Rigol DS4024-Oscilloscope vs Agilent DSOX2024A-Oscilloscope

[os40la]

Rigol DS4024(200 MHz. 4 Channels) or Ajilent DSOX2024A(200 MHz. 4 Channels) 

I'm looking into purchasing one of these two scopes. I would like to get the 70mhz version of the
Agilent and upgrade later as needed. However for about the same price I could get the Rigol. But I
would need to get the 200mhz right up front since it is not upgradeable. The Rigol seems to be
a much better bang for the buck. IMO the Rogol 4000's and Agilent 2000's are a closer apples to apples
comparison than the Agilent 3000's when factoring in the cost. Is there anyone out there with the
same delema a me?. I wish Dave had a Rigol 4000 review out. I know Agilent has much better support.
I’m leaning to the Rigol but not sure if the support (bug fix updates for example) will be good. This
Scope will be used for hobby work, mostly digital. I don’t care about the Agilent’s MSO and Waveform
features as much because I plan on purchasing the Rigol  DG4000 waveform generator and the
Intronix Logic Analyzer in the near future. Any thoughts or suggestions? BTY I am aware of the Agilent
FREE WaveGen & DVM promotion.

[Circuitous]

Yes, I have had the same dilemma.  I need 4 channels, and 100-200 Mhz, preferably lots of memory depth and high sample rate.
The Rigol DS2000 only as 2 channels.  The Agilent 3000 is about the right thing, but pricey for what I get.
This is interesting timing, as I just placed my order with Tequipment.net 2 hours ago for a DS4024.  Should arrive on Monday!  Just in time to use over the Thanksgiving holiday.

I even looked at Tektronix, but their prices for anything like the DS4024 was crazy.

As for signal generators, I have a DG1022, and plan to upgrade to the DG4162 in the near future. 
Dave had a few comments on the Price difference of an Agilent 3000 vs. 2000 and Arb generator in this thread today:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/general-chat/does-the-arb-gen-warrant-buying-an-agilent-3000-over-a-2000/msg163196/#msg163196

Let us know what you decide, and how it works out for your intended uses.

[EEVblog]

You've already summarised it yourself.
The Rigol is much better bang-per-buck.
I believe the DS4000 has the same cool segmented memory as the DS2000
So if you don't need the arb gen or mixed signal capability, the Rigol is the better choice.
Shame the DS2000 does not come in a 4 channel version, as that would give the lower noise front end and lower cost.

Dave.

[os40la]

Yes I agree. Too bad the Rigol DS2000 is only 2 channels. The DS4000 makes me spend a little more than I want. I was planning on getting the Agilent 2000x 70Mhz and upgrade later. But the Rigol will force me to go for the 200mhz right from the start. That will delay my other purchases... I just hope that Rigol support will be good enough.

Circuitous - Let me know how well you like the Rigol DS4024.

[Circuitous]

I ordered the DS4024 around 1PM on Wednesday (after the usual cut-off time), but the thing still arrived on Friday afternoon.   Kudos to Tequipment.net for getting a web order out the door so quickly!
I'm traveling over the weekend, so I haven't had much time to spend with the scope.  But, the first comment I have is that compared to my 1052e, this thing is huge!  (in a good way)... it's just kind of intimidating after using the 1052e for a while.

I didn't do a full set of tests, I just hooked it up to a problematic SPI project that I'm working on to see what's going on with the system.
So far, I can just say that I' impressed, keep in mind I haven't used anything like this... never used an Agilent, etc.

The controls are intuitive and work smoothly.  I cranked up the waveform intensity, and turned down the grid a bit.  The only thing to comment on so far is that the channel button indicators are a bit dim compared to the other indicators, you can see this in the shot below.  There were similar comments about Dave's DS2000.


I really like the protocol decoders.  I'll probably buy these options when the 30 hours run out.


High-res image here:   http://corgitronics.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/spi_1.jpg
  Please let me know if non-USA viewers can't access these images.

[sprocket]

Hi.

I'm actually in the exact same situation as you are in. I have been debating with myself for the better part of 6 months on which path to take in regards to buying a scope.
As much as I would like the Agilent, mostly because of the very good support you get, and that I try to buy non-Chinese  if at all possible, though that’s seems to be increasingly impossible for each year that passes. I have pretty much reached the same conclusion as you. Rigol is the way better bang for the buck product, and taking in to consideration that this is for privat/hobby use and don’t expect to make money of whatever I conjure up, then it’s a bit of a no brainer. 

By choosing a Rigol 4024, I get 200Mhz and 4 channels for the same price I would have to pay for a 100Mhz 2 channel Agilent, even counting in the 15% student discount I get since I work as an electronics engineer at our Technical University here in Denmark. One of the things that was swaying towards the Agilent was the upgrades, but Agilents is insanely expensive, almost a 1000euros just to get the 16MSO unlocked, then add 750euros for the UART and 750euro for the I2C and SPI that I’m interested in just makes the Agilent way to expensive for me to justify for hobbyist use. The arb gen is nice, but I consider 1 channel arb gen more a nice “toy” or student lab tool then actually being a really useful tool.

So I’ll probably also go for the Rigol 4024, buy a dedicated Arb generator and good USB logic analyzer, I have been eyeballing the logic analyzer fra Acute, they are not cheap, but on paper they look like they are kicking arse and taking names.

Would love to hear more from you about your impressions and thoughts on this scope, and from others naturally before I pull the trigger on buy this scope, and with a bit of luck our favorite crazy aussie bloke might get the chance to have a wee look on it too soonish.
 

[EEVblog]

Would love to hear more from you about your impressions and thoughts on this scope, and from others naturally before I pull the trigger on buy this scope, and with a bit of luck our favorite crazy aussie bloke might get the chance to have a wee look on it too soonish.

There is nothing on the cards in regards to review the 4000. For the 2000, I'm waiting for the firmware update in a couple of weeks.

For hobby use, bang-per-buck usually trumps all other criteria, so the Rigol is the clear winner.
If I had to start from scratch with my own money, I'd get a Rigol.
In fact, it's looking like it'd be an all-Rigol lab They just seem to have that sweet spot in almost everything. DS2000/4000 scope, DG4000 function gen, DSA815 spec analyser.

Dave.

[peter.mitchell]

Would love to hear more from you about your impressions and thoughts on this scope, and from others naturally before I pull the trigger on buy this scope, and with a bit of luck our favorite crazy aussie bloke might get the chance to have a wee look on it too soonish.

There is nothing on the cards in regards to review the 4000. For the 2000, I'm waiting for the firmware update in a couple of weeks.

For hobby use, bang-per-buck usually trumps all other criteria, so the Rigol is the clear winner.
If I had to start from scratch with my own money, I'd get a Rigol.
In fact, it's looking like it'd be an all-Rigol lab They just seem to have that sweet spot in almost everything. DS2000/4000 scope, DG4000 function gen, DSA815 spec analyser.

Dave.

Their (newer)bench multimeters and power supplies are very nice too! Expensive though, so the spot isn't as sweet

[0xdeadbeef]

Just an a further option, the Hameg HMO2024 has 4ch, affordable serial decoders, 2MPts, 2GSa/s and low noise.
The HMOs might have some minor quirks here and there but if you need a reasonable scope with 4ch, they are an option for sure.

Indeed at least over here there's a special sale at the moment where you get two decoder packages (I2C/SPI/UART + CAN/LIN) plus the 8ch digital probe for the price of the CAN/LIN serial decoder if you buy a scope.