Rohde & Schwarz RTA-COM4USP98 vs LeCroy HD4104 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Baxsie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2020, 06:09:34 pm
content: So I am looking for a new scope.1GHz minimum4 channel analog16 channel digitalHD (10 or 12 bits analog)Serial decode (I2C, SPI, UART)100MHz current probe (add on)At least one full 1GHz rated probe (maybe included, maybe an add on)I have had a 400MHz Lecroy WaveSurfer 44Xs since it was new in 2010. It has been a great tool.Dave is always praising the R&S in his videos so I was almost convinced to go to R&S.I'm looking at the Rohde & Schwarz RTA-COM4USP98:https://www.newark.com/rohde-schwarz/rta-com4us/oscilloscope-digital-storage-1ghz/dp/99AC0518and comparing it against the LeCroy 4104HD:https://www.tequipment.net/LeCroy/WaveSurfer-4104HD/Digital-Oscilloscopes/Surprisingly close in price for the base units.I came across this LeCroy sales literature which (of course) points to LeCroy as being the winner:https://baxsie.com/images/scope/LeCroy_WaveSurfer_4000HD_vs_Rohde_%26_Schwarz_RTA4000_Series.pdfParticularly LeCroy seems to win in the noise and lose in memory depth.So my questions are:Would you choose one of these over the other, and why?Am I missing some other comparable scope that I should be looking at?Thanks in advance for any advice or experience you can offer.

author: Fixpoint
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 16, 2020, 06:41:47 pm
content: Just out of interest: What are you measuring so that you need exalted equipment like this?(I personally use the RTB2004 and don't have any experience with either the LeCroy or the RTA.)

author: Baxsie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 16, 2020, 06:58:55 pm
content: For the current probe, we often do switching power supplies, and it is really nice to look at the inductor current.Recently I was looking at a quad SPI interface between two ICs and that is the first time that I had the 400MHz Lecroy at its smallest/fastest time setting and the signals were looking quite chunky. So I was not sure if I am seeing the limits of the scope or the real waveform:Also since many of my people are working from home, I will pass the LeCroy 44Xs to an engineer and reap the benefits of being the boss and enjoy a nice new scope.I have had 10 good years out of the LeCroy 44Xs and it is still kicking. Recently upgraded it to an SSD and cut the boot time in half.I see this as an investment in good equipment that will last for and be relevant for a decade.

author: Baxsie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 22, 2020, 10:25:27 pm
content: Follow up on this.I ended up ordering a 6 channel Tek 4 series MSO46.Got what I think was a killer deal on it -- more absolute $ than the R&S or LeCroy (both of which also have good deals going), but close enough that for 1.5 times the channels, deeper memory, and the bigger high-res screen was enough to push me to the Tek.I have had all four channels busy and wishing I had one more.Another factor was that the Tek inside sales rep was much more responsive than the other sales channels I was pursuing.

author: Baxsie
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2020, 08:07:39 pm
content: Further follow-up, here is a screenshot from the Tek:Just barely scratching the surface of this scope. It does so much more than the older LeCroy. A lot of learning to do.