Video Review: Rigol DM3068 6.5 Digit Digital Multimeter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 03:47:41 pm
content: In this episode, Shahriar reviews the Rigol DM3068 6.5 Digit Digital Multimeter. The Model DM3068 DMM gives reliable, cost effective, full DMM capabilities measuring DCV, ACV, DCI, ACI, Resistance (2 & 4 Wire), Capacitance, Diode Test, Frequency, and Temperature. These DMMs are designed for simple and efficient bench top use, but include software options for datalogging and remote programming from almost any interface.Shahriar demonstrates various functionality including a computer guided destructive LED IV tracer to investigate LED failure patterns. The DM3068 can be purchased for $799 US dollars from Rigol Inc. The DM3058 offers similar functionality at 5.5 Digits for $695 US dollars.Video Length: 52 MinutesLink:http://thesignalpath.com/blogs/2012/07/02/rigol-dm3068-6-5-digit-digital-multimeter-review/The Signal Pathhttp://www.TheSignalPath.com

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 04:39:11 pm
content: I have the DM3058 (wish I waited for the DM3068 to become available again) and I am quite pleased with it. There are noticable differences between the two models besides just the accuracy and resolution, but for the most part they are very similar. I've heard a few people on this forum saying that they don't like the Rigol DMMs or that they are plain garbage, but I can't see how they could have come to that conclusion unless they never used one and just don't like the idea of it being made in China.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 04:51:36 pm
content: I too am very pleased with the DM3068.It is easy to say that something is "garbage" if you have never used it. To be taken seriously one needs evidence. As for where it is made, everything is made in China. Some things are terrible, some things work well. There is only one way to find out.Hopefully this video review sheds some light on this particular model.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:00:05 pm
content: Take it apart!

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:06:01 pm
content: Watch thishttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/rigol-dm3061-6-12-digit-multimeter/msg62859/#msg62859Then you know why it is easy to call a Rigol multimeter a pile of shit without using it.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:22:49 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 02, 2012, 05:06:01 pmThe DM3061 is an old unit and Rigol has done a lot of work to improve the quality of their products in the past few years. This is aside from the fact that we know almost nothing about the pictured unit in the forum. Furthermore, my review is for the DM3068 and DM3058. These are the only two units currently sold by RigolNA.com and they perform very well. RigolNA also offers a no-question-asked return policy. But of course no one is stopping you to pay for more for an Agilent, Keithley or Fluke. In fact, I own all three.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:36:29 pm
content: Can you do a teardown please! You haven't owned it until you've taken it apart.If you are worried about warranty seals, Mike just did a video on that *cough*.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:36:58 pm
content: Quote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 05:22:49 pmPheewwI just did that , and never regretted it.I have Rigols as scopes , and am satisfied.But i'd get an Agilent or Fluke (6.5dig) , anytime ... (and a 3458 if i win the lotto)/Bingo

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 05:44:46 pm
content: Hi!And where's the review? What I just watched was a marketing special ;-)BTW:My 10 year old Voltcraft DMM is capable of measering a 68pF capacitor without any problem. Nothing special there!Thermocouples measure the temperature difference, not the temperature itself. So the ambient temperature of the DUT needs to be taken into account. A DMM could use an internal temperature sensor to offset or just assume 20 degrees Celsius room temperature. A more accurate way is to use an additional external temperature sensor to measure the DUTs ambient temperature to get the right offset.Best regards,madires

author: transmissiongate
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:14:36 pm
content: Hi Hugoneus! I just watched the video and in my point of view it's really well done. Lengthwise, the review competes with Daves videos, but no review is complete without a proper teardown and pointing out what's shit and what's not.So, don't turn it on, take it apaaaaaaart!

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:21:02 pm
content: Quote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 05:22:49 pmAnd you know that because? Let me guess, because Rigol told you when you agreed doing the review for them?QuoteAnd you know that because? Quick, remind me what your qualifications are? Ah yes, you do a video blog, stupid me.QuoteI give a flying fart through a rolling doughnut about Rigol NA, because Rigol NA (NA = North America) doesn't serve me. Until recently Rigol in China was covering Europe with a "no answers provided, no communication happening, but twice to four times expensive" policy. Now it is Rigol EU, with not enough people to even man the shipment department during holidays.QuoteYou know, it is not the size or amount that matters, you have to be able to handle your equipment, too.Oh, and finally I find it funny when someone talks about himself in the third person:Quote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 03:47:41 pmQuote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 05:22:49 pm

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:30:15 pm
content: QuoteI think it is probably hit or miss which revisions of which models have crappy rework and which ones are professionally done. My Rigol DG2041A (waveform generator) looks like shit on the inside, but my DM3058 is quite nicely done (I've put the link below so that you can see). I have seen a post on here as well though regarding the DM3068 which showed the unit looking like my DG2041A... like shit!https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/teardown-rigol-dm3058-%28multimeter%29/msg62790/#msg62790

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:32:59 pm
content: UPDATE: Here is one of the photos from the previously mentioned thread for people who want something higher resolution to look at.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:34:03 pm
content: Again, not to gang up here, but I thought I should share. First thanks for the video. It was insightful, however,Like others have said, there does not seem to be much criticism here for the meter. There's a whole lot of good, but I heard very little about "I would have liked to seen ___" "This (part) isn't all that great".It might look like a good device externally, but how about the inside. What if this thing was made to last a week?One of the reason I like Dave's videos so much is because he speaks his mind! Even if I don't agree with what he says, he's not afraid to say "I really don't like that at all". "Look at that bodge resistor!" and of course there are also compliments.Now I don't know if this was a paid review, but if it wasn't please feel free to speak your mind. Tell us how it is.Thanks.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:41:32 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 02, 2012, 06:21:02 pmI had no idea this would cause so much stress for you. Shahriar does not like it when people get stressed.

author: Hugoneus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 06:42:31 pm
content: Thank you for all the feedback. I will do a teardown video later on. There are some other topics that I would like to cover first. Some of the things I did not like which I mentioned in the video:Takes a long time to boot.Contrast ratio is not as good as VFD.The continuity test does not have a latching function. (Can be changed with firmware upgrade)The diode test does not show higher than 2V functions. (Can be changed with firmware upgrade)When I take it apart, we will see how it delivers on the inside.

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 07:09:32 pm
content: QuoteFor god sakes, the man has a PhD in electrical engineering and he owns one of the units. He also owns several competing units which he compared against for you to see. The man keeps liquid nitrogen in his appartment; what further qualifications do you need!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 07:13:15 pm
content: 1) EPIC! EPIC! EPIC!2) I don't see why some people like to dumben down rigol, after all, i bet everyone 5$ the "some people" hates rigol with a passionWell really, i did have a agilent 3456 on loan and after trying it out at a local shop i like the rigol a heck lot moreAND well, it isn't engineered to last 1 day, it IS engineered to be alongside agilent keithley and fluke3) Shahriar did a good job of reviewing it NOT Tearing it down4) Dave's a long time vblog man, he knows what to do in a single video5) the way he talked about the features makes sense to me, it's going through the features and how it works but what i find too draggy is the relentless VFD vs LCD, come on, we're in 2012 not 1989But i wouldn't mind the long startup time, because if we're for quick measurement that's what a HH DMM is for anyway.The liquid nitro test was ... unexpected

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 07:16:12 pm
content: Quote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 06:42:31 pmAwesome. Good stuff. Please be objective with the teardown.Have a nice day.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 02, 2012, 07:52:26 pm
content: Very good review, Looking forward to the tear down.Maybe they improved the innards since that photo review, should be interesting to see.And even if they didn't, what if that seemingly shoddy board turns out to give results just as good as Agilent's? Fun to think eh?And keep it cool please. It is just a multimeter.

author: Wartex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 05:01:09 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 02, 2012, 06:21:02 pmHere's his qualificationshttp://individual.utoronto.ca/xthgencomp/He has a PhD**profanity removed by admin**. Now show us your qualifications. I highly recommend you**profanity removed by admin**. Not only you make no videos, you talk shit in every thread and attack people, internet tough guy. I hope a ban hammer is coming your way.

author: RRobot
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 05:33:01 am
content: In regards to those DM3061 pictures, I have a Rigol DM3061 (Also have a Agilent 6 1/2 digit DMM, so no dog in this fight) and when I saw those pictures a few months back I took it apart and had a look. Mine looks nothing like that train wreck, no bodges at all.Not sure what happened with that mess.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 05:39:41 am
content: Quote from: olsenn on July 02, 2012, 06:32:59 pmSeems a reasonable design to me. input protection looks ok. i see a ptc. the input resistor is a ladder of smd resistors to get adequate standoff voltage without flashover.The relays are dual coil with mechanical latch , as should be ( agilent uses single coil but mechanically latched relays )Does anyone know why this is important ? Yes ? No ? let me enlighen those of you that don't know.An energized relay coil creates a magnetic field around the contacts. Any signal traveling through the relay and thus the magnetic field sees this as a back EMF . In essence this magnetic field acts as an impedance and depending on the strength of the field, and the frequency of ths signal traveling you get strange rsults. For dc you don't care but when measuring ac voltage or currents you don't want that ! You get errors. as frequency increases it gets worse.. So you either us a magnetically shield relay ( Like the little red Coto-wabash , or teledyne relays ) but those can t handle current , or cannot switch current ( they 'stick' as long as current is running ). or you use relays with mechanical latching. so the coil does not need to be kept energized. in signal generators you will see that the output attenuator relays are always mechanical latch.right, back on track...i see two grinded off partnumbers .. thats stupid. it doesn't protect your design. why bother...there is no real reference. they use a so-8 type reference , most likely an AD part .... for a 6 1/2 digit i would have expected a thermally controlled buried zener like the lm399 (yes you can still get those .. )No real hybrid , laser trimmed dividers which worries me a bit for stemperature stability and long term drift...I see a nice wide gap between inguard and outguard logic. The brains are obscured by the top board but no doubt we will find the blackfin DSP since a lot of other rigol stuff has that.A couple of CPLD's contain the glue logic . the GPIb controler is not an classic 9914 as that part is obsoloete but a copy in a CPLD. At leas tthey use real GPIb buffer chips (75161) and don't muck around with simply using the io pins of a ttl chip...the inguard logic is controlled by a cpld and it looks like they ar not using optocouplers but an analog devcies digital signal coupler that works magnetically ( obscured by the white and black leads to the fuseI wonder what is under the metal shield. could be the true-rms convertor as that one is sensitive ...a common mode line filter sits between the power plug and transformer . there dosn't seem to be a true on/off button but rather a standby switch. so the transformer is always draining power ...Someone complained about long boot times... be happy it's not a Fluke /Tek benc meter ... those things run loonix. Whoever came up with the idea that an operating system was needed to make a digital multimeter should be stapled to the wall... I hope this rigol doesn't fall in the same category... if i find out it runs loonix it is immediately disqualified.I have one on the way to test as well ( but i'm after other things... things like how fast can it take accurate readings, what's its throughput over gpib , longterm stability , temperature stability. etc ) flashy user interface mean nothing. i need a meter i can trust to give a correct result.One of the tests i like to do is turn off the autocal , short the inputs , launch autozero , apply a known voltage and then take 10000 readings without autozero and see how bad the machine drifts... stick it in a tempchamber and fluctuate ambient frmo 18 degree c to 40 degree c and see what it does.... after 10000 readings , short the input and take the residual. to see how far we are off zero. the agilent 34401 does very good on that test ...I can't have a machine that starts drifting if someone opens a door .... or if the airco kicks on and out.. ( i've seen that ! measuremensts with a cyclic up and down shift to their baseline. perfectly in sync with the airco kicking in and out .... in the new lab we have a different airco system that is always on it is a dual stage system with a heater, a chiller and a humidity control. Temperature is always fixed and changes maybe 0.5 degrees c . But in the old lab stuff like that would influence precision measurements...)as for the 'growlers' on the forum... let them 'growl'-edit- apparently that picture is a 5-1/2 digit. for tat it may be ok with a lesse reference. the 61/2 digit needs something something better.i wonder what converter they are using ...

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 06:12:36 am
content: I love your posts free_electron, always refreshing and high education value.On to Rigol. Well I am not going to spend anymore time watching his video review because it made my ear puke the last time I watched his Rigol powersupply review. It isn't a video he should name it Rigol Advertisement. I can't help to notice that he kept praising Rigol. I had enough, so no more for me.There is no doubt Rigol makes better than useless equipment, many are happily overclocking their units. My 4yr old Rigol DSO has some nice Nichicon caps in it(no way to tell if it's fake). Unfortunately, when I contact Rigol for a bug fixes they act as if they never produced the DSO. Search their www, they only have their latest product. Unless they change their attitude towards legacy models and customer service, I say avoid buying their stuff.For $6xx you can get a used 34401A, well proven design of at least 20 years. It might not have all the bells and whistle but it's a HP with service manuals if things go wrong.

author: Jad.z
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 06:49:13 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 02, 2012, 06:21:02 pmDave do that ALL TIME, but I never hear you bitching. Why now

author: Stephen Hill
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 10:01:33 am
content: Dear Bored@Work,When I was younger I was given some advice: "Think before you speak".CheersStephen

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:29:30 pm
content: Quote from: Hugoneus on July 02, 2012, 04:51:36 pmYes, I experienced that with my infamous Agilent U1252A review. Countless people said it was absolute crap based on a few shortcomings with it, and hammered me for it, without ever having used one themselves.Then when there was that clearance sale of it and everyone bought one, and they actually got to use it, no one was complaining any more...Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:44:49 pm
content: Quote from: Jad.z on July 03, 2012, 06:49:13 amDave loves to do that, it pisses off some people and gets them steaming out the ears. Dave likes to have fun like thatDave.

author: Neganur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 03:42:13 pm
content: Quote from: Wartex on July 03, 2012, 05:01:09 amI absolutely disagree. I don't always like the tone everybody uses, but it's certainly not poor content.Shahriar is sponsored by Rigol (think to remember he indicates it on his website) and I assume B@W was pointing out a possible bias in Shahriar's opinion regarding Rigol. At least that's how I understood those comments, and I may be completely wrong. I do appreciate all the different opinions here.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 08:14:10 pm
content: Quote from: Wartex on July 03, 2012, 05:01:09 amDo you seriously think I care about your opinion? I recommend you contact Private Fluffer if you need someone to talk. He is runnig my fan club.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 08:52:59 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 03, 2012, 05:39:41 amExcellent post as usual. More technical info than in the video 'review'.Quote from: free_electron on July 03, 2012, 05:39:41 amAgreed, a DMM should be available almost instantly after power on. Even though it may not be within its specified accuracy without warm up, it should be able to do a quick measurement. The person who came up with the idea of running Linux on a DMM is probably the same that thought that scopes should run a full desktop Windows OS, so they can run Excel and minesweep. Don't forget to run a virus scanner on your scope!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 09:27:07 pm
content: Yousaythat, but agilent was the one who did so ...

author: MBY
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 10:00:23 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 02, 2012, 05:06:01 pmWhat on earth are you talking about? I also took my Rigol (DM3061) apart at your very request in that very thread and found no problem whatsoever. Moreover, I have used my DMM for quite some time now, on nearly daily basis and in conjunction with other new and old precision instruments and the Rigol really performs very well, is stable and has excellent performance. I also keep track of my instruments, my DUTs and error sources. I have access to precision current sources, precision voltage sources, precision resistor sources, frequency standards and others and I continually evaluate all my instruments performance. I even log amb temp and humidity.There is absolutely nothing wrong with that instrument.Yeah, it very easy to call something a pile of shit when talking in total ignorance...We can also question why somebody first asks for credentials, then showing total uninterest to the answer like we other forgot that you asked...

author: Wartex
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 03:43:43 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on July 03, 2012, 08:14:10 pmI don't think you know what "opinion" means. You asked what his qualifications were and me and another poster showed you hard proof. Instead of apologizing to Shahriar or at least being quiet, you keep on mouthing off. My only opinion is that you are a forum clown. The more passive aggressive responses you post, the faster you are going to get banned, so godspeed my friend.

author: grenert
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 04:47:04 am
content: Quote from: alm on July 03, 2012, 08:52:59 pmWhich DMM runs Linux?(sorry for the O.T.)

author: rbola35618
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 04:58:39 am
content: I thought the review was great. I like the fact that he demonstrates most of the features that most people would not be familiar. I think that Dr. Shahramian is highly qualified and knows what he is talking about. In his review he mentioned that he has been using his Rigol for quite a while and would not do a video if he did not have confidence in it.As far as Rigol's product, I own the DS105 scope, DG1022 function generator, and the DS815Tg spectrum analyzer. I have been very happy with my equipment and with the Rigel's technical support. I have talked to these guys when ever I have an application question and have come thru everytime. If you have a technical problem, call either Jason Chonko or Joel Roop. They both came to Rigol from I believe Keithley Instrument. So these guys are very experienced and are good at solving problems.I believe that Rigol is coming with very good high quality products that are very competitive with HP, Tek, and others manufactures. Before I buy anything, I always give Rigol consideration because of their qualify of their products and are substantially less expensive and come with a three year warranty.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 08:59:18 am
content: Compared HP or that evil organization DanaherRigol ain't half bad actually and their products are mostly pretty goodFor a definition of bad look at UNI-T's OTHER meters except from UT33, UT10, UT61The bench division is no better, no kidding they are worse

author: Spikee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 12:26:00 pm
content: so if i'm correct it can measure current and voltage at the same time ? ( i read the manual but i am not 100% sure) .Gr spikee

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 02:59:33 pm
content: Quote from: grenert on July 04, 2012, 04:47:04 amThe new fluke and ( tekrtonix rebranded ) bench multimeters.They have two fpga's in emwith a nios soft processor. They boot linux ...8845 and 8846

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 03:39:34 pm
content: I think you mean trektopnix

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 03:42:36 pm
content: so if i'm correct it can measure current and voltage at the same time ? ( i read the manual but i am not 100% sure) .You are correct!

author: Spikee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 04:28:50 pm
content: I just ordered one , will arrive in a few days.

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 06:53:28 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 04, 2012, 02:59:33 pmI don't really see why you are making such a fuss about this, if you have one you leave it powered on anyway (reference oven and all that), the front button is only a standby button really and then it takes not even half a second to turn on.Unless you are telling me that all your bench-meters are fully off every time you don't use them.

author: MBY
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 03:13:03 pm
content: Speaking of DM3068... I have an DM3061. Its the same family as DM3062 and DM3064, the only differences are IOs, with higher model numbers has more IOs such as GPIB and LAN. But the DM3068 seems like a different beast. I recognize almost all functions in the video, but my 3061 measures only up to 240 µF for instance. One thing that annoy me with the 3061 is the lack of advanced statistics. Clearly all HW is there and there is only a matter of firmware.Has anybody tried to upgrade the firmware in those DMMs? I lack the std dev measurement and some other small details that feels like its only a new FW revision ahead. I think the fonts and some display real estate could be improved too.Another thing is the sensors settings that according to the manual should be included. I have exactly zero sensors defined and must define them all manual if I need one. The manual lists a few sensors that should already be defined, the Pt100 for instance.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 04:14:22 pm
content: Quote from: chrome on July 04, 2012, 06:53:28 pmLet me get more technical then.1) they use a softcore mapped in an fpga that can barely tick 20Mhz...2) They need a massive amount of flash and ram to support this.3 all a multimter dos is switch some relays around , read an adc and do some simple maths to compensate offset / gain and show the result on a display.A friggin braindead PIC16 series can do that and it will sleep half of the time.This is the ' we need 5 million transistors to turn on an LED' problemAll that effort and silicon had better be spent making a more precise meter. It adds nothing to the capabilities of the machine. Overkill, overhead , do not want.And they do crash sometimes...It is absurd to have to resort to a softprocessor in fpga with operating system for something so simple.They are more focused on the flashy Pixel display ( why is slow by the way as to write thoseArge digits quite an amount of data has to be blasted . The starbursts that agilent and keithley , or alpha 7*5 for keithley 2002 , use are much faster in that aspect )The only reason they did it is for the networking. So they could avoid having to write teir own network stack. Buy one then. Vxworks, or freertos will happily provide.Why didn"t they use an off the shelf soc ?Its a strange design. Those fpgas are more expensive than a soc . It's like this thing was thrown together and is not a real fluke design..The older fluke benchmeters like the 45 and 88xx had a real asic to do the analog. They used a hitachi h8 had starburst displays, were fast and reliable.This thing is slapped together from a bunch of user programable fpga's and discrete components.the software is written lazily by using a full blown operating system. The actual meter code is probably 20 kilobyte. With 2 megs overhead for the operating system....It simply does not line up with any of the other machines fluke builds. It is awkward, strange and out of line.None of the other meters out there use such an aproach.It's not so much that it is running loonix, its that it does it in a strange way , for strange reasons. The whole design feelws uncomfortable.There's other things in it that are 'weird'... Stuff is stored in battery backed ram (cr2032 coincell)... Why not eeprom or flash ? There is at least 3 flash chips in that thing... And they need a coin cell ? That is almost not user replacable ( need to break cal seals to swap it... )They make the inguard outguard using discrete leds and phototransistors ?The front/ back is not a true switch but some sliding contacts on the pcb held together with crummyPlastic.It's like they spent so much money on fpga they had to cut corneres elsewhere to save money , and cut corners in development time by resorting to a resource hungry os so they could use codemonkeys as opposed to paying real programmers.Half of the parts in that instrument are dedicated to running the os and have nothing to do with measuring...Very weird.I'll see if i can get a few pictures of the guts of that thing. There's a department that has one. Maybe over linchtime i will rip it open and write a teardown of it. It's a very weird contraption.Oh, andi t just doesnt feel right to have to wait that long for it to start.. Yes we power down fully setups over the weekends. Besides linux can boot in under a second. But you need someone who knows how to build such a beast.... Fluke clearly didn't . Pre-chewed , slapped together duct-tape engineering.

author: madires
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:04:05 pm
content: Hi!Quote from: free_electron on July 05, 2012, 04:14:22 pmIt's designed to generate more revenue. New battery for free and the recalibration for only $250 :-) Ouch!And regarding Linux, some companies miss one important point: the GPL. They have to give you the source code. Let's start hacking ;-)Cheersmadires

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:58:29 pm
content: what about the inside/stuffs of an equalent agilent 6.5 digit meter, of that fluke

author: Lukas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 06:45:44 pm
content: Fluke provides a firmware Update for the linux dmm. It's a 40MB executable. After extracting the exe itself and some zip archives in it, you reach the actual firmware. It consists of the kernel (2MB) itself and a jffs2 image. The latter contains the root filesystem with the 'DMM app'. (/usr/bin/zfp, 1MB) Anyone got a clue, what zfp may mean?The boot process is controlled by the shell script /etc/rcmount some ramdisks, sys, proc and a readonly partition (calibration?)setup gpibset mac and ip addresslaunch inetd (ftp, telnet)sleep for 2 seconds (!)start the dmm app

author: chrome
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 06:54:29 pm
content: Quote from: madires on July 05, 2012, 05:04:05 pmThey give the source code on the disk, I wondered if someone could add in the temperature measurement in the lower models (it's only 4wire resistance anyway).

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 07:39:06 pm
content: Quote from: Lukas on July 05, 2012, 06:45:44 pmZFP. Zipped Flash ? There is a flash file system for small linux kernels that uses a compressed format. A single file holds all the submodules required for the application to run. This is stored as a compressed file. decompress in one shot from flash to ram and execute. this allows for easy application updates ( updates where the os does not need an update, only the application. you can use tftp for example to alter just one file. the reason is to avoid fragmentation in flash pages and reduce the amount of write-erase cycles.now, back to this thing.. doesn't anyone find this totally absurd ? a 2 megabyte kernel , dynamically mounted systems ,s sleep times , waiting for ipaddress and then decompressing a megabyts large runtime to make a voltmeter ?the rom in a 34401 mulitmeter is 64 kilobyte ...(27c512 ..)un-be-lievable... soon we will have lightswitches that need to boot linux to turn on the light. whenever you walk into a room you haven't been in for 2 days you first need to apply 5 patches and rebuild the kernel for the switch so you can turn on the light.one of these days i am going to move to a little tropical island where there is no technology..... it's just too much...

author: Lukas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 08:47:59 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 05, 2012, 07:39:06 pmNope, the /usr/bin/zfp is the DMM app itself. It's a BFLT executable - version 4 ram. The compressed file system is the jffs2.bin

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2012, 12:43:20 am
content: Hmm. i was just guessing.I took some pictures over lunch and took a quick look around.. one thing i couldn;t immediately find was a flash rom for the in-guard fpga .... so i wonder how it gets its bitstream after a cold start ... it almost has to come in over the optical link... maybe that is part of the slow bootttime. maybe that could be part of that ZFP file.. Zipped FPGA ?The file for that fpga is pretty large ( it's a hunky fpga .. )

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 06, 2012, 12:45:26 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on July 06, 2012, 12:43:20 amSome FPGA's have built in flash memory. Which exact model is it?Dave.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2012, 03:54:51 am
content: Altera cyclones. No flash on board .Anyway , i only looked for 2 minutes. I'll do a teardown topic to orrow. Too tired now. Long day...

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 06, 2012, 09:14:14 am
content: If no obvious FPGA flash, chances are it's loaded by the main MCU from an area of the program flash. If you have a big enough program flash, and the FPGA isn't needed to get the MCU running this is generally the best way to do it as it makes updates easier and can easily ensure the correct FPGA image for the firmware version.

author: NEDM64
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2012, 02:07:40 pm
content: Thanks for the review, currently I'm not needing a bench multimeter, but this one looks like a good one for the money.BTW, I'm just a noob, but why are people like that "bored" guy doing with test probes in their hand (assuming they have anything usefull to do with them)? That's funny, they know so much that I don't see why they need test equipment in the first place... maybe checking if batteries are good, i don't know...

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 09:04:13 am
content: Does anyone know, if the DM3058E is pysically different from the DM3068? It seems to be the same meter. Maybe there's a hack to save people 350 bucks...

author: KedasProbe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2013, 12:01:55 pm
content: Quote from: con-f-use on October 17, 2013, 09:04:13 amThey are really different, the weight is also different according to spec.Don't think of it is as the 6.5 and the 5.5 digit version.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2014, 04:56:19 pm
content: I was looking for the service manual, because I have one of these coming at work.Looks like Rigol had the service manual up at one time for the DM3068. Not any more, but luckily, Google caches.http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ns5niZR6GD8J:www.rigol.com/prodserv/DP1116A/document/?act%3Dview%26itemid%3D320+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-aDoesn't look like it pulled over the images from the PDF though.

author: KedasProbe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2014, 06:29:29 pm
content: That's not the latest version, the latest version is here:http://www.rigol.com/prodserv/DM3068/document/edit: ah theserviceguideedit2: I uploaded my copy:http://ul.to/19d4mc2d

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2014, 07:14:21 pm
content: Quote from: KedasProbe on February 07, 2014, 06:29:29 pmThanks for that.

author: Mickle T.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2014, 07:29:34 pm
content: Rigol DM3068 have a very interesting Input Amplifier section and VREF scaling. Can anyone help with the high resolution photos of the DM3068 PCB?

author: Teneyes
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 07:49:13 am
content: Quote from: 3roomlab on February 26, 2015, 06:53:35 amMy experience with support has been good.After web submit ion I got RMA # and even a prepaid shipping label.i purchased from TEquipment (distributor ) but shipped back to RigolNA and as I had the tracking number I watch my DSo go back to Rigol.I then relieved Email that r my repaired devices was shipped back to me.I could see it was only at Rigol 30 hours for repairsWorking ever since.I also have the DM3068 no problems

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 26, 2015, 08:24:13 am
content: Quote from: Teneyes on February 26, 2015, 07:49:13 amNot the case in Europe. If the seller won't make a replacement by itself but will sent to rigol Gmbh in Germany, you are screwed. Expect up to a few months turnaround. Also all the service seems to be just a one guy in Germany to the extent that things won't be moving at all if he is somewhere away, in my case on trip. This was confimed by Lithuanian distribuitor.