trying to decide on which function generator

[guitar309]

Sorry... I know I ask a bunch of stupid questions haha.. But I am trying to decide on which function generator to order... I have read some reviews about the rigol 1022 and see that there are a few people that do not like it.... I have also looked at the uni-t brands... such as the UTG9020A model.. but I can not find any reviews about it!

I know I can find cheaper function generators.. But I figured I would spend a little more money and have some extra features to play with and expand on...

I would like to keep my costs at $500 or less... and seems like both the rigol and uni-t have some great options... I am just confused on what I should get or if there are any other competitors to compare against the rigol 1022?   

any Ideas... After reading some of the reviews of the rigol 1022 I am thinking about going with the uni-t..

[guitar309]

Thanks! So helpful!

[saturation]

There is an existing thread with reviews on the Rigol 1022.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=640.msg26369#msg26369

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=1869.msg28852#msg28852

I don't know the UTG, but I find the specs hard to believe.  When I downloaded the manual directly from the website, it contained the wrong device, on both links.

http://www.uni-trend.com/UTG9020A.html

I would not consider any of these.

If you need good quality waveform generation I would look at the $150 Instek 1003.  It is no frills, high quality waveforms.

http://www.tequipment.net/InstekSFG-1003.html

[Mechatrommer]

have been seeing this kind of discussion before. so popped up in my mind... how usefull is the "arbitrary wave"? in ee design? is it worth having, or simply getting the cheaper "function only" generator will be more worthfull?

[saturation]

The simplest question you need ask is do you work with, for maintenance or design, equipment that require waveforms that isn't sine, square or triangle?  

If you do, an AWG can generate whatever you need to simulate input for testing a device you're building or repairing. For example:

radio astronomy

pulsars

electrocardiograph

Transient spikes on a repetitive waveform

PWM

PCM

AM modulation

FM Modulation


Few analog FG can generate all of these, and the more it does also raise the cost enough to come close to low end AWG.

[DJPhil]

I've been poking around looking at function generators as well. With all the good things said about Instek's 1003 it's been a shoe-in for me for a while. I looked into some of the upgraded models and I realized that I've got no real idea what the relative value is like compared to other manufacturers.

My criteria are a bit fuzzy because I'm not sure what I'll wind up tinkering with, so I'm trying to keep my parameters general.
Arbitrary generation - Probably not worth the cost for me, at least not that I can think of.
Counter - Useful, but not essential. See Stability.
Stability - Very important. Would love to have a 10MHz input on the thing in case I get a GPS reference later. Someday I'd like to work with RF on things where it might actually matter.
Modulation - May come in handy for RF and poor man's sweeping for filters.
Sweeps - Useful for helping me characterize filters and transformers (audio for now, RF someday if I get an analyzer better than a soundcard) and perhaps dinking with SMPS.

I started out by using the SFG-2110 (here's the link on tequipment), which seems to have much the same basic specs. It's hard for me to determine if the extra 7MHz, counter, modulation, and sweep are worth the extra $225US, but I think it might for my purposes. I don't come across sums of money like that often enough to take any chances on ebay, so I'm trying to stick to new equipment.

My question is, does the SFG-2110 look like a good deal for the money? It's just not from a price bracket I'm familiar with, so I figured I'd see if anyone knew if there was something else around $400US that would beat the socks off of it before I settle on saving up.

[saturation]

IMHO, anything in the Instek SFG series are good items, and competing reputable items are equally or more expensive.  Prices in new electronic test equipment drop fairly slowly over time, so waiting is unlikely to result in lost opportunity.

Alas, its hard to specify when a specific need is still uncertain.   But if you overbuy, at least you'll have a good unit, but buy more than you can use.  If you under buy, you can't use what you don't have.

To reduce cost, there is an alternative.  Instek maybe re-selling SFGs from an ODM from China, akin to its low end PSUs appearing like upgraded Mastech PSUs.  

The bang for buck is higher, but it has risks, as the units are of unknown reputation.


http://www.mastechpowersupply.com/function-generator/20-mhz-digital-function-signal-generator-sfg-2120/prod_58.html

I've been poking around looking at function generators as well. With all the good things said about Instek's 1003 it's been a shoe-in for me for a while. I looked into some of the upgraded models and I realized that I've got no real idea what the relative value is like compared to other manufacturers.

My criteria are a bit fuzzy because I'm not sure what I'll wind up tinkering with, so I'm trying to keep my parameters general.
Arbitrary generation - Probably not worth the cost for me, at least not that I can think of.
Counter - Useful, but not essential. See Stability.
Stability - Very important. Would love to have a 10MHz input on the thing in case I get a GPS reference later. Someday I'd like to work with RF on things where it might actually matter.
Modulation - May come in handy for RF and poor man's sweeping for filters.
Sweeps - Useful for helping me characterize filters and transformers (audio for now, RF someday if I get an analyzer better than a soundcard) and perhaps dinking with SMPS.

I started out by using the SFG-2110 (here's the link on tequipment), which seems to have much the same basic specs. It's hard for me to determine if the extra 7MHz, counter, modulation, and sweep are worth the extra $225US, but I think it might for my purposes. I don't come across sums of money like that often enough to take any chances on ebay, so I'm trying to stick to new equipment.

My question is, does the SFG-2110 look like a good deal for the money? It's just not from a price bracket I'm familiar with, so I figured I'd see if anyone knew if there was something else around $400US that would beat the socks off of it before I settle on saving up.

[Smoking]

Atten has some nice new ones!
http://www.atten.eu/function-generators.html

[saturation]

Nice.  Very attractive looking, a very high step up for Atten.  But the price for its performance, plus Atten's brand has a long road to compete say against a known lower cost high performance player like Instek.

Atten has some nice new ones!
http://www.atten.eu/function-generators.html