As the owner of DS1074z I am really getting lost in all those information. You say that ds1054z has a different intensity grading that ds1074z or 1104z ?
I think the last conclusion was that all models have identical HW, right ?
I am confused as well about the hardware differences, I think the hardware of the DS1074Z and the DS1054Z is the same (or similair) and that the Dave mentioned the grading isn't as good as the DS2000 series. Doesn't the DS1074z have 2 more buttons?
I have just noticed that on the Rigol website the product page for the DS1054Z they used a picture of the DS1104Z and it has one extra button above the input jack 2.
Even Rigol has now so many versions of the same scope that they only bother to take 1 picture. Maybe Rigol is also confused.
Well, as I said before. Yesterday, those two Rigol representatives had no idea about existence of DS1054z and it was very surprising for them that I know more about their scopes then they do (sometimes). Thanks eevblog !
Even though I consider them very new to their position (FAE & salesman) it was a pleasure to talk with them. For me it is somehow unbelievable how such a small company ("+400 people show") can do such nice products, especially considering the price point. Their spectrum analyser or RF generator were also very nice.
I also have a feeling that the "hack possibility" is a part of their business strategy. Just imagine what happens: They can sell maybe hundreds of ds1104z to some companies or universities but I am sure that they will sell thousands to hobbyists. They sell probably exactly same units, but officials will never do hacks. At least I can't imagine my company having a hacked scopes. Nobody would not even think about it.
The result is that when my FW colleague asked me for a cheap oscilloscope with a serial decoding, which he can have on his desk as long as project lasts, I would tell him "buy ds1104" because I know that he can easily afford it from his project budget and it works enough for him. That is the point. I mean I have ds1000 series at home, I know what it is capable of and I usually know what he needs. HAMEG3000 series is nice but it is a waste of money for someone who just needs an elementary functionality with eg. serial decoding trigger.
Of course I am not saying that RIGOL is the best. I just want to say that many high-end scopes are generally used whole lifecycle for elementary measurements only. It makes me sad when I see some of my FW colleagues desperately pushing the autoset button on our Waverunner 6zi trying to get a dutycycle measurement...
btw: I told them they should update their webpage and also put there a latest firmware !