Considering purchase of Rigol 1054z ... Some questions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Sealyons
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pm
content: I'm considering the purchase of a Rigol 1054z. I've watched the EEVBLOG videos and searched around the forums a bit and, for the most part, can't find that much negative feedback other than just some things one has to get used to with a new scope. My use will be fairly general, I'm an EE and do quite a bit with microcontrollers and debugging of serial interconnects (i.e. UART, I2C, SPI), I also dabble in Rc for a hobby. I think the scope will fit my needs really well (and of course money is tight). Does anyone have any negative issues that affect the performance of the scope?Do the various 100mhz upgrade and feature unlock approaches still work for these scopes? Are there any issues with doing this and is everything reversible if necessary (i.e. warrenty claims). If anyone has any specifics regarding any of this please share.I don't think I'm fully understanding the recording capabilities of the scope. I know it has both the ability to record/playback (via software upgrade) and the general ability to save data to a USB drive. Can all data be saved to a USB drive? Are there any software options for playing back and analyzing the stored data off the scope? Is it possible to playback the data through the scope? I know the answer to this depends on many factors but assuming 2 channel usage about how much time can be captured using the record/playback option?Really appreciate any help.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2016, 04:58:00 pm
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pmNope.Quote from: Sealyons on February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pmYes.Quote from: Sealyons on February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pmNoQuote from: Sealyons on February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pmYes.

author: v81
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 01:28:36 am
content: I'm not an experienced scope driver, just getting that out of the way.I got a DS1054Z about a year ago, and a year on have no regrets.That thought alone makes me feel like i made the right choice.Price vs features vs performance makes it a winner.There are better scopes around, but you'll need to pay a lot more.I doubt you'll regret the DS1054Z

author: michaeliv
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 01:46:27 am
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 11, 2016, 04:37:09 pmHere are some negatives :- Selector knob is non-detented which makes selection tricky by default ( you can mod it ).- Selector knob requires a lot of force to push by default (no, I don't even lift)- UI is slooowww, very laggy- Fan is not super quietBut you won't find any better for the price

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 06:51:01 am
content: As you're in the US the only 300V rated inputs probably won't worry youbut the probes that many have said are poor might.

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 07:22:26 am
content: And the scope can even do math, and count pluses!

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 07:35:56 am
content: Serial decoding is limited to on screen. If you are planning to code debugging go for one of the cheap (20 buck) Chinese "logic analyzers" supported by Sigrok.http://sigrok.org/Having said that it's a great scope and as a scope it is very good value. I find I use it all the time.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 07:39:27 am
content: I agree with the other comments.Some notes:Rigol scopes (like other brands in this priceclass) suffer from from software bugs.For most people, those bugs are not a show stopper.Despite those bugs, you will not find a better scope in this priceclass.It simply has the best bang for buck.Also, because of the popularity of this particular model, you'll find a lotof free software to connect your pc to the scope, which makes downloading waveform dataor making screenshots much easier than using a usb pen.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 07:48:27 am
content: - The software doing the non-indented rotary encoders is crap. Rotating slowly is fine. Rotating faster will jump you to the end/beginning. There is no in-between.- There are bugs. Expect to find bugs or things that are not intuitive. But it will work eventually.- The fan will be an annoying in a silent room. It won't be in a normal office workplace environment.- Triggering does not work on low amplitude signals, you'd need a few div's amplitude for the trigger to work.Quote from: michaeliv on February 12, 2016, 01:46:27 amThey've sold a lot. This results in plenty of software compatible with the thing. My favorite:Rigol Bildschirmkopie.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 09:06:39 am
content: Quote from: michaeliv on February 12, 2016, 01:46:27 amYeah, the fan could be quieter. Some people have modded theirs.Quote from: michaeliv on February 12, 2016, 01:46:27 amYep. Nothing else is even close in terms of bang/buck. Ignore the professional online naysayers, you definitely won't regret getting one.

author: Emi
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 09:40:58 am
content: Hi. This is really hard to beat in features Vs priceA good quality fan ( noctua/scythe. .) will be a good first mod !Then You can try to improve that such swaggy knobs. ..

author: markone
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 09:41:11 am
content: Confirming all the positive things said so far i would add only one warning : screen text fonts are quite small, if you have vision problem it would be better play with it "live" before to buy to see if it's a problem for you.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 10:18:34 am
content: if you have vision problem, wear eye glasses. not just specific to a dso, but for everything. not wearing eye glasses while struggling to focus on environment may even further damage your eyes and brain...

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 03:38:10 pm
content: And you can even get measurements with statistics!(Seriously... it's a great scope most of the time, and I have no problem with the knobs myself, and I wouldn't even consider replacing the multifunction knob or the other small knobs/buttons with detented encoders. And I certainly cannot even hear the fan, since I have about seven other fans going in my computer and my room air electrostatic dust filter, etc. If you want to hear fan noise, you should hear my Topward bench PSU... it has two fans which are indeed noisy. The sound of work being performed!)

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 04:09:07 pm
content: It's a great little scope for the money. The measurements system is well implemented. Other stuff not so great, but it's entirely usable. For the money you can't do better than a DS1054z imo. Some folks with less than perfect vision have mentioned that the fonts are rather small, so unless you have issues with that, I would get it.

author: markone
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 06:50:51 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 12, 2016, 10:18:34 amYour comment is unnecessarily trivial, i wrote in this forum gazzilions of times that ialreadywear glasses.Apart that those fonts are smallin absoluteand the effective waveform's area on the screen is shrinked down to 5" by fixed menus, no sh!t.

author: _Wim_
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2016, 06:55:29 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 12, 2016, 10:18:34 amI gguess you still have reasonably good eyes to make a statement like that... I only all vision problems would be solved by wearing a pair of glasses...

author: Sealyons
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 am
content: Thanks for all the comments on the 1054Z. I took the step and made the purchase!Does anyone have any responses to my questions on data recording. Here's my original questions again:"I don't think I'm fully understanding the recording capabilities of the scope. I know it has both the ability to record/playback (via software upgrade) and the general ability to save data to a USB drive. Can all data be saved to a USB drive? Are there any software options for playing back and analyzing the stored data off the scope? Is it possible to playback the data through the scope? I know the answer to this depends on many factors but assuming 2 channel usage about how much time can be captured using the record/playback option?"Appreciate any help.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 07:16:18 am
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amCongrats, you'll not regret it.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amYes.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amYes.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amBack from a pc or a pen to the scope? No.You can playback a recording that is still in memory of the scope.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amHave a look here:http://beyondmeasure.rigoltech.com/acton/attachment/1579/f-050a/1/-/-/-/-/MSO1000Z%26DS1000Z_UserGuide.pdf(page 193)

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 07:21:10 am
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amYes.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amYes.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amWithin limits.Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:58:39 amMemory size, divided by number of channels, divided by sample rate.

author: Sealyons
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 04:49:34 pm
content: Thanks. Can you provide some names and/or links to available software for off-scope data viewing and analysis?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 06:11:33 pm
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 04:49:34 pmThis is one of my favorites:http://bfy.tw/4FI6

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 06:22:19 pm
content: Quote from: Karel on February 13, 2016, 07:16:18 amwhat software? iirc from web screen capture, DSRemote cant record and play.Quote from: Fungus on February 13, 2016, 07:21:10 amwhat software? your lmgtfy link is not specifically relevant. different software will not read rigol data correctly, with gazziliions implementation of usbtmc, and rigol got a fucked up format for wfm. can you be more specific?

author: Sealyons
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 06:24:45 pm
content: This is to Fungus. Really??? If you don't have constructive input, please keep it to yourself.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 06:30:59 pm
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 06:24:45 pmcross your finger... hopefully sw recorder for rigol will be coming soon...

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 06:47:24 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 13, 2016, 06:22:19 pmwhat software? iirc from web screen capture, DSRemote cant record and play.Software for playing back dataoff the scope? There's things other than DSRemote.Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 13, 2016, 06:22:19 pmThe Rigol can save CSV data. The first hit was Matlab. Matlab can import CSV. Seems relevant to me.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 07:05:50 pm
content: Quote from: Sealyons on February 13, 2016, 06:24:45 pmThere's no pleasing some people.You asked for "some names and/or links to available software for off-scope data viewing and analysis", I gave you a list of the most popular. With a question as general as that it's hard to be more specific.If you want to be moreexactabout what it is you want to achieve I can maybe narrow it down a bit. I've given you good answers when the questions were well chosen (see start of thread).

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2016, 07:11:43 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on February 13, 2016, 06:30:59 pm

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 11:21:42 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on February 13, 2016, 07:11:43 pmthe software has just been released (windows app though) for beta stage testing... 200Kpts FFT (imminent 20-200Mpts in near future), export Rigol data to CSV etc. for eg using export/save CSV feature built in to Rigol menu will take ages. now 24Mpts CSV is just minutes away... also capable to import/store/export floating points precision data from any devices... realtime and fps precise playback for realtime short memory recording and many more...http://www.soasystem.com/download/visadso/http://www.soasystem.com/download/visadso/screenshot/screenshot.htmlthis is example of 24Mpts downloaded to PC from DS1000Z in a minute...this is 3128 pts X 4 channels....

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 11:30:51 am
content: Quote from: Muxr on February 12, 2016, 04:09:07 pmThe fonts can be actually made larger for things like the measurement windows. It screws up the UI layout a bit, though.

author: SteveRosenlund
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2016, 01:15:11 pm
content: I am a beginner and I love my 1054z. It's easy to learn on. The menus are mostly intuitive. It's easy to find a trace manually. It's easy to capture screenshots.Oh yeah I almost forgot. The help feature is awesome. Just press the help button and the on screen information will teach you what each function does.

author: Ardvaark
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 29, 2016, 08:21:04 pm
content: I just ordered mine last week, it'll be here tomorrow.Can't wait!

author: Borgonomics
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 23, 2016, 02:49:15 pm
content: Hi chaps,want to buy a scope. After reading all the good stuff here on the blog, have decided to go with the Rigol 1054Z. Is it still hackable to 100 Mhz? Does the hack enable the decoding?JC

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2016, 03:02:21 pm
content: Yes and yes.