Author Topic: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...  (Read 76038 times)

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Offline Hydrawerk

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #175 on: June 06, 2013, 10:45:51 pm »
When will it come to market? In December 2013? And does DS4000 have 2GSa/s per each channel?
« Last Edit: June 06, 2013, 10:50:18 pm by Hydrawerk »
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Offline grego

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #176 on: June 07, 2013, 01:31:11 pm »
When will it come to market? In December 2013? And does DS4000 have 2GSa/s per each channel?

Per the specs it's 4GSa/s single channel, 2GSa/s dual channel, yes.  Digital channels are 1GSa/s.

In other news I just generated the shipping label on my GDS - it's going back today.  Sorry to see it go - I really wanted it to work out but the incorrect specs really affected the purchasing decision in side-by-side comparisons.
 

Offline Hydrawerk

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #177 on: June 07, 2013, 02:53:42 pm »
Well, that's sad... Only few people return their DS2000, because Rigol has a wow factor...
GW Instek scopes are weird. The expensive GDS-3000 from year 2011 had  only WTF 25kpoints per channel.
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Offline marmad

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #178 on: June 07, 2013, 04:48:13 pm »
Well, that's sad... Only few people return their DS2000, because Rigol has a wow factor...
GW Instek scopes are weird. The expensive GDS-3000 from year 2011 had  only WTF 25kpoints per channel.

Hell, I returned a Rigol DS1052E, Owon SDS7102, and Hantek DSO5062B - all in the space of about 2 months.  :)  Another reason it's silly to buy this kind of gear from Chinese outlets in order to save a few bucks.
« Last Edit: June 07, 2013, 04:50:07 pm by marmad »
 

Offline marmad

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #179 on: June 07, 2013, 05:04:25 pm »
Now it's time for Dave to make more experiments with GDS-2000A. At least the search and place mark function looks good. DS2000 or DSOX2000 have nothing like that!
Tequipment.net have made a video demonstrating the Search function on the GW Instek GDS-2000A:




As well as one on the Logic Analyzer:




And on Segmented memory:

 

Offline grego

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #180 on: June 07, 2013, 07:10:06 pm »
Those functions all worked really well - like I said I really wanted to like the scope.  It had pretty much all the features I wanted save the "dated" appearance (which isn't a feature per se).  The problem is either by just a fat-finger or in translation the specs didn't match up with reality.  It's unfortunate. :(
 

Offline Computeruser

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #181 on: June 11, 2013, 06:14:03 pm »
Well, despite some nay-saying above, I purchased the GW-Instek 2304A and a B&K 5054 25 MHz Function generator to go with it. I only just got the boxes via UPS an hour ago, but all is up and running properly. I am quite happy with the Instek. The style may be dated but it all works fine. A 25Mhz Sine Wave shows up properly. The Square Wave is not very square past 5Mz but they are constant voltage throughout the range which is fine.  <--- Fixed!   The default setup is for high output impedance and I had terminated the cable with a 50 ohm load. I set the B&K to use low output impedance (50 ohm) and now the square wave at 25 MHz is just fine - nice and square and good fast rise time.

The probes are good and BNC connectors are well done. Somebody panned the probes but mine are fine. I have Tektronix 10X probes to compare with and the Instek probes are fine.

So my first impression is that I got a decent machine. Valuetronics sold it to me less than list and threw in the function generator for free. My B&K is better (and note my fix above).

So I retired 2 7000 series scopes, an old HP Function Generator (bad power supply) and my Fluke 8022 digital meter. I got a Fluke 87V and that is a swell meter.

.... C
« Last Edit: June 12, 2013, 02:13:22 am by Computeruser »
 

Offline Computeruser

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #182 on: June 12, 2013, 11:04:20 pm »
Day 2 of the GW-Instek and the B&K 4054.

The GW-Instek still seems like a good oscilloscope to me. It does a lot that the much more expensive Tektronix and Agilent machines do. I was not going to invest more money so I am happy with what I got for the money I spent.

I tried to use the Function Generator today for the first time and it did not work. A quick peek at the manual gave me the reason. The Instek came with Firmware V1.08. The FG needs V1.13. Firmware is nowhere to be found on Instek's (not very good) website. A tech support query brought a very speedy answer with a Drop Box link to V1.15 and the firmware upgrade manual. It is a lengthy process but I have done this before on my Tektronix 2024C. So now the Instek is at firmware V1.15 and the Function Generator works fine.

I made a mistake in the post above. I was looking at the wrong channel on my B&K 4054 when I concluded that the square wave was good at higher speeds. In fact, as you wind up the frequency, you start to see the rise time of the generator (12ns). So past 5 MHz, the square wave appears a bit rounded at the top left corner.

Up to 5 MHz the Instek DS2-FGN and the B&K 4054 are very similar in performance. I am very happy with the Instek Function Generator.

I had some funny little lines in the square wave. I went to Trigger settings and used LF Reject and the signal cleaned up right away. I have used LF Reject on analogue scopes so that is no surprise.

I have unboxed all 4 probes and all 4 came properly compensated. That is no surprise - They are for my particular Instek and all 4 channels are the same. Quality is good and even across all 4 probes and they work well.

Overall, I have not found any reason to regret my purchase.

.... C
 

Offline Hydrawerk

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #183 on: June 12, 2013, 11:48:04 pm »
The Instek came with Firmware V1.08. The FG needs V1.13. Firmware is nowhere to be found on Instek's (not very good) website.
:palm: :palm:
firmware upgrade manual. It is a lengthy process but I have done this before on my Tektronix 2024C.
How difficult is it  to upgrade firmware on GDS-2000A??
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Offline Computeruser

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #184 on: June 12, 2013, 11:55:15 pm »
You need to read through the Firmware document. For my 2304, I used this link to get the firmware and to get the PDF guide.

 http://jack-gwinstek.blogspot.com/2013/05/gds-2000a-firmware-update-v115.html

My machine was at V1.08 so it was easy (lengthy, but easy). I exploded the firmware onto a USB key, put it in the machine and followed the directions on the Utility button. Basically you find your upgrade file on the key, select it, and the firmware updates. It took about 20 minutes (maybe a bit less) and the initial boot up to 5 minutes or so. Once all done, it operates very normally.

Read the PDF from top to bottom before you start and if you have any questions, contact Instek Support.

... C
 

Offline Hydrawerk

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Re: EEVblog #474 - GW Instek GDS-2000A Series Oscilloscope Unboxing & Fi...
« Reply #185 on: June 13, 2013, 12:31:45 am »
Well, I would expect that that the firmware is located on the manufacturer's website and not here. http://jack-gwinstek.blogspot.cz/search/label/Oscilloscopes
The upgrade process is weird...
At my DSOX2002A it is more simple, you don't need any manual at all. The upgrade process took about 5 minutes or so, I don't remember. (But the GDS-2000A might be a bang per buck when you need statistics, segemnted memory, search or mask testing. It's feature rich. My scope doesn't have it. (DSOX2002A can do mask testing if you buy an option for bloody money.  :( The same with segmented memory... Pay again!)
« Last Edit: June 13, 2013, 12:33:22 am by Hydrawerk »
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