[REVIEW] Rigol DG4062 function Generator - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2012, 11:38:12 am
content: The box comes with:the device itselfPower CableBNC cable (1Meter)USB cable (1.5Meter)CD with software and pdf filesWarranty paper (mine is in chinese)Calibration Paper (doesn't list any numbers just says all is fine)Quickstart manual (Chinese and English)What I don't like about the device:The Fan is pretty loud (a lot louder than the DS1052E).The keys seem to not respond all that great, you really have to press those keys (you can see that in the video).The pop-ups stay too long in my opinion.I'm not sure about the following:The power led fades on and off when the device is not on, its very very dim but I bet it could annoy some people (not me though, I sleep in the same room and I haven't noticed a thing).For some people the 16kpts arb length might be not enough.The square wave at 25MHz doesn't really look like a square wave at all but I don't know if that's a problem or not, I doubt it is.Things I like about the device:Dual channel, both channels can do the same thing, no channel that's lesser then the other like some devices.The amplitude settings, you can do either Amplitude and offset or High point and Low Point.The output impedance, either High-Z or 1-10.000 Ohm.I think the boot time is pretty quick.Large clear screen.The Help button could come in handy.Counter works really well, i do wonder if the 10MHz input would also be used for that.Bugs found so far:Under "Utility" > "CH Copy" the "Type" is misspelled as "Tpye".When the 2 channels are coupled, (CH1 being the Base channel) with CH2 having a phasedeviation of 90°, whenever you change the frequency it loses this phase deviation (the number still says 90° but the actual deviation is only 0°), Pressing "Align Phase" doesn't do anything, the only way to fix it is to change the phase deviation on CH1 and then back to 0° and then it works like it should.This is not so much a bug but it would make the device a lot more usable; when you use the knob to change the value of something and for example the value is 5.000 and you are standing on the 5 with your cursor you can turn all the way down to 1.000 but then it stops, it would be nice if when you stood on the 1 and turned even lower it would jump over to the next digit so you could scroll even further for example you would go from 1.000 to 900 and then 800 etc.DC values, Set vs. MeasuredSet DCMeasured DC0.001VDC0.0009909VDC0.01VDC0.0099923VDC0.1VDC0.1001393VDC1VDC1.000954VDC10VDC10.03383VDC-10VDC-9.998436VDCAC values, Set vs. MeasuredSet ACMeasured AC1VAC0.99734VAC5VAC4.99469VAC7.0721VAC7.06745VAC5VAC values Measured over Frequency5Hz4.99866VAC10Hz4.99462VAC50Hz4.99527VAC100Hz4.99433VAC10kHz4.99088VAC100kHz4.98513VAC1MHz4.96144VAC

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2012, 10:46:35 pm
content: If there is anything you want to see/know then tell me and I'll either make video or just tell/show you (mind you I don't have a spectrum analyzer only a scope and a 6.5Digit DMM).

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2012, 10:08:44 pm
content: Quote from: chrome on June 02, 2012, 10:46:35 pmHow responsive is the knob for adjusting frequency? - is it smooth or does it jump or glitch?

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2012, 10:21:29 pm
content: Looking at the specs, seems like the only difference between the 60,100 and 60M models is tha output bandwidth - the sample rate is the same (not sure how useful a 160MHz waveform will be at only 500MSPS sample rate).- I wonder if this is another varicap slugging job... hack time I think..!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2012, 11:06:05 pm
content: For 160MHz a samplerate of 320MHz would do in theory. In reality you will need a little bit more but not 500MHz. Don't forget bandwidths are always specified for sine waves.

author: rbola35618
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 01:31:43 am
content: MikeelectricstuffFrom what I remember, the knob was smooth and has better feel than the DG1022 seriesRBolanos

author: typeglob
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 02:11:52 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on June 03, 2012, 11:06:05 pmAnalog Devices in their document on DDS use a ratio of 40% for the output frequency vs the clock frequency; that would come down to 400 MHz to generate that 160 MHz signal.

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 08:55:22 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 03, 2012, 10:08:44 pmIt sort of depends, if you turn it normally then it's smooth, if you try and turn it at really fast speeds then it only updates it when it's stable(the number on the screen).Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 03, 2012, 10:21:29 pmI bet there is but I don't know enough of this to try it, I bet they figured out a way to stop the DS1052E drama by only changing the serial though.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 09:17:53 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on June 03, 2012, 11:06:05 pmExactly - "In Theory" = assuming a perfect output filter, and the whole point of an AWG is it can generate more than just sinewaves - calling it a 160MHz AWG with only 500MHz sample rate is s bit cheeky.With a fixed 500Msps, I can't see that the additional $500 premium of the "160MHz" would be value for money in terms of extra capability...and BTW - major Rigol website FAIL - have to register to get datasheets, user guides etc.!Fortunately some of the distributors have more accessible copies.

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 09:27:29 am
content: I have all the copies you might want, do you want me to send them?DatasheetProgramming GuideQuick GuideUser Manual

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 09:40:21 am
content: So I did a test, I set up a sweeping signal from 1 to 50MHz.You see the amplitude drop the higher the frequency gets, I don't know if this the scopes doing or the waveform generator itself, using a 50Ohm terminator doesn't help.Also this is a square wave at 25MHz:The scope is not modified, it's running firmware 00.02.01 SP1 @ 50MHz

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 11:27:55 am
content: So it is my scope then?

author: Akaminario
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 12:11:22 pm
content: Quote from: chrome on June 02, 2012, 10:46:35 pmwell it's better to see the harmonic distortion and phase noise of the sine wave~~any more pics to show more details about the inside of DG4062THNAKS!

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 12:17:06 pm
content: There was no bandwidth limitation on so it might be ok.Quote from: Minya.Konka on June 04, 2012, 12:11:22 pmI'm not gonna open the device, i would prefer to keep the 3 Year warranty by not voiding the warranty, butPeDrehas opened the device so you can see that in his post.I wouldn't know how to check for the harmonic distortion and phase noise of the sine wave, remember I only have a scope.Is this what you want?

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 12:39:39 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 04, 2012, 09:17:53 amSine is the only thing it does at 160MHz. ARB is limited to 40MHz. At 160MHz the output is limited to 1vpp into 50 ohms. At a given frequency the maximum output level is the same across models. I wouldn't be surprised if there is no hardware difference at all between models.Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on June 04, 2012, 09:17:53 amYou can submit any old garbage and carry on with the download. I have done that on every visit you would think they might get a clue from the amount of garbage submitted.

author: Akaminario
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 01:57:10 pm
content: Quote from: PeDre on June 04, 2012, 12:37:46 pmThanks ,good pics !

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2012, 04:55:20 pm
content: Usingthis programI got fromthis threadI made some spectrum analysis thingies.10kHz Harmonic Signal Settings10kHz Harmonic Signal FFT1MHz Sine Wave FFT50MHz Sine Wave FFT50MHz Sine Wave FFT, other setting60MHz Sine Wave FFT

author: Akaminario
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 05, 2012, 01:12:20 am
content: Hello ,i saw the harmonic distortion,thanks !it looks the Harmonic Distortion and Spur is not the same as the datasheet ~i read the datasheet,it told me :Harmonic Distortion Typical (0dBm)DC-1MHz:<-60dBc1MHz-10MHz?<-55dBc10MHz-100MHz?<-50dBc100MHz-160MHz?<-40dBcWELL but ur output amplitude is 5Vpp~~~~ would u pls show me the 0dbm's performance?meanwhile i think is't not suitable to test a 14bit Vertical resolution generator's performanceby using a oscilloscope(8 bit ADC), because i'm not sure the distortion result u show above ismade by the generator itself or by the AFE of the oscilloscope~ !Thanks!

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2012, 09:47:01 am
content: And how would I do that?

author: eSaloooo
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 06, 2012, 03:38:29 am
content: Hi alli got Rigol DG4102 and DSA-815 ;i tested the sine wave of DG4102 , i found the result is pretty good as the specification ,theharmonic distortion is good enough for my daily applications ~hope its helpful for u guys , thanks ~~~

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2012, 05:49:11 pm
content: The fastest I could get the device to rise/fall: (ignore the rigol counter, it was 15MHz according to my Philips PM6615 Counter.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2012, 06:04:08 pm
content: Quote from: Rufus on June 04, 2012, 12:39:39 pmA lot of people forget signals are basically a bunch of sine waves mixed together. Bandwidth indicates the limit for the highest sine wave component an AWG can produce. Whether that is usefull or not is up to the user.

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2012, 06:44:29 pm
content: I have a 50Ohm terminatorhttp://images.batronix.com/products/accessories/Rigol-Impedance-Adjuster-50Ohm-459-600.jpg

author: stupid
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 03:11:32 pm
content: In DG4062 spec,rise time for square is less 12ns(1Vpp),but for arbitrary is less 5ns, and not definite rise time for pulse?I think if you use higher bandwidth scope like 1GHz above to measure,you should get the precise value.When I using TDS1012 to measure sync of 33120A,the fall time is around 3.5ns, but when using SDA760Zi, it changed to 700ps.