low-end oscilloscope: rigol DS1102E vs. siglent SDS1102CML - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: chastings
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 09:31:24 am
content: I'm about to purchase a low-end 100MHz DSO, and it's looking like coming down to the Rigol DS1102E or the Siglent SDS1102CML. While there are lots of good things said about the Rigol scope, there are few Siglent reviews out there, and they are not always as positive.It just so happens that my local giant electronics warehouse has branded cousins of these two scopes out on the floor where I could play with them:Agilent DSO1052B (rebadged Rigol 60MHz)LeCroy WaveAce 102 (rebadged Siglent, I don't know the exact model but it's from the slightly older series with 320x240 display, wish they had a 1000 series...)I wasn't worried that these scopes have different bandwidth/memory specs. My goal was to find out which scope felt better in terms of responsiveness and software UI. I'm glad I spent some time doing this -- hands down, the Agilent scope felt more responsive. I'd say the UI layout was a draw. The LeCroy (Siglent) lagged in updating the waveform, sometimes taking a few seconds for the new settings to show up. I wish I could ignore a slower UI but it's very frustrating to me. The waveform itself looked much snappier on the Agilent (Rigol) scope.So, a few questions:1) Is it reasonable to expect the new 480x240 (-L series) Siglent models to be similarly unresponsive? Is the CPU+FW any better?2) Anyone used both the DS1102E and SDS1102CML who can compare lag/waveform speed?3) Anyone with a SDS1102CML have comments (good or bad) about its responsiveness?Looking at the OEM hardware, I want to like the Siglent better but this issue concerns me.thanks!

author: bluejonah
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 04:10:27 pm
content: I'm interested in the answer to this as well. I'll keep looking in the forum. If you find a previous post with your answers, tag them here so I can read them.Thanks!EDIT: There are a lot of posts on this scope. Basically, yes it has a bigger screen but it isn't as good as the Rigol. Plus, the Rigol updates faster. Finally, there are some bugs in the firmware of the Siglent and there hasn't been any firmware updates yet. I'm just going to go with a Rigol.

author: DavidR
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 07:26:54 pm
content: I'm surprised as the Rigol is an old oscilloscope and it seems that it has no competitors yet (of course at this price rage). I also consider the SDS1102CML but probably because of the modern design and better/bigger screen only. No doubt that the DS1102E is still good piece of hardware if only not this old look. A friend of mine bought an 60MHz Owon (huge screen) but the Rigol still seems to be a better choice for me.I'm really interested if someone can add anything reliable about these two to make the choice easier...Thanks.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2014, 07:42:12 pm
content: I have an Atten that I picked up a few years ago it's a rebranded sds. Here is what I know and did to the Atten:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/atten-asd1102cal-to-siglent-sds1102cml/msg332530/#msg332530I have no complaints about the scope but have no experience with the Rigol so can't compare. I will say the build quality is very good. It was put through hell when it was being used at the shop frozen opened, shipped and such. It's basic but works.