Greetings from the Pacific Northwest. I'm a new subscriber and have enjoyed reading through many of the threads.
Today I received a RIGOL DP832 and knew, because of this forum, that a newer version of firmware existed and that it would be wise to install it.
I'm a retired RF engineer, MSEE, and feeling rather stupid at the moment.
How does one download the latest firmware and install it? I found a thread here on this forum with links to the software and install instructions, but surely RIGOL doesn't expect their customers
to snoop around forums for solutions, or having to email/call RIGOL North America for instructions.
Not knowing the provenance of the files I located, I am hesitant to attempt an install and have to assume that there is a RIGOL sanctioned, documented, and working procedure to accomplish an upgrade.
Have I missed something obvious to the rest of the world excluding myself?
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. It looks to be a very nice supply and well worth the low price.
thank you ...
As a service to their loyal customers, Rigol doesn't post firmware update files online; you have to ask for them.
They have links to firmware update request forms on their product and tech support web pages.
As another service for their customers, most or all of these links don't work.
But if you know someone, you can get this link...
http://beyondmeasure.rigoltech.com/acton/form/1579/0012:d-0001/1/index.htm
I filled out the request form even though the DP832 was not on the list, hit SUBMIT, and nothing ...
I'll call RIGOL tomorrow and jump through the hoops.
Geez .. I recently bought an Agilent 7000 series scope, identified a few issues, and Agilent sent me three scopes for review during the investigative phase.
As I recall, I retrieved the latest firmware without questions or any hassle. Of course, it cost well beyond the $409 I paid for the DP832!
I've already identified a few bugs with the v1.06 release that no one has talked about, so I am anxious to move forward.
I really wonder what's inside their heads: why the hell they're not linking updates?
Are they simply stupids or there is something I don't understand in their strategy?
I didn't intend to register this as a complaint, as I assumed I had missed a salient note or document in my haste to unbox and apply power. I still have not found anything of import, so as soon as the RIGOL offices open I will give them a call. I am hoping they don't really expect every customer to call, for every upgradeable product, in order to update their instruments.
On the topic of the DP832, I am impressed. Great performance for the money, and I personally don't have issues with the grounding scheme at all. It's poor practice to not have a separate ground for logic or ancillary currents in my opinion, the fan noise is very low, the keyboard laughable but wholly functional, the software issues trivial and temporaneous, and ... the price makes it a bargain and a real winner!
I might even order another one ... but first that firmware upgrade!
I really wonder what's inside their heads: why the hell they're not linking updates? Are they simply stupids or there is something I don't understand in their strategy?
For whatever reasons, this is one of the ways that Rigol has decided to save time/money. You don't like their strategy? There is an easy solution for you.
People complain about this all the time - and yet Rigol's sales keep rising.
I am not taking issue with their process. I am taking issue with the fact that I can't find it documented anywhere.
How about -
"Thank you for purchasing the DP832. Your instrument may not have the latest firmware installed.
Please call Technical Support at 1-800-XXXXXXX with your serial number and firmware version."
Instead of -
"Please spend your evening Google'ing "Firmware update for RIGOL DP832 Power Supply"
If you are fortunate, you will stumble upon various forums where other customers have found themselves in a similar quandary
and have taken it upon themselves to post and solicit solutions."
hence, the genesis of this thread.
I am not taking issue with their process. I am taking issue with the fact that I can't find it documented anywhere.
Well, I was responding specifically to the poster that I responded to - not to your reason for starting the thread.
But your suggestion of an 1-800 number and Tech support set up to deal with FW upgrades would again require Rigol to spend money which they don't seem to want to spend. I guess the problem seems to be for people who buy Rigol products from Rigol themselves (or eBay) - instead of through dealers. I've never had a problem getting FW updates (and also my bug reports sent to Rigol) via my dealer.
Also, your comparison to your experience with Agilent made me laugh. I wonder if Nissan dealers provide as much after-sales support as Mercedes-Benz dealers?
For whatever reasons, this is one of the ways that Rigol has decided to save time/money. You don't like their strategy? There is an easy solution for you.
People complain about this all the time - and yet Rigol's sales keep rising.
Uhh, no. They already have a webserver of some form, right? So create a directory /firmware/ on it, and then put a whole bunch of ZIP files in it. Maybe even provide a link to it, somewhere. That'd be the cheapest solution. Either that or don't offer firmware upgrades, ever.
How does having a human at Rigol check the serial numbers etc, and then writing an email to each customer individually make
fiscal sense?
One reason could be multiple hardware revisions, requiring different firmware builds. The firmware update page could expose this to the end user, or better yet, have an update system smart enough to work it out itself (on the unit in question).
Whilst we're on the subject (apologies for thread-jacking) - why can't I even download a datasheet/user manual without registering/logging in? From the
DSA815 page, hit Documents then
Datasheet. This is just crap. (Yes, this applies to Tek too - Agilent are doing it right here.)
For whatever reasons, this is one of the ways that Rigol has decided to save time/money. You don't like their strategy? There is an easy solution for you.
People complain about this all the time - and yet Rigol's sales keep rising.
Uhh, no. They already have a webserver of some form, right? So create a directory /firmware/ on it, and then put a whole bunch of ZIP files in it. Maybe even provide a link to it, somewhere. That'd be the cheapest solution. Either that or don't offer firmware upgrades, ever.
You seemed to have missed the salient point I was making which I have bolded above to reiterate. It makes no difference what
you think is the cheapest/best solution for a Chinese T&M company - it's not what they think. Anyone thinking of buying a Rigol should be aware of this - this is part of what you're NOT paying money for.
Additionally, I have been reviewing the DSA1030A-TG3, DG4162, and DM3068 for purchase, and thinking it wise to start with a simple product like the DP832, and get a feel for support.
As mentioned above, there is little to no direct support from Rigol. Rigol seems to feel it should go through their dealers - but they don't have a good network in place in many areas to even support that.
I'm not supporting their decisions - only pointing out that this is widely-known and readily apparent with the slightest research. If you want support, don't buy Rigol equipment.
I've already identified a few bugs with the v1.06 release that no one has talked about, so I am anxious to move forward.
For DP832 firmware related issues (bugs/fixes), I started a thread on the topic a few days ago. See:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/rigol-dp832-firmware-updates-and-bug-list/msg361709/#msg361709If you have identified bugs with the v01.06 firmware, it would be nice if you posted reports in the above thread --- it will help a lot to see what bugs are present in which firmware releases.
I will soon update the formatting of the bug list, using the style that marmad has developed as it is easiest to follow. I'll be happy to update the list of reported bugs with any additional ones that you may have found.
Cheers! Enjoy your DP832!
For whatever reasons, this is one of the ways that Rigol has decided to save time/money.
I guess that thousands of mail regarding firmware upgrade request are more time consuming that a simple link on the product's page.
There is no one logic reason for me to not publish download upgrade links.
I guess that thousands of mail regarding firmware upgrade request are more time consuming that a simple link on the product's page.
You mean you believe Rigol is answering mails?
recapitulation vis-a-vis RIGOL firmware upgrade -
SUCCESS!
for those with similar queries, I called RIGOL NA, talked to someone that took my email address and agreed to email me the links to the firmware upgrade and documentation.
two hours later I received the email from an Applications Engineer. I downloaded the files, and installed v1.08 in the DP832 power supply successfully.
thank you all for your responses
For whatever reasons, this is one of the ways that Rigol has decided to save time/money. You don't like their strategy? There is an easy solution for you.
People complain about this all the time - and yet Rigol's sales keep rising.
Uhh, no. They already have a webserver of some form, right? So create a directory /firmware/ on it, and then put a whole bunch of ZIP files in it. Maybe even provide a link to it, somewhere. That'd be the cheapest solution. Either that or don't offer firmware upgrades, ever.
You seemed to have missed the salient point I was making which I have bolded above to reiterate. It makes no difference what you think is the cheapest/best solution for a Chinese T&M company - it's not what they think. Anyone thinking of buying a Rigol should be aware of this - this is part of what you're NOT paying money for.
I don't think they are doing the request-via-webform/email thing because they think it's the *cheapest*. I think they are doing it because management/marketing wanted control/information over who had what. Which is asinine. "Bruce in Bolivia wanted a datasheet on a DG4000 - quick, carpet bomb him with reps!"
I guess that thousands of mail regarding firmware upgrade request are more time consuming that a simple link on the product's page.
You mean you believe Rigol is answering mails?
I've had one - took about a day and a half, but that isn't the end of the world. The attached was the instructions that came with it. I like page 2. Also that they can't just autoload from a USB stick on boot, like sensible embedded firmware update mechanisms.
You mean you believe Rigol is answering mails?
So the question is: why a company that want to make grow its business should ignore mails?
I don't think they are doing the request-via-webform/email thing because they think it's the *cheapest*. I think they are doing it because management/marketing wanted control/information over who had what. Which is asinine. "Bruce in Bolivia wanted a datasheet on a DG4000 - quick, carpet bomb him with reps!"
I think they are doing it because that's what they want to do. Your opinion is irrelevant. If you don't want to deal with it - don't buy Rigol. If enough people stop buying their products, they will change.
I think they are doing it because that's what they want to do. Your opinion is irrelevant. If you don't want to deal with it - don't buy Rigol.
Marmad, of course they do what they want. This is obvious. We're only asking if someone knows a valid reason to intentionally lacking in support.
Maybe a support office is too expensive and so you decide to give minimum support? Ok, this is your decision, you are the company.
And this (stupid or not) is one possible and plausible answer to our question. We can't offer a decent support because it cost too much, and we wouldn't keep the price of our products so low. But
it IS an answer. It is not "We do what we want because the company is our property, PERIOD".
But you must agree that putting on a server some upgrade files WILL NOT require a big effort. It would cost less than sending upgrades to the 0,1% of total requests. It would cost less than the space on the hard drive of their mail server that every day receives thousands of upgrade requests. It would cost less than deleting every day all the upgrade request messages from the mail client.
If enough people stop buying their products, they will change.
IMO, until the price difference between Rigol and other brands will remain so big, people will never stop to buy their products. Even with minimum support.
But you must agree that putting on a server some upgrade files WILL NOT require a big effort. It would cost less than sending upgrades to the 0,1% of total requests. It would cost less than the space on the hard drive of their mail server that every day receives thousands of upgrade requests. It would cost less than deleting every day all the upgrade request messages from the mail client.
Of course - but it's a combination of time/money - plus trying to keep some (illusory) control over their data - combined with some ancient Chinese ideas/traditions involving business.
IMO, until the price difference between Rigol and other brands will remain so big, people will never stop to buy their products. Even with minimum support.
And that was my point. I've been reading these same posts complaining about Rigol's lack of support for about 4 years now - but Rigol's behavior doesn't seem to have changed one bit - because the company keeps getting MORE profitable, not LESS. So, from the standpoint of company executives/owners, they must be doing something right, no?
Companies don't act logically, and often don't even have the goal or not even an intention to do so.
In case of Rigol it could be the following, or something completely different:
Boss: Everyone needs to be cost-conscious (so I can afford yet another expensive ernai).
Programming department: Us running a server so users can download our firmware? Not our job, we just code software. Anyhow we are not allowed to do outside communication and we have to be cost-conscious.
Marketing department, running the public websites: Us organizing firmware downloads? Technical stuff? ON OUR SERVERS? No way, we try to sell stuff, it is not our job to support the stuff and get it fixed. And by the way, we have to be cost-conscious.
Support department - that is, this one temp bum they occasionally drag in from under the bridge to do a support department simulation: Me? No, I am supposed to answer e-mails. Which I occasionally do if i feel like it. Me running a support server? I am not allowed to do so, it is not my job and by the way, I have to be cost-conscious.
Boss: Customer complaints? I don't care. it is just an international conspiracy, the figures show we still sell boatloads of that junk. And by the way, don't waste my time with such customer complaints
combined with some ancient Chinese ideas/traditions involving business.
hehe, probably
Abut Rigol's behavior doesn't seem to have changed one bit - because the company keeps getting MORE profitable, not LESS. So, from the standpoint of company executives/owners, they must be doing something right, no?
Yes, they're doing something right. But
only because their products have an awesome specs/price ratio. But since Chinese people are very interested in business, I can not even IMAGINE how an executive couldn't take in consideration that with a better support their company would grow up more and more!
I can not even IMAGINE how an executive couldn't take in consideration that with a better support their company would grow up more and more!
I'm sure they considered it. They probably figure they'd have to spend quite a bit of money and expect only a small increase in sales - which would mean raising the price of their products, which would be a problem in their competetive market segment. They're doing very well as they are, clearly most people don't want to pay for good customer support, so why should they risk messing up their business?
I'm sure they considered it. They probably figure they'd have to spend quite a bit of money and expect only a small increase in sales
hmmm... probably you're right.
So the only way to solve this firmware issue is to massively (I mean MASSIVELY
) oppress every-single-Rigol-email-address with firmware upgrade request until they have to spend more time cleaning the mail client from those messages than putting the files online.
I imagine Rigol's offices filled engineer cubicals, meeting rooms and design labs - all the standard stuff.
But then in the back corner of the building is a small room labeled "Website and Heatsink Development Dept" which is occupied by the owner's talentless nephew who no one in the building is allowed to criticize.