new killer scope in town - a true game changer from R&S - RTB2002 & RTB2004

[Hydrawerk]

I saw this R&S RTB2004 scope at a trade fair in March 2017. My thoughts:
PROS:
-this is an impressive scope. The 10-bit ADC is great.
-It is featurewise.
-The carrying handle is OK.
-Impressive electrical specifications in general.

CONS:
-I do not like the front panel of RTB2004. I got used to Agilent / Keysight scopes made since 2000 or so.

And I just love the front panel of my Agilent DSOX2002A. It is so intuitive and ergonomic. (Apart from the paper-printer-only Print button...) I want one set of knobs per each channel. Are rotary encoders expensive or what?
But I think you can get used to Rohde & Schwarz front panels.
-The touchscreen is damn glossy. This is a bad idea, because electronics labs are often full of light.
-The whole scope is quite lightweight. When I tried to push the multipurpose knob, the scope was sliding on the table!
-The scope has like 70% air inside and it is visible by big holes. It just looks weird. The mechanical construction looks like it was done quickly.
-No VGA or DVI monitor output and probably no plug-in module available.
-No GPIB interface. :-)
-No inside storage space. :-) Not a flash disc, please. I mean a probe storage compartment.
-Well, my DSOX2002A looks like a heavy tank when compared to this. Yes, it has some cons, but it is a great everyday scope for general work.

[mikeselectricstuff]

-The whole scope is quite lightweight. When I tried to push the multipurpose knob, the scope was sliding on the table!

The feet could be stickier - as mine is on a shelf, I have it tilted down, so it's not far from its balance point- some extra weight would be useful, though the light weight is better for transport.

-No VGA or DVI monitor output and probably no plug-in module available.

You don't really need it with the fast networking  - more flexible as you can use any PC etc. for a display. If you really wanted a dedicated port you could probably use a RasPi.
 

-No GPIB interface. :-)

Does anyone still use that ?
Especially on a scope, where a lot of the functions & therefore commands weren't even available when GPIB was popular.
Is anyone likely to buy a scope like this for an existing test system?

-No inside storage space. :-)

definitely a missed opportunity

[ws2812b]

For the GPIB I also asked when I bought mine. Not that I use it anymore. It was just nostalgic interest. I was told that RS offers an adapter box if I need it. I don't remember the name but I think it is this one:
https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/uk/applications/gpib-to-lan-converter-application-card_56279-4295.html#menu

[Messtechniker]

-The whole scope is quite lightweight. When I tried to push the multipurpose knob, the scope was sliding on the table!

Well there are two ways around such.
1.) Use, for example "UHU Patafix" glue pads (reusable, repositionable, removable without residues, kneadable). Simply put 2 blobs on the surface behind the scope and it will no longer move backwards when pushed. 
2.a) For metal surfaces: Glue magnets under the unit. Old hard drives contain quite strong magnets which may be reused. Caution: they can be quite strong and are somewhat brittle. If the magnets are found to be too strong or to avoid scratches, glue a piece of felt under the magnets. Or purchase small magnets with a centre hole so that you can bolt them down.
2.b) For non-metal surfaces: Bolt down a piece of sheet metal first and then do 2a.

I mostly rely on method 1 to keep things from slipping or falling over when being pushed slightly. For example: items in a doll's house, glass items exposed to toddlers, attaching paper notes to to the side of the fridge when running out of magnets etc. This stuff is great fun to use.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

Is the RTB2K-COM4 bundle still available somewhere?

[JoHr]

-No inside storage space. :-)

There is about >300MB user space available on delivery. Whats the matter to plug in a thumb drive? Or use remote controls to capture data?
I dont think that there is a real need to put a e.g. 16GB sd-card into the scope just.
Do you really want to mount such a drive into or off the scope? Mounting such drives is always painful. As well as exporting data from internal space to usb drive.
Sure a USB drive might be slower than an internal connected drive . But its more flexible. And nobody prevent you to plug in a TB drive on the scope.

[ebastler]

-No inside storage space. :-)

There is about >300MB user space available on delivery. Whats the matter to plug in a thumb drive? .

You missed the joke there -- this refers back to Hydrawerk's earlier comment about the somewhat wasteful mechanical layout of the enclosure, I think. Do note the (low-tech) smiley!  ;-)

[nowlan]

I think they wanted a compartment to store probes on back.

[thanasisk]

Are you sure such a compartment wouldn't have a negative impact on the airflow and thermals?

[Hydrawerk]

I think they wanted a compartment to store probes on back.

Yes.

[Dubbie]

I thought a storage space on my keysight was a dumb gimmick. Well, because I cart my scope between work and home quite a bit, it's been extraordinarily useful! There is enough room in there for a couple of probes and a few bits of jumper wire etc.
It's nice just having the handle to grab and nothing else needed.

[Robaroni]

Anyone find any sources for the promo as of today?
Thanks

[piranha32]

Dr.Diesel, I also saw a charge from TEq on my cc recently. Expected ship date hasn't changed though. It could just be a periodic authorization charge to make sure funds are still available for pending orders. I saw in the faq somewhere those auths usually disappear in a few days.

I also got charged by TEq for the scope, and the expected shipping date moved from May 3 to May 5

[pslawinski]

Anyone find any sources for the promo as of today?
Thanks

I just got my scope from Allied, but it looks like they don't have any more available. Have you checked all the distributors listed on the R&S website? The US launch promo was a pretty incredible deal. Hard to pass up for sure.

Thanks to mikeselectricstuff for pointing out this deal on YoutTube. I now have a massive upgrade from my 9 year old TDS2024B.

[Hydron]

The US launch promo was a pretty incredible deal. Hard to pass up for sure.

Thanks to mikeselectricstuff for pointing out this deal on YoutTube. I now have a massive upgrade from my 9 year old TDS2024B.

It was so hard to pass up that I'm flying over to pick up the one I ordered :p
(GF wanted to visit the States anyway, though she doesn't know what I'll be taking home with us!)

The deep memory should be an especially welcome upgrade over the tek, 2.5k is very limiting for some stuff. As for me I've already got a couple of options with deep memory, but nothing that samples quite fast enough or has a nice UI so am also looking forward to the upgrade.

A quick query for those familiar with the TSA - am I likely to run into any issues flying out from the US with a scope in hand luggage? Have travelled with weirder things elsewhere, but don't have much experience of the US.
Also would be interested in any comments about how protected the front panel is - does the packaging come with anything other than foam to protect the front, or am I better off ordering the cover?

[Robaroni]

I don't expect we'll see very many more on eBay. $3250 may sound high but it's really not and most places had a two scope limit.
Just to see what it would come to I priced the scope with just the 300M and serial and it came to around $4.3k from two sellers. For $3,250 you get  mem, arb, serial, MSO and the 300M. If R&S had the deal at $3,250 instead of $2,080 I bet they would still sell out. I see Keysight's going for over $4k with the older scope without the touch screen.

Mine will be here tomorrow.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The US launch promo was a pretty incredible deal. Hard to pass up for sure.

Thanks to mikeselectricstuff for pointing out this deal on YoutTube. I now have a massive upgrade from my 9 year old TDS2024B.

It was so hard to pass up that I'm flying over to pick up the one I ordered :p
(GF wanted to visit the States anyway, though she doesn't know what I'll be taking home with us!)

The deep memory should be an especially welcome upgrade over the tek, 2.5k is very limiting for some stuff. As for me I've already got a couple of options with deep memory, but nothing that samples quite fast enough or has a nice UI so am also looking forward to the upgrade.

A quick query for those familiar with the TSA - am I likely to run into any issues flying out from the US with a scope in hand luggage? Have travelled with weirder things elsewhere, but don't have much experience of the US.
Also would be interested in any comments about how protected the front panel is - does the packaging come with anything other than foam to protect the front, or am I better off ordering the cover?

Can't imagine an issue with what is obviously a new, manufactured product ( other than overall size), but nothing is certain.  Shielding is aluminium so should x-ray pretty well.
UK customs might be more of a concern if you got stopped.

[Robaroni]

The US launch promo was a pretty incredible deal. Hard to pass up for sure.

Thanks to mikeselectricstuff for pointing out this deal on YoutTube. I now have a massive upgrade from my 9 year old TDS2024B.

It was so hard to pass up that I'm flying over to pick up the one I ordered :p
(GF wanted to visit the States anyway, though she doesn't know what I'll be taking home with us!)

The deep memory should be an especially welcome upgrade over the tek, 2.5k is very limiting for some stuff. As for me I've already got a couple of options with deep memory, but nothing that samples quite fast enough or has a nice UI so am also looking forward to the upgrade.

A quick query for those familiar with the TSA - am I likely to run into any issues flying out from the US with a scope in hand luggage? Have travelled with weirder things elsewhere, but don't have much experience of the US.
Also would be interested in any comments about how protected the front panel is - does the packaging come with anything other than foam to protect the front, or am I better off ordering the cover?

When you get here DHL it to yourself.

[mikeselectricstuff]

The US launch promo was a pretty incredible deal. Hard to pass up for sure.

Thanks to mikeselectricstuff for pointing out this deal on YoutTube. I now have a massive upgrade from my 9 year old TDS2024B.

It was so hard to pass up that I'm flying over to pick up the one I ordered :p
(GF wanted to visit the States anyway, though she doesn't know what I'll be taking home with us!)

The deep memory should be an especially welcome upgrade over the tek, 2.5k is very limiting for some stuff. As for me I've already got a couple of options with deep memory, but nothing that samples quite fast enough or has a nice UI so am also looking forward to the upgrade.

A quick query for those familiar with the TSA - am I likely to run into any issues flying out from the US with a scope in hand luggage? Have travelled with weirder things elsewhere, but don't have much experience of the US.
Also would be interested in any comments about how protected the front panel is - does the packaging come with anything other than foam to protect the front, or am I better off ordering the cover?

When you get here DHL it to yourself.

That was my thought as well - as you're shipping it youself, you can decide what customs value you think is appropriate 
The packing on mine was spiky foam rubber on all sides, should be OK for shipping, but if you're hand-carrying you won't want that much bulk.

[Howardlong]

A quick query for those familiar with the TSA - am I likely to run into any issues flying out from the US with a scope in hand luggage? Have travelled with weirder things elsewhere, but don't have much experience of the US.

Nope, no problem at all with TSA, although make sure you have an AC cord handy in the very unlikely event they ask you to turn it on. They may choose to swab it. I recommend getting it out separately like you would a laptop at security screening.

Just make sure that in total you are not beyond your carrier's hand baggage allowance, and make sure your scope will be well protected even though you are taking it on board as hand baggage. For reference I took a Marconi 2955 as carry on once which is a boatanchor about the size of a standard international roll-aboard, but it's heavy, I could barely lift it into the overhead! TSA didn't blink an eyelid, I am sure they see this stuff every day. I would _not_ check it in as hold baggage under any circumstances unless it is properly packed in, say, a Peli case with foam inserts and it is insured. I brought an HP 8753A back from the US about fifteen years ago, shortly after the TSA were introduced, in a large Peli case. I had to remove the YIG to get it under the max checked baggage weight allowance. Fun times!

Be aware of any Blighty customs duties... ;-)

[Hydron]

Thanks for the helpful replies!

DHL seemed very expensive when I used their online calculator, plus would have to insure it and pay a bunch of import fees. I think I'll just give myself plenty of time to go through security and keep the cord with it.

As for blighty customs, I've taken 2k USD worth of electronics into the UK a number of times (eg laptop, camera, USB scope) without even thinking about it, but nothing like a full sized scope. Does anyone know how much they care about something like this? Could declare it but have already paid sales tax and would rather not be taxed twice on one item!

[ebastler]

As for blighty customs, I've taken 2k USD worth of electronics into the UK a number of times (eg laptop, camera, USB scope) without even thinking about it, but nothing like a full sized scope. Does anyone know how much they care about something like this? Could declare it but have already paid sales tax and would rather not be taxed twice on one item!

A bit of a gamble at least. If you decide not to declare it, and customs somehow pick up on it, they might get annoyed. As you would be exceeding the free allowance (390 GBP) significantly, they might even charge an extra penalty.

Why did you pay sales tax in the US, by the way? Didn't you mail order and have it sent to another state?  If you did pay US sales tax, you should be able to get a refund for that if you declare the export, so you won't be taxed twice. But the UK tax is higher, of course... 

EDIT: Allowance amount; tax refund comment added.

[kaz911]

To the UK I seem to have better experience with FedEx than DHL

Just today I got about $350,- worth of items via FedEx from US - and it went through customs without a charge. I think that is now about 50/50 if I have gotten charged....

With DHL I get charged every time without exception - and their UK office is absolute terrible to deal with if you have to pay.  Online Gateway is often down - and DHL drivers do not by default have card reader with them. But FedEx DOES. So never had any issues with FedEx so far

[mikeselectricstuff]

Thanks for the helpful replies!

DHL seemed very expensive when I used their online calculator, plus would have to insure it and pay a bunch of import fees. I think I'll just give myself plenty of time to go through security and keep the cord with it.

As for blighty customs, I've taken 2k USD worth of electronics into the UK a number of times (eg laptop, camera, USB scope) without even thinking about it, but nothing like a full sized scope. Does anyone know how much they care about something like this? Could declare it but have already paid sales tax and would rather not be taxed twice on one item!

As a precaution, don't pack anything with it that would indicate it was bought in US - invoice, manuals, original packing etc. I don't recall if it came with a screen protection film but definitely remove that, maybe add plenty of fingermarks!
 

[Hydron]

Why did you pay sales tax in the US, by the way? Didn't you mail order and have it sent to another state?  If you did pay US sales tax, you should be able to get a refund for that if you declare the export, so you won't be taxed twice. But the UK tax is higher, of course... 

I got one shipped to a friend in a sales-tax state/city, who I'll be visiting on my trip. If it's easy enough to get a refund then I might just do that and cough up the (~2x higher) VAT in the UK. Annoying to pay more but it's still a cracking deal. Otherwise, I'm pretty good at covering shiny screens with fingerprints