Rigol DS1202Z-E external trigger input defective or general problem? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2020, 10:46:16 am
content: Hi,I own an Rigol DS1202Z-E oscilloscope and I'm unable to get the trigger via EXT TRIG input to work. I wonder if this is a problem with my specific device or if this is a general problem with this oscilloscope.Is there anyone who owns this osci or has experience with it who can confirm whether this feature works?Firmware on my device: 00.06.02Board version: 0.0.1Thanks a lot!

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2020, 12:31:24 pm
content: If you've tried several different input signals then it could be defective.It should be as simple as selecting "EXT" as the trigger source.Try doing it by hand. Get a 9V battery and tap it with the probe. Do it in both orientations (positive and negative) with the horizontal timebase set to 1ms.(or on a 5V power supply)

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2020, 01:33:41 pm
content: I did the tests you suggested and it did not work. It is very likely that my unit is defective, but it would be great if someone could verify that for me using a different unit. I saw some post here in this forum that described a similar problem.

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2020, 09:43:38 am
content: Is anyone willing to test this on their RIGOL DS1202Z-E?

author: djmarkovitch
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 05, 2020, 03:49:27 am
content: I have a DS1202Z-E and mine works on external trigger. Make sure the trigger mode is normal or single before connecting to the external trigger signal.

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2020, 05:53:43 am
content: The manual isn't all that helpful, either. This is pretty much all it says about External Trigger:QuoteOf course you have selected EXT as Trigger Source....So if it still doesn't work you probably should return it under warranty.

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2020, 03:49:35 pm
content: Thanks a lot! That was all I needed. So, I guess mine is broken

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2020, 04:56:40 pm
content: Got it exchanged, it's working now as it should. Thanks for helping me out.

author: weejag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2021, 03:34:23 pm
content: My friend just bought this oscilloscope and found exactly the same problem.He bought it on my recomendation as I had bought the DS1202Z-E a few months ago and loved it.I had never checked the 'ext trig' but I wanted to see see if I my scope was the same - it was.When he first got his scope we realised that he already had updated firmware.My scope was the original 6.01 version and his was 6.02Unfortunately I upgraded mine yesterday otherwise I could answer this question myself:-To 'fts'You say that your replacement is working fine in regard to this glitch.Could you check your firmware version and see if it is 6.01 or 6.02 please.It may be that the firmware upgrade has introduced the problem.If they have supplied you with a 6.01 machine which works then I suspect that this may be the answer.If yours is 6.02 then we may both be sending for a replacement.Actually it would be useful if anyone checking to see if they had the problem could post their firmware version along with the result of the their testing.It does seem wierd that three people have reported such a specific 'hardware' fault when all other functions are working.Thanks

author: weejag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2021, 08:34:49 am
content: I got a response to a personal message to fts.He says that he has checked and his scope is version 6.02.Oh well. Looks like it’s probably a hardware problem.Damn.

author: weejag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2021, 05:46:29 pm
content: FIXED IT!It wasn't a hardware issue. I wondered if there was a full factory reset for this scope - nothing in the manual but found a solution on the net.To reset the oscilloscope, just power off and then on, repeatedly pressing the fifth grey button down on the left side and the oscilloscope resets to factory settings. The menu changes to Chinese, but that's easily fixed by just selecting English in the language settings on the list to the right of the screen (press utility to get that menu if required).I first checked that the firmware was still 6.02 and that all the options were still available. No problems there.Did a self-calTried the external trigger - worked perfectly!All other functions seem to be fine too. Brilliant.To check if your 'ext trig' works try this. It would be interesting to know how many people have this problem and have never noticed.You can just check using the two probes on the calibration square wave. Put them on channels 1 & 2 and set the trigger to sync on channel 2.Then swap the probe from channel 2 on to the 'ext trig'. Set the trigger to 'ext' and see if the signal on channel 1 will sync.You will probably have to adjust the voltage on the trigger (displayed at the top right of the screen). My external trigger synced between -180 to -460mV.

author: fts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2021, 07:20:25 am
content: Interesting fix. Wish I had found these instructions when I had the problem. Did it fix your friend's problem too?

author: capcrap
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 04:29:29 pm
content: Hey weejag, fts,your posts helped a lot. I was unable to use the external trigger too. After reseting my DS1102Z-E it worked. My FW version is 6.02.However, abter resetting I'm unable to connect DSremote via LAN. DSremote just crashes. It worked before. Did you have similar issues?Regards

author: capcrap
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 20, 2021, 07:16:06 pm
content: Update: After compiling DSremote at its newest version and rebooting both Scope and PC I was able to get a connection again. Don't know what exactly helped.

author: kronos
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2021, 06:17:27 pm
content: I can confirm it is not a hardware error. I have a recently purchased DS1102Z-E, and I discovered today that the external trigger does not work. My SW is 06.02. After a reset as described by weejag, it works. I have not yet done a calibration, I do not know if it is necessary.Thanks a lot, this forum is great. I just registered to share this.

author: duckduck
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2021, 11:54:42 pm
content: Quote from: weejag on February 09, 2021, 05:46:29 pmweejag, you just made my day. Had this problem on mine (external trigger doesn't seem to work). Firmware version is 6.01. Factory reset, change it back to English. Normal mode. Now external trigger works beautifully. I didn't even know there was a factory reset on this scope. If you are ever in the Seattle area I will buy you a beer.EDIT: Yes, I know there is a way to save screenshots to USB drive (and a one user has even written a python script to get it over Ethernet) but I couldn't be bothered.

author: Piton
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 11:53:47 am
content: Hello. Unfortunately, I saw this forum late, there was the same problem with external synchronization. I wanted to check on another firmware, but I did not find a new one, I downloaded it for 2019, but it was not detected, since for this series the firmware is named DS1000Z-EUpdate, and the old ones are named DS1000ZUpdate. But, since my hands were very itchy, I changed the name, the device saw the firmware and was sewn. Everything works normally, the problem with synchronization remains and a new one has appeared - now I can not reflash it back: he now does not see the previous firmware (with the name DS1000Z-EUpdate), the renamed one starts to flash, and somewhere in a minute the process is interrupted. Help from the Chinese was in the form of a new firmware for this year, but, of course, it also does not come in. Do I have a chance to fix this somehow? Thanks.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 12:54:41 pm
content: Search the forum. There is a thread that explains the solutions.

author: Piton
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 01:02:36 pm
content: I've been looking over it, but I haven't found an answer yet. If you know where, please give me the link. Factory reset didn't help.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 03:00:33 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-rigol-ds1054z-oscilloscope/4525/

author: Piton
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 04:05:20 pm
content: Thank youtv84. But I meant a problem with the firmware. The synchronization problem was resolved after a factory reset, as described here.

author: tv84
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2021, 04:12:50 pm
content: Did you continue to read that thread? It's exactly the same problem as yours.

author: Piton
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 14, 2021, 09:34:34 am
content: Sorry, I didn't read it, I thought it was the same thread on the problem with synchronization. I will read it. Thanks again.