I'm after a AWG and a LAB PSU now, and of course considering Siglent, if you know a distributor with reasonable international shipments let me know!
JSSeveral but it's very bad form to sell into another authorized distributors patch, period.
Good luck should you need warranty or specialized support from the Asian mum and dad backstreet shops, just good luck !In my experience a local distributor can be unhelpful as well. It is a bit of a hit & miss and you don't know until it is too late. Usually I use google with the company name and the world 'problem' to see if a shop is any good or not before buying. Last year I bought something from Italy instead of the local NL distributor because the NL distributor seemes to have very bad customer services (sell broken / DOA items and then let customers wait weeks or months for repairs).
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About FFT length, as I had said many times, I pick the data from the PC and run the processing there, I can run a FFT with the full memory depth, so for me being able to capture 24M points with 1GSa/s with some advanced trigger options is the most important feature. I wouldn't go with cheaper with low memory depth, but more expensive with more processing power wouldn't make a big difference for me. Math function limitations are in all the scopes and a bit more in some particular case doesn't make or brake the deal for me. The refresh sending the data to the PC won't be as fast but I can live with that, the times for me catching a rare event aren't that often. Once I had a fast, once in a few month event but I wouldn't trust the Siglent to catch it either, troubleshooting that wasn't easy... Also, 200kwf/s using deep memory isn't a thing anyway.
Josh,
Since you work on tube amps, for the $140+ difference between the scope you have and some of the others you're contemplating, you could get a high-voltage differential probe. Although most of the time you take measurements in tube amps relative to chassis ground, with a differential probe you can measure across any two points. I don't know how often that might be useful to you, but thought I'd mention it.
Right now, I see one of the vendors on eBay selling MicSig 100MHz 1400V differential probes has them for $120:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=micsig+dp10013&_sacat=0&_sop=15
For audio work, the higher bit depth of the AD2 (14 bits) or dedicated USB-based equipment for audio analysis (16, 24 or more bits per sample) may be better suited. Of course, it also depends to what level of precision and granularity you're doing things like measuring distortion, S/N ratios, etc.
However, even an old Rigol DS1052E and its FFT can enable you to see if your amp has less than a certain percentage of distortion by sending through a dual-tone test signal, one of which is at an amplitude that represents your desired distortion threshold and at a frequency that doesn't collide with the harmonics of the primary signal, as a visual marker.
As with any technical buying decision, knowing your true requirements will help a lot to sift through all the possibilities. Otherwise, analysis paralysis is always lurking behind every spec sheet.
WRT capturing data for PC processing.
I'll leave this for those that aren't aware of it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/msg1394796/#msg1394796
Although most of the time you take measurements in tube amps relative to chassis ground, with a differential probe you can measure across any two points. I don't know how often that might be useful to you, but thought I'd mention it.
Is this 100% reliant on the github project? If that's the case then that's not a long-term, reliable solution.
Although most of the time you take measurements in tube amps relative to chassis ground, with a differential probe you can measure across any two points. I don't know how often that might be useful to you, but thought I'd mention it.
I do always measure to ground. This is something I don't understand being so new to scopes. Why would I want to measure across two points on a scope besides ground?
Although most of the time you take measurements in tube amps relative to chassis ground, with a differential probe you can measure across any two points. I don't know how often that might be useful to you, but thought I'd mention it.
I do always measure to ground. This is something I don't understand being so new to scopes. Why would I want to measure across two points on a scope besides ground?Think about a half-bridge driver where you want to measure the voltage on the base/gate versus the emitter/source.
WRT capturing data for PC processing.
I'll leave this for those that aren't aware of it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/msg1394796/#msg1394796
That looks like another (small) plus for the Siglent. It comes back to exactly what I said about the Siglent being the newer computer. So there. But will there ever be an official LXI release for this? Is this 100% reliant on the github project? If that's the case then that's not a long-term, reliable solution.
The point is, the LXI/LAN speed.
With the existing SCPI command set and the inbuilt webserver that includes the command set panel you can yank info from LAN port in close to real-time, or via the USB WiFi for that matter.
the AD2 seems fun and has an AWG.
An AWG AND a 14-bit oscilloscope in the same device. This combination allows you to generate frequency sweeps and plot the frequency response/harmonic distortion of things like amplifiers.
Oh, I dig it, but for me it's a toy.
To be clear, this is the type of guitar amp circuit I build, and yes, I love heat-shrink tubing.
A "toy" that properly set up (ie. with suitable probes) can probably help you do your job better then either the Rigol or the Siglent.
It looks like they've been building up a nice catalog of accessories since I last checked it out, eg. take a look at this bundle. It's not cheap, but very tempting. The BNC adapter gives you two-channel oscilloscope and two-channel signal generator.
Price is relative though - that entire bundle costs less than just the logic analyzer upgrade for the Siglent.
Oscilloscope bandwidth aside, it's a lot of capability for the money. I wonder how electrically robust it is.
Edit: They claim "robustness to withstand student use..."
Thanks for the example. It's helpful to understand what you're working on. It looks like you already have more than enough for your area of interest. I wouldn't look to spend any more. Use what you have, then you'll better know if and when you need more and what will fulfill that need.
Heat shrink is a good thing. I've seen some mighty scary point-to-point constructions — it makes you wonder how the thing doesn't short out just breathing too hard.
I want a bench scope, and that isn't, so it's a no-go for general use
Yeah, I know what you mean. I'd want a really fancy probe before I attach one to a tube amp.
High voltage.
High voltage.
Most of my circuits peak around 350VDC. With my current probes (Pico TA131), the x10 covers 600V, so I think I'm okay there. Is there any reason I should be concerned in that scenario?
I'm planning on getting some fixed x100 Cal Test CT2707 probes that do 1200V.
................and I also have some differential probes bookmarked. I really don't want to bother with them though if they're not going benefit me in my simple(ish) tube circuits.
There will be times when you can't place a probe reference (gnd) lead where you want so don't discount needing a differential probe at some stage.
There will be times when you can't place a probe reference (gnd) lead where you want so don't discount needing a differential probe at some stage.
I definitely hear that, that's why it's bookmarked. But my builds usually have ground points with good access, and 90% of the testing is probably off the output jack anyway.
I gotta say one other point for the Siglent is the front panel design. I hate the appearance of the Rigol; it looks sloppy by comparison. Aesthetic matters, my day job is design.
<snipped>
About FFT length, as I had said many times, I pick the data from the PC and run the processing there, I can run a FFT with the full memory depth, so for me being able to capture 24M points with 1GSa/s with some advanced trigger options is the most important feature. I wouldn't go with cheaper with low memory depth, but more expensive with more processing power wouldn't make a big difference for me. Math function limitations are in all the scopes and a bit more in some particular case doesn't make or brake the deal for me. The refresh sending the data to the PC won't be as fast but I can live with that, the times for me catching a rare event aren't that often. Once I had a fast, once in a few month event but I wouldn't trust the Siglent to catch it either, troubleshooting that wasn't easy... Also, 200kwf/s using deep memory isn't a thing anyway.WRT capturing data for PC processing.
I'll leave this for those that aren't aware of it:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-lxi-tools-and-liblxi-v1-0-released-for-gnulinux/msg1394796/#msg1394796