Keysight 34461A vs Siglent SDM3000 series Readings Capacity - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 03:40:56 am
content: Just trying to see how long you could run the respective trend tests on the 34461A vs. the Siglents. (I looked through the manuals and spec sheets and haven't found this info yet.)Keysight makes it easy to find their readings per second but not the total memory capacity.Siglent makes it easy to find their total memory capacity and their readings speed(s) but they don't seem to publish the size of a reading.Anyone with a Keysight 34461A know how many readings can be captured at the standard spec'd rate of 5,000 readings per seconds? (What is the total memory capacity? Is it limited to internal memory or can external memory be used?)Anyone with a Siglent SDM3000 series know how many readings can fit with Siglent's 1G memory? (Their specs say 1Gb but presumably it's GBytes, not Gbits, right)?Thx

author: JDubU
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 04:19:27 am
content: It is listed in the datasheets. Keysight lists it as "Memory" and Siglent lists it under "History Records" >> "Volatile Memory".See attached clips from the datasheets.Edit: Looking again at the Siglent datasheet, there is also an entry which seems to indicate that it can write out to non-volatile memory on the fly (up to 600 million samples per trigger):Single Trigger Samples 1 to 599999999

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 05:00:17 am
content: Yep, it was right there for Keysight - I just missed it.The Siglent was in there too but it’s a little hard to interpret.Thanks for finding and posting both.

author: JxR
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 05:09:19 am
content: One thing that may be worth considering between the two, is that the Keysight meter also has Benchvue (although its not free). So it has desktop software that may be able to continue to record data past its internal buffers. I'm not sure if Siglent has any desktop software that performs a similar function.While I personally use Kickstart for my Keithley DMM, I seem to be able to do at least 10KS/s indefinitely regardless of the internal memory. There are certainly sample rates where the buffer cannot keep up with the transfer rates over Ethernet, but I can still exceed the capacity of the internal memory this way. I'm assuming the Keysight meters can do the same with Benchvue.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 05:27:31 am
content: Quote from: JxR on June 05, 2019, 05:09:19 amThe SDM's have the free EasyDMM software that TBH I've never played with so that's tonight's job.They also offer LabVIEW driver support if you need it.

author: JDubU
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 05:32:16 am
content: Also, the higher end Keysight meters (34465A and 34470A) have a "Data Log Mode" that can sample directly to internal or external non-volatile memory at a maximum of 1000 readings/sec for a maximum of 100 hours (360,000,000 total samples).They also have a "Digitizing" mode that samples at higher speed (up to 50,000 readings/sec but with lower resolution) to internal volatile memory only.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 05:50:30 am
content: For what I have in mind I think the ideal would be able to observe at least a few minutes of trend lines on the DMM display - say 5 minutes worth and then if possible scroll through another 5 screen’s worth - so you could pretty easily see a half hour of trend lines. Wouldn’t need to to be a high sample rate - maybe 2 samples per second. So 3600 samples stored internally and plotted on the trend line. Maybe any of these models starting with the 3045X can do this? I’m pretty sure it’s easy to do with a computer - just trying to see what the entry level DMM is that can do it with the DMM’s internal memory, display, and UI.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 06:04:06 am
content: Quote from: Electro Fan on June 05, 2019, 05:50:30 amIIRC SDM3045X and 3055 allow for 5, 50 or 150 readings/s whereas SDM3065X have their reading speed tied to fractions or multiples of mains frequency.Some tips describing this:https://www.siglentamerica.com/operating-tip/sample-and-store-sdm3000/Using the EasyDMM software:https://www.siglentamerica.com/operating-tip/dmm-scan-easydmm/

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2019, 07:29:24 pm
content: Quote from: tautech on June 05, 2019, 06:04:06 amThanks - if you come across any comparable links showing the use of the trendline feature please post. Thx again

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2019, 03:55:51 am
content: Just saw the review by rudy, doesn't seem super encouraging:https://www.siglent.eu/review/siglent-sdm3045xAnd this is on Siglent's site....Maybe Siglent should make a video showing how easy and intuitive it is....