A review of the GWInstek 1054B

[saturation]

There are few technical reviews of the 1054B available on the Internet or the forum, so this thread will supplement missing elements and avoid repeating what others have already mentioned.  For an executive summary, see only the bold items.

A key feature of this model as well as variants in the GWInstek lineup is the use of a Zynq SoC allows for faster data acquisition and processing at an entry level price range, $429 as listed.  However street prices vary and my unit was new < $330.

I received a firmware 1.09 1054B early May 2016 and confirmed nearly all items in its spec sheet as accurate  as published by GWInstek. I found one bug, a typo in the help file. 

Much of the GWInstek sales literature, videos and specifications target the market of the Rigol 1054Z.  It has been discussed elsewhere on the forum.  I compared the spec sheets for the 1000B and 2000E series against the 1054Z, see attached. Users can then differentiate both series together, assuming all data in the spec sheet of all models are accurate.

I used marmad's method for estimating wfms/s rates without using a trigger output port, and it returned at least 30,000 [ spec'd at 50,000 wfms/s] at its optimal setting for speed.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-simple-technique-to-measure-waveform-update-rates-on-dsos-with-no-trigger-out/

I installed the latest firmware to date, 1.14, 3 weeks ago.  The firmware update instructions are vague and on first try it did not load correctly, but it did not brick the scope.  On second try, I used "safe mode" and it installed problem free.  I installed all available "apps" without issue, by simply opening the file on USB.  USB can be hot swapped anytime without locking the DSO.

There is no changelog from GWInstek.  Further testing did not reveal new bugs.

There are 2 marked changes compared to 1.09 not described elsewhere on the Internet, as of this post.  There is a noticeable increase in overall speed compared to 1.09, but not quantifiable.

• A trigger out in now available from the probe compensation port, just turn the adjust knob until option appears
  
  
• The wfms/s rate has been increased to ~ 120,000 wfms/s [ actually measured] from its specified 50,000 wfms/s, at optimal settings
  

A key feature of this DSO is most all processing can be done in real time or after acquisition, on the buffer.  The DSO can thus be configured with all processing turned off, adjusted for fastest wfms/s, a rough trigger set, data captured and analyzed in stop mode: filters, FFT, measurements etc., once the glitch is characterized, the trigger can be optimized for glitch capture, higher memory depth selected, and thus slower wfms/s, for better waveform fidelity. 

<sup>This model was released in middle 2015.  A mostly detailed hardware review was done by Dave on the 100MHz version on Nov 2015 in the forum.  Model variants were reviewed by others and linked below, including detailed teardowns.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-824-gw-instek-gds-1000b-oscilloscope-teardown/msg809286/#msg809286

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds2204e-(200mhz-4-channel-dso)-review/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds-2000e-teardown-short-review-comparison-with-rigol-ds2000(a)/25/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-gw-instek-2000-series-digiscope-gds-2202e/

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds-2000e-released/</sup>


More, photos, added comments etc., to follow as time permits.

[SkyMaster]

Saturation, thank you for your review and comparison 

[nctnico]

I'm finding the PDFs difficult to read. Better put everything in a posting!

[saturation]

Thanks.  The color?  I have a B&W version with symbols replacing color.  If its still unreadable let me know; all pdf files I posted are open with security removed so you can change my notes as you please.  nctnico, with your good review I'm sure you know most of these already,  it helped make my decision to get a  1054B.

@SkyMaster your welcome.

I'm finding the PDFs difficult to read. Better put everything in a posting!

[saturation]

New firmware released V1.15 dated 8 31 2016 no change log from Instek.  Have not yet run it through it paces.

The firmware release has not been announced nor appears on the English website.  To find it you need to register as a "VIP" then go to the product of interest.  You can register with a bogus email address, they do not confirm the email address to enter the VIP area.

Problem free install from 1.14.  Ran tests for about 2 hours. Its appears mostly performance enhancements.

Increase FFT speed
Increase system speed
More contrast in intensity grading

[saturation]

Firmware 1.16 released 11 6 2016.  No changelog.  No announcement of its release.  I found it accidentally when another announced he located new firmware for the 2000 series.

Changes I noticed:

Further increase system response speed most notable in FFT
Rewritten HELP system
Band pass filter added

As an experiment, I rolled back firmware to version 1.14 prior to upgrade and it went without restriction or errors

Some details on the board layouts from Xilinx marketing:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-mystery-processor-resides-inside-new-gw-instek-dso-steve-leibson

[whited]

Saturation,
Have you come across additional information about the apps available for this series? I did a rudimentary search with nothing obvious as to where the app dev is taking place (in house/open) nor what sort of capability is available to app developers. I'm mainly interested as a consumer... programming is not my forte.
A serial decode app would be fantastic but I don't even know if that's feasible?

Just for fun - I see this list of apps available on the download tab of the gw instek site. Has some sort of function generator recently been added?

APP Software   1    en    581    2016/02/15   
GDB-03 Function Module for GDS-1000B Series. (It supports GDS-1000B V1.00 firmware or later.)
 
APP Software   1    en    327.7 KB    2015/09/18   
The DVM apps. of GDS-1000B Series.
 
APP Software   1    en    341.4 KB    2015/09/18   
The digital filter Apps of GDS-1000B Series.
 
APP Software   1    en    337.9 KB    2015/09/18   
The datalog App for GDS-1000B Series.

[saturation]

Yes, you don't really hear much, there are no announcements even with improvements or new firmware.  Even the marketing is very timid.

That said there is no external development of apps to date, not even an SDK.  There is a programmer's guide but that's for controlling the DSO via network connection; I have not tested the network connection.  Yes, a programmer could add apps including a serial decode and more, which would then compete with its more expensive models but how good it would be compared to more expensive models is anyone's guess.

But lets see what is available now to anyone if they chose this DSO.

No function generator, however the compensation port has a frequency adjust from 1k to 100k as a fixed amplitude and duty cycle square wave.  They also added a external sync on the same port, undocumented.

GDB-03 is a stand alone board that generates test signals for a how-to-use a DSO course.  The app simplifies using the DSO so a newbie needn't know how to use a DSO to see the demo waveforms.

The DVM app is a just a large display of the AV and DC voltages.  You can get the same thing in the measurement function.

The Digital filter is a very useful function missing in 1054B as shipped. IMHO, it a mandatory app and I use it a lot.  It comes as a basic function in many DSO that compete with the 1054B.  It does low, high and recently added, bandpass filters.  The cutoffs are very sharp [its a very high order filter], so its extremely useful and comparable to among the best DSO available.  For example, the same filters on the Rigol 1052e are barely usable as the rolloff is too wide, very low order filters.

The Datalog app is a programmable screen capture.  You can set the duration of each capture [ seconds to hours of data per capture] as well as the total run time.

I've used all the functionality except the GDS03 module, network connections, and the go-no go app shipped with the DSO.  To date, there are no bugs I can find that impact measurement quality.  For example, in the Datalog app using 'file function' screen caps cannot be viewed, but can be in the Utility app on the DSO.  Its a user interface  'bug' but causes no issues except UI, otherwise logged data is correct and at the right intervals.

While it appears the 1000B offers far less than competitors were is shines is the quality of the measurements.  Its hard to define since its qualitative, but in general there is no unexpected interaction between functions, measurements are stable as expected, and what is stated in the spec sheet is what is does at minimum, or better. This is what you'd expect only from top players in the DSO market as the video shows.

For example, FFT functions are a simple index of raw computing capability and eevblog has a video comparing this DSO line against others.

It shows what the 1000B can do and what the UI is not, jump to 9:00 for the 1000B review specifically.





 

Saturation,
Have you come across additional information about the apps available for this series? I did a rudimentary search with nothing obvious as to where the app dev is taking place (in house/open) nor what sort of capability is available to app developers. I'm mainly interested as a consumer... programming is not my forte.
A serial decode app would be fantastic but I don't even know if that's feasible?

Just for fun - I see this list of apps available on the download tab of the gw instek site. Has some sort of function generator recently been added?

APP Software   1    en    581    2016/02/15   
GDB-03 Function Module for GDS-1000B Series. (It supports GDS-1000B V1.00 firmware or later.)
 
APP Software   1    en    327.7 KB    2015/09/18   
The DVM apps. of GDS-1000B Series.
 
APP Software   1    en    341.4 KB    2015/09/18   
The digital filter Apps of GDS-1000B Series.
 
APP Software   1    en    337.9 KB    2015/09/18   
The datalog App for GDS-1000B Series.

[whited]

Thanks Saturation - great info. I looked at all the info.
One thing I am very curious about is the capability to analyze and compute from scope memory (on frozen waveform). Can all of the 1000B computations access the full memory of stopped waveforms? Or are only subset of computations available on waveforms in memory? I am not sure how this capability compares across competing scopes like the 1054Z, and I have only used analogue scopes - no DSO.

While it appears the 1000B offers far less than competitors were is shines is the quality of the measurements.  Its hard to define since its qualitative, but in general there is no unexpected interaction between functions, measurements are stable as expected, and what is stated in the spec sheet is what is does at minimum, or better.

Yes, this is another aspect I have been having trouble evaluating compared to competitive DSOs. It seems with GDS-1054b Zynq SoC there are some architectural improvements underlying some of the usability aspects of the user interface, like general responsiveness, but also the ability of processor to access memory directly due to SoC platform. E.g. RAM controller, FPGA, and display driver included in Zynq SoC architecture rather than separate.
I do not have experience with system architecture of competitive DSOs, so it is hard for me to pick out what is significant about the GDS-1000b series implementing Zynq.

Here Dave mentioned the 1000B series uses Z-7010 chip, which is dual core 866MHz cpu version of Zynq 7000 family. You can see family comparison here: https://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/selection-guides/zynq-7000-product-selection-guide.pdf
Also, interestingly, XILINX case study on GW Instek GDS-2000E and Zynq SoC here: https://www.xilinx.com/publications/prod_mktg/zynq7000/goodwill-casestudy.pdf

GW Instek seems to be terrible at marketing, yet produce a good product... very hard for me to understand apples to apples against other DSOs. App SDK maybe is a wildcard, but would be great if GW Instek can leverage open dev community.

Edit: I think all the effort went into product dev, and nowhere else I like the nod to Star Wars @ 55s
https://youtu.be/_uVC7eDQ7fo

[saturation]

Welcome.  More later.  Yes, that is one great strength, all processing [ so far I've discovered, since I do this by default ] can be done on "frozen waveforms", with acquisition stopped . 

Thus, you can dedicate all the horsepower to CPU intensive issues like FFT, complex math  [ you can build your own function rather than use preset as in the Rigol 1054z], filtering etc., making the full 10M of memory [ were applicable, in FFT its only 1M max] practical and minimize or eliminate the slow grind as Dave/eevblog shows in the video.   For most all tasks then, processing can be 'instant' with acquisition turned off. 

Thanks Saturation - great info. I looked at all the info.
One thing I am very curious about is the capability to analyze and compute from scope memory (on frozen waveform). Can all of the 1000B computations access the full memory of stopped waveforms? Or are only subset of computations available on waveforms in memory? I am not sure how this capability compares across competing scopes like the 1054Z, and I have only used analogue scopes - no DSO.

[whited]

I am also trying to compare against GDS-2000E series. It is interesting because 120k wfm/s added for GDS-1000B is matching the 2000E. They both use zynq 7010 SoC.

Seems 2000E advantages over 1000B are

• I2C/SPI/UART/CAN/LIN Serial Bus Trigger and Decoding
• bigger 8" screen, but same 840x480 resolution
• 2 ADCs so 1Gs/s can be on two channels simultaneously
• updated FFT with some sort of search and peak detection plus no overlap display of time and frequency domain (can 1000B do this?)
• expanded time base to 1ns/div
• VPO (visual persistence oscilloscope)
• Memory segmentation

I think I missed some. But I like the Serial decode and trigger in 2000E. But what if they add it via app to 1000B??
I will email Instek.

[saturation]

Yes, the 2000E is older than the 1000B.  The 1000B is more refined learning from the 2000E growing pains, you can read the thread about bugs found by early adopters on V1.x release, which did not exist in the 1000B V1.x release.

What functions both support are nearly identical in specification and speed suggesting they have very similar cores but the 1000 is missing hardware present in the 2000, that would make it thus of limited hackability and secure Instek's product differentiation and pricing value.

Originally the 1000 had 50,000 wfm/s but the first firmware update quitely 'opened' it so maybe 120k is its maximum, as well as engaged the sync out capacity again suggesting this was just crippling the core in firmware.

Yes, the detailed review of nctnico is best for the 2000E.  Your list is correct but comments on bolded items :

Yes, you can fudge it.  Since the FFT can be analyzed on the buffer, it doesn't need the time domain waveform viewed, however you cannot turn the channel its using off.  What I do is turn the acquisition off, RUN->STOP then shrink the waveform until it disappears or roll it out of the way! See photos later in these replies.

Yes, expanded timebases needed to properly view waveforms at 200+ MHz bandwidth.  This is much bigger than it appears.  The usuable bandwidth is easily >= 500 360 MHz.  However, with 1GS/s you'd have to keep an eye out for aliasing, you can use the built in filters as a DIY anti=aliases frequencies as you please, they have very high order cutoffs. 

Keep in mind 200 MHz probes no-name Chinese probes are < $15 each, < 100 MHz $6 each, but a single Chinese branded 500 MHz probe is about $100 each, and at 500 MHz we are at the limit for passive probes and true quality matters in its performance.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds2204e-(200mhz-4-channel-dso)-review/msg855862/#msg855862



I do not know if 1000B has enough onboard memory to implement serial decode, even if an app could be written for it.

1000B do not have segmented memory, I cannot recall if this a hardware issue.

I'm guessing the 1054B is a firmware crippled 1104B as its entirely identical except for the bandwidth.  All that's need is to release the bandwidth filters.

Both uses VPO, but Rigol's is far superior as far as CRT like view.  I think Instek can improve on this easily, they need to increase the contrast options to the variable persistence, what exists barely changes the appearance.

I am also trying to compare against GDS-2000E series. It is interesting because 120k wfm/s added for GDS-1000B is matching the 2000E. They both use zynq 7010 SoC.

Seems 2000E advantages over 1000B are

• I2C/SPI/UART/CAN/LIN Serial Bus Trigger and Decoding
• bigger 8" screen, but same 840x480 resolution
• 2 ADCs so 1Gs/s can be on two channels simultaneously
• updated FFT with some sort of search and peak detection plus no overlap display of time and frequency domain (can 1000B do this?)
• expanded time base to 1ns/div
• VPO (visual persistence oscilloscope)

I think I missed some. But I like the Serial decode and trigger in 2000E. But what if they add it via app to 1000B??
I will email Instek.

[wraper]

Both uses VPO, but Rigol's is far superior as far as CRT like view.  I think Instek can improve on this easily, they need to increase the contrast options to the variable persistence, what exists barely changes the appearance.

Dunno, at least on 2000E, you set persistence to minimum setting (16ms) and get pretty much Rigol like "analog view". Except zero intensity is not really zero, so won't completely hide "low intensity" waveforms.

[saturation]

eevblog screen cap of FFT setting of 1104B




My copy of the same fo= 1 MHz , FM at 5kHz and 500 Hz dev
a = RUN STOP
b = 1Mpts on FFT, 50MS/s sampling
c = 20dB vertical scale, 5kHz horz. div.
d= spur from my FM generator
e = suppressed source waveform
f = CH1 still active but RUN STOP and waveform 'rolled' away



fo = 50 MHz  FM 5kHz and 500 Hz dev
span to 10 kHz for clarity
a =fo suppressed [ not sure why]
b = source waveform suppressed





fo = 75 MHz,  5kHz and 500 Hz dev; gain to 500mV and span to 20 kHz for clarity, now past the 1054B rated bandwidth

[whited]

Glad you are sharing screenshots, saturation. Is source waveform amplitude the same for all 3 carrier frequencies? It looks like -40dbv attenuation from 1MHz to 75MHz? That's a lot. Or maybe it's happening before the scope or I am missing something?

Instek has not yet replied regarding serial decode app for 1000B. It has only been 1 day though. Perhaps there is not enough memory as mentioned.

[saturation]

Welcome, I've had some for a while never posted. 

I'm not sure if my FM generator is good past 25 MHz; Vo likely drops with higher frequency.

Here's a crude frequency response curve I generated some time back and never posted.

This is the raw dBVpp  and dBV using the DSO's native RMS calculator.  Its consistent with a typical -6dB/octave low pass filter with 66 MHz at -3dB point.

Response from a Tek 284 pulse generator.  Between 6ns and 3 ns, called it 4.5ns or 0.35/4.5 = 78 MHz, consistent with the frequency test.

Glad you are sharing screenshots, saturation. Is source waveform amplitude the same for all 3 carrier frequencies? It looks like -40dbv attenuation from 1MHz to 75MHz? That's a lot. Or maybe it's happening before the scope or I am missing something?

Instek has not yet replied regarding serial decode app for 1000B. It has only been 1 day though. Perhaps there is not enough memory as mentioned.

[saturation]

Yes, the VPO is a major improvement over its prior models, but it still could be improved further with a firmware tweak.  Some waveforms looks better than others, but my view is against my old Trio CRT.  The fast update rate makes it much easier to see transients.  I think if zero intensity were made truly zero it will help a lot, it would give the adjust for 'contrast' a greater span and act much more like a true CRT intensity adjust.

Both uses VPO, but Rigol's is far superior as far as CRT like view.  I think Instek can improve on this easily, they need to increase the contrast options to the variable persistence, what exists barely changes the appearance.

Dunno, at least on 2000E, you set persistence to minimum setting (16ms) and get pretty much Rigol like "analog view". Except zero intensity is not really zero, so won't completely hide "low intensity" waveforms.

[wraper]

I think if zero intensity were made truly zero it will help a lot, it would give the adjust for 'contrast' a greater span and act much more like a true CRT intensity adjust.

And what is practical use for it?

[nctnico]

I think if zero intensity were made truly zero it will help a lot, it would give the adjust for 'contrast' a greater span and act much more like a true CRT intensity adjust.

And what is practical use for it?

None. Actually it is rather counter productive to want to have a dim (invisible) signal on a DSO! Fortunately GW Instek didn't hop on the 'emulate a CRO display' band wagon but went the practical way instead by starting at (approx.) 50% intensity and go from there. Ofcourse you can turn the trace intensity down to invisible.

[whited]

Yes this makes more sense.

Above I missed memory segmentation in my 2000E diff list. You mentioned it too. I am adding to my list (since it's there, so I don't forget).

Welcome, I've had some for a while never posted. 

I'm not sure if my FM generator is good past 25 MHz; Vo likely drops with higher frequency.

Here's a crude frequency response curve I generated some time back and never posted.

This is the raw dBVpp  and dBV using the DSO's native RMS calculator.  Its consistent with a typical -6dB/octave low pass filter with 66 MHz at -3dB point.

Response from a Tek 284 pulse generator.  Between 6ns and 3 ns, called it 4.5ns or 0.35/4.5 = 78 MHz, consistent with the frequency test.

Glad you are sharing screenshots, saturation. Is source waveform amplitude the same for all 3 carrier frequencies? It looks like -40dbv attenuation from 1MHz to 75MHz? That's a lot. Or maybe it's happening before the scope or I am missing something?

Instek has not yet replied regarding serial decode app for 1000B. It has only been 1 day though. Perhaps there is not enough memory as mentioned.

[tautech]

A screenshot captured on a USB stick is much more helpful and clear for those following than something like this:



 

[saturation]

Sorry, mea culpa, I have them but didn't have time to take it out; will replace that photo with the screen grab.

A screenshot captured on a USB stick is much more helpful and clear for those following than something like this:
 

[saturation]

I agree with nctnico as is any instability of the waveform can be seen with the defaults as it is today, its just less starkly contrasted.   So its practically not an issue, its more usability and a way to see such events better.

The spec sheet states that the screen supports 256 shades, it looks less than half that so it can easily be improved.  The  Rigol 1054z traces are only 64 grey shades. IIRC. 

I think over time some improvements in usability would help, but they have put a lot of good work into its measurements fidelity and being bug free.

As example of added peculiar usability decisions in 1054B, the statistics function begins at n = 2 samples.    Rotate the encoder to increase or decrease up to n= 1000 where it stops.  If they let it simply cycle back to 2 it would save 1/2 the time to get n = 500 and it would be instant to get n = 1000, for the best analysis possible, code wise that is faster to implement than adding a coarse and fine, which would make it even speedier.

That said and aside, the numbers it generates are superb.

I think if zero intensity were made truly zero it will help a lot, it would give the adjust for 'contrast' a greater span and act much more like a true CRT intensity adjust.

And what is practical use for it?

None. Actually it is rather counter productive to want to have a dim (invisible) signal on a DSO! Fortunately GW Instek didn't hop on the 'emulate a CRO display' band wagon but went the practical way instead by starting at (approx.) 50% intensity and go from there. Ofcourse you can turn the trace intensity down to invisible.

[whited]

Saturation, I have a little more time now to see your numbers; seems 1050B has ~70 MHz bandwidth instead of its rated 50 MHz. It is not too surprising but nice to see in a budget scope. I wonder if all GDS 1000B and 2000E have similar conservative bandwidth rating?

Maybe ntcnico can give another datapoint on frequency response? ntcnico I read your review thread; I hope I didn't miss it. Nevermind I found it here on post #67 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds2204e-(200mhz-4-channel-dso)-review/?all
It's a good measurement showing 2204E roll off (rated 200MHz bandwidth)
-3dB @ 290MHz with 50mV/div, more steep curve
-3dB @ 210MHz with 10mV/div, more gradual curve

I am personally thinking 2070E is a sweet spot @ $920... but 2204E is so close @ $1256. Can I convince myself?
I know this is a 1054B thread - I try to keep it relevant.
Thanks to you all.

Yes this makes more sense.

Above I missed memory segmentation in my 2000E diff list. You mentioned it too. I am adding to my list (since it's there, so I don't forget).

Welcome, I've had some for a while never posted. 

I'm not sure if my FM generator is good past 25 MHz; Vo likely drops with higher frequency.

Here's a crude frequency response curve I generated some time back and never posted.

This is the raw dBVpp  and dBV using the DSO's native RMS calculator.  Its consistent with a typical -6dB/octave low pass filter with 66 MHz at -3dB point.

Response from a Tek 284 pulse generator.  Between 6ns and 3 ns, called it 4.5ns or 0.35/4.5 = 78 MHz, consistent with the frequency test.

Glad you are sharing screenshots, saturation. Is source waveform amplitude the same for all 3 carrier frequencies? It looks like -40dbv attenuation from 1MHz to 75MHz? That's a lot. Or maybe it's happening before the scope or I am missing something?

Instek has not yet replied regarding serial decode app for 1000B. It has only been 1 day though. Perhaps there is not enough memory as mentioned.

[saturation]

The 1054B is <$366 street price via Tequipment not including the eevblog discounts and possibly other promotions.

At the published bandwidth and list price they are about the same proportion, 50 MHz vs 200 MHz is still 4x more at 4x the price as well as serial decodes and segmented memory.

However, its in the extreme end, the usable bandwidth were you can get more.  Its likely to still go past 500 MHz based on the curve slope at its more sensitive vertical amp setting.

So the big question is do you need that much bandwidth to pay more for it?  Or in the end its all part of happy holidays?

Saturation, I have a little more time now to see your numbers; seems 1050B has ~70 MHz bandwidth instead of its rated 50 MHz. It is not too surprising but nice to see in a budget scope. I wonder if all GDS 1000B and 2000E have similar conservative bandwidth rating?

Maybe ntcnico can give another datapoint on frequency response? ntcnico I read your review thread; I hope I didn't miss it. Nevermind I found it here on post #67 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds2204e-(200mhz-4-channel-dso)-review/?all
It's a good measurement showing 2204E roll off (rated 200MHz bandwidth)
-3dB @ 290MHz with 50mV/div, more steep curve
-3dB @ 210MHz with 10mV/div, more gradual curve

I am personally thinking 2070E is a sweet spot @ $920... but 2204E is so close @ $1256. Can I convince myself?
I know this is a 1054B thread - I try to keep it relevant.
Thanks to you all.

[whited]

Yes, only a couple daydreams ago I was convinced 1054B was for me. And now I have this nagging feeling about memory segmentation and logic decode from full memory 
But if price is plotted reasonably, on log scale, with a few beers... maybe it's happy holidays as you say.

The 1054B is <$366 street price via Tequipment not including the eevblog discounts and possibly other promotions.

At the published bandwidth and list price they are about the same proportion, 50 MHz vs 200 MHz is still 4x more at 4x the price as well as serial decodes and segmented memory.

However, its in the extreme end, the usable bandwidth were you can get more.  Its likely to still go past 500 MHz based on the curve slope at its more sensitive vertical amp setting.

So the big question is do you need that much bandwidth to pay more for it?  Or in the end its all part of happy holidays?

Saturation, I have a little more time now to see your numbers; seems 1050B has ~70 MHz bandwidth instead of its rated 50 MHz. It is not too surprising but nice to see in a budget scope. I wonder if all GDS 1000B and 2000E have similar conservative bandwidth rating?

Maybe ntcnico can give another datapoint on frequency response? ntcnico I read your review thread; I hope I didn't miss it. Nevermind I found it here on post #67 https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/gw-instek-gds2204e-(200mhz-4-channel-dso)-review/?all
It's a good measurement showing 2204E roll off (rated 200MHz bandwidth)
-3dB @ 290MHz with 50mV/div, more steep curve
-3dB @ 210MHz with 10mV/div, more gradual curve

I am personally thinking 2070E is a sweet spot @ $920... but 2204E is so close @ $1256. Can I convince myself?
I know this is a 1054B thread - I try to keep it relevant.
Thanks to you all.

[saturation]

Single rise time,  Pulse waveform from Tek 284 rated at 70 ps, 50 ohm termination




Stats while in STOP mode



Snapshot of live buffer calculated rise time, in RUN mode

Sorry, mea culpa, I have them but didn't have time to take it out; will replace that photo with the screen grab.

A screenshot captured on a USB stick is much more helpful and clear for those following than something like this:
 

[saturation]

Some added performance tests accumulated over the past holidays using a "calibrated" RF generator HP 8640B.  The 3B point of the 1054B is about 120 MHz versus my prior conservative test.



This is the maximum usable frequency of the unmodded scope.  At near n/2 at the Nyquist limit the onboard counter quits just over 400 MHz then waveforms are wholly unstable at 430MHz.   Down - 30dB.



IMHO, the practical limit of the scope, Down - 23dB.  This is were all the math functions and on board calculations still are accurate and stable.  YELLOW single channel, 363 MHz.  Red math channel calculating derivates of CH1.  Note Vpp and calculated RMS value, rise time of 821ps,  Cursors are measuring rise time manually at 10-90 which is 1.15ns, or by 0.35/Tr ~ 304 MHz or 426 MHz using the automated rise time.  Calculations were unstable on ungated mode, so these are based on using the 1054B gated to screen mode.



The stat function of the 1054B to show the level of stability at 363 MHz.



Close up of 1054B doing derivate of CH1 in real time.  It will calculate cleanly even at 1kpts.  Derivate of sin(x) is cos(x) but while the appearance is correct the phase shift is a bit prolonged.



Close up of the derivate of the rise time.  This is also called the Dirac delta function.



Live 2 channels and math channel.  Source is a Tek 284, Yellow CH1 is the pulse output and Blue CH2 is the trigger output, they are delayed by 5ns as shown on the cursors. 

[saturation]

New firmware released, untested by me.  The changelog suggests a number of bugs I did not report or experience.  Gwinstek now includes a changelog copied here:


Version 1.08

1.Fixed the system crash randomly which caused by the ¡§Advance Math¡¨ function
2. Fixed the displaying issue of XY mode under certain circumstances
3. Fixed the time base error when the ¡§AUTOSET¡¨key pressed under ¡§Window Zoom¡¨ mode
4. Fixed the AD malfunction under certain circumstances

Version 1.09
1.Added German & French icons and help menu
2.Adjusted the maximum value of the waveform brightness


Version 1.11
1.Added Korean icons and help menu
2.Added Russian icons
3.Fixed the residue waveform issue
4.Fixed the system freeze bug after the QR code menu activated
5.Added the DVR calibration under distributor mode

Version 1.12
1.Added Russian help menu
2.Fixed the initial value for the ¡§Advance Math default¡¨ expression
3.The output polarity of the Go/No-Go has been adjusted which same as the GDS-2000A series

Version 1.13
1.Fixed the Trigger Filter bug.

Version 1.14
1.Changed the display method for waveform interpolation.
2.Fixed the pictbridge's connectivity issues.
3.The Trigger out function is activated now. (Press UTILITY -> Probe Comp. -> Frequency)

Version 1.15
1.Add Multilanguage: Spanish

Version 1.16.001
1.Fixed the trigger level offset issue, if the vertical position was shifted out off the screen range.
2.Fixed the ¡§Advance math¡¨ algorithm which caused the system crash.

Version 1.17.001
1.Added USBDelay command in order to solve the USB data leaks for WIN10.
2.Fixed the ext trigger of roll mode which may cause the system crash.
3.Fixed the zoom state malfunction for horizontal position command.
4.Changed the value range of trigger hold off command: the minimum value changed to 4ns from 10ns.

[Fungus]

1.Fixed the system crash randomly which caused by the ¡§Advance Math¡¨ function

 No comment. 

[saturation]

Yes, I stand corrected.  The maker knows more than I.  Its been almost a year and so far I have experienced 3 events that I cannot reproduce. 

Recently, a locked up happened with a long equation using the advanced math function requiring a power down, but since then the full equation or individual functions within haven't caused a lock up. Another the scope control response slowed on 4 channels that didn't return when 3 other channels were deselected. it required the default button to be pressed [ soft reset to factory settings].  Once the FFT had no output after being deselected and then reselected, it reappeared after selecting advance math then FFT again, setting preserved.  The only uniform event was the scope was on for several hours monitoring a circuit, or  I was waking the scope from backlight sleep mode, but I've done all 3 issues many times since and can't get it to repeat.

So yes, in summary there are bugs.

1.Fixed the system crash randomly which caused by the ¡§Advance Math¡¨ function

 No comment. 

[Fungus]

So yes, in summary there are bugs.

Good to know, thanks!

[MrAl]

Hello there,

Very nice thread.  Lots of helpful information for someone who is looking at new scopes and does not want to spend a fortune.  Special thanks to 'saturation' for doing so much work on this.

It's kind of hard to weed out the bad ones with little information on the practical use in real life, so it is nice to see all this.

I see one thing in particular that is interesting but not sure how exactly to interpret.  The rise time test showed about 3.8ns and i wondered what setting the scope was on to get that.  I noticed some of the scopes have a 1ns setting, so i wondered if we could get a raw ADC view on the scope.  If in fact they use a true 1GSPS ADC then we should be able to see, somehow, about 0v at say 10ns and say +5v at 11ns (10ns plus 1ns).  Is that the way these DSO's can work, or do they obtain that 1GSPS sampling rate by doing several scans of the same waveform coming in in real time?   Or, do they do some intermediate work on the wave which would bring it up to 4ns instead of 1ns?  BTW what is that scope rated for in rise time?
I am hoping that they use a true 1GSPS ADC chip of some kind combined with fast memory when they advertise as 1GSPS of course.

I am rather new to the DSO's as i had and have used many CRT scopes in teh past including 10 thousand dollar CRT storage scopes, but only used two DSO's so far and only for a short time, so i dont know much about what to look for and what to watch out for.

Thanks for any additional info like this.

[MrW0lf]

Test request due to this thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/opinions-on-gw-instek-scopes/msg1131021/#msg1131021
Please check analog bandwith with Sin(x)/x ON|OFF, with all 4 channels ON to minimize sampling rate.

[saturation]

Hi, that's a good idea worth detailing.  You cannot turn off Sin(x) interpolation, so for comparison I'll use dot mode vs vector mode and automated measurements.  I no longer have access to the 8640B, so the comparisons are against the -3dB point, ~ 120 MHz using an RF Explorer Signal Generator as an RF source.



Baseline measurement -3dB at 120 MHz is 9.88mVpp.  Automated measures uses whole buffer for calculation, so set as GATING OFF.



At 2 CH or 500MSa/s the -3dB point is reduce to 110 MHz.



At 3 CH or 250MSa/s the frequency is read correctly but the low sampling causes more  error in the automated measures of Vpp.



No difference at 3CH or 4 CH since the sampling rate is the same.



At 120 MHz, just shy of the Nyquist n/2 limit, the waveforms are unstable and the frequency counter gives erroneous count.



At 250 MSa/s the automated readings are near the same 1 GSa/s at <= 80 MHz.



Baseline 1 GSa/s at 80 MHz to compare against 250 MSa/s.
 

Test request due to this thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/opinions-on-gw-instek-scopes/msg1131021/#msg1131021
Please check analog bandwith with Sin(x)/x ON|OFF, with all 4 channels ON to minimize sampling rate.

[saturation]

Comparing dot vs vector modes.  Using dot mode reduces or removes bias in measurements caused by the Sin(x)/x interpolation.  'Gating' means automated calculations are based on the screen contents, when "OFF" calculations are on the entire input buffer.  80 MHz was selected as the test frequency as this was the highest frequency where the error at 250MSa/s using automated measurements at gating off, produced the least error versus 1GSa/s.






Baseline for all comparisons.  1GSa/s 80 MHz vector vs dot mode and against manual measurement.  Here I used gating to screen.






500MSa/s 80 MHz vector vs dot mode and against manual measurement.  Here I used gating to screen.





250MSa/s 80 MHz vector vs dot mode and against manual measurement.  Here I used gating to screen.

Comments:

There is little difference between measurements made between dot and vector modes.  Automated measurements concur very well with manual measurements when using gating to screen, since manual measurements are only based on screen data.

At 250 MSa/s, the lower sampling rate increases the measurement error, compared against the baseline 1GSa/s.  To reduce this error use 'gating off' which then uses the entire buffer contents to calculate values, increasing the data size for analysis.  As shown in the prior post, this causes the difference between 1GSa/s and 250MSa/s rates to be substantially reduced.

[saturation]

Yes, this thread exists just because there really isn't anyone else on the net making a detailed review.  If someone better came along, I would link this thread to it and move on.

There are many good videos and documents about basic DSO function.  It'll help to review them to make an informed decision.

Rise time is a standard measure developed since the 1940s the only difference today is whether it begins say in DC, from 0V + 10% and ends at 90% of peak or 20% and 80% or other end points.  It can be understood in a simple way or it can get very complex. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rise_time

The 1000B series was torn down in detail by Dave and can be found in the eevblog forum.  Details of it working can be found in the datasheet of a Hittite HAD1511 ADC particularly in relation to interleaving, and the main CPU is a Zynq Z7010 SoC.  Enjoy.

Hello there,

I see one thing in particular that is interesting but not sure how exactly to interpret.  The rise time test showed about 3.8ns and i wondered what setting the scope was on to get that.  I noticed some of the scopes have a 1ns setting, so i wondered if we could get a raw ADC view on the scope.  If in fact they use a true 1GSPS ADC then we should be able to see, somehow, about 0v at say 10ns and say +5v at 11ns (10ns plus 1ns).  Is that the way these DSO's can work, or do they obtain that 1GSPS sampling rate by doing several scans of the same waveform coming in in real time?   Or, do they do some intermediate work on the wave which would bring it up to 4ns instead of 1ns?  BTW what is that scope rated for in rise time?
I am hoping that they use a true 1GSPS ADC chip of some kind combined with fast memory when they advertise as 1GSPS of course.

I am rather new to the DSO's as i had and have used many CRT scopes in teh past including 10 thousand dollar CRT storage scopes, but only used two DSO's so far and only for a short time, so i dont know much about what to look for and what to watch out for.

Thanks for any additional info like this.

[saturation]

News:

Mid-May 2017 Tequipment.net stocked 55 1054B and today it had 14 remaining.

Its also sold on Amazon at the same price as tequipment, so maybe it the source.

https://www.amazon.com/GW-Instek-GDS-1054B-Oscilloscope-4-Channel/dp/B011IFQUQ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498244799&sr=8-1&keywords=1054b


There is also a marked increase in the total number stocked by tequipment for other 1000B models

http://www.tequipment.net/Instek/GDS-1054B/Digital-Oscilloscopes/


The increase of unit sales/week was about less than one a week in 2016 to ~ 1.5/day in YTD 2017 for the 1054B.

[nctnico]

News:

Mid-May 2017 Tequipment.net stocked 55 1054B and today it had 14 remaining.

Make that 4 remaining!

[saturation]

Yes, checking today from Amazon stock 9/17 remaining since I last posted.  Its unlikely Tequipment as the seller since their remaining stock is far lower.

For 1054B, 3/4 since your post
1074 no stock
1104 1/20 remain since your post

Given the Siglent DSO using Zynq and the issues discussed on the thread it shows how well the GWInstek managed their version.

Not much more to post on my end as the DSO just works, and at this time no bugs to complain out, no new firmware for this model YTD, last is    1.17    en    22.1 MB    2017/03/17.

News:

Mid-May 2017 Tequipment.net stocked 55 1054B and today it had 14 remaining.

Make that 4 remaining!

[saturation]

By chance I found out new firmware released this week.  Other DSO in the Zynq line could check if they too have new firmware for their models.  Have not yet time to test: V 1.18

In packet:
No changelog
No update instructions

[bitseeker]

Saturation, it's great that you've been able to maintain this thread. As you said, you're probably the only one able to provide so much ongoing info on the 1054B.

[saturation]

Currently change log and firmware:


Version 1.08

1.Fixed the system crash randomly which caused by the ¡§Advance Math¡¨ function
2. Fixed the displaying issue of XY mode under certain circumstances
3. Fixed the time base error when the ¡§AUTOSET¡¨key pressed under ¡§Window Zoom¡¨ mode
4. Fixed the AD malfunction under certain circumstances

Version 1.09
1.Added German & French icons and help menu
2.Adjusted the maximum value of the waveform brightness


Version 1.11
1.Added Korean icons and help menu
2.Added Russian icons
3.Fixed the residue waveform issue
4.Fixed the system freeze bug after the QR code menu activated
5.Added the DVR calibration under distributor mode

Version 1.12
1.Added Russian help menu
2.Fixed the initial value for the ¡§Advance Math default¡¨ expression
3.The output polarity of the Go/No-Go has been adjusted which same as the GDS-2000A series

Version 1.13
1.Fixed the Trigger Filter bug.

Version 1.14
1.Changed the display method for waveform interpolation.
2.Fixed the pictbridge's connectivity issues.
3.The Trigger out function is activated now. (Press UTILITY -> Probe Comp. -> Frequency)

Version 1.15
1.Add Multilanguage: Spanish

Version 1.16.001
1.Fixed the trigger level offset issue, if the vertical position was shifted out off the screen range.
2.Fixed the ¡§Advance math¡¨ algorithm which caused the system crash.

Version 1.17.001
1.Added USBDelay command in order to solve the USB data leaks for WIN10.
2.Fixed the ext trigger of roll mode which may cause the system crash.
3.Fixed the zoom state malfunction for horizontal position command.
4.Changed the value range of trigger hold off command: the minimum value changed to 4ns from 10ns.

Version 1.18.001
1.Removed the extra unwanted carriage returns symbol for *LRN? command.
2.Fixed the starting condition of autotrigger for Datalog function (APP funciton)
3.Extended the "Duration" until the 999 hours for Datalog function (APP funciton)

Version 1.19.001
1.Fixed the Japanese translations error for digital filter menu tree. (APP function)
2.Updated the simplified Chinese menu tree
3.Updated the License encoding rule


Note, the changelog is not entirely complete.  After 1.14 when the trigger out was activated it also increased the wfms/sec rate which is not mentioned officially except by my testing on this thread.


I have not found any functional change in 1.18 since I last posted.

[maxwell3e10]

I just got a new GDS-1054B, primarily motivated by deep memory per channel and the hope for a smoother user interface.
It seems there are missing bits in the 8-bit acquisition. Here is a screen shot of a transient from the probe calibration signal. I stop the acquisition and then increase vertical scale 2 steps. The display is set to dots. The small step between levels is consistent with 256 bits over 10 vertical divisions. But some steps are twice as large. It seems to happen on various time scales and sensitivity scales. I also checked the same problem exists if I save data to file, so its not a display problem. I don't think there should be missing codes in 8 bit ADC.

[saturation]

Hope it serves you well.  I agree with your insights of the screen capture but I cannot reproduce what you show, and I am not clear as to what this pulse represents.  Is this the scopes onboard cal out?   If so, its 2Vpp.  To get a 1mV/div read you have the scope scale at x1 with a probe set at x10? You are also looking at the very edge of a waveform given the trigger location, captured the waveform to memory then zoomed. 

Just quick thoughts:

Since you have a pattern in that waveform that is fairly consistent, it can be the slower ~1000 wfms/sec rate at 50us so  gaps could also be 'dead time'  even if sampling is 1GSa/s; not necessarily an ADC issue.

A dot mode image is purely a series of dots, we see lines.  This means the settings are distorting the data or its artifacts; stretching out what should be a dot.  Likewise the gaps seen by the vertical amp setting cannot be said to be free of artifacts either.

Since I can't reproduce your image to see it on my DSO, I can be wrong, but it hard to make clear inferences based on the settings shown.

[maxwell3e10]

Here is a more proper test using a linear ramp. One can see gaps in the data, which are also in the saved waveform. I believe the reason is that in the firmware they do some vertical scaling while keeping only 8 bit numbers.

Another problem I found is that on high sensitivity scales it does not have true 8-bit resolution. For example, on 1 mV scale, all bit values are spaced by 3. So they simply rescale the values instead of increasing the analog gain.

In terms of responsiveness, I found the horizontal shift knob has rather large lag.

[nctnico]

@maxwell3e10: I think your unit is somehow broken. Can you determine whether you are missing a specific bit in the ADC values?

[maxwell3e10]

It is a specific value missing, but it changes depending on how many channels are being recorded. I have a bit more info in this post.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/missing-bin-values-in-gw-instek-gds-1054b/
I am more inclined to think its a firmware problem or perhaps firmware calibration is compensating for an analog defect.

[nctnico]

Just return the unit and get a replacement. I'm very sure this is a defect (there is a bit stuck somewhere) and not a bug in the firmware. If it where a bug it would have been found & reported long ago.

[saturation]

Great, will give it a test and will report back.  What firmware are you using on the unit?

Here is a more proper test using a linear ramp. One can see gaps in the data, which are also in the saved waveform. I believe the reason is that in the firmware they do some vertical scaling while keeping only 8 bit numbers.

Another problem I found is that on high sensitivity scales it does not have true 8-bit resolution. For example, on 1 mV scale, all bit values are spaced by 3. So they simply rescale the values instead of increasing the analog gain.

In terms of responsiveness, I found the horizontal shift knob has rather large lag.

[maxwell3e10]

It came with version 1.18

[saturation]

That's essentially the best and latest, and the one I currently use too. v1.19 the only difference in the changelog is supported languages.

It came with version 1.18

[anilnediyara]

First of all let me thank Saturation for this long thread on 1054B.  I am looking at this scope and GDS1102B for use mainly in audio amp service and 3phase VFD.

My question is which one will be better for each application. The faster FFT analysis of this scope looks impressive for checking the harmonics of VFD's.

[saturation]

You're welcome.  I think this thread exists by accident as there is no one else discuss the 1000B series.

IMHO issues that may affect your choices:

1000B is suited as a bench instrument and has no protection for power electronics use.   Its natively a CAT 1 device.  While it can help troubleshoot 3 phase VFD but you will need isolating the front end with a HV differential probe, which can cost as much as this low cost DSO depending on the frequency and rated voltage

The chassis is easily transported, but may not survive one drop to floor from 3'

FFT has ~ 50dB noise floor due to 8 bit resolution

FFT pick up spurs generated by the DSO, e.g. its SMPS or the internal clock, they are a constant so you can figure out which spurs are artifacts, spur amplitude can varies as you set the FFT

My 1054B is not rated by an electrical safety organization such as UL, ETL or CSA

IIRC, the DSO in the 1000B series are identical make except for the -3dB frequency response and available channels.  However you can see the lowly 1054B can gives useful response to ~80MHz with 4 channels on.

Any 1000B can help audio applications, but audio specifically the "50MHz" 4 CH version is more than adequate

First of all let me thank Saturation for this long thread on 1054B.  I am looking at this scope and GDS1102B for use mainly in audio amp service and 3phase VFD.

My question is which one will be better for each application. The faster FFT analysis of this scope looks impressive for checking the harmonics of VFD's.

[saturation]

I can recreate your issue and will post a photo later, so concur with your result, I think you have found an anomaly or if it was on purpose, an economizing measure.  It would be interesting to see if the same artifacts occur on the 2000 series  using the Zynq platform.

I have always wondered if the gaps were wfms/sec related but they are independent of the memory depth or the sampling rate, so its occurring during data acquisition phase.

Here is a more proper test using a linear ramp. One can see gaps in the data, which are also in the saved waveform. I believe the reason is that in the firmware they do some vertical scaling while keeping only 8 bit numbers.

Another problem I found is that on high sensitivity scales it does not have true 8-bit resolution. For example, on 1 mV scale, all bit values are spaced by 3. So they simply rescale the values instead of increasing the analog gain.

In terms of responsiveness, I found the horizontal shift knob has rather large lag.

[akimmet]

I can also recreate this issue on my GDS1102B.

I can't complain too much since I have gone 2 years occasionally noticing those gaps in dot mode, and not thinking much of it.

[saturation]

@maxwell3e10:  I'd be interested in your thoughts on what you think this anomaly does to affect the accuracy of the DSO or performance.  I do not know what practical significance it has after the re-tests I ran.  Screen caps to follow.

Here are my thoughts:

It does not affect the published spec sheet vertical accuracy of ~3% across all its ranges and frequencies, both visually measured as well as using automated values

The 'anomaly' does not contribute more distortion or artifacts than the 8-bit CPU can resolve, [ beyond the gaps shown ] and performing FFT on the test waveforms do not show extraneously spurs above the noise floor of ~50dB.

If the ADC were effectively sampling using less bits, the noise floor would rise.

Its unclear if this is from the HMCAD1511 ADC, Zynq SoC or Instek's firmware.

Finally, there is no practical lag in the response to the controls, but if you have some objective measure I can retest it for you.  Suffice to say, you move a knob the screen responds instantly.  The lag however is worse as you turn on more channels, increase the memory depth and turn on the math.  However you can control the response by simply turning off what you don't need at the moment, the fastest speed up is reducing the memory depth, then turning them back on or increasing the memory depth in sequence to get best resolution, or use the "STOP" mode and examine the issue after data has been acquired.  The good news with this design is the speed vs resolution tradeoff is under user control.

[maxwell3e10]

I noticed it right away because I haven't seen such gaps in other scopes. I don't entirely understand the effect. It looks as if they do some vertical scaling of the ADC values. But the scaling depends on how many channels are being sampled, it makes no sense. It does have effectively fewer bits, but only about 25% fewer, so the increase in noise is not significant.

I got the scope specifically for an application where I want to display 10M points per channel and all 4 channels. So perhaps its not surprising that it is a little slow.

[maxwell3e10]

I got a confirmation from Instek that this is in fact part of the design:
"It’s because the dynamic range of A/D converter can’t 100% match the front end attenuation circuit .
 Thus we use digital amplifier"

[saturation]

Thanks, good and new info which I think no one has tried to figure out.  So kudos to you.  And that makes sense as an 'economy' move.  That GWInstek was able to squeeze this type of performance from the low cost platform is, IMHO, another plus.

I recall the Hittite ADC has a built in "digital zoom" function that the spec sheet claims would not marked affect the SINAD and I presume the 'accuracy', but naturally ENOB is reduced because it simply scales to the amplitude without resampling.  They say ENOB of > 7.5 from 8 bits, which sounds like what might happen given what you found, but your data seems the ENOB is far less than 7.5 bits.

Relevant items from the data sheet:

http://www.analog.com/media/en/technical-documentation/data-sheets/hmcad1511.pdf

8-bit High Speed Single/ Dual/ Quad ADC
 Single Channel Mode: FSmax = 1000 MSPS
Dual Channel Mode: FSmax = 500 MSPS
Quad Channel Mode: FSmax = 250 MSPS
• 1X to 50X Digital Gain
 No Missing Codes up to 32X
• 1X Gain: 49.8 dB SNR. 10X Gain: 48 dB SNR
• Internal Low Jitter Programmable Clock Divider
..
• Coarse and Fine Gain Control
• Digital Fine Gain Adjustment for each AD

...

. Internal 1 to 50X digital coarse gain with ENOB > 7.5 up to 16X gain, allows digital implementation of
oscilloscope gain settings. Internal digital fine gain can be set separately for each ADC to calibrate for gain errors.

I got a confirmation from Instek that this is in fact part of the design:
"It’s because the dynamic range of A/D converter can’t 100% match the front end attenuation circuit .
 Thus we use digital amplifier"

[maxwell3e10]

Regarding the digital gain it says in the HMCAD1511 datasheet: "There will be no missing codes for gain settings lower than 32x (30dB), due to higher than 8 bit resolution internally". This is actually surprising, that the ADC has intrinsically 13 bits!
But it seems that Instek is using it less than optimally. Instead of using this internal gain feature they must just multiply the output by a factor and end up with missing codes.

[saturation]

It frankly doesn't matter, as the final output is limited by 8 bits or less as specified in the data sheet regardless of their internal bit length. 

As for whether the Instek code is at fault for producing the anomaly, you cannot say whether the effect is from Zynq SoC, the use of ADC internal gain or Instek's firmware code, or a bit of all. 

Regardless, since the DSO does what the GWInstek data sheet says it should do regardless of the gaps you examined, what you have found is an academic exercise, but no practical significance.

Regarding the digital gain it says in the HMCAD1511 datasheet: "There will be no missing codes for gain settings lower than 32x (30dB), due to higher than 8 bit resolution internally". This is actually surprising, that the ADC has intrinsically 13 bits!
But it seems that Instek is using it less than optimally. Instead of using this internal gain feature they must just multiply the output by a factor and end up with missing codes.

[maxwell3e10]

You really like to defend it! Anyway, even apart from these gaps, I am not that impressed. The input noise is rather high and on 1 mV/div setting the vertical resolution is very poor, less than 100 bits. I would say the only thing this scope has going for it is 4 vertical control knobs, one per channel, which is rare.

[nctnico]

The 1mV/div range is zoomed indeed. Then again if you want to do sensitive measurements then you might want to use a (differential) amplifier anyway.

[rauldm]

The Math channel can work with filter app? for example I put a equation in math channel like (atan(ch1/ch2)), Can get output of  this function filtered with filter app?

[nctnico]

The Math channel can work with filter app? for example I put a equation in math channel like (atan(ch1/ch2)), Can get output of  this function filtered with filter app?

Yes and no. The filtering comes before the math operation.

[rauldm]

The Math channel can work with filter app? for example I put a equation in math channel like (atan(ch1/ch2)), Can get output of  this function filtered with filter app?

Yes and no. The filtering comes before the math operation.

Thanks for your answer, I would have liked to buy this oscilloscope  for atan function and filter, I think only Pico scopes has this function, perhaps R&S too, but for good price like this scope would be excellent buy option,  in user manual math mode and filter function it comes bad explained, you don't can know more for example how filter can work with math channel.

[WI_Hedgehog]

I cannot find a way to set the Date/Time. I checked everything under the Utility menu without success. The scope readings recorded to USB drive therefore have a timestamp of 12/31/1979_11:00PM, which isn't exactly great from a recordkeeping standpoint.

[tautech]

I cannot find a way to set the Date/Time. I checked everything under the Utility menu without success. The scope readings recorded to USB drive therefore have a timestamp of 12/31/1979_11:00PM, which isn't exactly great from a recordkeeping standpoint.

Barely any 1000 series scopes of any brand offer a RTC.

[mwb1100]

The GDS-1000B Series User Manual  has this to say about setting the date/time:

System Settings and Miscellaneous Settings

This section describes how to set the interface, language, time/date,
probe compensation signal, erase the internal memory and access
useful QR codes.

But as far as I can tell it never actually documents how to do it (though it does explain in detail how to bring up some QR codes to get you to the GDS-1000B website).  Are you sure you've looked at all the various sub-menus of the Utility menu?  I don't have a GDS-1054B, so I'm no help beyond what the manual says - or doesn't say.

[nctnico]

Pressing the utility button on the scope brings up the configuration menu and in that menu, setting the time/date should be one of the choices IF the GDS-1000B series has an RTC. The bigger brother (GDS-2000E series) has an RTC but the manual for the GDS-1000B series shows an empty spot in the menu where the GDS-2000E series has the time/date menu button. So my conclusion would be that the GDS-1000B series doesn't have an RTC and thus you can't set the time/date on it.

[mwb1100]

I don't see why a lack of an RTC would mean that there wouldn't be a reason to allow someone to set the date/time. Way back when, personal computers didn't have RTCs - you had to set the date/time whenever the computer booted.  I can understand why people often wouldn't be bothered to do that on Oscilloscopes, but they should still have the option for reason that WI_Hedgehog gave: people would want files and screen captures to have the correct date/time (does the 1054B display the date on screen?).  But I suppose whether or not to provide the small feature is GW-Instek's decision.

The SDS1104X-E doesn't have an RTC (though it does support NTP if you a network connection), but it lets you set the date/time.

One similarity between the GDS-1054B and SDS1104X-E is that the user guides for both mention that there's a data/time setting function in the Utility menus, but neither actually documents how.

[tautech]

The SDS1104X-E doesn't have an RTC (though it does support NTP if you a network connection), but it lets you set the date/time.

This was a recently added feature to support the then also new Logging feature to provide the required timestamps for logging.
A NTP connection can be set to Sync at boot to your local NTP server via a WiFi or LAN connection and give accurate file timestamps and display real time on the display if you wish. I've even done it via a hotspot from my phone.

AFAIK it's one of the few 1 GSa/s DSO's that can do this.

[WI_Hedgehog]

I read the manual several times (i even have it printed in color and bound), searched online, looked under every related menu item... no time setting that i could find. It doesn't have WiFi but does have Ethernet, though I don't have internet where the scope is used (nor an NPT Server). I even read the 2000 Series manual hoping there was a trick i was missing...I guess a GW adding a RTC costs another $5 if all related costs are considered, so they skipped it.

Thanks for the answers/help, with everything it does I thought an RTC would be standard equipment.

[Hydrawerk]

There are 2 marked changes compared to 1.09 not described elsewhere on the Internet, as of this post.  There is a noticeable increase in overall speed compared to 1.09, but not quantifiable.

• A trigger out in now available from the probe compensation port, just turn the adjust knob until option appears
  
  

Is this documented in the user manual in 2023? Is the trigger out available even at other GW Instek scopes like GDS-2000E, MSO-2000E or MDO-2000A?

[idolclub]

There are 2 marked changes compared to 1.09 not described elsewhere on the Internet, as of this post.  There is a noticeable increase in overall speed compared to 1.09, but not quantifiable.

• A trigger out in now available from the probe compensation port, just turn the adjust knob until option appears
  
  

Is this documented in the user manual in 2023? Is the trigger out available even at other GW Instek scopes like GDS-2000E, MSO-2000E or MDO-2000A?

Trigger Out on GDS-1104B.

[Hydrawerk]

Thank you.