Author Topic: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!  (Read 7314 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline mmasedaTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 28
  • Country: us
Just purchased a brand new Rigol DS2072A from Tequipment.net.  It was shipped directly to me from their distributor Ingram Micro.  The problem is in looking at the paperwork this scope was made in January of 2016.  Is it unusual to be receiving a new scope that is already over 2 years old ??

Manuel

 

Offline 001

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1170
  • Country: aq
why not? test gear is not smartphones  ;)
 

Offline TK

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1722
  • Country: us
  • I am a Systems Analyst who plays with Electronics
Calibration certificate is valid only for 1 year
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 26751
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
Just purchased a brand new Rigol DS2072A from Tequipment.net.  It was shipped directly to me from their distributor Ingram Micro.  The problem is in looking at the paperwork this scope was made in January of 2016.  Is it unusual to be receiving a new scope that is already over 2 years old ??
No, unless nobody wants it.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline eyiz

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 89
  • Country: ca
made in January of 2016.  Is it unusual to be receiving a new scope that is already over 2 years old ??

Sometimes these older scopes are treasures for some folks. Especially the ones that enable you to activate all the features, before Rigol introduced all their protection schemes. I don't know about that particular model and year, but if I were you, I'd browse these forums for clues before evaluating the purchase as good or bad. It's a personal thing, how you value a piece of equipment. The latest model is not always the one with the highest value. There were times when people deliberately went out of their way to find dealers with older brand new test equipment, because of various advantages. I think Tequipment is wise, they tend to know what people want, and try to supply them. They also accept returns. So, if you're not happy, you can send it back.
 

Offline Gandalf_Sr

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1729
  • Country: us
The DS2072A is one of the scopes covered by riglol (Google it).  There you can generate all the codes to enable all features including 300 MHz bandwidth; this is all covered in detail in multiple threads on this forum.

For the DS2000A series, I'm not aware that newer versions are significantly different from 2 year old ones.
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer
 

Offline JPortici

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3452
  • Country: it
why not? test gear is not smartphones  ;)

i think he meant that the actual scope sold as brand new was manufactured in 2016, and not from (for example) a 2018 production batch. The problem of course is calibration
 

Offline Bob Sava

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 98
  • Country: us
Wow, one would not think that DS2072A is so unpopular.  Probably got stuck between the shelves  :)
I cannot think of a reason why you'd want to return it except already mentioned calibration.
 

Offline Fungus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 16560
  • Country: 00
Wow, one would not think that DS2072A is so unpopular.  Probably got stuck between the shelves  :)

Maybe it was under a pile of Owons or something.

I cannot think of a reason why you'd want to return it except already mentioned calibration.

Just press the auto-cal button. Job done.

 
The following users thanked this post: 001

Offline wolfp

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 35
  • Country: de
It is up to the user to decide about the calibration period. The calibration report issued by a calibration laboratory must not have any recommendation concerning this period if not required by the customer (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 5.10.4.4). I don't see any problems in buying an oscilloscope build 2 years ago if there were no significant changes in the hardware design.
btw the calibration I have got with my Rigol was a "factory calibration" and was not done by an accredited calibration laboratory. This "calibration" is nice to have and shows that the oscilloscope fulfilled its specification at the time of the test. Don't worry about a 2 years old "factory calibration certificate".
 
The following users thanked this post: Synthtech

Offline Fungus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 16560
  • Country: 00
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2018, 12:57:49 pm »
There's a lot of nonsense in this thread about calibration. People are talking like they're multimeters or something.  :palm:

If there's any pieces of paper in the box then it's a calibration "report", not a calibration "certificate".

These things are not certified (or even certifiable!), you're supposed to press the 'calibrate' button every time you want an in-spec reading.

My copy of the Rigol manual says:
Quote
"The self-calibration program can quickly make the oscilloscope reach the best working state to get the most precise measurement values. You can perform self-calibration at any time especially when the change of the environment temperature is up to or more than 5 degrees C"

At a minimum you probably need to do it once in summer and once in winter to compensate for average temperatures. You might even need to do it morning and afternoon, depending on how the sun hits your workshop.

Then again: Relax. They're only 5% accurate even after recent calibration so what the heck? :-//  Forget about the 'calibrate' button and just use it for what it's supposed to be used for, ie. looking at the shape of wiggly lines on a screen with approximate indication of voltage. You want to measure voltages accurately? Use a multimeter.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 03:05:13 pm by Fungus »
 
The following users thanked this post: janoc, rob.manderson

Offline Bob Sava

  • Regular Contributor
  • *
  • Posts: 98
  • Country: us
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2018, 01:13:07 pm »
Good point.  Instead of worrying about age of the instrument (and knowing that there were no substantial revisions during 2 years time) just verify that it's operating within specifications.
 

Offline nctnico

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 26751
  • Country: nl
    • NCT Developments
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2018, 02:02:15 pm »
There's a lot of nonsense in this thread about calibration. People are talking like they're multimeters or something.  :palm:
You want to measure voltages accurately? Use a multimeter.
Indeed there is a lot of nonsense. Calibration is about being able to trust the readings are within specifications. Whether that is +/-10% or +/-10ppm. So all in all it doesn't hurt to check (=calibrate) an instrument to see whether it is in spec or not. Even when sitting idle something can go wrong with it.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline TK

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1722
  • Country: us
  • I am a Systems Analyst who plays with Electronics
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2018, 02:37:19 pm »
If you are paying full price, it does not hurt to ask for a recently manufactured unit.  2 Year shelf life, it is something I consider New Old Stock, not brand new.
 
The following users thanked this post: JPortici

Offline JPortici

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 3452
  • Country: it
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2018, 05:12:06 pm »
Precisely.
 

Offline Keysight DanielBogdanoff

  • Supporter
  • ****
  • Posts: 777
  • Country: us
  • ALL THE SCOPES!
    • Keysight Scopes YouTube channel
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2018, 05:27:43 pm »
My concern would be warranty. Vendors have no way to tell when a scope was actually purchased from a distributor by the end user. So, in the Rigol systems there's a good chance the unit is already 2-years into it's warranty. I'd follow up with the distributor to make sure that all gets worked out. 2 years on the shelf is abnormally long, at Keysight we typically account for <6 months.

I don't know much about Rigol's calibration stuff, but if it's a NIST traceable cal DON'T RUN A USER CAL. It'll ruin the traceability. Calibration is still important if the work you're doing requires it, but for super precise & accurate measurements a DMM is a better choice.

 

Offline mmasedaTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 28
  • Country: us
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2018, 05:33:10 pm »
I talked to Rigol North America. They were also very surprised. They are looking into the matter.

Manuel
 

Offline Mr. Scram

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 9810
  • Country: 00
  • Display aficionado
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2018, 05:34:58 pm »
My concern would be warranty. Vendors have no way to tell when a scope was actually purchased from a distributor by the end user. So, in the Rigol systems there's a good chance the unit is already 2-years into it's warranty. I'd follow up with the distributor to make sure that all gets worked out. 2 years on the shelf is abnormally long, at Keysight we typically account for <6 months.

I don't know much about Rigol's calibration stuff, but if it's a NIST traceable cal DON'T RUN A USER CAL. It'll ruin the traceability. Calibration is still important if the work you're doing requires it, but for super precise & accurate measurements a DMM is a better choice.
A common way to establish the date of purchase is a receipt.
 

Offline Stavos122

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 17
  • Country: us
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2018, 06:10:41 pm »
Maybe the distributor had a hard time selling them and its old stock.  I bough a scope a few years ago that was new but based on DOM it was about 1 year old.  Works fine and I got a good deal on it. 
 

Offline mmasedaTopic starter

  • Contributor
  • Posts: 28
  • Country: us
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #19 on: April 28, 2018, 01:22:17 am »
Rigol North America was very helpful.  They are going to send me a new scope when they get their next shipment in which should be in a few weeks.
 

Offline drussell

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1855
  • Country: ca
  • Hardcore Geek
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #20 on: April 28, 2018, 09:22:19 am »
Why would it be a problem that it was manufactured in 2016?  I don't think there have been any important revisions, bug-fixes, etc. that would make a "newer version" more desirable than the one you have and the warranty will start from when you purchased it, not from the manufacturing date.

Just be sure to keep a copy of your invoice / receipt as proof of purchase date in case you ever require warranty service.  (Of course, you should be keeping it on file anyway, regardless of when it was actually manufactured.  :) )
 

Offline Berni

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 4922
  • Country: si
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #21 on: April 28, 2018, 09:54:36 am »
I don't see it being a problem, for these not very popular models id guess its quite common.

Buying a Flir E4 thermal camera from Farnell we got a unit that was over 1 year old. This was great news since it meant it still had the old hackable firmware.

As said before the only thing i would be concerned is that the warenty is valid. Okay the calibration is old but who out there actually calibrates there oscilloscopes apart from big companies that just calibrate everything rather than decide what actually needs it. One should never trust the amplitude displayed by an oscilloscope down to the 4th digit anyway as they are not meant to do that. Timebases are run by TCXOs in scopes so they are pretty spot on and if you are that serious about your time accuracy you can provide your own GPS locked 10MHz reference in to the back of it.

So as long as the warranty is valid i don't mind a 2 year old piece of test gear. The stuff is built to last decades.
 

Offline Fungus

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 16560
  • Country: 00
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #22 on: April 28, 2018, 10:00:55 am »
Rigol North America was very helpful.  They are going to send me a new scope when they get their next shipment in which should be in a few weeks.

That seems above and beyond the call of duty. Not many manufacturers would do that.
 

Offline rsjsouza

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 5980
  • Country: us
  • Eternally curious
    • Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #23 on: April 28, 2018, 10:29:28 am »
Rigol North America was very helpful.  They are going to send me a new scope when they get their next shipment in which should be in a few weeks.

That seems above and beyond the call of duty. Not many manufacturers would do that.

That is not surprising to me; I was very well treated by RigolNA when I bought my DS4014 there years ago.

My only concern with a two year-old DS2000 is that they probably still have the issues reported by Bud on the project Yaigol - I vaguely recall someone reporting not having the same issues in an unit purchased after that article came out, but I may be mistaken.

I would believe the oscilloscope was forgotten in the back of a shelf if it were a DS1000Z, as the value proposition of the dual-channel DS2000 was severely reduced after its younger brother was released.
Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico http://videos.vbeletronico.com

Oh, the "whys" of the datasheets... The information is there not to be an axiomatic truth, but instead each speck of data must be slowly inhaled while carefully performing a deep search inside oneself to find the true metaphysical sense...
 

Offline PA4TIM

  • Super Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 1161
  • Country: nl
  • instruments are like rabbits, they multiply fast
    • PA4TIMs shelter for orphan measurement stuff
Re: Just purchased a brand new Rigol scope but it’s over 2 years old !!!
« Reply #24 on: April 28, 2018, 10:50:35 am »
Besides all other reasons, electrolytic  caps often have a two year shelf-life   ;)
But for the rest, where is the limit,  3 weeks, 6 months 1 year ? As long as it is new and 100% equal to one build today. But only as warranty would not an be issue,

But I would not want that , I have a not solved warranty problem like that with a Metcal, 
Calibration for a scope ? Maybe for a high end A-brand scope, if that is so important do not buy a budget brand.
www.pa4tim.nl my collection measurement gear and experiments Also lots of info about network analyse
www.schneiderelectronicsrepair.nl  repair of test and calibration equipment
https://www.youtube.com/user/pa4tim my youtube channel
 


Share me

Digg  Facebook  SlashDot  Delicious  Technorati  Twitter  Google  Yahoo
Smf