Choosing between entry-level 12-bit DSOs

[gf]

Can the TSA do amplitude modulation?
Put in some AM at about 10% of the frequency.

It only supports a limited number of amplitude levels (I think 8 or so) for the the modulating signal, so it's a "stair step sine wave".
And the modulating signal is limited to 10 kHz.

EDIT: See also Erik's video: https://youtu.be/U2cw0bmuSLM?t=239

[awakephd]

Well, I had planned to drop out of this discussion, in part because I still had a month to go before I would have funds in hand to make a purchase ... but unexpectedly the funds have arrived early, so now the pressure is on to make a choice ... so I am back to seeing if I have fully understood the pros and cons of each, choosing between the Siglent SDS804X HD and the Rigol DHO804.

There are many things that seem to point to the Siglent SDS804X HD as the obvious choice (2G sample rate; better math functions; more USB ports; fewer bugs?). However, to the extent that I have been able to follow the discussion above, at least some of the advantage of the Siglent seem to be tied to more advanced topics than I expect ever to get into. (Yes? No?)

Meanwhile, there are some features that the Rigol brings to the table that I find attractive, including the slimmer size, possibility of powering from a battery pack, HDMI output, easy addition of wifi capability. VESA mount might also be valuable for my limited workspace.

I am getting ready to read back through the extended threads that detail performance, bugs, desired features, etc. for each of the units, but in the meantime, I have three specific questions:

The last feature I noted for the Rigol leads to the first specific question for this post: Have I understood correctly that there is no way to add wireless to the Siglent other than through the ethernet port?

Second specific question: I seem to recall reading something that suggested that the probes that come with the Rigol 804 are better (? or have a higher BW rating?) than those provided with the Siglent. Is that true, and should I care?

Third specific question: I think I would likely want to "hack" either of these units up to 100MHz and greater memory depth. From what I am seeing, this seems to be easier for the Rigol than for the Siglent - true? (This also connects to the previous question - if I want to hack up to 100Mhz, are the probes going to make that less successful with one vs. the other?)

[KungFuJosh]

There are many things that seem to point to the Siglent SDS804X HD as the obvious choice (2G sample rate; better math functions; more USB ports; fewer bugs?). However, to the extent that I have been able to follow the discussion above, at least some of the advantage of the Siglent seem to be tied to more advanced topics than I expect ever to get into. (Yes? No?)

Don't think that way. My actual use case is ridiculously simple (compared to the abilities of my scope) audio work. I usually feed a 1kHz sine wave into a piece of audio gear to trace issues (if there are any). Otherwise I will use the Bode function to get details of other audio gear. However, being on this forum, I have learned a LOT more and used significantly more functions that the scope has. People discuss things, I try it out, and if I didn't understand before, chances are now I might understand it a little better. I got the Batronix demo board and learned a lot from that too. There's always potential for more, but only to the limit of the tools you have.

Meanwhile, there are some features that the Rigol brings to the table that I find attractive, including the slimmer size, possibility of powering from a battery pack, HDMI output, easy addition of wifi capability. VESA mount might also be valuable for my limited workspace.

The only two benefits IMO to the Rigol are the VESA mount and the HDMI output. That's it. If those things are more important to you than actual measurement ability, then it's an easy decision. However, even the VESA mount can be done for Siglent with the help of 3D printing and a little creativity.

I am getting ready to read back through the extended threads that detail performance, bugs, desired features, etc. for each of the units, but in the meantime, I have three specific questions:

The last feature I noted for the Rigol leads to the first specific question for this post: Have I understood correctly that there is no way to add wireless to the Siglent other than through the ethernet port?

Incorrect. Almost any wireless bridge adapter can be connected to any device with an ethernet port. There are some specific small wifi bridge adapters which have been tested and work great for scopes without WiFi. There's also the possibility that Siglent might add direct WiFi dongle support in the future after tautech annoys them about it enough.

Second specific question: I seem to recall reading something that suggested that the probes that come with the Rigol 804 are better (? or have a higher BW rating?) than those provided with the Siglent. Is that true, and should I care?

Might be true, depending on which model you get. However, you shouldn't care. I exclusively use 3rd party probes from Probe Master. Some people also like Testec. While the supplied probes are usually sufficient, I like what I like. 😉

Third specific question: I think I would likely want to "hack" either of these units up to 100MHz and greater memory depth. From what I am seeing, this seems to be easier for the Rigol than for the Siglent - true? (This also connects to the previous question - if I want to hack up to 100Mhz, are the probes going to make that less successful with one vs. the other?)

Opposite. It's much easier for the Siglent. Siglent can go up to 200MHz and actually has a high enough sampling rate to support that. Rigol can go to 100MHz (or 125MHz) but is severely limited by its sampling rate. Siglent also has better memory depth.

There are specific posts in this thread covering most of this, but a summary doesn't hurt.

Rigol Pros: HDMI, VESA mount, WiFi built in.

Siglent Pros: Speed, memory, sampling rate, stability, superior Bode and FFT, support, etc. Also amazing documentation in Performa01's demo thread for the SDS800X HD.
VESA mount and WiFi can be added to the Siglent, HDMI cannot.

For adding WiFi, personally I would probably try the GL.iNet GL-MT3000. Others have used the less expensive TP-Link N300 and the TP-Link AC750 would also be an option.

Thanks,
Josh

[Mechatrommer]

Meanwhile, there are some features that the Rigol brings to the table that I find attractive, including the slimmer size, possibility of powering from a battery pack, HDMI output, easy addition of wifi capability. VESA mount might also be valuable for my limited workspace.

well you've made you choice congratulation! There's nothing wrong really with rigol to begineer, we hope they will fix bugs as before.. even more so with rival appearance from sds800x.

About probe, there's more catch, such as loading at hi freq.. and technique to avoid gnd loop etc. since you dont really concern, built in probe should be fine, you'll learn as you go. I never have a need for fancy 3rd party hi -z passive probe, if i want hi freq i'll go 50ohm 1x coax, or active probe. either way you have to pay extra money. ymmv.