Hantek Dso5102p vs DSO2D15

[Greg J]

Hmm,

Recently I decided to get a proper scope, instead of just using the horrible small USB powered "mobile" oscilloscopes. Mainly because some companies are now making scopes in the decent price range for someone who picks up a soldering iron every 8 months for a month.

Anyway, on with question/quandary.

I decided to buy Hantek Dso5102p. It was available with fast shipping, price was ok-ish (£220). I got the scope, updated firmware, etc. It seemed alright - but it did lack the useful "decode" options. I thought to myself, fine. I have used it for number of days. It seemed very stable, decent readout speed and resolution, etc.

Then, I found out that its essentially 7-8 year old hardware - still being sold. And that Hantek has put out a new scope in this price range, that not only has deeper memory but also has the "decode" function. Which is useful when trying to find out why SPI trinket is not working .

So I did decide to return the original purchase and order DSO2D15. It includes function generator, which is useful.

I have recently received the scope. And , I don't have any before/after pics to compare with. But I got to say - I'm deeply dissatisfied with DSO2D15. I know its a fairly new product. So it has issues. But. The fonts on the screen look like the UI has been designed by a 5 year old. Even android phones these days have decent font rendering, compared to what it used to be. It's a massive regression to what the UI on DSO5102P was.
Did I mention that it locks up randomly.
It's basically a disappointment.

Now, I don't know if I should email them - and ask them please to fix some things. Chinese manufactures are not exactly renowned for stellar customer service responses. Or should I return it - bite the bullet and buy something for £400. Can I return it? Probably not. It was shipped from China and I did order it on eBay.

I'm new to big scopes and my use cases are narrow, so please don't bite. Or don't tell me that I should have had sold my business cameras and laptops and gotten £4000 scope for a once every so often project I work on.


Thanks.

 

[firepower]

Have you updated firmware to the latest, being a new product it have lot of updates to fix issues and add features.

The scopes are discussed here and how to update firmware and hack.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-hantek-dso2x1x-models/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hacking-the-dso2x1x/

Another value scope just released is Fnirsi 1014D
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-bench-scope-fnirsi-1014d-7-1gsas/msg3461304/#msg3461304

[Algoma]

Having picked through the firmware of the DSO2D15, its completely possible to totally reskin the scope with a custom graphics and interface.  The menu structure and layout is all simple XML format (Lots of hidden features), and the graphics are .ICO icons.. I'm certain its a work in progress, if not, we can do it ourselves. The XML layout files are all written in English.

   
    <CheckButton id="@+id/measure_rise_time" text="@string/measure_rise_time"
              xpos="365" ypos="145" width="100" height="30">
    </CheckButton

/DSO/APP/RES/drawable   (Icons/graphics)
/DSO/APP/RES/layout       (UI Layout, size and format)
/DSO/APP/RES/Menu        (Menu Layouts, including hidden self test and calibration menus)
/DSO/APP/RES/skin         
/DSO/APP/RES/values      (UI Translations for various languages)
/DSO/APP/RES/XML

I was missing a frequency sweep function on the Signal Generator... yet, if you look through the translation strings for the user interface, the strings for such a function are all there, for supporting a sweep function

in: /DSO/APP/RES/VALUES/strings.xml

<string name="conti">Conti</string>
<string name="sweep">Sweep</string>
<string name="burst">Burst</string>
<string name="arb">Arb</string>
<string name="sine">Sine</string>
<string name="square">Square</string>
<string name="ramp">Ramp</string>
<string name="noise">Noise</string>
<string name="exp">Exp</string>
<string name="sinc">Sinc</string>

<string name="start_freq">Start Freq</string>
<string name="center_freq">Center Freq</string>
<string name="stop_freq">Stop Freq</string>
<string name="freq_span">Freq Span</string>
<string name="hold_time">Hold Time</string>
<string name="return_time">Return Time</string>
<string name="sweep_time">Sweep Time</string>
<string name="tag_freq">Tag Freq</string>
<string name="trend">Trend</string>

There are so many supported functions not yet in the menus, but are present in the firmware..  I think Hantek is planning an even higher end, 4 channel model, using the same firmware.. There is various mentions in the translations strings for 4 channels input. The firmware is actually much structure in common to the existing DSO4072C

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/upgrading-the-hantek-dso4072c-osciloscope-bandwidth-from-70mhz-to-200mhz/

[Greg J]

Have you updated firmware to the latest, being a new product it have lot of updates to fix issues and add features.

The scopes are discussed here and how to update firmware and hack.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-hantek-dso2x1x-models/
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hacking-the-dso2x1x/

Another value scope just released is Fnirsi 1014D
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-bench-scope-fnirsi-1014d-7-1gsas/msg3461304/#msg3461304

I have updated it to the latest software. It is still locking up randomly and auto-ranging function is utterly useless on anything slightly more complex than simple sine or square. For instance, any TTL logic - throws it out.
I have decided to stick to older scopes that have been around for a while - and picked up Rigol DS1104. I am now going to avoid Hantek like a wildfire.
Rigol is just so much more solid and packed with features and has 4 channels.

It basically looks like scopes need about 3-4 years on the market for the firmware to be stable enough for me to consider using it.
What is also my point - is that Hantek DSO2D15 is far worse than the scope they released 6-7 years ago. That's a massive regression. The UI looks rubbish, its slower, clunkier and its overall a massive disappointment.

[Greg J]

One case in point that I had to film..
https://youtu.be/jdj9WfEDlLI

[Tekjive]

Have you tried reskinning the 2d15 at all? Any examples of the unit having a different theme or individual ui components skinned? I'm color blind and mainly looking to change the 2nd channels waveform color, but interested in other options, I'm going to look for more examples but haven't found any as of yet, ty

[chinoy]

I was about to pull the trigger on the DSO2D15 when I read your post.
Changed my mind and just went for the DSO5102P.
I got it for like 150$ USD. I got the last unit the seller had. Delivery on the 7th of this month.

It may be old, it may lack a few features. But boy does it just work and have tons of rave reviews.
This allows me to get started with my work.
And in the background I can spend my time picking the best Rigol or Siglent.
With their nice to have features. And better accuracy. Or who knows I just may be fully satisfied. With what I get.

Thank you for your honest review.

[DavidAlfa]

You talked before trying, right?
I played with the xmls in the past, I found that a lot was hardcoded, the xmls did nothing!
The 2d15 has a ton of bugs and issues, I wouldn't buy it again!

[Jasonsbx]

FW 3202 made all the difference for me, with the original 3200 I to was thinking this is not so great but 3202 changed that.
Note: FW is not the same as the Software updates that you see fairly regularly on Hantek site. Also there is a 3203 but that introduced spikes for me on 200ns or less.