New Rigol DS1054Z oscilloscope

[Fungus]

Most of the people on this forum bought the Rigol because they use the "extra" features and bandwidth that they unlocked and either don't run into, work around, or ignore the existing bugs. In other words, the features offset the bugs. I rarely run into the bugs, so they don't get in my way. YMMV

This post is a good summary of the current state of the bugs:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-rigol-ds1054z-oscilloscope/msg966871/#msg966871

I suggest reading it several times.

Bottom line: They're mostly minor niggles unless you're using the math functions.

If you don't have a need for the "extras" and/or you often need to use the functionality on the Rigol that have issues, then you might consider, for example, the GW Instek 1054B. I especially like that it has separate controls for each of the four channels.

Sure: Half the bandwidth, no serial decoders, less memory, poor build quality... a real bargain!

Not.

[bitseeker]

I'm not joining the ever-recurring arguments. Everyone's needs, wants, budgets, etc. are different. There are other scopes on the market and people will have to make their own decision, for better or worse. Hopefully, they'll choose the one that works best for them.

(BTW, as already stated, I have a DS1054Z.)

[Fungus]

I'm not joining the ever-recurring arguments. Everyone's needs, wants, budgets, etc. are different. There are other scopes on the market and people will have to make their own decision, for better or worse. Hopefully, they'll choose the one that works best for them.

Sure. If you need math functions, today, then the DS1054Z isn't for you.

For everybody else: There's nothing to touch an unlocked DS1054Z until you go over $1000.

$400 to $1000 is a big leap but that's really how good the DS1054Z is compared to the competition.

If Rigol released a decent firmware update then nobody would even consider a GW-Instek. That's all it would take.

[bitseeker]

Here's to hoping that we'll get a good firmware update in the very near future. (We need a beer smiley.)

[McBryce]

Hello,

having read a lot in this forum, but obviously not everything, I have a question to my new 1054z, which I got yesterday.

I was surprised when I saw that I still have board version 0.1.1, but the newest FW 00.04.03.02.03. Regarding to the "used look" of the display, I am quiet sure, that I got a kind of "refurbished" one in just a new packiging.

Is there any reason to stick to this first board version or do the newer ones have a significant advantage? Of course I haven't touched the activation of the additional options yet. On page 38/39 someone mentioned that his board version changed during this activation process from 0.2.2 to 0.1.1, which could underline my assumption, that the dealer sold me something old, I am not willing to pay for, when he just did a reset in order to sell it to the next twit...

Any hint or opinion is appreciated, maybe someone experienced the same issue...? Thank you very much!

Cheers!

Was it in a double box (box in box) or just a single box. This would be the biggest tell-tale of whether it's been refurbished.

McBryce.

[PushUp]

Was it in a double box (box in box) or just a single box. This would be the biggest tell-tale of whether it's been refurbished.

McBryce.

Exactly, this was the point! After seeing so much unboxing-videos, this was my first amazement, that the scope was only in the "inner box", without the protection of the larger one!

Thanx for the other replies, too!

I will sent it back, because beneath the "CH1-button" there is a black fluff which is illuminated by the backlight all the time of course, which would remind me of the flop all the time together with the display...

Your comments made it easier for me to make up my mind - thank you very much!!!

Cheers!

[simone.pignatti]

Hello,

having read a lot in this forum, but obviously not everything, I have a question to my new 1054z, which I got yesterday.

I was surprised when I saw that I still have board version 0.1.1, but the newest FW 00.04.03.02.03. Regarding to the "used look" of the display, I am quiet sure, that I got a kind of "refurbished" one in just a new packiging.

Is there any reason to stick to this first board version or do the newer ones have a significant advantage? Of course I haven't touched the activation of the additional options yet. On page 38/39 someone mentioned that his board version changed during this activation process from 0.2.2 to 0.1.1, which could underline my assumption, that the dealer sold me something old, I am not willing to pay for, when he just did a reset in order to sell it to the next twit...

Any hint or opinion is appreciated, maybe someone experienced the same issue...? Thank you very much!

Cheers!

Was it in a double box (box in box) or just a single box. This would be the biggest tell-tale of whether it's been refurbished.

McBryce.

Hello single box doesn't mean the unit is refurbished. They used to come in box to box but when the import get big quanitties it will be single box only to save space into the container.
Of course if the unit seems faulty must be returned under warranty 

As example we just got a first delivery of the new RIGOL DP711 150W power supply, and because of small quantities it is box in box.

Cheers.

[Iwanushka]

Mine came in a plain box with stickers from DE rigol what model it is (got
It from local distributor that orders quite a few of them every few months), looks like new to me

I think single box is cheaper to transport when you get a bunch of them packed on a pallet

Edit: only strange thing about the rigol was that it did not came in a colorful box with all that swag like other brands have

[rolycat]

Hello single box doesn't mean the unit is refurbished. They used to come in box to box but when the import get big quanitties it will be single box only to save space into the container.

Of course if the unit seems faulty must be returned under warranty 

Of course, but a clearly refurbished item sold as a new unit should also be returned if the buyer is not happy, whether or not it "seems faulty".

[simone.pignatti]

Hello single box doesn't mean the unit is refurbished. They used to come in box to box but when the import get big quanitties it will be single box only to save space into the container.

Of course if the unit seems faulty must be returned under warranty 

Of course, but a clearly refurbished item sold as a new unit should also be returned if the buyer is not happy, whether or not it "seems faulty".

Totally agree.

[Fungus]

Hello single box doesn't mean the unit is refurbished. They used to come in box to box but when the import get big quanitties it will be single box only to save space into the container.

Really?

Of course, but a clearly refurbished item sold as a new unit should also be returned if the buyer is not happy, whether or not it "seems faulty".

Totally agree.

Yep. It might have been used for a week in a peanut factory. It could kill you if you have a peanut allergy.

[nanofrog]

It might have been used for a week in a peanut factory. It could kill you if you have a peanut allergy.

Now imagine if they made it from peanut based bioplastics...   

[alsetalokin4017]

My first one came in a nice new double box, from TEquipment. I had to return it under seller's warranty due to a hardware glitch.  TEquipment wanted me to send it back to them inside another even larger box.  (UPS "delivered" this one by tossing it onto the porch of the _vacant house_ next door, even though "Signature required" was indicated by the shipper.)

The replacement from TEquipment came in just the single box, and had a serial number that was smaller (earlier) than the one I sent back to them, by quite a bit. Ironic, since I had waited through their out-of-stock and west-coast dockworker's strike for the first one-- ordered in February 2015 and delivered in April. (This one was sent "second day air" and after waiting all day the second day I finally saw the UPS truck down the block at about 10:30 pm, and I had to run him down before he delivered it to some random location once again.)

Then when Rigol USA offered to replace the one that had Boot Version 0.0.1.2 with the later Boot Version 0.0.1.3, again it arrived in a single box from Rigol USA.  BUT... this box had some extra shipping labels still on it: It had first gone to some purchaser in Arkansas, then got returned to Rigol USA, and finally got sent to me.
It did get delivered properly by UPS that time though.

[bitseeker]

Wow, that's quite the adventure.

I bought mine from Saelig. They had a promo at the time that included a nice padded carrying bag. So, I haven't had experience with TEquipment yet.

[metrologist]

I bought from Tequipment. Came relatively fast. It was what I expected.

Is this our DS1054Z Q&A topic?

I was looking at the record option. If my sweep is set to 100 ms, I notice I can set my interval to less than 1.2 seconds (but when I twiddle the knob there, it reacts very slow). I think Interval is the time between the start of one recorded frame and the next. How can I set the interval to something less than my total sweep? Will the recorded frames just contain overlapping data? Also, I can record over 5000 frames (what they call Length  ), up to 10 seconds apart. That's over 13 hours! What happens if I am in normal trigger and nothing triggers? Do I just get the same frame (current screen) recorded at each interval, or will it wait for a trigger to record the frame (I kind of think the former)?

Thanks!

[Iwanushka]

Guys,

Somehow my google-fu failed me, IIRC someone made nice FFT app that can do "unlimited" points from saved waveform, can someone point me in right direction?

Thanks

[voltsandjolts]

Guys,

Somehow my google-fu failed me, IIRC someone made nice FFT app that can do "unlimited" points from saved waveform, can someone point me in right direction?

Thanks

Maybe you're thinking of pyDSA?
http://rheslip.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/software-spectrum-analyzer-for-rigol.html

[bitseeker]

@metrologist: Yes, Q&A here is fine. I haven't used the recording function, but I'm sure someone who has will come along. Stay tuned.

[JPortici]

Boot version 0.0.1.2
Build date Sep-11-2015 (lol @ that date)

mine is
Boot version 0.0.1.4
Build date 9/11 (IU' ES EI! IU' ES EI) 2015

interesting

[Howardlong]

I bought from Tequipment. Came relatively fast. It was what I expected.

Is this our DS1054Z Q&A topic?

I was looking at the record option. If my sweep is set to 100 ms, I notice I can set my interval to less than 1.2 seconds (but when I twiddle the knob there, it reacts very slow). I think Interval is the time between the start of one recorded frame and the next. How can I set the interval to something less than my total sweep? Will the recorded frames just contain overlapping data? Also, I can record over 5000 frames (what they call Length  ), up to 10 seconds apart. That's over 13 hours! What happens if I am in normal trigger and nothing triggers? Do I just get the same frame (current screen) recorded at each interval, or will it wait for a trigger to record the frame (I kind of think the former)?

Thanks!

You can't do overlapped recordings. The interval is the minimum gap between the end of one trace and start of the next. In normal trigger mode, if nothing triggers, you get nothing. You must have a trigger of some description in normal mode to get a trace whether in record mode or not. So each frame needs a trigger.

[metrologist]

I bought from Tequipment. Came relatively fast. It was what I expected.

Is this our DS1054Z Q&A topic?

I was looking at the record option. If my sweep is set to 100 ms, I notice I can set my interval to less than 1.2 seconds (but when I twiddle the knob there, it reacts very slow). I think Interval is the time between the start of one recorded frame and the next. How can I set the interval to something less than my total sweep? Will the recorded frames just contain overlapping data? Also, I can record over 5000 frames (what they call Length  ), up to 10 seconds apart. That's over 13 hours! What happens if I am in normal trigger and nothing triggers? Do I just get the same frame (current screen) recorded at each interval, or will it wait for a trigger to record the frame (I kind of think the former)?

Thanks!

You can't do overlapped recordings. The interval is the minimum gap between the end of one trace and start of the next. In normal trigger mode, if nothing triggers, you get nothing. You must have a trigger of some description in normal mode to get a trace whether in record mode or not. So each frame needs a trigger.

Thanks Howard. I see it is the time between frames. So if my signal drops below trigger, I get nothing. I think I can test that easy enough.

[Howardlong]

I bought from Tequipment. Came relatively fast. It was what I expected.

Is this our DS1054Z Q&A topic?

I was looking at the record option. If my sweep is set to 100 ms, I notice I can set my interval to less than 1.2 seconds (but when I twiddle the knob there, it reacts very slow). I think Interval is the time between the start of one recorded frame and the next. How can I set the interval to something less than my total sweep? Will the recorded frames just contain overlapping data? Also, I can record over 5000 frames (what they call Length  ), up to 10 seconds apart. That's over 13 hours! What happens if I am in normal trigger and nothing triggers? Do I just get the same frame (current screen) recorded at each interval, or will it wait for a trigger to record the frame (I kind of think the former)?

Thanks!

You can't do overlapped recordings. The interval is the minimum gap between the end of one trace and start of the next. In normal trigger mode, if nothing triggers, you get nothing. You must have a trigger of some description in normal mode to get a trace whether in record mode or not. So each frame needs a trigger.

Thanks Howard. I see it is the time between frames. So if my signal drops below trigger, I get nothing. I think I can test that easy enough.

I did ;-)

[technogeeky]

I am just chiming in to note that I have a newer version of this scope than I've seen anywhere. I just bought it from Amazon.

Under System->System Info, I see Software Version 00.04.03.SP2. The more detailed version is below.

I marked the things I haven't seen anyone else have yet in bold:

Model	DS1054Z
SN	(ommitted)
Software Version	00.04.03.02.03
Board Version	0.1.4
Boot Version	0.0.1.4
Firmware Version	0.2.3.11
CPLD Version	1.1
Build Date	Sep 11 2015 09:42:... (ommitted)

I can also confirm that the upgrade to DSER works, changing the above to:

Model	DS1104Z
SN	(ommitted)
Software Version	00.04.03.02.03
Board Version	0.1.4
Boot Version	0.0.1.4
Firmware Version	0.2.3.11
CPLD Version	1.1
Build Date	Sep 11 2015 09:42:... (ommitted)

As for what is different for the 0.14 board? I have no idea, and I don't think I can be compelled to open up my unit and void my warranty. I would be happy to do any tests to see if something has changed, though. You can email me.

-tg

[bitseeker]

Welcome to the forum, technogeeky.

I don't recall which board version I have, but regarding the firmware, that's just Rigol's odd way of naming versions. Specifically, 00.04.03.02.03 = 00.04.03.SP2, released on 2015-10-20.

There has been third-party information that a firmware update is coming in a month or so.

Edit: Added link to reference.

[tggzzz]

I love my tek475, but doing the number crunching manually is starting to get old, and the built in math functions of the rigol are a major selling point for me, besides the storage of course, which is the most significant reason above all. Besides that, for microntroller peripheral stuff the serial decoding is a big plus. Is it the case that the sluggishness is limited if you engage the math functions on only a channel or two? I'm just trying to get a sense of perspective on the matter. Is it a major setback, or just a minor quibble?  that sort of thing...

I presume you are aware of "features" including
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/question-about-analog-oscilloscopes-vs-digital-oscilloscopes/msg971885/#msg971885
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/my-new-(i-suspect-faulty)-ds1054z/msg963322/#msg963322
For me, those would be sufficiently unsettling that I wouldn't trust any numbers without visually number crunching - which rather spoils the benefit.

There's also the questions as to whether 200MHz is significantly more useful w.r.t. signal integrity than 50/100MHz, and whether protocol decodes could/should be done in the digital domain, e.g. by logic analysers or printf statements.

For clarity, I do not have a Rigol.