Is Rigol DS1074Z + Rigol DG1032Z + Agilent 34461A a good set?

[rodpp]

Hello!

I am new here and was reading a lot of good posts in the last 2 weeks about equipments.

I am a Electronic Engineer and work with Intellectual Property, unfortunately nothing related with practical stuff.

I have some background in Control Systems and I pretend to build experiments in my home, as a hobby. The first two will be a magnetic levitation system and a linear inverted pendulum. The bandwidth requirements to these projects are low. In the future, of course, I will continue using these equipments as a little electronic lab in my home.

The equipments that I have are:

- Handheld Digital Multimeter Fluke 117;
- USB Data Acquisition/Multifunction board NI USB-6009;
- USB Data Acquisition/Multifunction NI MyDAQ;
- Symmetric DC Power Supply 0-30V 5A;

I am planning to buy the following:

- Oscilloscope Rigol DS1074Z;
- Function Generator Rigol DG1032Z (much better than include the "-S" option in the DS1074Z???);
- Bench DMM Agilent 34461A (or a less expensive handheld Fluke 289???).

I selected these three items mainly based on this forum topics, the Rigols appears to be the best bang for the buck and the 34461A a good tool to have. Any suggestions or comments?

I am from Brazil and equipments are more expensive here, but I found a Rigol seller with good prices. In the next week I will go to UK (London) and it can be a opportunity to buy equipments. Does anyone know a store that sell equipments in London and has VAT Refund forms (it will reduce about 20% of the final price!)?

Thanks in advanced.

Regards,
Rodrigo.

[jpb]

I am from Brazil and equipments are more expensive here, but I found a Rigol seller with good prices. In the next week I will go to UK (London) and it can be a opportunity to buy equipments. Does anyone know a store that sell equipments in London and has VAT Refund forms (it will reduce about 20% of the final price!)?

Most suppliers of higher end equipment don't tend to sell from retail stores. RS components have trade counters, for example, but I think you need to have an account setup. Maplins have stores but they only really sell low end gear and can be quite pricey. Most suppliers tend to operate over the internet rather than bricks and mortar stores.

The traditional hi-tech shopping street in London is Tottenham Court Road but that is more for computers/hi fi and so on - it would be hard to buy Rigol or Agilent gear there.

Don't leave it until you arrive, instead contact potential suppliers beforehand but you might find it difficult.

[electronics man]

london is not the best place to buy equipment

[rodpp]

Thank you jpb and electronics man.

The Rigols I will buy here in Brazil, the price difference is not big.

In London I plan to buy only the Agilent 34461A. Unfortunately the Maplin don't sell Agilent. The RS Components tend to be more to business clients and the RS trade counters don't seems like a retail store with the VAT Refund.

I am thinking that there is no option but online stores, where is not possible to have the VAT refund form. It will not be possible to save this 20%...


EDIT: I will be in Dublin too, maybe someone knows a store...

[tom66]

With any VAT receipt (which they will supply) you can claim VAT. Do you own a limited company or similar with which you can make this claim?

[rodpp]

With any VAT receipt (which they will supply) you can claim VAT. Do you own a limited company or similar with which you can make this claim?

No, I refer to the VAT refunds for visitors to the UK:

How to get your VAT refund
When you purchase the goods
First, you need to choose a shop that operates the VAT Retail Export Scheme. Look for a Tax Free Shopping sign. It's a voluntary scheme and not all shops operate it, so you need to check before you buy anything.

source: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/sectors/consumers/overseas-visitors.htm

[nctnico]

Be aware that you won't get all the tax back. The tax return processing company (usually Global Blue) can eat up to 50% of the total tax return.

[rodpp]

Thank you nctnico and gazelle.

I will buy the Rigols from a Brazilian seller, the price is ok.

I pretend to buy only the Agilent 34461A in London. It seems impossible to find a regular store that sells it, so I will buy online and lost the tax refund.

I found it online in http://www.testandmeasurementshop.co.uk/Digital-Multimeters-DMMs/Benchtop-digital-multimeter/Agilent-34460-34461A-96132611.cfm

[nctnico]

Thank you nctnico and gazelle.

I will buy the Rigols from a Brazilian seller, the price is ok.

I pretend to buy only the Agilent 34461A in London. It seems impossible to find a regular store that sells it, so I will buy online and lost the tax refund.

Actually companies from Europe don't charge tax if they ship outside Europe. Ask about that. You'll have to pay import duties for your country though.

[rodpp]

Thanks for all replies. I really appreciate it.

As I said before, the Rigol's seller in Brazil has a good price.

Today I received some prices from the Agilent sellers in Brazil. Surprisingly the price is ok too! It is not common in Brazil, normally it is a lot more expensive than overseas.

So, sorry for the question about stores in London. Now I am decided to buy in Brazil because the prices are similar and if one day I need to use the warranty it will be a lot more easy.

Thanks again, and if someone has some comments about these equipments let me know.

Regards,
Rodrigo.