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Let’s Talk About LeCroy Scopes, AKA… the “Wuerstchenhund Holds Court” Thread

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Electro Fan:
This thread is intended to stimulate a discussion of LeCroy scopes.  Since LeCroy offers a fairly good size product family the WaveSurfer 3024 is proposed as an initial reference model to help people get oriented to the overall LeCroy product family.  Other models might be more or less capable, older, newer, etc.  – but the 3024 (and the 3000 series) looks to be a good starting point in understanding LeCroy scopes.

http://teledynelecroy.com/oscilloscope/oscilloscopemodel.aspx?modelid=8556

http://cdn.teledynelecroy.com/files/pdf/wavesurfer-3000-datasheet.pdf

A few basic introductory things about the 3024:

4 analog channels seems to be generally preferred but for 2 channel requirements there is the 3022

Touch screen, mouse capable, and conventional UI (see “Maui” UI)

MSO capability – seems to offer not only mixed use (including 16 digital channels) but also pretty good review functions; the toolset and history mode also look interesting

http://teledynelecroy.com/newwave/videos/

As with other products from other manufacturers the documentation and videos, etc. can be compelling but until you actually use a product it’s hard to know what is really what.  So questions from potential new users and feedback from existing users would be great.

Net, net:  Given all the Rigol, Agilent/Keysight, Tektronix, etc. discussions around it would be interesting and useful to better understand the MSOs and DSOs from LeCroy.

Without further ado, here is the “Let’s Talk About LeCroy Scopes”, AKA… the “Wuerstchenhund Holds Court” thread. :clap:

All info, comments, questions, etc. regarding LeCroy scopes welcome. :-+

nctnico:
I looked at the Wavesurfer 3000 but what put me off is that the MSO + decoding options made the 4 channel 200MHz model almost twice as expensive  :palm: The price difference will be worse with lower bandwidth and less channels. Getting a second hand Agilent DSO7000 series made more sense to me in the end.

marshallh:
Can't beat 1ghz ABW for $500.

Howardlong:
How much of an afterthought is the MSO capability? In some 2nd hand scopes I looked at it seemed to be a USB peripheral.

Wuerstchenhund:

--- Quote from: Electro Fan on November 07, 2015, 08:47:11 pm ---Without further ado, here is the “Let’s Talk About LeCroy Scopes”, AKA… the “Wuerstchenhund Holds Court” thread. :clap:

--- End quote ---

*hammering gavel to the block*

Silence! The court is in session!  >:D

(sorry, I just couldn't resist, plus I always wanted to try that Shadow font!)  ;)



--- Quote ---This thread is intended to stimulate a discussion of LeCroy scopes. Since LeCroy offers a fairly good size product family the WaveSurfer 3024 is proposed as an initial reference model to help people get oriented to the overall LeCroy product family.  Other models might be more or less capable, older, newer, etc.  – but the 3024 (and the 3000 series) looks to be a good starting point in understanding LeCroy scopes.
--- End quote ---

The WS3k is a good scope, even though the hardware is actually made by Siglent (the software comes from LeCroy). This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Siglent makes really good hardware (they just really suck at software), but it shows in some areas, i.e. the front panel layout.

It's aimed mostly against the Keysight DSOX3000T, which is a good scope, however there are a few points that speak for the WS3000 (taken from an earlier positing:


* The Wavesurfer comes with a larger screen with higher resolution (10.1" 1024x600 vs 8.4" 800x480 with the DSOX3kT)
* For scopes with bandwidths up to 1GHz I'd say in practical terms 4GSa/s and 10Mpts is probably much more useful than 5GSa/s and only 4Mpts memory
* FFT with the WaveSurfer is up to 1Mpts while the DSOX3kT uses only 64kpts which is pretty poor
* The WaveSurfer allows automatic and manual sample memory/sample rate management while the DSOX3kT is automatic only
* Unlike the DSOX3kT, which feature-wise is not that much better than the DSOX2k, the WaveSurfer 3000 has many features that can be found in LeCroy's high-end scopes, i.e. WaveScan and LabNotebook.
* The DSOX3kT has nothing comparable to WaveScan, which is a very versatile tool to find rare glitches and other issues and which works 'live' as well as on sampled data.
* The DSOX3kT also doesn't offer anything comparable to LabNotebook, which is a documentation tool and pretty neat if you have to document your measurements in some standardized format.
* The WaveSurfer 3000 uses the same probe interface (ProBus) all midrange and high-end scope from LeCroy use since the mid '90s, which means there's a wide range of suitable active probes out there, including a lot of second-hand ones which often sell for reasonable prices because they don't carry the "Tektronix" or "Agilent" label
* Integrated AWG: 25MHz 125MSa/s 14bit with 16kpts on the WaveSurfer, 20MHz 100MSa/s 10bit with 8kpts on the DSOX3kT (both not great, but still)
* LAN is standard on the WaveSurfer 3000 while it's a $400 option on the already expensive DSO3kT
* Not that important, but the WaveSurfer has four (2x front, 2x rear) USB host ports (Keysight two, one front one rear)
* Plus the WaveSurfer 3000 is noticably cheaper than the DSOX3kT

--- Quote ---As with other products from other manufacturers the documentation and videos, etc. can be compelling but until you actually use a product it’s hard to know what is really what.
--- End quote ---

That is true, which is why for anyone considering spending that much money on a scope I strongly recommend to contact the scope manufacturers and ask for a loaner (and there often is the chance to get a fully loaded demo scope at a large discount), or failing that, buy the scope where it can be returned without problems within a certain period (i.e. a week).


--- Quote ---Net, net:  Given all the Rigol, Agilent/Keysight, Tektronix, etc. discussions around it would be interesting and useful to better understand the MSOs and DSOs from LeCroy.
--- End quote ---

Well, it definitely is pretty Rigol and Keysight centric in this forum, which is a shame as it creates the impression that nothing else is out there or worth considering. Leaving out LeCroy from low end scope discussions is understandable, though, because their low end scopes either suck (WaveAce, Siglent rebadges) or come with outdated specs (WaveJet), however there's also R&S which offers what was formerly Hameg under the Value Instruments moniker (and which has some nice entry-level scopes), and they're regularly ignored as well.

I'm well aware that I'm pretty much the only one who mentions LeCroy in some threads (which has earned me a few funny and not so funny titles), but I'm still surprised that they are rarely even mentioned, aside from the occasional "my colleague doesn't like them because they are complicated" or "LeCrap" BS stories.

At the end of the day, more choice is good, and more choice means we're more likely to find the right scope, plus it keeps prices in check.

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