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Is the Rigol DS1074Z a good choice for someone that is new to Oscilloscopes?

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Offline WOPR73Topic starter

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Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« on: April 16, 2014, 05:30:33 am »
Rigol DS1074Z

Hey Guys & Gals,

I just wanted to get everyone's input on Rigol DS1074Z... Because I just order one. My first Oscilloscope ever and wanted to get me something that will last me for a few years. I hope all the past threads I have read are correct and will allow my DS1074Z to be a worthy and upgradeable product if I follow the past instructions. I did look at the DS2072A and it was tough... but, I thought that the diversity would go a lot further than all that power that I am more than likely never going to use, for I am a tinker, maker new to this world.  ::) So, did I make the right choice? Or do I need to quickly cancel that order if I can?  :-+ or  :--    :o

WOPR
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 05:33:39 am by WOPR73 »
 

Offline max666

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2014, 06:27:25 am »
I say the DS1074Z is definitely a good choice for a beginner scope. I purchased one too recently and I'm very happy with my choice. I went trough Owon an UNI-T cheapos and regarding value for money the DS1074Z is definitely the best and actually the first one presenting a decent oscilloscope in my opinion.

In comparison to the DS2072A I would say it depends on what you want, I personally didn't encounter a situation yet, where I couldn't have done with a 100MHz scope and would have needed a 200MHz scope, but I would have liked a 3rd or 4th channel from time to time and you won't find a better 4 channel scope for that price. Sure the lower noise floor and the included 50Ohm termination are interesting, but I just put a preamp on my 'Project to do List' and I think external 50Ohm termination isn't that big of a deal either.

PS: Regarding upgrading, all you need is http://riglol.3owl.com/ it's practically self-explanatory. Thanks to all the guys who worked on that and made that script possible, I will be forever grateful 
Max
« Last Edit: April 16, 2014, 06:33:58 am by max666 »
 

Offline Fred27

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2014, 01:18:39 pm »
I went for a DS1074Z too as my first scope. I can't say I've used I enough or am experienced enough to give you a decent evaluation, but I still think it's a good choice. I mostly do microcontroller stuff and could probably have got away with a logic analyser for a lot of stuff I do. The 4 channels definitely swayed me more than raw (and probably unused) performance.
 

Offline Rigby

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #3 on: April 16, 2014, 02:25:18 pm »
It wasn't my first scope, but it was (and is) my only digital scope.

It's a good scope, no question.  Cheers to Rigol for making it at the price point that it is available at.  I understand that Tek and Agilent/Keysight don't really want to hit the "bottom dollar" market, as it could tarnish their brand, but I think that they could/should pull a Toyota and create a second brand for the low end market to win back some mindshare from Rigol.

Toyota created Lexus so that they could create high-end vehicles without people associating the Toyota brand with unnecessarily expensive cars.  Agilent/Keysight and Tek might consider doing the same, in reverse.
 

Offline BTO

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2014, 09:03:38 am »
My First Scope was a DS2072A

i haven't used the DS1074Z

but i do know this,...
- Rigol is a Cheaper Scope, than, let's say Tektronix
- My Scope is a 2 Ch, Yours is a 4 Ch  (This is a question of personal preference and needs)
- My scope is a 70MHz upgraded to 300MHz
- I have 2GSa/s  you have 1
- I have 56Mpts Memory depth, You have 24Mpts  i think

all these things come down to personal choice and needs

as far as the scope itself is concerned
Regardless of Model,  All the Rigol's are a good first scope
even the OLD DS1052E
i don't recommend the old Technology, but.. Hey, if that's your budget and you want a decent first scope,  Rigol is a Good Little Scope to work with,
i don't think you'll regret the decision

I'm comparing my scope with a freind who bought a Tek about 7 Years ago  it had 200MHz, 4 CH anaolgue Input,  i think 24Mpts memory depth
he still swears by his scope as being reliable, but thinks that mine is better than his

but , in all fairness, I"m comparing a new Rigol with an Old Tek (it's not a fair comparison)
Tektronix is better than Rigol any day of the Week, if you can stomach the Budget to get one, if you can't .. Get a Rigol


i think, you've done well in your choice
enjoy Your Scope
QUESTION EVERYTHING!!!
 

Offline WattSekunde

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2014, 10:09:40 am »
It's a bit unfair. If you compare price vs. features on *non hacked* scopes and check your needs I think the 1074Z is perfect for it's price. If you need or like to work with 4 channels you have this good choice at Rigols lower price end. 70MHz bandwidth is more than enough for most personal DIY stuff.

BTW I don't like to hack any product or Software because there are mostly hard working people and there families behind this products. (I am working in the SW businnes, I can tell you.) The update options are a nice way to stretch your investment. You can upgrade if you really need some feature. On the other hand companys give special offers to better match the market like Hameg & Agilent did. ;)

But I also understand another aspect of hacking things. It's interesting to see how it works in depth. I grew up and learn a lot this way. Modifikation to your needs have a long tradition in electronics. That's ok until you bring in your ideas and not only switch on the work of others.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2014, 10:12:26 am by WattSekunde »
 

Offline Wim13

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2014, 04:48:33 pm »
I have a DS2000,  and for test temp a DS1000z next to it.

The DS1000 works very well and i am impressed what you get for you money
But for the long run, if you buy a DS1000z, you will buy also in a few years something like a DS2000.
The DS2000 performance is for deep analyses better.
The DS1000Z is very handy to have next to it for quick measurements. ( also 4 channels )

The UI of the DS1000z looks almost the same as the DS2000
The DS1000z has no RTC.

There is a button on the DS1000z to switch off the sin(x)/x, but thats is behaving very strange ( see pictures).
 

Offline electronics man

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #7 on: April 17, 2014, 07:29:23 pm »
my first and only scope is the rigol ds1074z, I dont think i could have got much better for the price, even if i could afford it i still wouldnt have got the ds2000 due to only 2 channels, the 4 channels is a realy usefull featur, i cant think of another scope with 4 channels for the price, unbelievable, i think rigol have done better than agilent or tek, the agilant scopes are a bit crap with the short memory its so dumb.
follow me on twitter @get_your_byte
 

Offline WOPR73Topic starter

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2014, 12:56:40 am »
Thanks for everyone's comments. It's good to here everyone's perspectives.  :-+  I have hopes that unlocking the DS1074Z will be adding a little more to the scope allowing a little more range and features. Which does anyone know what version it unlocks too? Will I be able to get the 100MHz and extra functions? Perhaps the DS2000 functions? Anyone care to answer please send private message. =)

So, I really didn't plan to spend that much, but looking online and finding out that even the DIY up to the hand helds were 50-250+ and the reviews were really not good enough to keep my interest. Plus the limitations were from one extreme to another. Once I found this forum, and did some price checking with other versions like Tek, Siglent, Owon, Hantek, Atten, etc; All pointed towards Agilent for best quality.  ;D  I watched that video of the guy using an Agilent that cost 500k. WoW! what a machine!!! I didn't understand half of what he was talking about, but I couldn't pull myself away.  There were hours of reading specifications and what makes a Oscilloscope. Some of them had everything, but one or two things were sub-par, cutting costs on something, that ended turning me away. Those that didn't really cut corners you differently saw it in the price. And I was tempted with the DS2074Z and a few others. So many were happy with Rigol models in my price range and also the fact that they are able to be unlocked perked my interest. I am sure I will buy another once I have a need and learn lot more. But, for now...I think I am good.  ;D
 

Offline Franz Zinn

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2014, 11:35:50 am »
Hi,

Does unlocking work well with this scope ? Could you kindly share your experience and the firmware version number. Is it possible to undo the upgrade ?

regards
 

Online David Hess

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2014, 06:35:28 pm »
It meets my basic requirements for a DSO:

1. It has a graded index display.  None of my current old DSOs do but I have analog oscilloscopes for this.
2. It has a high waveform acquisition rate.  None of my current old DSOs do but I have analog oscilloscopes for this.
3. It supports peak detection.  (I think.  I have not tested it.)  All of my current old DSOs have this except for one.
4. It has delayed trigger support.

But there are two things it lacks which it would need before I bought one:

1. It throws away the FFT phase results instead of displaying them.
2. It lacks a dual timebase mode.
 

Offline WOPR73Topic starter

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #11 on: April 28, 2014, 07:25:46 pm »
Manufacture: RIGOL
Model:DS1074Z - 4 CH 70MHz 1G
Software:00.02.03.SP5 (Shipped with this version, most current)
USING :1.03c web


   :-+ Hat's off to you guys! :clap: Well done!  :clap: Thank you!  :-+




Adding 2 photos. I hope.  :-//
 

Offline WOPR73Topic starter

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #12 on: April 28, 2014, 07:40:03 pm »
And some direct screen shots too!  :clap:
 

Offline Control:Eng

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2014, 07:36:08 am »
Hmm...

it seems that there is a new Software for the DS1074Z out there.

I got mine two days ago and my Firmware Version is the following:

00.04.00

Does anybody know what was changed in this FW?
Maybe there's a changelog somewhere on the internet...
« Last Edit: May 03, 2014, 11:10:13 am by Control:Eng »
 

Offline kado

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #14 on: May 04, 2014, 10:25:56 am »
Hi,

is the upgrade with the keygen still working with the new release?
Could you test it please?


Thanks
Karsten
 

Offline Control:Eng

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #15 on: May 04, 2014, 04:22:48 pm »
It's still working, can confirm it.

I wonder whether the faulty 500uV resolution was fixed? Maybe I should test that in the next days...

 

Offline 8086

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #16 on: May 04, 2014, 04:33:30 pm »

I wonder whether the faulty 500uV resolution was fixed? Maybe I should test that in the next days...

I wondered about that myself, I assumed I must be doing something wrong when I found that range not working properly.

I guess I will give the new software a try.
 

Offline poorchava

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #17 on: May 05, 2014, 07:45:56 am »
What's the sampling architecture of that scope? I mean it is one ADC unit for all 4 channels? Or maybe 2 common ADCs for 2 channel pairs? 1Gsps would be rather low to be divided amongst 4 channels.
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Online tom66

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #18 on: May 05, 2014, 08:25:08 am »
One ADC for all four, with 3 or 4  channels on you get 250MSa/s and max 6Mpt memory.

As my typical application with four channels would involve brushless motor drives (+DC bus voltage or current) or SPI, the full sample rate doesn't matter to me, but it may for other people.  I can think of a few applications where you'd use the full 100MHz across four channels but they're rare enough for this not to be an issue for me.
 

Offline Suffer1981de

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #19 on: May 05, 2014, 08:27:08 am »
It is one ADC for all channels so 1 channel = 1 Gsps, 2 channels = 500 Msps, 3 and 4 channels = 250 Msps.

Still a good scope tho. I'm happy so far. Has anyone the new firmware as a download?

Greetings
 

Offline johnnyfp

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #20 on: May 05, 2014, 08:38:12 am »
Its a good starter scope. I've only had one time where measuring spi at a higher rate the clock line was more sine wave than square due to the shared adc.

But full of features for the price and great for hobbiest.
 

Online David Hess

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #21 on: May 05, 2014, 12:19:55 pm »
One ADC for all channels would indicate an analog channel switch which seems rather unlikely given the existence of inexpensive 8 bit 1 GSample/second ADCs and the difficulty of high speed analog multiplexing.  Inexpensive designs have an ADC on every channel but are digitally multiplexed with one memory bus and one bank of memory which is what limits the record sizes and sample rates when multiple channels are used.

There are high end oscilloscopes which do analog multiplexing to support higher sample rates than one ADC will easily support but they still use one ADC per channel and the multiplexing allows them to interleave more than one ADC on a given channel when not all channels are used.
« Last Edit: May 05, 2014, 12:31:14 pm by David Hess »
 

Offline t3chiman

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #22 on: May 06, 2014, 09:03:38 pm »
I am a retired EE. I have used some of "The Classics" of analog scopes, and a few of the more recent DSOs. I must say I am impressed by what Rigol has done with the DS1074Z. A nicely packaged set of functionality, realized in appropriate technology, and delivered at a reasonable price point. Well done, Rigol. And TEquipment, too. Ordered 2PM on Tuesday, April 29; delivered to my door in Chicago before lunch on Tuesday, May 6. Not bad for an item in short supply.

My unit had software version 00.00.03.SP5. The extremely helpful options upgrade procedure went off without a hitch. Many thanks to the eevblog contributors who made such a maneuver so accessible.

As for whether the DS1074Z is a good first scope, I have two minds. 1: Yes, of course. The need to see and record electric signals in the time domain will always be with us, and this Rigol scope will work fine within its well-publicized limits. 2: The Tek technology from 20 (even 30!) years ago is oh-so-nice; they represent almost a way of life, not just a way of making test tools. At least try to use one, it's a very tactile experience.
 

Offline nixfu

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #23 on: May 07, 2014, 02:01:55 am »
Am I the only one that would like to see a 2-channel version of the 1000Z series?  I think this could potentially be a full replacement for the DS1052 which is very old and probably time to retire.

Also, I STILL WANT TO see Dave review the 1074z.  One of you guys send yours to him to play with for a while.   ;D
 

Offline kado

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Re: Rigol DS1074Z Oscillosope
« Reply #24 on: May 24, 2014, 02:11:01 pm »
Hi,

can anyone confirm that there is NO USB-icon in the lower right corner of the screen while the ds1074Z (FW 00.004.00) is connected via USB to the PC? With the  older FW it is indicated when the scope is connected via USB.

Thanks for answer,
Karsten
 


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