo of the board in the same setup would have been sufficient (and would provide an excellence archive for repairs), as I failed really hard to image-process this from the video - the resolution just isn't there.But then, if I had to chose between better teardown pictures at the cost of fewer TSP episodes (or Hugoneus becoming pissed at us because eevblog forum people behaving as ungrateful pricks) - let's not focus on this too much.

author: cat87
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2017, 10:19:10 am
content: Thank you for the video. As always, top notchThere's always a lot to learn from your videos