Siglent Bench DMMs SDM3065X, SDM3055 and SDM3045X

[Bad_Driver]

Having my SDM3065X for about a year I did a quick check against my reliable old HP34401A.
Both running for 1 hour to warm up. Not that bad!

And my Uni-T UT181A is much better than it's reputation 
What a pity that it gets no after sales support.

[epsilon888]

Agree about the UT181A. It's in fact more "spot on" than my new SDM3045X, and very solid construction with CAT-ratings in mind.

[Bad_Driver]

The Uni-T 181A is a very good, much faster "copy" of the Fluke 287 with a brilliant OLED display.
The features and the user interface is nearly identical. But it's a Uni-T, not a Fluke 

[ozkarah]

Looking around, I watched the video below that explains how to measure voltage and current simultaneously using the dual screen feature of Keithley DMM6500 (it is a kind of workaround, not an official feature but it works).

https://youtu.be/Z7sYUL85jTc?t=607


Did anyone try if selecting Voltage and Current at the same time is possible with the SDM30xxx series?

[tautech]

Did anyone try if selecting Voltage and Current at the same time is possible with the SDM30xxx series?

RTFM. 
Dual simultaneous measurements are not possible with the SDM models and instead they cycle between each measurement when in Dual mode.
There's a list of Dual measurement types that can be selected/chosen in the manual.

[ozkarah]

Thanks. I don't own the device but found the manual on the net.
Looks like it is possible to select voltage and current combination for the dual display. So the device will show both simultaneously (alternately I mean).

[BillyO]

So, going through all the threads I can find regarding the SDM3045X it seems it is a POS that should be avoided.  Is this the general consensus?

[Algoma]

PoS .. Compared to what?  It's value seems in line with its cost. If you need more, then you'll want to budget a bit higher.  The 3045X is an attempt to lower the costs as much as possible within the same overall deisgn.

[BillyO]

WRT all the issues reported with it.  It just seems $400 is a lot to pay for a DMM with boot-up issues, lock-up issues, auto-ranging issues.  Yeah, the price is nice but in going through the posts about it on this forum it seems no one has anything great to say about it.  Am I reading things incorrectly or does it have some redeeming features that have not been mentioned (other than price) that would be compelling as opposed to something even less expensive (like the Vici VC8145)?

[tautech]

So, going through all the threads I can find regarding the SDM3045X it seems it is a POS that should be avoided.  Is this the general consensus?

WRT all the issues reported with it.  It just seems $400 is a lot to pay for a DMM with boot-up issues, lock-up issues, auto-ranging issues.  Yeah, the price is nice but in going through the posts about it on this forum it seems no one has anything great to say about it.  Am I reading things incorrectly or does it have some redeeming features that have not been mentioned (other than price) that would be compelling as opposed to something even less expensive (like the Vici VC8145)?

FWIW there's more reading for you to do:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sdm3045x-enough-is-enough/

^^^ addresses the ranging issues and is an interesting read.
FYI Boot freeze issues have been dealt with in a recent FW release and are mentioned in the release notes as:
Optimize flash R&W design

This has certainly fixed any outstanding boot issues and I'm seeing a fall away in calls for assistance. 
Surprisingly SDM3045X is a good seller for us when I did think 3055 was to be the much stronger seller but no.
Anyways, one of our customers likes them so much he has one on every techs bench in his appliance repair shop.....4 to date IIRC.

[Martin72]

Surprisingly SDM3045X is a good seller for us

This is....interesting to read from a siglent distributor...
It´s not a secret I wanted to buy at least 4 of them for our PCB testplace, but was irritating about the comments how "bad" it is.

[tautech]

Surprisingly SDM3045X is a good seller for us

This is....interesting to read from a siglent distributor...
It´s not a secret I wanted to buy at least 4 of them for our PCB testplace, but was irritating about the comments how "bad" it is.

It's not bad just annoying if you need work right where the 2V range change is and this is a major fail from Siglent for some which is why we explored my long held belief SDM3045X = China model SDM3055X-E.

We're also a bit different in that every model gets a PD check where new FW if available is installed and recently also change Default boot to Last to give a better user experience, all this has resulted in us not getting the boot freezes some users do yet we have all these tools to recover them we only get to help other elsewhere rather than our NZ customers.

[Pinkus]

I am owning my 3045x now since November 2016. I purchased a new one and paid less than 300 Euro including shipping for it and I can tell you I am very satisfied. It is fast and does everything I need and a lot more. And it is fan-less. I never had any problem with it and right now I am using the hack with the 5.5 digit firmware (SDM3055X-E) which makes it a 3055. It is stable down to the last digit. I am powering it up almost every day and it never failed on me and the thought of having to buy something better (you all know what I mean) never occurred.
Possibly the last digit displayed is not quite as trustworthy as on the 3055, but I can live with that: Whether the measured 3.0001 volts are actually 3.0003 volts in reality doesn't matter to me.
Sure, it's not a device to brag about, but I'm more of a pragmatic guy and I'm sure the device will suffice any engineer in 99.9% of all cases.

[BillyO]

Surprisingly SDM3045X is a good seller for us

This is....interesting to read from a siglent distributor...
It´s not a secret I wanted to buy at least 4 of them for our PCB testplace, but was irritating about the comments how "bad" it is.

It's not bad just annoying if you need work right where the 2V range change is and this is a major fail from Siglent for some which is why we explored my long held belief SDM3045X = China model SDM3055X-E.

We're also a bit different in that every model gets a PD check where new FW if available is installed and recently also change Default boot to Last to give a better user experience, all this has resulted in us not getting the boot freezes some users do yet we have all these tools to recover them we only get to help other elsewhere rather than our NZ customers.

So the 'hack' in the thread you linked to will avoid the ranging issues?  The thing I'm not sure about is whether that hack needs to be re-written for each FW update.

Does the same script used to hack the SDS1104X-E to a 1204  and the SDG1032 to the 1062 work with the DMMs too?

[tautech]

So the 'hack' in the thread you linked to will avoid the ranging issues? 

Ranging issues are only a problem when trying to measure close to the '2' range step in SDM3045X that have a '6' range step.
Converting these to the China only SDM3055X-E changes only the product ID and the way ranging works so to convert SDM3045X to the same '2' range step as the other SDM models.

The thing I'm not sure about is whether that hack needs to be re-written for each FW update.

Think about what you have read....the product ID has been changed for it to:
1) Operate in a different measurement ranges ...... the same that SDM3055X-E models do...remember same SDM3045X HW.
2) Accept SDM3055X-E firmware, again remember same as SDM3045X HW.

Does the same script used to hack the SDS1104X-E to a 1204  and the SDG1032 to the 1062 work with the DMMs too?

Go back and read that thread again to properly understand why we did this and how it's done.....absolutely nothing to do with any python scripts.

Edit to add:
Is SDM3045X conversion to SDM3055X-E necessary for full functionality of SDM3045X ?
No but in certain and limited use cases it is beneficial.

[BillyO]

Okay, that all seems pretty clear.  Edit the SDM3055X-E FW to update the model ID and the checksum so it is recognized by the FW update process, then load in the 3055X-E FW to configure the device as such.

One issue though.  Siglent's servers will not allow me to access that FW.  I get re-directed to a different site where only the SDM3055 (no X-E) FW is available.  Is there somewhere else I can access the FW I need or am I SOL?

[tautech]

One issue though.  Siglent's servers will not allow me to access that FW.  I get re-directed to a different site where only the SDM3055 (no X-E) FW is available.  Is there somewhere else I can access the FW I need or am I SOL?

Start here:
https://int.siglent.com/
Goto the globe top right and hit the drop down arrow and select the Chinese character China website link with a Right click and Open in new Tab.
Then you have 2 near identical websites to use the English one as a guide to explore the China one. 
Have fun.

[BillyO]

Start here:
https://int.siglent.com/
Goto the globe top right and hit the drop down arrow and select the Chinese character China website link with a Right click and Open in new Tab.
Then you have 2 near identical websites to use the English one as a guide to explore the China one. 
Have fun.

Okay, that works... !!.  Thanks!  The newest version is V2.01.01.12.  That is the one tv84 created the patch for, which is good.  Does this one also fix the boot and lock problems?

Edit:  I'm wondering if that Caddock divider used in the 3055 could be hacked into the 3045.  Hmm....  I'm now wondering if it is an off-the-shelf part..

[tautech]

Does this one also fix the boot and lock problems?

Time to drag the translator out and compare the Chinese FW release notes with those for SDM3045X.

Edit:  I'm wondering if that Caddock divider used in 3055 could be hacked into the 3045.  Hmm....  I'm now wondering if it is an off-the-shelf part..

Go buy a real SDM3055 instead.....3045X is probably a different PCB....more homework for you to do.

Don't be shy to update threads on what you find.

[BillyO]

Go buy a real SDM3055 instead.....

That's not a possibility.  I sold an old dirt bike so have just $1800 CDN to spend.  That's a hard limit.  My goal is to get a ~$3000 CDN kit for that $1800.  The biggest item on that was the SDS1104X-E I received last week and hacked it to a fully enabled SDS1204X-E and added the WIFI dongle.  Tomorrow I receive a SDG1032X-E which will be hacked to a SDG1062X-E.  That leaves me with $521 CDN.  I can get the SDM3045X-E for $515 delivered.  The 3055 is more than $200 more delivered (unless you can do better??!!??)

So..

3045X is probably a different PCB....more homework for you to do.

A-hacking I will go .. with research and reason.

Don't be shy to update threads on what you find.

I certainly will!  Thanks tautech, you have been very helpful.

[Kleinstein]

Start here:
https://int.siglent.com/
Goto the globe top right and hit the drop down arrow and select the Chinese character China website link with a Right click and Open in new Tab.
Then you have 2 near identical websites to use the English one as a guide to explore the China one. 
Have fun.

Okay, that works... !!.  Thanks!  The newest version is V2.01.01.12.  That is the one tv84 created the patch for, which is good.  Does this one also fix the boot and lock problems?

Edit:  I'm wondering if that Caddock divider used in the 3055 could be hacked into the 3045.  Hmm....  I'm now wondering if it is an off-the-shelf part..

The Caddick divider seems to be a standard / of the shelf part (could still be a special selection - though I doubt it). However the PCB may no allow easy (and safe)  mounting and there are likely other small differences (e.g. lower grade parts) in the hardware. At the very least one would need a new calibration after a change of the divider.  The price difference to the real SDM3055 is normally not that large.

[BillyO]

Actually, I did just find a supplier near me that is selling the 3055 at a discount and includes free shipping.  That makes the difference only $100 CDN ($77US).  I think I can swing that.

[mushroom]

Time to drag the translator out and compare the Chinese FW release notes with those for SDM3045X.

SDM3055X-E 软件版本修订记录及升级说明.zh-CN.en.pdf

2021/7/6 2.01.01.12

1. Add the memory recall function of the scan card configuration
2. Increase the switching time interval of the scan mode card channel to avoid common faults.
3. Crashes when loading files of different models, and the file path is abnormal after secure erase
4. Some UI (slow refresh in fast mode, not enough digits, incomplete display, etc.)
Bugfixes related to SCPI commands

2021/2/5 2.01.01.10R1

1. Modify the individual crash problem of U disk storage
2. Modify some defects of the acquisition function
3. Improve the trend graph display function
4. Fix some bugs in communication with EasyDMM

SDM3055 Firmware Revise History and Update Instructions.pdf

2021/7/8 1.01.01.25

1. Add the scan card setup save&recall function.
2. Optimize the slot time of the channel switching of scan card.
3. Optimize flash R&W design.
4. Fix some UI & SCPI bugs

2021/2/5 1.01.01.22R1

1. Fix some unit faults of 22 version.
2. Fixed some bugs about communication with Easysdm

SDM3045X-Firmware-Revise-History.pdf

2021/9/22 5.01.01.07R1

1. Add the customer sensor support.
2. Optimize flash R&W design。
3. Fix some UI & SCPI bugs

2021/2/5 5.01.01.06R1

1. Fixed some unit faults in 06 version
2. Fixed some bugs about communication with EasyDMM.

[tautech]

Thanks mushroom. 

We can see the China version X-E firmware is older than for SDM3045X and apparently doesn’t include optimisation of the flash memory which suggests if one planned to get a 3045X to convert to 3055X-E it would be wise to install 07R1 firmware before conversion. 

[mushroom]

Not sure I'll be the first to try the hack...
What could be the device language after the hack ? Chinese ?
More digits. What to do with if hardware and calibration are not designed for ? The 45 is more than good enough for what I'm doing !
Still don't really understand Siglent OS/firmware.
And I'm not lucky... A few years ago, I bricked my phone re-rooting it after a reset to factory settings. 2 months ago, I overwrote the OS 3 of my SDS1204X-E with the OS 2 (AFAIK, 3 is a fix for WiFi dongle licensing... Real men have dedicated Ethernet switch and PC for the lab, so I don't care).

I too :