Agilent HP 54622D vs Rigol DS1054Z - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Njord
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 02:28:58 pm
content: Someone locally is selling the Agilent oscilloscope and I’m torn between buying it or saving the money and getting a new scope.Rigol DS1054Z (~500cad)Agilent HP 54622D ($275cad)The Rigol is about twice the price but 4 channels, lighter and seems just as capable. However the Agilent reminds me of my college days and seems like a solid scope, holding up to newer scopes of today in specifications. The Agilent is missing the handle, needs a new 3V, battery, but otherwise passes the self test.I’ve heard of people swapping out the floppy drive on the Agilent for a USB emulator so that would be helpful. Also the 32 digital inputs sounds super cool and I could see that being useful but it doesn’t come with the cable. Not sure if it’s available today.Which would you buy? Would you spend twice as much to get the rigol?Thanks!

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 02:54:47 pm
content: Nostalgia is nice for a moment, but it washes away fast when the tool sits on the bench all day long. I'll wait a little longer and save for the Rigol DS1054Z.Did you counted the electricity consumption to the total cost? The old HP might burn through $225 CAD of electricity pretty fast (it eats about 80W more).

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 03:26:38 pm
content: Quote from: Njord on May 23, 2020, 02:28:58 pmThat depends entirely on what you will use the oscilloscope for. Do you need protocol decoding for example?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 03:37:21 pm
content: Quote from: RoGeorge on May 23, 2020, 02:54:47 pmNot to mention the amount of bench space those things occupy.Quote from: RoGeorge on May 23, 2020, 02:54:47 pmYep.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 03:41:35 pm
content: Quote from: Fungus on May 23, 2020, 03:37:21 pmActually the 54622D is quite compact and not that noisy. It was my daily driver at work about 20 years ago.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 04:24:48 pm
content: It actually has 16 digital channels. The logic cable is sort of available but pricey. You can make one that works well enough though.If it's local, I'd offer around 200 or less and see if they bite. Point out it's missing the logic cable and handle.The Rigol gets you color and more options; the HP doesn't do serial decode, although you will get all the available options if you upgrade to the last firmware release. The HP is older, so take that into account. Schematics are not available so repair can get difficult.Try to use both and see which UI you like better. I have a 54645D and find the UI very intuitive, but that's a personal choice.If the HP is currently working, odds are it will probably continue that way for some time, but given the throw away mindset for today's instrumentation you may feel better with one covered by a warranty.

author: Njord
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 04:52:25 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on May 23, 2020, 04:24:48 pmI already tried to get him to $200 and $250 but he’s firm. Which scope schematic isn’t available, the Rigol or Agilent? That’s an interesting point.I’ve fixed LCDs before by replacing caps. They’re obvious and easy to replace, but having the whole schematic would be interesting. I would absolutely give it a shot on repairing if I had such information.Right, it’s only 16 inputs. I likely won’t be decoding any serial, i2c information. But the thought of monitoring multiple digital inputs could be useful for my project (like my ebike). I’ve managed to live my life this long without these features.Anyone have any insight for the FFT functions on either scope? I could see this being potentially useful for myself.Appreciate everyone’s feed back. I thought the Agilent might have been a diamond in the rough giving the pricing. I suppose in the last 10 years (20 for the scope) we’ve progressed so much that there’s a lot to be had even with an entry level scope like the Rigol.Thanks!

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 05:00:58 pm
content: i'll pick more modern DS1054Z due to 1GSps, USB drive and PC SW... if 16CH parallel data is your fruit then its ok for the 54622 at that price.. ymmv.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 05:05:43 pm
content: Quote from: Njord on May 23, 2020, 04:52:25 pmIf FFT is important to you then neither scopes you are looking at are a good choice. Look at the low end models from GW Instek (GDS-1000B series) or Siglent instead. These are in the same price bracket as the Rigol but much more modern.

author: Njord
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 05:06:12 pm
content: I watched that video. It was really good and ultimately lead me here. He also gave me the idea to swap the floppy for a USB emulator. But that increases the price to $330 for the Agilen.I do think the 4 channels is more useful than the 16 digital inputs. Not to mention all the other modern features.Sounds like I should stick with the Rigol. It’s great to have a second opinion

author: TK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 05:23:06 pm
content: +1 for the GWInstek GDS1054B... I saw it for $310 at tequipment but it is out of stock until August, I think. It is a nice middle point (price wise) between the 54622D and the DS1054Z, I agree it has more responsive UI than the Rigol, it includes free serial decoding and can be hacked to 100MHz or 200MHz

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 06:50:21 pm
content: Quote from: TK on May 23, 2020, 05:23:06 pmThe Instek is a nice 'scope if you can get one at a decent price. Availability varies wildly though.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 06:53:50 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 23, 2020, 05:05:43 pmFFT isn't exactly stunning on those either, only a small step up from the ones mentioned.If you want a lot of digital channels and a killer FFT then there's the Analog Discovery II. The downside is less analog bandwidth, the plus side is that it's a very very versatile little thing.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 08:18:31 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 23, 2020, 03:41:35 pmMine too.On topic: are probes included? Makes a big difference.

author: Njord
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 09:51:49 pm
content: I already own a set of probes same ones that put me through collage and university. But it doesn’t. Only the power cord.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 23, 2020, 09:55:24 pm
content: Quote from: Njord on May 23, 2020, 09:51:49 pmI think Ice-tea is referring to the digital probes for the 54622D. These probes can be expensive but there are DIY solution.

author: vmax
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2020, 08:27:55 am
content: I like 54622D,so I bought a 16 channel digital probe...but I never use it.Maybe DS1054Z is better unless the workspace is huge,and you can bear the noise of 54622,pay more electricity cost,connect to PC with a low speed seiral cable with 57600bps max...It can be triggered by IIC/SPI,but cannot decode them.

author: robca
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 25, 2020, 11:01:53 pm
content: Digital input: these days a cheap 8 or 16 channels logic probe from eBay and sigrok gives you all the possible logic analyzer functionality you will need, with protocol decoding for just about everythingI mean, I can see the value of having just one instrument on your desk and not having to rely on a laptop/PC for the logic analyzer function, but I find that for logic work you are already likely to be using a PC for development anywayPersonally, I would not overvalue the logic analyzer portion of the Agilent