Siglent SDS1104X-E and SDS1204X-E Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes

[tautech]

Aren't all USB connectors the same?

No.

USB B is Device USB, that is the device under control from a USB A connection.

Use either of the USB cables that came with each of these instruments with type A in the DSO and end type B in the AWG.

Yes you can run out of USB A sockets with these DSO's however solutions are very cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005605778448

[Roman oh]

Back in this thread around#2205 it was noted that a firmware upgrade wiped out stored settings, and tautech responded that this should not happen. Can I suggest that a useful and possibly simple to implement improvement would be to also NOT wipe out the WiFi settings with a software upgrade.
Obviously not a big deal, but I can’t imagine a reason why they would choose to do so…
Sure, a wired connection eliminates this issue, but the WiFi in my case is rock solid and wire is inconvenient.
Roman

[Calambres]

Thanks for your answer but...

Yes you can run out of USB A sockets with these DSO's however solutions are very cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005605778448

Sorry but that link does not seem to work here. Can you please copy-paste the description of that item?

[tautech]

Thanks for your answer but...

Yes you can run out of USB A sockets with these DSO's however solutions are very cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005605778448

Sorry but that link does not seem to work here. Can you please copy-paste the description of that item?

Sorry, here's another:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005633637139.html?

Just add the .html? to the previous link.

[Calambres]

Thanks, mate!... l I'll try it.

[delvo]

How do I enable the Trigger Out? According to the Manual it should be in Utility -> IO Set -> Trigger Out. The Trigger Out option is not in it.

[Martin72]

Hi,

Which version is your manual ?
Page ?
In the current manual (EN05B, 08/2021) there´s nothing to find.
My guess is, the output is trigger out as long as you don´t activate pass/fail mode.

[delvo]

I had an old version of it and it looks like its just always outputting. Thanks

[Martin72]

No problem, next step would be to test if I´m right, but this I can do later.
Another thing:
If it´s so, then it´s not mentioned in the manual or I couldn´t find it.

[1audio]

I'm having an issue with the probe shield resistance. I have an 1104-XE that came with 4 probes.They have been working fine for most tasks however I'm looking at low level signals now and noticed a lot of noise that change when I move probe cables. I chaced it down to the shields on the probes. They vary fom around 4 Ohms from clip to BNC to over 20 Ohms. When looking at low level signals the shield can become an antenna if its not well grounded. Do other users have this problem? I tried some other probes in my collection. The miniature HP probes do'n seem to connect on the center pin. Te lare hP and Tek probes I have are lower DCR shield (1 Ohm) and seem to be better.

Do I cave some defective probes? Who is making good low level probes today? My other probes are all 20+ years old.

[bdunham7]

4 ohms is OK as long as it doesn't change.  My Siglet PP215s are all about 3.5 ohms. 

Well-made probes from Probemaster.

https://probemaster.com/4900-series-oscilloscope-probes/

[Calambres]

Well, following my quest to controlling the SDG1032X from my SDS1104X-E for Bode plotting easily and conveniently, I cannot do it by using the rear USB-B sockets from both machines, I mean, using an USB-B to USB-B cable from one unit to the other.

"AWG not detected" 

If I connect the back USB-B from the AWG to the scope's front USB-A then it all goes hunky dory. On the other hand, if I connect the scope's back USB-B to the AWG's front USB-A, no deal!

Aren't all USB connectors the same?
Am I  doing something wrong?



P.S.: In case you're wondering, I want to keep both machines connected permanently without cables hanging from the front of the units and/or having to remove the front attached USB stick I keep in the scope all the time.

P.S.2: Also, the second USB at the back of the scope is already used by the WiFi dongle.

[EDIT: typo]

Aren't all USB connectors the same?

No.

USB B is Device USB, that is the device under control from a USB A connection.

Use either of the USB cables that came with each of these instruments with type A in the DSO and end type B in the AWG.

Yes you can run out of USB A sockets with these DSO's however solutions are very cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005605778448

Thanks for your answer but...

Yes you can run out of USB A sockets with these DSO's however solutions are very cheap:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005605778448

Sorry but that link does not seem to work here. Can you please copy-paste the description of that item?

Sorry, here's another:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005633637139.html?

Just add the .html? to the previous link.

Thanks, mate!... l I'll try it.

Tautech, I'm glad to say that the solution you cited for the scope's shortage of USB ports works perfectly!

Thanks a lot for the hint! 

[Jimima]

Hi, just got myself an SDS1104x-e and I have a question about the intensity knob. My understanding from the manual is that with no menu active turning the knob should adjust the intensity. However this does not happen on my scope, the knob is generally inactive in this case. Moreover, if I have a menu item selected and I hide the menu with the menu button then the control still controls the now hidden menu option, which can cause a bit of confusion. Am I misunderstanding something about how this is supposed to work?

EDIT: seems like I was reading the wrong manual(!) and in fact this is not how the intensity control works on this model. Odd, seeing as it's still labelled "intensity" but oh well

[807]

Hi, just got myself an SDS1104x-e and I have a question about the intensity knob. My understanding from the manual is that with no menu active turning the knob should adjust the intensity. However this does not happen on my scope, the knob is generally inactive in this case. Moreover, if I have a menu item selected and I hide the menu with the menu button then the control still controls the now hidden menu option, which can cause a bit of confusion. Am I misunderstanding something about how this is supposed to work?

EDIT: seems like I was reading the wrong manual(!) and in fact this is not how the intensity control works on this model. Odd, seeing as it's still labelled "intensity" but oh well

Can you give an example of which menu still works when it's hidden? I've tried a few & although I still get a beep when the menu buttons along the bottom are pressed, nothing actually changes. The intensity/adjust knob light goes out too & the knob doesn't do anything.

What firmware is installed?

I agree about the labelling of the intensity knob. Seems strange to call it that when you still have to go through menus to change the intensity. 🤷‍♂️

[Performa01]

Well, that's just history.

Originally, the "Intensity" knob controlled the screen intensity by default, but was also used for item selection as soon as a menu was selected. However, you can have a timeout for menus and after it has expired, the menu is gone and the knob controls the intensity again. Many folks (including me) have sweared a lot when they turned the knob without looking closely, expecting to alter the previously selected item - but changed the intensity instead, just because the menu has timed out in the meantime. AT one point, Siglent quite obviously changed the default behaviour and disabled the intensity control. Intensity is not a function you would use very frequently on a digital scope anyway.

Long story short, the knob once worked as advertised, but not anymore. At all times, something like "Universal Control" was the way more appropriate term for this knob. Unfortunately, FW-updates cannot change the front panel labels...

[Jimima]

Hi, just got myself an SDS1104x-e and I have a question about the intensity knob. My understanding from the manual is that with no menu active turning the knob should adjust the intensity. However this does not happen on my scope, the knob is generally inactive in this case. Moreover, if I have a menu item selected and I hide the menu with the menu button then the control still controls the now hidden menu option, which can cause a bit of confusion. Am I misunderstanding something about how this is supposed to work?

EDIT: seems like I was reading the wrong manual(!) and in fact this is not how the intensity control works on this model. Odd, seeing as it's still labelled "intensity" but oh well

Can you give an example of which menu still works when it's hidden?

So I found that the intensity (ironically?) and maybe other options in that menu can be adjusted if you select it, then hide the menu and turn the knob. Not a huge deal, maybe it's by design but I was confused by the whole thing for a while. Thanks for the explanations, it all makes sense... ish

[807]

Well, that's just history.

Originally, the "Intensity" knob controlled the screen intensity by default, but was also used for item selection as soon as a menu was selected. However, you can have a timeout for menus and after it has expired, the menu is gone and the knob controls the intensity again. Many folks (including me) have sweared a lot when they turned the knob without looking closely, expecting to alter the previously selected item - but changed the intensity instead, just because the menu has timed out in the meantime. AT one point, Siglent quite obviously changed the default behaviour and disabled the intensity control. Intensity is not a function you would use very frequently on a digital scope anyway.

Long story short, the knob once worked as advertised, but not anymore. At all times, something like "Universal Control" was the way more appropriate term for this knob. Unfortunately, FW-updates cannot change the front panel labels...

Yes. I wondered if it might have been a historic function that had been dropped with later updates. I wouldn't have thought it was too much of a problem if it was accidentally adjusted though. Simply turn it up/down again. But as you say, with digital scopes the intensity doesn't usually need to be adjusted, unlike older CRT scopes where the display may start to fade at higher frequencies.

Can you buy grey tippex? 🤔🙂

[BillyO]

Just wondering if anyone has done or seen reported any testing of how high a frequency these scopes will still trigger reliably on?

[tautech]

Just wondering if anyone has done or seen reported any testing of how high a frequency these scopes will still trigger reliably on?

Any rules ?

With sufficient amplitude we can keep increasing sensitivity to get a waveform to trigger on but if we push too high aliasing becomes a problem and normally seen when the counter doesn't match the input frequency.
Before tests I imagine ~400 MHz which fits with Nyquist.

[bdunham7]

Just wondering if anyone has done or seen reported any testing of how high a frequency these scopes will still trigger reliably on?

Yes, beyond the point where it makes any sense.  It is a digital sinc interpolated trigger and as you approach the theoretical Nyquist limit it breaks up.  You can display a 400MHz signal just fine, IIRC.  Or, if you activate the paired channel, you'll see the same signal aliased down to 100MHz.

[BillyO]

Before tests I imagine ~400 MHz which fits with Nyquist.

That fits.  Using a sine wave I was able to get to 425MHz and have the waveform stable and the trigger point adjustable over more than 75% of the waveform.  It started to get a little jittery at 450MHz.  Signal was 526mVpp being fed in @ 425MHz and being displayed as 106mVpp, so -14db. Quite beyond where it makes sense.

BTW, the counter up in the upper right lost it's mind at about 350MHz.  The "Measure" counter worked fine up to 425MHz.

[tautech]

Quite beyond where it makes sense.

Quite so, but there are use cases where one may not have access to a counter and while not precise the scopes counter might serve the required need.

[bdunham7]

Quite so, but there are use cases where one may not have access to a counter and while not precise the scopes counter might serve the required need.

Well, the problem with that is you can never be sure at what point the counter function becomes unreliable.  Even if you were able to characterize it in someone's lab who had the equipment, there are too many variables--signal level, noise, etc--to know whether it was accurate or not in practice.  What might work is the FFT going to 500MHz, that still shows fairly reliably if attenuated all the way to the top, again IIRC.

[Calambres]

I think I've found yet another bug in my SDS1204X-E (born SDS1104X-E  )

It is normally operating with WLAN connection to my local net. I use the internet connection to access an NPT server and so get the timestamp for the scope. So far so good.

If I want to run a Bode Plot II with my SDG1062X (also born SDG1032X  ) I must connect them via LAN, otherwise (USB) I get noise (that's another story  ) so I go to Utility - I/O - Net Interface LAN.

Again, so far so good; Bode Plot II connects OK with the AWG and plots fine. Once I'm done I must exit Bode Plot II and then restore the WLAN connection again with success but I see that there's no way to connect to the previously accessed NTP server any more. If I shut down the scope and restart it again, WLAN connects fine (I can access the scope via web server) but the NTP server still fails to connect. I have found that if I go to System - Date/Time - NTP - Server IP and change the NTP server to another one it succeeds in connecting. In fact, If I change just one digit of the previously non working IP address and then put it back as it was before, the NTP server connects OK.

In short, it seems that once you change the interface from WLAN to LAN and then back to WLAN you have to change the NTP IP address to get a successful connection, even if you type the same IP again!

Please can anyone confirm that this is not an issue with my scope only?

SDS1204X-E
SW:    6.1.37.R10
OS:    8.3
FPGA: 2021-11-08
HW:   01-05

[BillyO]

In short, it seems that once you change the interface from WLAN to LAN and then back to WLAN you have to change the NTP IP address to get a successful connection, even if you type the same IP again!

How are you making this change from LAN to WLAN and back?  Are you physically changing cables?