Velleman WFS210 wireless oscilloscope for only £20 !

[Fraser]

I was looking for a very simple oscilloscope that could connect wirelessly to a Apple or Android tablet.

A quick look on ebay revealed the Velleman WFS210 being sold cheap for around £30. Then I found it available for £20 from the Maplin Electronics eBay outlet.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Velleman-2Ch-Wifi-Digital-Storage-Oscilloscope-Wfs210-2-Independent-Channels-Dvm/401376383828?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The WFS210 manual is here

https://www.velleman.eu/downloads/0/user/usermanual_wfs210.pdf

The software runs on a PC up to Win7, iOS tablet and Android tablet..... but not on phones.

The unit does have its issues. Not particularly high sample rate but for simple low frequency scope and DVM measurements it will be fine. It is self powered and wireless, so pretty useful.

I bought one to test. Hopefully it will connect OK to my PC and one of my tablets. At £20 it seemed too good to ignore.

Fraser

[Fraser]

The SIGROK page provides some detail on the unit

https://sigrok.org/wiki/Velleman_WFS210

Fraser

[Fraser]

Pictures from the SIGROK page

You get a lot for you £20! These originally cost nearer £100 but the software was last updated in 2014 and Velleman show no signs of updating the software for Win10 so it looks like its an abandoned product.

Looks like a decent enough unit for my needs though 

Fraser

[Fraser]

Datasheet...

http://www.velleman.eu/downloads/0/infosheets/datasheet_wfs210_uk.pdf

[Fraser]

Velleman kindly supplies the communications protocol too...

http://www.velleman.eu/downloads/0/information/protocol_wfs210.pdf

Fraser

[bitseeker]

Interesting. Seems a good price for what you get. Am I correct in interpreting the Sigrok page as they plan on adding support for it? That would extend its useful life.

10 MHz bandwidth with only 10 MS/s sampling rate? More like 4 - 5 MHz usable. Still OK for $30.

I already have enough scope goodness, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts after you've had some quality time with it.

[Fraser]

Yes the sampling rate is pretty low and I consider the useable bandwidth to be only around 1MHz.
The fact that it offers a DVM function and multiple measurements units and RMS is useful.
The key features for my needs is the Wi-Fi connectivity and it is self powered. Very useful when working on SMPSU's, but the inputs are not isolated from eachother.

I own a wireless DVM that was produced in the late 1990's. It has a transmitter head and receiver/display module. It cost a small fortune back then and was intended for remote system node state monitoring whilst a central control host was used to set different node states. It turned a two man job into a one man job

The little wireless DSO/DVM may be low bandwidth but when compared to the cheap low bandwidth Chinese USB DSO's it is very cheap at £20. The Velleman 200KHz educational series USB DSO still costs £30 !

If anyone deals with situations that require isolation of the DSO from everything around it (except the DUT of course), or remote monitoring of a node, this little unit looks a useful item to have in the toolbox.

SIGROK indicate that they hope to support the unit in the future. The fact that Velleman have made the protocol public will help developers support it.

More once I receive it.

Fraser

[R_G_B_]

The firmware is also open

https://github.com/Velleman/WFS210-App?files=1

[Fraser]

This makes a change for Velleman. They refused to release the firmware for the HPS140i that had the triggering issue.

Maybe Velleman hoped to attract the attention of the hacking community to improve their products appeal ?
It is a pity they elected to go for a dual channel 22Ms/S ADC rather than a pair of those 40Ms/s TV ADC's used in the HPS140i

If I need better sampling rates and bandwidth I have 'real' DSO's though.

Fraser

[R_G_B_]

Be good to see this get hacked ...data logging.

Trending data over time etc

[R_G_B_]

Looks like people are already experimenting with the software

https://github.com/Velleman/WFS210-App/commits/master

[R_G_B_]

Seems to be a lot of problems with the firmware

https://forum.vellemanprojects.eu/c/instruments/wfs210-new

[Fraser]

Yep, as I said, it does have some issues. I have seen user complaints in the past for equipment that stem from host incompatibility. We may be seeing that here. We already know it cannot run with Win10. I have many hosts that I can use with it. I think it also supports USB cable connection as well, but that loses one of its advantages to me.

It is being sold off cheap for a reason. Velleman may have given up on it ? They have posted recently in that support thread though. It could be another case of great hardware, pity about the software though 

For £20 I will give it a go 

Fraser

[Bicurico]

Unfortunatly only selling within the UK.

Regards,
Vitor

[Avacee]

Thanks for the link - have bought one.
Could be an interesting exercise to code up some better software if I don't like the UI 

[Fraser]

Vitor,

You may start to see other offers on these units if they are being discontinued. I saw one for £30 initially but the Maplin deal is the best so far.

Time will tell whether it is a useable DSO and DVM, or just a £20 exotic paperweight.

Fraser

[Bicurico]

I will wait patiently for your review!

Truth is, I don't *need* such a device, but I haven't had courage to participate in the TEA group, either...

Regards,
Vitor

[bitseeker]

The key features for my needs is the Wi-Fi connectivity and it is self powered. Very useful when working on SMPSU's, but the inputs are not isolated from eachother.

Ah, yes. The semi-isolation is good for SMPS work. Of course, with the caveat of the common being, well, common to the inputs. The bandwidth is also fine for SMPS (and Ham radio work).

The little wireless DSO/DVM may be low bandwidth but when compared to the cheap low bandwidth Chinese USB DSO's it is very cheap at £20. The Velleman 200KHz educational series USB DSO still costs £30 !

I was thinking the same thing. Even the little standalone 200kHz ones in a plastic case (e.g., JYE DSO150) are already $20.

[bitseeker]

It is being sold off cheap for a reason. Velleman may have given up on it ? They have posted recently in that support thread though. It could be another case of great hardware, pity about the software though 

If the community does have a go with hacking software for it, Velleman could find that they can focus on the hardware and have good software created for it. Releasing the information to pull it off is certainly a step in that direction. If it works, maybe they'll be inclined to make an upgraded version.

It'll be interesting to see what happens.

[3db]

I just bought one from Amazon UK for £20
There are two left now.

[edavid]

The firmware is also open

https://github.com/Velleman/WFS210-App?files=1

That is not the firmware, it is just the apps.

[sorenkir]

Just ordered one on Amazon-UK with my Amazon-FR account.
Shipping to France is £4.10
Michel.

[tautech]

Truth is, I don't *need* such a device, but I haven't had courage to participate in the TEA group, either...

Regards,
Vitor

C'mon Victor, don't be a chicken. 
We'd love for you to share some pics of your goodies. 

[trevwhite]

I decided I do not really need one but it seems that made no difference. At £20 I felt stupid not buying one. Thanks for the heads up Fraser.

[R_G_B_]

So the intention  was or is to open up the software for the hacking community:

https://youtu.be/qEqWtKGJhFQ