New Zoyi multimeter+oscilloscopes - ZT-70xS, up to 50MHz/250MSps (nov 2022)

[tunk]

Short youtube video with three new multimeter+oscilloscopes.
Guessing these are the specs:
- ZT-701S: 1ch, 24MSps, 3MHz, 64Kpts, 2.8" screen, 6000 count multimeter
- ZT-702S: 1ch, 48MSps, 10Mhz, 64Kpts, 2.8" screen, 9999 count multimeter
- ZT-703S: 2ch, 250MSps, 50MHz, 512Kpts, 3.5" screen, 25000 count multimeter

https://youtu.be/YNgsjPeb9O4

Edit: I guess these eventually will be rebranded as Anengs etc.

[tunk]

The ZT-702S is starting to show up at aliexpress from around $65.
It's also rebranded as Richmeters and Bside.
So now we're waiting for the introduction and pricing of the ZT-703S.

[tunk]

The ZT-702S is now on their web-page:
https://zotektools.com/products/zt-702s/

[RAPo]

Already have this meter, but I see no reference to the two-channel version. Is this a marketing trick, first you do some mouth-watering, wait for some time so that people bite the bullet and the next higher version appears.

[RAPo]

There is one crucial measurement missing: duty cycle.

[tunk]

The ZT-702S is now showing up as the Aneng AOS02:
https://aneng.aliexpress.com/store/919484/search?SearchText=aos02

[tunk]

The manual for the ZT-702S is now out:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/03cvx7b5zk33wr4/ZT-702S%20EN.pdf?dl=0

[Aldo22]

I'm not quite sure about those "cheap" scopemeters.
I think that with a DSO1511G and Zoyi ZT219 , for example, I have better equipment for almost the same price.
I can use both functions at the same time and if one breaks, the other still works
What do you think?

[Hobby73]

There is one crucial measurement missing: duty cycle.

Is there any workaround to measuring the duty cycle?

[RAPo]

Didn't find it 

[Hobby73]

Didn't find it 

I'm looking at the FNIRSI DSO-TC3 as an alternative (for lower frequency PWM work).

[Aldo22]

Didn't find it 

I'm looking at the FNIRSI DSO-TC3 as an alternative (for lower frequency PWM work).

I do not recommend these.
See also: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-(toy)-dsolcr-meter-fnirsi-tc2-(june-2022)/msg4881002/#msg4881002

[tunk]

I'm looking at the FNIRSI DSO-TC3 as an alternative (for lower frequency PWM work).

The Zeeweii DSO154pro has much better specs and a lower price
(but no component tester). If you don't need component tester,
Fnirsi DSO152.

[Fungus]

The Zeeweii DSO154pro has much better specs and a lower price

Yep. I've got a Zeeweii and it's really good.

[RAPo]

Indeed.

[Aldo22]

The Zeeweii DSO154pro has much better specs and a lower price
(but no component tester). If you don't need component tester,
Fnirsi DSO152.

Yes, but I still wouldn't recommend these two.
The DSO152 is not up to date with 200kHz bandwidth and the DSO154pro doesn't even have a proper case.
I don't think these are good deals.

For me, the DSO1511G has the best price/performance ratio in the lowest price range.
You can get pretty far with it as an Arduino hobbyist.

If you would like two channels, there is the DSO2512G or the Fnirsi DPOX180H which also looks tempting, but I don't own one and for me the information about it is still contradictory.

[Hobby73]

The scope needs to display Duty Cycle or it's useless to me.

[Aldo22]

The scope needs to display Duty Cycle or it's useless to me.

Afaik all these Zeeweii and Fnirsi mentioned can do that.

[Hobby73]

The scope needs to display Duty Cycle or it's useless to me.

Afaik all these Zeeweii and Fnirsi mentioned can do that.

I didn't see any other photos of the Zeeweii with the Duty Cycle displayed.  Thanks for posting. 

I realize that the product listings which show only a subset of the device features can mislead me into thinking they don't support features not shown.

[Aldo22]

I didn't see any other photos of the Zeeweii with the Duty Cycle displayed.  Thanks for posting. 

I realize that the product listings which show only a subset of the device features can mislead me into thinking they don't support features not shown.

All of the mentioned Zeeweii can show the following 14 measurements:

Frequency,
Peak-to-Peak,
Duty cycle,
Amplitude,
RMS,
Average,
Period,
+Pulse width,
-Pulse width,
Max,
Min,
Top,
Base,
-Duty cycle

[Hobby73]

I didn't see any other photos of the Zeeweii with the Duty Cycle displayed.  Thanks for posting. 

I realize that the product listings which show only a subset of the device features can mislead me into thinking they don't support features not shown.

All of the mentioned Zeeweii can show the following 14 measurements:

Frequency,
Peak-to-Peak,
Duty cycle,
Amplitude,
RMS,
Average,
Period,
+Pulse width,
-Pulse width,
Max,
Min,
Top,
Base,
-Duty cycle

The Zeeweii covers all the bases.  Does it have a feature for Auto Scale like the Fnirsi has?

[Aldo22]

The Zeeweii covers all the bases.  Does it have a feature for Auto Scale like the Fnirsi has?

Yes, they all have "Auto" and my DSO2512G is very fast with it.
You can download the manual for the version you are interested in here:
http://www.zeeweii.com/support.html

[RAPo]

Yes it has an auto-button. And yes, you can display the duty cycle. See below for a square wave with +1,6% duty.

[Fungus]

The Zeeweii covers all the bases.  Does it have a feature for Auto Scale like the Fnirsi has?

Yes.

Yes it has an auto-button. And yes, you can display the duty cycle. See below for a square wave with +1,6% duty.

Try holding down the Auto button, it goes into auto-scale mode and continuously adapts the display to the signal.

[delvo]

It looks like there is new firmware available: https://zotektools.com/firmware-update/

"Optimized some functions and interfaces."

I havent tried it yet

[RAPo]

The update went smoothly.  can't exactly tell what is different.  The multimeter interface feels a bit snappier. Alas, no duty cycle measurement.

It looks like there is new firmware available: https://zotektools.com/firmware-update/

"Optimized some functions and interfaces."

I havent tried it yet

[MLXXXp]

In multimeter mode, is there a way to reset the Min, Max and AVG values (displayed at the bottom, above the function key soft labels), so that they all start at the next reading and then change from there (without changing ranges or to a different function)?

[Rooster Cogburn]

Is there any word on the ZT-703 yet? I can't really find any mentioning of it outside of this thread.

While searching around on AliExpress I found this:

Owon hds242/hds272/hds242s/hds272s
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003913549473.html

Is this a rebranding of the ZT-70xS like the ANENG ones or something entirely different? If the latter, how does it compare and would you rather pick this up or wait for the 03 model?

[Shonky]

The Owon is completely different. You can see just by looking. . Search for the huge thread on it here. The Owon is significantly better specs wise.

[Aldo22]

Is there any word on the ZT-703 yet? I can't really find any mentioning of it outside of this thread.

Apparently not
https://zotektools.com/oscilloscope-multimeter/

Is this a rebranding of the ZT-70xS like the ANENG ones or something entirely different? If the latter, how does it compare and would you rather pick this up or wait for the 03 model?

Depends on the (still unknown) price and what you need.
As a cheap handheld oscilloscope, I would prefer a ZEEWEII DSO2512G or a FNIRSI DPOX180H and buy a DMM separately

[Rooster Cogburn]

I had no idea the cheap handheld scope market had so much development since I last looked. The ZT-70xS is appealing because it costs like half of the other two, but that FNIRSI DPOX180H looks almost too good to be true. I don't care about the DMM functionality, not having it is actually preferred. I guess it mostly comes down to the software, which one will have the least UI annoyances and bugs...

[Aldo22]

I had no idea the cheap handheld scope market had so much development since I last looked. The ZT-70xS is appealing because it costs like half of the other two, but that FNIRSI DPOX180H looks almost too good to be true. I don't care about the DMM functionality, not having it is actually preferred. I guess it mostly comes down to the software, which one will have the least UI annoyances and bugs...

If you want it cheaper, then even the DSO1511G is better than the ZT-702S.
It has however like the ZT-702S only one channel.

[Veteran68]

While searching around on AliExpress I found this:

Owon hds242/hds272/hds242s/hds272s
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003913549473.html

Is this a rebranding of the ZT-70xS like the ANENG ones or something entirely different? If the latter, how does it compare and would you rather pick this up or wait for the 03 model?

No, not even close to the same. The Owon is far and away the better portable scope, as one would expect at 4-5x the cost. I have both the Owon HDS2022S (200Mhz) and the 702S (as well as a DSO-TC3). Don't get me wrong, I like the 702S for what it is (I have a thing for cheap meters, especially Zoyi/Aneng) and wouldn't hesitate to use it for simple things especially if my Owon wasn't charged up or otherwise not available. It's lighter, more compact, and easier to grab quickly than the Owon, and if I were in a hostile environment I'd feel better about risking a $60 device than a $250 one. So they both have their place.

[Rooster Cogburn]

Ali prices for me shipped:

Zoyi ZT-702S - 60.62EUR
OWON HDS2102S - 120.52EUR (or 20EUR more for 70Mhz)
FNIRIS Dpox180h - 120.17EUR

I think both the Zoyi & Owon are reasonably priced relatively, but the Dpox180h seems like far better value considering how much more features it has. It's probably what I'd tend towards, but I'm highly skeptical that it actually reaches its specs and that even half of the software features actually work well enough to be usable. There's no proper review yet AFAIK.

[RAPo]

The OWON is far better ...

[Rooster Cogburn]

The OWON is far better ...

Than the FNIRIS Dpox180h?

[RAPo]

Yes

[Aldo22]

OWON HDS2102S - 120.52EUR (or 20EUR more for 70Mhz)

No, you slipped with the prices.
The HDS2102S is better, but it costs a lot more: 236,03 € at eleshop.
https://eleshop.de/owon-hds2102s-tragbares-oszilloskop.html

The Owon HDS242 is no better than the Fnirsi or Zeeweii, but still costs more.

This is the best for little money
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005004793136023.html

[Rooster Cogburn]

OWON HDS2102S - 120.52EUR (or 20EUR more for 70Mhz)

No, you slipped with the prices.
The HDS2102S is better, but it costs a lot more: 236,03 € at eleshop.
https://eleshop.de/owon-hds2102s-tragbares-oszilloskop.html

The Owon HDS242 is no better than the Fnirsi or Zeeweii, but still costs more.

This is the best for little money
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005004793136023.html

Your Ali link doesn't work for me / product not available, and I confused the 100Mhz and 40Mhz versions of that scope, sorry.

So it seems the FNIRIS Dpox180h is the best bang for the buck? I just don't trust it actually performs.

[Aldo22]

Your Ali link doesn't work for me / product not available, and I confused the 100Mhz and 40Mhz versions of that scope, sorry.

Not sure what you mean. There aren't any different versions of the DSO1511G
Does this link work?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004793136023.html

Or here ist the ZEEWEII Factory Store
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1102327126

[Rooster Cogburn]

No, just "Sorry, the page you requested can not be found:(" and a blurb about not being available for your shipping destination. You're in Switzerland? Since that's not EU/EEA, I guess that's it?

I mixed up the OWON HDS2102S and the OWON HDS242.

[Aldo22]

No, just "Sorry, the page you requested can not be found:(" and a blurb about not being available for your shipping destination. You're in Switzerland? Since that's not EU/EEA, I guess that's it?

Strange. 
Yes, I am in Switzerland.
Then go to Aliexpress and Search for "ZEEWEII Factory Store"

For information also http://www.zeeweii.com/

[Rooster Cogburn]

I guess they just don't want to ship to the EU. At those prices I think maybe the DSO2512g would be a better deal than the DSO1511G. I wonder where the 2ch higher BW 703S will land in terms of price.

[Aldo22]

I guess they just don't want to ship to the EU. At those prices I think maybe the DSO2512g would be a better deal than the DSO1511G. I wonder where the 2ch higher BW 703S will land in terms of price.

I see, but it only has to do with Germany.
If you select France as the destination country, for example, there is no problem.
No idea what it is about.

But you can just search in Aliexpress for "DSO1511G" or "DSO2512G", there are more dealers.

It was also available at Kaufland.
https://www.kaufland.de/product/419287165/

[Rooster Cogburn]

Sure, I don't need help buying any of those scopes, there are plenty of sellers that ship here, choosing is tricky part. Would be so great to have a YT video comparing like the 5 top candidates. The main issue is again do these features and specs actually work as advertised. If I compare a Rigol 1054Z to a Siglent 1104X-E I can be reasonably sure they actually do what they advertise, with the budget portable scope the real question is what can they actually do.

[Aldo22]

Would be so great to have a YT video comparing like the 5 top candidates.

I'm not sure if that would really help.
There are so many details to compare from different angles.
Better specs aren't all that matters.

Maybe you first think about what is important to you and how much you want to pay, then you can ask more specific questions to the owners of such devices.

But for sure all the mentioned are better oscilloscopes than the ZT-702S.

[slavoy]

I see, but it only has to do with Germany.
If you select France as the destination country, for example, there is no problem.
No idea what it is about.

This is related to new waste management policy in Germany. They introduced some laws for imported goods, which some Chinese stores don't comply with.

[Rooster Cogburn]

This is related to new waste management policy in Germany. They introduced some laws for imported goods, which some Chinese stores don't comply with.

I always thought that was an EU wide thing when they introduced it last year. If you got a German IP these products don't even show up in search and if you got to the shop they show as having 0 products. Guess since it's been a year this will never be fixed and a huge chunk of products just won't be shipped here anymore.

Edit: So I double checked and this is EU wide and France has even implemented this law before Germany. But I guess this is handled by a different agency in each country and they're differences like in some countries you don't have to deal with this until you reach a certain threshold of sales. I'm sure the German authorities worked tirelessly to make this process as painful as possible.

[rsjsouza]

I just got a Zoyi ZT-702S and so far it seems to work ok for low frequency applications (automotive, audio). Its build quality is well above average and both the menu and the button operation are quite logical and intuitive - this compared to the other non-brand toy oscilloscopes I have seen in the past. There is a saturation issue in case a high voltage (when compared to the V/div setting) is applied, since the waveform hints to overflow in the ADC codes. I am also missing either an anti-alias filter or a better tuned opamp feedback loop, since sinewaves above 1MHz are showing quite wobbly for me (let alone triangular or square). Perhaps those were corrected with newer firmware (?).

The Zeeweii indeed has better specifications on paper for the same price, but IMO the dual button press interface to execute mundane actions is a deal breaker for me. This was common to other toy oscilloscopes that I saw in the past. I don't know its overall build quality, but the other very similarly looking oscilloscopes I saw in the past were very subpar. Maybe this one is different.

[Aldo22]

The Zeeweii indeed has better specifications on paper for the same price, but IMO the dual button press interface to execute mundane actions is a deal breaker for me. This was common to other toy oscilloscopes that I saw in the past. I don't know its overall build quality, but the other very similarly looking oscilloscopes I saw in the past were very subpar. Maybe this one is different.

The DSO2512G is OK for the price and very easy to use. Everything is logical and you quickly get used to it. I have never been annoyed by this device.
But of course, if you want to pay more, you get more (hopefully).

[tunk]

If someone in the UK needs a ZT-702s, this is for sale at £34 (plus £5.15 shipping):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/166254908126

[siealex]

Will the firmware updates from the ZOYI site fit a device branded ANENG AOS02?

[sparrow321]

in their youtube guide someone commented that it is supported(aos02 in specifically mentioned).
But it seems the update adds more bugs than solves them so I wouldn't update myself.

[siealex]

But it seems the update adds more bugs than solves them so I wouldn't update myself.

The latest update (v. 51) added a visual description of lead placement in A/mA modes at EVERY switch to those modes (also between them).

[MLXXXp]

I've found that my ZT-702S with firmware version 1.03.51 sometimes does not give the correct value for Vmin and Vmax, which then also affects the VPP value. This happens in oscilloscope mode with DC coupling and seems to be when the displayed waveform swings over a large vertical portion of the screen.

The problem is that the Vmin value shows far more negative than it actually is. Vmax can change to a strange value as well and can vary from reading to reading. I haven't seen the problem occur with AC coupling.

Here are some examples, (with the probe in 10X mode):

This is the scope's calibration output at 1.0V/div. Displayed values appear to be correct.


This is the same calibration output at 500mV/div (and the 0V baseline moved down). Vmin has changed to -2.17V and Vmax to 0.99V.


This is the calibration output at 500mV/div with AC coupling. Displayed values appear to be correct.


This is a 5V 25.1kHz square wave at 2.0V/div. Displayed values appear to be correct.


This is the same 5V 25.1kHz square wave at 1.0V/div. Vmin has changed to -4.87V, with the corresponding wrong VPP.


Can anyone confirm this problem? Is it fixed in firmare version 1.03.55 (installed on recent units but not yet available for download)?

[indman]

MLXXXp, please show one beam on the display without a signal if you set it to the center of the screen at the 500mV/siv DC limit. And then check the position of the beam at the limits of 1.0V/div and 2.0V/div. Will it change its position when switching ranges?

[MLXXXp]

And then check the position of the beam at the limits of 1.0V/div and 2.0V/div. Will it change its position when switching ranges?

@indman,
No, there isn't a significant change in beam position when switching voltage ranges. The attached screen captures are with the probe shorted to its ground lead and the beam position and trigger set to the centre of the screen.

[kwass]

In multimeter mode, is there a way to reset the Min, Max and AVG values (displayed at the bottom, above the function key soft labels), so that they all start at the next reading and then change from there (without changing ranges or to a different function)?

Switch to scope mode then back.  This works on Version 1.03.55 at least.

[geb]

This works on Version 1.03.55 at least.

Is 1.03.55 available as a firmware update? The classic link https://zotektools.com/firmware-update/ seems to still have v51. At least, the downloaded filename ends in "51(3)" and it's showing as 1.03.51 on my unit.

[rsjsouza]

Can anyone confirm this problem? Is it fixed in firmare version 1.03.55 (installed on recent units but not yet available for download)?

Yes, I can confirm this issue on my unit with the same firmware as yours.

I can't upload images at this time, but if you raise the GND level of your waveform to 0V (center line), the problem goes away. As soon as you lower the GND level to something slightly below that, the Vpp wraps to -4.x V.

Later today I can upload some images that illustrate this, but give it a try.

[MLXXXp]

but if you raise the GND level of your waveform to 0V (center line), the problem goes away.

The problem with this is, for a vertical range where the problem occurs, raising the GND level to where Vmin reads correctly causes the high part of the waveform to be off the top of the screen. This causes Vmax to become incorrect (and thus VPP to still be incorrect).

[rsjsouza]

but if you raise the GND level of your waveform to 0V (center line), the problem goes away.

The problem with this is, for a vertical range where the problem occurs, raising the GND level to where Vmin reads correctly causes the high part of the waveform to be off the top of the screen. This causes Vmax to become incorrect (and thus VPP to still be incorrect).

Yes, of course this will happen. I just reported the boundary conditions that triggered this bug.

[tonyalbus]

New Firmware available 1.03.58 !!
https://zotektools.com/firmware-update/

Had the pleasure to play with the ZT-702S from Zotek directly,
As most noteced the firmware on the website was old 1.03.51 and newer devices came with 1.03.55
After my review i told my Zotek contact and they just updated to the latest on the website today
1.03.58 is ready for download.

The review


Have fun

[MLXXXp]

1.03.58 is ready for download.

The 1.03.58 firmware still has the "Vmin/Vmax/VPP values with DC coupling" problem I reported recenty.

This firmware has replaced waveform period (Prd) with duty cycle (duty) in the more measurements (MoreMeas) display. Similar to the above problem, incorrect duty cycle values are given in DC coupling mode.

@tonyalbus Perhaps you could inform your Zotek contact about these problems?

This is the probe calibration output with a 10X probe

[geb]

My experience with 1.03.58 firmware so far:

It reset my unit to Chinese language and lost other remembered things like the last scope voltage scale and cursor position, backlight brightness, etc. DMM calibration was *not* lost.

It now remembers when I shut it down in DMM mode, and upon restart it returns to that mode.  I think it messed up one time and booted into scope mode, but that could have been my quick fingers on the MODE button. I'll keep an eye out for any recurrences.

[npoc]

I just purchased a "ZT-703S" https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806076552722.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.30.15d918026EtgUJ&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

What are the chances that this device is legitimate?  Has anyone purchased this as well?  It bothers me that the name of the store sounds like "snake oil".

[Veteran68]

I just purchased a "ZT-703S" https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806076552722.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.30.15d918026EtgUJ&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

What are the chances that this device is legitimate?  Has anyone purchased this as well?  It bothers me that the name of the store sounds like "snake oil".

The ZT-703S with those specs (dual channel, 50Mhz) has been announced for some time, since the ZT-702S became known and popular, but it's not yet even showing on Zoyi's website.

https://zotektools.com/oscilloscope-multimeter/

Let us know if you get it. I have a ZT-702S and would probably upgrade it. Even though I have the far more serious and expensive HDS2202S, I really liked the little Zoyi for what it is.

[RAPo]

I've got my 702s from the snakol store. Delivery went smooth an the product arrived in good order.

[tunk]

There's a reference to the ZT-703S at the top of Zoyi's News page
(images dated 1 December 2023):
https://zotektools.com/news-with-zoyi/
https://cloud-fc.mmldigital.com/631/01172128/33b330ef6505142dd16851a0023aa5d-1024x1024.jpg

[ahakman]

I just purchased a "ZT-703S" https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806076552722.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.30.15d918026EtgUJ&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

What are the chances that this device is legitimate?  Has anyone purchased this as well?  It bothers me that the name of the store sounds like "snake oil".

I'm curious, did your ZT-703S ship? I bought one over the weekend from the same link and it hasn't shipped yet. I'm hoping they just batch their shipments, but I'm also hoping that it actually gets here before the 22nd when I'm leaving for a few weeks - I'd really like to throw it in my bag and take it with me!

[npoc]

They just canceled my order.

[JeremyC]

They just canceled my order.

I ordered the ZT703S from the “SNAKOL” store on 11/29/2023. As of today it hasn’t been shipped, so I canceled this order. I received information that the money will be credit back to my CC in 6 - 20 business days, however when I check “Refund and return” I see “Refund_returns_list_not_order”, when I try to message this vendor I’m getting stupid robo response. It’s not possible to get a human response.

It was my 1st in my life order from a chine site, and obvious it was a mistake. Who’s the “Alieexpress”, I’m assuming it’s another chines snake oil…

BTW, did you receive you money back?

[Veteran68]

AliExpress themselves are a reputable vendor. I've cancelled several orders with them over the years and always got my refund. They are like Amazon, they handle the payments and refunds, not the seller, so it's unlikely you'll be scammed if it's never been shipped.

For years I've ordered constantly from the big three Chinese marketplaces, AliExpress, Banggood, and Temu. Thousands of dollars over dozens if not hundreds of orders.

[Aldo22]

It was my 1st in my life order from a chine site, and obvious it was a mistake. Who’s the “Alieexpress”, I’m assuming it’s another chines snake oil…

You're really unlucky. I'm sorry for you.

I've placed 40 orders on Aliexpress this year and haven't had a single problem.
Not a single delivery was late, not a single piece was defective, not a single wire was even a millimeter too short and not a single piece was missing from the bag.
I really can't say anything bad at all about Aliexpress or Banggood.

[JeremyC]

@Veteran68, @Aldo22
Thanks for your response. I hope the company will credit me back.
I ordered the ZT703S just for fun, to play with it, new gadget for ~$87 its not a fortune. But I don’t like when somebody is trying to make fool of another people.

About Amazon, when I order from Amazon and I don’t like it they will notify me in ~10 minutes after disputed transaction. If I need to speak with human they will call me.

[ahakman]

I really can't say anything bad at all about Aliexpress or Banggood.

I don't think I've ordered from Bangood in years (if ever? I don't even remember anymore)

I have a few gripes with Aliexpress, but I've never lost money on a transaction. You do get a refund if things go sideways, but that's not the only place for issues.

My gripes:

Their misleading search where sellers can get an item to show up for an unreasonably low price by having different "color" options that are actually completely different products at completely different price points, but the search results show the cheapest price for the most expensive item of the available choices, and it makes the search results entirely useless and a nightmare to find a good price.

You search for: diamond ring
Search results: diamond ring - $0.05 (where the diamond ring is of the color "we send you a printed picture of a diamond ring on a piece of paper - $0.05" - the actual diamond ring is $1000, but the search doesn't show that (entirely contrived example, but you get the picture). Once one seller starts doing that, they all do, and now you can't find an actual price in the search at all - you have to dig through 15 or 20 different sellers and open up each product page and choose the right "color" option to find the actual item, and then compare the prices by hand in multiple tabs.

Unpredictable / Slow / expensive shipping, and useless search results related to that:
Some items ship free and show up in 5 days
Some items ship free and show up in 5 months
Some items shipping cost is more than the item, but it shows up in 5 days
Some items shipping cost is more than the item, and it shows up in 5 months

There's absolutely no consistency, and no real way to tell beforehand which way it's going to go. It's a total crapshoot. At some point, if it said "e-packet" shipping, it actually meant "e-packet shipping" which is pretty fast, but now everyone just lists all the shipping as "e-packet" and then sends it by slow boat anyway.

The search itself:
Search AliExpress right now for ZT703S - there's only one listing for an actual ZT703S (whether that listing is legit or not I guess is up for debate), but it will return hundreds of results that aren't that item at all. Search Amazon, and it returns 2 listings, for expensive pocket knives. Search ebay for ZT703S, and it returns "0 results". AliExpress search is like Facebook Marketplace search - useless, but it will fill the results with "pages of something" just to waste your time / keep you on the site.

Pricing (more recently):
Most sellers on AliExpress have jacked their prices way up to the point where a lot of stuff I look at now is cheaper on Amazon than it is on AliExpress, and I know I'll get it in a day or 2 from Amazon (along with a less painful return process), and combined with the other issues (especially the misleading pricing in the search), why even bother with AliExpress anymore. Amazon (or 3rd party sellers on Amazon) used to not carry a lot of stuff you could find on AliExpress, but now almost everything that's on AliExpress can also be found on Amazon now. And a lot of it can be found on EBay too. Ebay is usually cheaper for the same item (because you're not paying the Bezos tax, you're paying ebay tax which is a little less).

AliExpress USED to be really good and really cheap, even if the shipping times were all over the map. Now it's just Chinese Amazon with worse search, worse prices, and worse shipping!

That said, I still do order some stuff from AliExpress - when I really don't care about how long it will take to get to me, and I care more about saving $0.50 overall. But it's a lot less than it used to be.

[ahakman]

About Amazon, when I order from Amazon and I don’t like it they will notify me in ~10 minutes after disputed transaction. If I need to speak with human they will call me.

Amazon isn't the best at returns either. I've had issues where I've had to call them multiple times to actually get money back, even after the item showed "received and processed" at the return depot for over a week. And these were not small / cheap items - it was a microscope that I returned because AmScope themselves had a better sale than buying the same thing through Amazon, and Amazon wouldn't match the price (we're talking >$200 difference in price for the exact same item). Funny how when you call, someone can click a button to return your money instantly, but if you don't call or forget about it, they just kind of forget about it too...

I've also had issues with QTY packs coming as only one item, and having to talk to someone multiple times to get it straightened out.

Amazon is far from perfect, but generally they are better than AliExpress. I still have the least issues overall with ebay (oddly - probably not everyone's experience)

[JeremyC]

Amazon isn't the best at returns either. I've had issues where I've had to call them...
Amazon is far from perfect, but generally they are better than AliExpress. I still have the least issues overall with ebay (oddly - probably not everyone's experience)

Of course, but the funds are immediately back in the account. Who cares about rest?

[Aldo22]

AliExpress USED to be really good and really cheap, even if the shipping times were all over the map. Now it's just Chinese Amazon with worse search, worse prices, and worse shipping!

It may depend on where you live, but for Switzerland, Amazon is usually of no interest.
For example, my last purchase on Aliexpress was a Hantek DSO2C10 for CHF 123.- ($130),  delivery included (11 days).
On Amazon.de the scope costs CHF 226.- (~$260).

While the DSO2C10 is really amazing for hobbyists for $130, I wouldn't pay $260 for it.
That's not just a slightly higher price, that's a different price range. I would look for a Rigol in that range.

A DSO2512G is CHF140 on Amazon instead of CHF78 on Aliexpress (Regular price, sometimes < CHF70).
As I said, maybe it's better elsewhere, but for us Amazon is no competition (Plus they don't accept Paypal  ).

Oops, are we off-topic? 

[tonyalbus]

From what i understand from Zotek, that they are now slowly sending the ZT-703S to reviewers who don't mind testing and updating it a few times.

"The initial batch could still have some imperfections and will have ongoing updates"

So i am suprized it is allready on AliExpress, while it is not yet on their own website.
Hope i receive mine soon, and ofcource will update here.

[siealex]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006262867474.html
Is it real?

[Veteran68]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006262867474.html
Is it real?

That's the same seller that's been discussed above, and their orders are being cancelled. I have a feeling they're not available for sale yet and this shady seller is just trying to get pre-orders in to secure early sales.

[ahakman]

They actually responded to my chat with them yesterday (not with their stupid automated bot). They said it's in "Quality Inspection" and will be shipped soon.



It sounds legit - it is a new product - they probably jumped the gun a bit listing it a little early. We'll see what "soon" means I guess.

[RAPo]

I've got the same reply.

[RAPo]

The seller promised to send the device last week. He didn't. Applied for a refund. Within 2 minutes a message from aliexpress that the money will be in my account within 2 days.

[tunk]

If you don't mind waiting for shipping:
Looks like they have reduced the price with about $6, now $71.09 and $74.69 (plus shipping).
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006262867474.html

[tunk]

Today it's even lower, $66.09 and $69.69 (plus shipping).
And the ZT-702S is $47.63 plus shipping:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005496160073.html

[ahakman]

It's currently showing $74.25 (with one probe) and $78.01 (with 2 probes) for me. Maybe it went on sale briefly and then they put it back to almost the regular price - when I ordered it it was $81 with 2 probes - not even worth arguing with them over $3

Still hasn't shipped (of course)

[Veteran68]

It's currently showing $74.25 (with one probe) and $78.01 (with 2 probes) for me. Maybe it went on sale briefly and then they put it back to almost the regular price - when I ordered it it was $81 with 2 probes - not even worth arguing with them over $3

Still hasn't shipped (of course)

There's a sale right now, $3 off per $30, up to $9. So $6 off the $78.01 price once added to your cart == $72.01. Still not convinced this is a reputable seller, though. Normally there are several sellers with these, including the official Zoyi store.

[Shonky]

I got a 702 from Snakol on Aliexpress a while back. No problems with them.

[ahakman]

My ZT703S order is marked shipped now! I guess they finally got them to ship.

[Veteran68]

My ZT703S order is marked shipped now! I guess they finally got them to ship.

Mine as well. I was considering cancelling yesterday when I saw it was in transit.

[tunk]

It's now on Zoyi's web-page:
https://zoyitools.com/product/zt-703s/
On their web shop it's $99 (which is a bit on the high side
when compared to the handheld Owons and Hanteks).

[Veteran68]

It's now on Zoyi's web-page:
https://zoyitools.com/product/zt-703s/
On their web shop it's $99 (which is a bit on the high side
when compared to the handheld Owons and Hanteks).

I have the Owon HDS2202S and the Zoyi ZT-702S -- I don't consider them in the same class at all, and each have their place. I don't even consider the Hantek a contender based on the poor reviews I've seen for the price paid.

I do agree that if you can swing the $150 (40Mhz) to $180 (70Mhz) for the lower Owon HDS models they are a much better instrument. But if you have a hard budget limit of <$100, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better overall portable scope+DMM for the price than the 703S, even at MSRP. Especially at the $72 I paid for it, for a 50Mhz scope, it is a very good deal -- that's only a few dollars more than what the 702S still sells far. With the 703S now at 5x the bandwidth, 6x the sample rate, plus a second channel for only $10-$15 more -- assuming they didn't break anything -- it's a great deal, actually.

[rsjsouza]

The ZT-703S indeed seems to be much better bargain than the ZT-702S. I wonder how they solved the mechanical trouble with the oscilloscope input. I have enough problems with the recessed BNC jack on my ZT-702S, as it is hard to twist any BNC connector to its jack to lock it. I can only wonder how it is with two channels. 

[ahakman]

I bought both a HDS2202S and the ZT703S, in case the ZT703S wasn't going to ship for a while - it will be interesting to compare them. Reading the forum threads on both of them (or the ZT702S), they both have some firmware issues / easy improvements that could be made.

I consider both of them "use it where you don't want to take the >$1000 Keysight scope - up a ladder, in the rain, when traveling, in the back of old greasy CNC machine control cabinets, etc etc.
There's just a lot of situations where you need more than a DMM, but don't want to risk a fancy expensive scope.

[Veteran68]

I bought both a HDS2202S and the ZT703S, in case the ZT703S wasn't going to ship for a while - it will be interesting to compare them. Reading the forum threads on both of them (or the ZT702S), they both have some firmware issues / easy improvements that could be made.

I consider both of them "use it where you don't want to take the >$1000 Keysight scope - up a ladder, in the rain, when traveling, in the back of old greasy CNC machine control cabinets, etc etc.
There's just a lot of situations where you need more than a DMM, but don't want to risk a fancy expensive scope.

As I pointed out above, the Owon HDS is in a differently class altogether from the Zoyi. It's like comparing Siglent to Hantek or FNIRSI. But that should also be evident from the price difference of 3-4x. Further to your point, I'll take the Zoyi where I wouldn't want to risk the Owon.

However for $70-$80, the Zoyi certainly performs well enough and definitely earns its place near the top of the "cheap" portable scope list. I expect were I to ever kill the 702S/703S, I'd be buying a replacement.

[tunk]

A couple of teardown pictures of the ZT-703S:
https://www-dt830-com.translate.goog/thread-8175-1-1.html?_x_tr_sch=http&_x_tr_sl=zh-CN&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

[Altair8800]

OK, I had a little trouble getting the pictures from the forum board tunk referred to, but eventually was able to get them.  I was curious how close or how different between models ZT-703S and the older ZT-702S.

There is blog site from a Kerry D Wong that goes into details what he could find on the ZT-702S
Source: http://www.kerrywong.com/2023/05/26/teardown-pictures-of-a-zotek-zoyi-zt-702s-handheld-oscilloscope/

I merge the picks to see a better side-by-side comparison what has changed.

[ddrl46]

Mine arrived a bit earlier than expected, attached are some higher resolution teardown photos.

Few things I noticed:
- It doesn't appear to be possible to disable the awful beep when switching functions
- Large amount of trigger jitter on non-repetitive waveforms, such as a calibration time-marker signal of 2us/div or higher.
- No mean voltage measurement function
- The bayonet of multiple BNC connectors I tried wasn't able to be rotated all the way into the locked position























High resolution images here: https://imgur.com/a/c2Oi1iY

[rsjsouza]

Mine arrived a bit earlier than expected, attached are some higher resolution teardown photos.

Thanks for sharing.

- It doesn't appear to be possible to disable the awful beep when switching functions

Common in Chinese meters. I dislike this as well.

- Large amount of trigger jitter on non-repetitive waveforms, such as a calibration time-marker signal of 2us/div or higher.

I wonder if the 702 does that as well.

- No mean voltage measurement function

This was also present in the 702 as well.

- The bayonet of multiple BNC connectors I tried wasn't able to be rotated all the way into the locked position

Too bad. Do the provided probes can be locked?

[ddrl46]

- The bayonet of multiple BNC connectors I tried wasn't able to be rotated all the way into the locked position

Too bad. Do the provided probes can be locked?

The supplied probes do sort of jam into place and do seem somewhat secure, however it doesn't appear that these lock properly either. It might be worth looking into longer BNC connectors to replace the supplied ones.

Here are some images of the unit displaying a 50 MHz sine wave. The unit is set to high-speed acquisition mode in order to maximize the sample rate. The signal appears quite unstable.


When decreasing the frequency slightly, in this case 46 MHz, the signal clears up quite a bit.

[rsjsouza]

A similar scenario, considering the paper bandwidth. My ZT702S (10MHz on paper) shows a very stable waveform at 1MHz, usable at 5MHz but at 10 it is quite jagged.

[ahakman]

Mine arrived a bit earlier than expected, attached are some higher resolution teardown photos.

Nice humble brag that shipping in and to the Netherlands is far superior than shipping in the US (color me NOT shocked!). Mine is still somewhere between here and Shenzen   

[Veteran68]

Mine arrived a bit earlier than expected, attached are some higher resolution teardown photos.

Mine is still somewhere between here and Shenzen   

If you ordered from the same AliExpress Snakol store as the rest of us, you should have tracking that shows you where it is. Mine was in-state yesterday and should arrive by tomorrow.

[kwass]

Got mine today, firmware version 1.0.9, so many bugs!

The multimeter functions well, is very accurate and seems bug free other than it switches back to Volts DC when you change from scope mode to DMM.  (The ZT-702 remembers the DMM settings.) It does not have a temperature measurement like the ZT-702 does but it have one interesting new feature -- you can set it to output a 115.2kb UART ASCII description of the currently displayed reading on the scope probe calibration lug!

The scope works well to 25Mhz at least, 50 Mhz is defiantly pushing it.  Cursors are now available and work ok but reset when you leave scope mode and come back in.  X-Y mode works but updates are painfully slow.  You can choose to show up to 4 measurements per channel from the list (VPP, Vmax, Vmin, RMS, Duty, Prd, Freq and Fcnt -- seems to be trigger counts).

The signal generator is just awful:  No amplitude setting, hard to change frequency, incredibly noisy, very limited range.  It outputs on the probe calibration lug but turns off the scope function when running.  You can output some of the signal generator options on the calibration lug when the scope is running using another menu option (Output Setting).  I have no idea why these are not combined.  On the positive side, the function generator is under a menu setting called "More Apps" along with and imgView app (let's you see screen shots you've saved).  Maybe there's more stuff to come.


Some of the bugs:

- Sometimes it gets into modes that limit the range of the time base, using the "default" setting option fixes this.
- I see crazy results for Fcnt and sometimes for Freq on measurements.
- Power on always goes into scope mode.
- Attempting to set the signal generator below 4Hz crashes the instrument!

I sure hope that they have new firmware in the works!

[ahakman]

If you ordered from the same AliExpress Snakol store as the rest of us, you should have tracking that shows you where it is. Mine was in-state yesterday and should arrive by tomorrow.

I did order from the Snakol store (it's the only store on Ali that seems to have it so far). I also ordered 3 other items on AliExpress the day prior that all arrived today, but the ZT703s still shows "Arrived at Linehaul office" on the same day as "departed from departure country / region" yesterday, so I'm not even sure it's on the boat yet... it must've slept in and missed the boat everyone else's meter got on.

[Veteran68]

Mine arrived yesterday as expected.

As noted by others, even though a recent FW update for the 702S remembers the last used mode (DMM or Scope), the 703S once again defaults to scope mode at powerup. Not a huge deal for me as this will be seldom used as a DMM considering how many others I have, but odd that they regressed the functionality in this newer model.

[ahakman]

I expect new firmware will be released at some point. If you read back a couple of pages, someone that is getting sent a "review unit" said they indicated they knew there were firmware bugs and will release new versions at some point.

I really wish they'd just make the firmware open source - all the bugs would be fixed, and every last ounce of additional features possible would be added before the 100th unit got delivered!

I bet the firmware is similar to, but not exactly the same as the ZT702S - the one guy looking after it hasn't yet ported the diffs from the 702 firmware to the 703 firmware and recompiled it...

[Altair8800]

For reference/comparison,

Ordered ZT-703S w/2 probes from "SNAKOL Official Store" on AliExpress on 25 Dec 2023, arrived in USA on 5 Jan 2024.

[Randy222]

I too ordered the 703S from snakol, it shipped fast and is already in the air. I expect to get it faster than the ali tracking info says.

[ahakman]

My ZT703S finally arrived today.

One bug I found is with the frequency measurement when in "High" Run Mode is not accurate. I set the signal generator to 5khz sine (the max it goes to??). With measurements turned on on CH1, in "Normal" Run Mode, it shows the measured frequency at 5kHz, but in "High" run mode, it shows the frequency as 8.75kHz

Measuring with the cursors gives incorrect readings as well. In "High" mode, one cycle of the waveform measures as 114.3uS (~8.748kHz), and in normal mode one cycle of the signal measures as 200uS (5kHz).

I don't have another oscilloscope here to verify the output of the frequency generator in High vs Normal mode - maybe the bug is with the frequency generator in high mode, not the oscilloscope, and the scope is actually measuring correctly?? I could easily check if I was at home, but don't exactly have a lot of test equipment available while on vacation! I'm sure someone else could check this and see where the bug lies.

Also for a scope that's supposed to go to 50Mhz, the minimum timebase is 100us/div?? In the photos above from ddrl46, they have it in 10ns/div - mine says it's at a limit at 100us/div?? Edited: Oh, I see now, if the function generator is on anything other than probe calibrator output (square wave 1kHz), the minimum timebase is limited to 100us/div, but if you put the function generator to square wave 1kHz, then the timebase can go down to 10ns/div - RTFM!!

Another bug is triggering doesn't work properly at 100ns/div. Trigger on the probe compensation signal, start at 10ns/div and go up...
10ns, 25ns, 50ns all trigger correctly, 100ns doesn't (trigger is somewhere off the left edge of the screen), 250ns, 500ns, 1us, etc etc all trigger correctly again.

Definitely some bugs in the first firmware!

On the multimeter side, the continuity beeper is latching and quite quick, and the resistance autoranging seems ok-ish (about 2S to range from OL to low ohms shorting the probes together). Both issues that I think people were complaining about on the ZT702.

Sort of a minor thing, but I skimmed the manual too, and was quite surprised that the English is actually pretty good - it was definitely edited by someone that's a native English speaker, or at least a very good English speaker. There's only one or 2 instances of some odd phrasing - not even bad enough to call them Chinglish.

They definitely put some effort into this thing!

[evmillan]

I’ve ordered the ZT-703S with 2 probes from "SNAKOL Official Store" on AliExpress on 27 Dec 2023, arrived to Spain on 5 Jan 2024.

[Altair8800]

My ZT703S finally arrived today.

One bug I found is with the frequency measurement when in "High" Run Mode is not accurate. I set the signal generator to 5khz sine (the max it goes to??). With measurements turned on on CH1, in "Normal" Run Mode, it shows the measured frequency at 5kHz, but in "High" run mode, it shows the frequency as 8.75kHz

Measuring with the cursors gives incorrect readings as well. In "High" mode, one cycle of the waveform measures as 114.3uS (~8.748kHz), and in normal mode one cycle of the signal measures as 200uS (5kHz).

I don't have another oscilloscope here to verify the output of the frequency generator in High vs Normal mode - maybe the bug is with the frequency generator in high mode, not the oscilloscope, and the scope is actually measuring correctly?? I could easily check if I was at home, but don't exactly have a lot of test equipment available while on vacation! I'm sure someone else could check this and see where the bug lies.

It might not be a bug (or a feature  ) it might just be the way the ZT-703S Oscilloscope works.  The manual on page 19 says the following...

=====
* Run Mode:
The oscilloscope is equipped with two operating modes:  Normal mode and High-Speed mode.  Enter the forth menu, press F3 to toggle between them.  Depending on the measurement signal, if the input signal is less than 30MHz, it is recommended to use Normal mode.  If the measurement signal frequency is higher than 30MHz, it is advisable to switch to High-Speed mode.

Normal Mode:  Maximum sampling rate 200MSa/s, Maximum measurement bandwidth 30MHz;  Lower power consumption, more power-efficient.

High-Speed Mode; Maximum sampling rate 280MSa/s, Maximum measurement bandwidth 50MHz, Higher power consumption.
=====

The manual kind of hints not to use High Speed Mode under 30MHz. 

Maybe they could reword it better to say something like
...it is recommended to use Normal mode to get more accurate results...

I assume there is some overlap like High-Speed Mode is accurate at say above 20MHz or 10MHz, but you tested at more than an order of magnitude lower at 8.75kHz so [I assume] it is just outside the range of accuracy for High-Speed Mode.

Note:  This is my first scope, I cannot test this hypothesis (maybe others).  I'm not a scope aficionado or expert...

[kwass]

In high speed mode, the cursors problem is caused because the scope changes the virtual, horizontal graticule without modifying the cursor positions.   I think that changing the graticule spacing is the bug here, why are they doing that?

High speed mode does indeed improve the waveform display accuracy at higher frequencies at the expense of a minor increase in current draw from the battery, but I found that it only adds about 20ma

[ahakman]

I have a feeling the bug is that in High mode, the firmware doesn't compensate for the higher sampling rate of the ADC, and then everything is wrong - the graticle, the cursors, and the measurements.

It's definitely not a "feature" - regardless of operating mode, a scope should never show the wrong frequency when displaying measurements.
As I said though, without another scope, I can't tell if the bug is in the function generator, or in the scope part, but it sounds like it's in the scope part. If I was at home, I'd be able to verify that in 30 seconds, both by measuring the output of the function generator, as well as feeding in a signal from an external function generator and verifying the measurement on another scope.

[Altair8800]

FYI:  The English Manual PDF for the ZT-703S Zoyi/Zotek Oscilloscope&DMM can be found here:

https://zotektools.com/products/zoyi-zt-703s/

Then scroll down and click "Download User Manual"

OR direct link from Dropbox here:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qm8vlwby6lqrolhy36m8r/ZT-703S-EN.pdf?rlkey=iaqfg4i1jcn2gumccvhv6msx7&dl=0


Whenever I get a new product I like to snag a PDF copy of the manual... Easier to find and easier to search...

[gtv]

I have a feeling the bug is that in High mode, the firmware doesn't compensate for the higher sampling rate of the ADC, and then everything is wrong - the graticle, the cursors, and the measurements.

It's definitely not a "feature" - regardless of operating mode, a scope should never show the wrong frequency when displaying measurements.
As I said though, without another scope, I can't tell if the bug is in the function generator, or in the scope part, but it sounds like it's in the scope part. If I was at home, I'd be able to verify that in 30 seconds, both by measuring the output of the function generator, as well as feeding in a signal from an external function generator and verifying the measurement on another scope.

I received my Zoyi 703s yesterday. And I checked the high-speed mode of the Zoyi with the generator of my Hantek2D72. At 5kHz and 2.5 volts. Zoyi displays the same thing in both modes: 5.2kHz. This leads to the conclusion that the fault lies in the Zoyi's generator. But it took me a lot longer than 30 seconds, I had to search and unpack my Hantek first  Maybe someone can check this additionally?

[gtv]

Ahakman: Another bug is triggering doesn't work properly at 100ns/div. Trigger on the probe compensation signal, start at 10ns/div and go up...
10ns, 25ns, 50ns all trigger correctly, 100ns doesn't (trigger is somewhere off the left edge of the screen), 250ns, 500ns, 1us, etc etc all trigger correctly again.

I tried that too, but didn't notice any problems at 100ns. Also tried with 1kHz probe compensation. But what I noticed is that when the autotrigger is triggered with DC input, the amplitude of the square wave signal goes above the screen. Below the center line the signal is displayed correctly. If you set the input to AC, it triggers correctly.

[winkot]

The ZT-702S oscilloscope does not show the end of charging on the display. The battery icon does not change. How to determine that charging has ended?

[Randy222]

The ZT-702S oscilloscope does not show the end of charging on the display. The battery icon does not change. How to determine that charging has ended?

Buy a 703S ? 

Crappy firmware.

My 703S should arrive tomorrow, so I get to try it then.

[winkot]

Buy a 703S ?

With even more crooked firmware? 

[ahakman]

Ahakman: Another bug is triggering doesn't work properly at 100ns/div. Trigger on the probe compensation signal, start at 10ns/div and go up...
10ns, 25ns, 50ns all trigger correctly, 100ns doesn't (trigger is somewhere off the left edge of the screen), 250ns, 500ns, 1us, etc etc all trigger correctly again.

I tried that too, but didn't notice any problems at 100ns. Also tried with 1kHz probe compensation. But what I noticed is that when the autotrigger is triggered with DC input, the amplitude of the square wave signal goes above the screen. Below the center line the signal is displayed correctly. If you set the input to AC, it triggers correctly.

I wasn't in auto trigger - I had manually set a trigger level, and then stepped through the timebase settings, and it doesn't trigger correctly at 100ns/div at all (or at least the trigger point is way off the screen somewhere).
I just took screenshots at a bunch of time bases, and interestingly, the screenshot at 100ns/div is also corrupted in a weird way.

You can see at all other timebases, the edge is in the middle of the display where it should be, but at 100ns/div, the edge is somewhere off the screen entirely.

There's definitely a bug there.

[ahakman]

The ZT-702S oscilloscope does not show the end of charging on the display. The battery icon does not change. How to determine that charging has ended?

On the ZT-703S, the icon flashes between the charging icon and the full battery icon when it's full.

Maybe that indicates it's intermittently charging the battery even though it's full - probably not good for the battery.
I wouldn't leave it plugged in for long times when the battery is full if it's continually trying to charge it "a little more".

[gtv]

I also have the 100ns error in manual trigger mode. Thanks Ahakman, great series of pictures, I get the same results. In high speed mode the following result occurs, a flickering correct result....

[Randy222]

Related to the charging part.
I got my 703S

Icon in screen is like already said, when on charger the icon toggles between charge icon and batt level icon.
However, in the manual it says the lighted power button will go dark when it's done charging. My batt icon shows the full 4 bars ("full") but power button is still red. Will let it charge for a bit to see what happens.

Given today's cots IC's for batt charging & management, I suspect the batt can't overcharge, but perhaps the logic implemented for icon and light is not 100%.

Update: the longer I leave it on charger the more the power buttons starts to flicker. Initially a very faint flicker, but 30min later the flicker is more obvious. My guess, bad implentation of a comparator, or the full-charge threshold is set wrong.

Is there a hidden menu to see current firmware version?
 

[ahakman]

I wouldn't say it's "hidden", other than that horizontally scrolling the menu wasn't obvious to me initially either until I glanced at the manual

Press "menu", press "right" 3 times, version is the right most entry.
If you press F4 (the soft key under version), I get
Serial Num:
xxxxxxxx
Boot:
V1.0.13
APP:
V1.0.9

[Randy222]

My 703 says:
boot v1.0.14
app v1.1.0

My 703 boots to either Meter volts, or Scope. Whichever side was used last is what it boots to.

It does have the 100ns issue like all the others.
And if I change freq outside of 1kHz the unit won't allow me to even go down to 100ns.

[Randy222]

Did Zoyi advertise the 703 as also a 50Mhz generator.
In the more-apps area there;s the Gen app, but seems I can only get around 325kHz.

There's definitely some odd bugs in my 703. After making some manual changes on scope settings, like signal type from the side port, I simply go back and hit AUTO. With the std 1kHz sq. wave the AUTO appears to step through some time divisions and then settles on one. But sometimes the whole scope part seems to crash / lockup, I then have to power off - on.

[Altair8800]

With the ZT-703S it seems like one of the differences between the older 702S model is that the 702S has a thermocoupler function.  In the newer 703S this function no longer exist but they add in its place a new function called UART in Multimeter Mode.  This is in Multimeter Mode you click the MENU button and it will then display (Language, Auto Off, Bk Light, Uart). 

UART if you switch it to ON is supposed to display Multimeter readings through the COMM port.

Has anybody got this to work, and can you please explain how you were able to do it?

I tried a few times but couldn't get this to work on my Windows computer (it will not recognize or show the Comm port)

[ahakman]

Are you connecting the signal generator output to a usb to serial adapter (or a real serial port)? It's not through the USB port, it's through the signal generator port.

I don't have a TTL USB to Serial adapter here to try it with, but if I measure that port in multimeter mode on AC voltage, I can see a slight increase in AC voltage when I turn the UART function on, and it goes back to zero when I turn UART off.

Yes, it's dumb they didn't do it through a built in usb-serial adapter.

[Altair8800]

Thanks ahakman,

That explains some of the puzzle.

Yes, I was kind of expecting that when you plug the 703S via a USB cable it would show up on the Windows computer with a newly assigned COM port, similar to when you connect and Arduino or ESP32 device.

So I sacrifice an old USB cable and stripped it and connected the 2 USB data wires to the Multimeter Signal Generator Output Port.  Having UART=ON, when I plug into the male end of the USB cable to Windows machine, it does not show as a COM port in Device Manager.  But I did hear Device Manager give a Ding, like it recognized something (I could not easily find the change).

Things didn't work, its late, will try another day...


PS1:  I have visions I might have to use old 9 pin RS-232 cable and hook up to old WinXP computer (that has the old serial ports)...  Or maybe I can use a Serial Port to USB port cable...  Please "Say it isn't so, Joe"

PS2:  In Windows Device Manager if you do not see COM Ports, you might have to click View Menu > Show hidden devices.

[winkot]

Could you take screenshots of the meander with a frequency of 1 MHz and higher?

[winkot]

My batt icon shows the full 4 bars ("full") but power button is still red.

What did batt icon and power button show next?

[wasedadoc]

Thanks ahakman,

That explains some of the puzzle.

Yes, I was kind of expecting that when you plug the 703S via a USB cable it would show up on the Windows computer with a newly assigned COM port, similar to when you connect and Arduino or ESP32 device.

So I sacrifice an old USB cable and stripped it and connected the 2 USB data wires to the Multimeter Signal Generator Output Port.  Having UART=ON, when I plug into the male end of the USB cable to Windows machine, it does not show as a COM port in Device Manager.  But I did hear Device Manager give a Ding, like it recognized something (I could not easily find the change).

Things didn't work, its late, will try another day...


PS1:  I have visions I might have to use old 9 pin RS-232 cable and hook up to old WinXP computer (that has the old serial ports)...  Or maybe I can use a Serial Port to USB port cable...  Please "Say it isn't so, Joe"

PS2:  In Windows Device Manager if you do not see COM Ports, you might have to click View Menu > Show hidden devices.

I do not have a 703 but my understanding is that it will output serial UART data at 3.3 or 5 Volts. That cannot be connected directly to a USB port. It might work if connected to the RxD pin of a PC 9 pin serial port. If the PC has only USB ports you will need a "USB  to TTL" type interface.

[ahakman]

PS1:  I have visions I might have to use old 9 pin RS-232 cable and hook up to old WinXP computer (that has the old serial ports)...  Or maybe I can use a Serial Port to USB port cable...  Please "Say it isn't so, Joe"

Yes, you need to use a TTL RS232 to USB adapter if your computer doesn't have native serial ports. The meter will be outputting raw TTL RS232 - you can't connect that directly to a USB cable - they're not the same protocol at all.
It needs to go.

meter --> ttl rs232 to usb adapter -> usb port on computer

Even if you have native serial ports, you'd probably need a level shifter - I'm guessing the meter is outputting 3.3V signals, and a real serial port is expecting +/- 12V. Maybe some modern serial ports work directly with TTL, but even if so, 3.3V might be too low for reliable communication.

[rsjsouza]

The ZT-702S oscilloscope does not show the end of charging on the display. The battery icon does not change. How to determine that charging has ended?

While charging, the On/Off button of my ZT-702S glows red. When the DMM is fully charged, the button simply powers off. The battery indicator shows as fully charged. 

[winkot]

When the DMM is fully charged

How long does it take to fully charge?

[rsjsouza]

When the DMM is fully charged

How long does it take to fully charge?

Unfortunately I rarely let it go to 0%, thus I don't remember the time for a complete charge.

Today it took about 1/2 hour to charge it from about three bars to full.

[kwass]

Yes, you need to use a TTL RS232 to USB adapter if your computer doesn't have native serial ports. The meter will be outputting raw TTL RS232 - you can't connect that directly to a USB cable - they're not the same protocol at all.
It needs to go.

meter --> ttl rs232 to usb adapter -> usb port on computer

Even if you have native serial ports, you'd probably need a level shifter - I'm guessing the meter is outputting 3.3V signals, and a real serial port is expecting +/- 12V. Maybe some modern serial ports work directly with TTL, but even if so, 3.3V might be too low for reliable communication.

Yes, a TTL RS232 to USB adapter works just fine.  The meter outputs a 3.0 volt signal as you can see from the scope capture.

Here's are some sample output lines,  note that there is no <CR> nor <LF> marking the line ends this is my edit.  The meter sends about 3 lines per second so the delay between records can be used as a break.  Also, the output doesn't specify AC or DC, this seems to be an oversight.  Finally current is called "electricity"!

Code: [Select]

Voltage:-23.211 mV
Voltage:0.0003 V
Resistance:0.L KOM
Resistance:002.15 OM
beep:. OM
beep:000.04 OM
Diode:. V
Diode:00.001 V
Electricity:0.0000 A


[winkot]

What does it mean Coupling?

[Altair8800]

Yes, a TTL RS232 to USB adapter works just fine.  The meter outputs a 3.0 volt signal as you can see from the scope capture.

Here's are some sample output lines,  note that there is no <CR> nor <LF> marking the line ends this is my edit.  The meter sends about 3 lines per second so the delay between records can be used as a break.  Also, the output doesn't specify AC or DC, this seems to be an oversight.  Finally current is called "electricity"!

Katie/KWASS:

Could you please tell what exact Baud settings you used?
Baud Rate:  115200
Data bits: ??[5, 6, 7, or 8]
Parity: ?? [even, odd, none, mark, space]
Stop bits: ??[1, 1.5, or 2]
Flow control: ??[hardware, software, none, Xon / Xoff]
Handshaking: ??[none, XON/XOFF, RTS/CTS, DSR/DTR]
Language:  ??[ASCII, utf-8, other]
Delay:  ??[some serial communication programs have this...]

I know that standard setting is Parity=N, Data bits=8, Stop bit=1, Flow control=None, but not sure with this company Zoyi since no exact documentation. I'm not sure they even used standard settings...

I was able to use a USB to TTL RS232 9-pin adaptor, but in the serial output programs I use the message is always garbled.  So some setting(s) is(are) wrong.

[ahakman]

I don't think I've ever seen a TTL usb to serial adapter have a 9 pin connector on them. Usually they have loose wires (flying leads), or raw solder pads that you solder your own wires to. Having a 9pin connector typically means it's a full RS232 voltage adapter, and NOT TTL.

You're probably getting garbled communications because 3V is not enough to reliably signal the USB to Serial adapter you have because it's not actually a TTL level adapter.

The settings will be 115200, 8, N, 1
No flow control
No handshaking
ASCII
and no delay (character delay is usually only for transmission - it introduces a slight delay between characters - it does nothing for reception)

[kwass]

I don't think I've ever seen a TTL usb to serial adapter have a 9 pin connector on them. Usually they have loose wires (flying leads), or raw solder pads that you solder your own wires to. Having a 9pin connector typically means it's a full RS232 voltage adapter, and NOT TTL.

You're probably getting garbled communications because 3V is not enough to reliably signal the USB to Serial adapter you have because it's not actually a TTL level adapter.

The settings will be 115200, 8, N, 1
No flow control
No handshaking
ASCII
and no delay (character delay is usually only for transmission - it introduces a slight delay between characters - it does nothing for reception)

That's exactly what I used for settings.  For hardware, I used something like this from Amazon.  It only has RX, TX and GND so there's no way to mess up the handshaking options! https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

[naiclub]

I just purchased it last year.

[wasedadoc]

Yes, a TTL RS232 to USB adapter works just fine.  The meter outputs a 3.0 volt signal as you can see from the scope capture.

Here's are some sample output lines,  note that there is no <CR> nor <LF> marking the line ends this is my edit.  The meter sends about 3 lines per second so the delay between records can be used as a break.  Also, the output doesn't specify AC or DC, this seems to be an oversight.  Finally current is called "electricity"!

Katie/KWASS:

Could you please tell what exact Baud settings you used?
Baud Rate:  115200
Data bits: ??[5, 6, 7, or 8]
Parity: ?? [even, odd, none, mark, space]
Stop bits: ??[1, 1.5, or 2]
Flow control: ??[hardware, software, none, Xon / Xoff]
Handshaking: ??[none, XON/XOFF, RTS/CTS, DSR/DTR]
Language:  ??[ASCII, utf-8, other]
Delay:  ??[some serial communication programs have this...]

I know that standard setting is Parity=N, Data bits=8, Stop bit=1, Flow control=None, but not sure with this company Zoyi since no exact documentation. I'm not sure they even used standard settings...

I was able to use a USB to TTL RS232 9-pin adaptor, but in the serial output programs I use the message is always garbled.  So some setting(s) is(are) wrong.

If your adaptor has a 9 pin plug to fit a 9 pin SER socket on a PC, connecting that to the Zoyi will never work.  For "TTL serial" a logical 1 is signalled by positive voltage and a 0 by zero (or close to zero) voltage. But true RS232 is different. A 1 is negative voltage and a 0 by positive voltage. That is why RS232 interface chips '188 and '189 are inverting.

[Randy222]

Too bad it's not a dfu device using STM chipset, the STM driver is a simple USB to virtual COM.

[Randy222]

I don't think I've ever seen a TTL usb to serial adapter have a 9 pin connector on them. Usually they have loose wires (flying leads), or raw solder pads that you solder your own wires to. Having a 9pin connector typically means it's a full RS232 voltage adapter, and NOT TTL.

You're probably getting garbled communications because 3V is not enough to reliably signal the USB to Serial adapter you have because it's not actually a TTL level adapter.

The settings will be 115200, 8, N, 1
No flow control
No handshaking
ASCII
and no delay (character delay is usually only for transmission - it introduces a slight delay between characters - it does nothing for reception)

That's exactly what I used for settings.  For hardware, I used something like this from Amazon.  It only has RX, TX and GND so there's no way to mess up the handshaking options! https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

Did you cut off the 1/8" end and wire it to a USB-C male end? My 703 only has USB-C
Is there a 1/8" female to USB-C adapter made for just the serial lines?

[Veteran68]

Did you cut off the 1/8" end and wire it to a USB-C male end? My 703 only has USB-C
Is there a 1/8" female to USB-C adapter made for just the serial lines?

As noted earlier in this thread, the 703's UART communication occurs over the signal generator output. Not the USB-C port.

[Randy222]

Did you cut off the 1/8" end and wire it to a USB-C male end? My 703 only has USB-C
Is there a 1/8" female to USB-C adapter made for just the serial lines?

As noted earlier in this thread, the 703's UART communication occurs over the signal generator output. Not the USB-C port.

What port / jack is the "generator output" port?
My 703 has one usb-c, and two BNC's at the top.

[guyincog]

What port / jack is the "generator output" port?
My 703 has one usb-c, and two BNC's at the top.

They use the probe compensation loops next to the USB-C port

[Randy222]

What port / jack is the "generator output" port?
My 703 has one usb-c, and two BNC's at the top.

They use the probe compensation loops next to the USB-C port

Lug gnd is tx- and signal lug is tx+ ?
So you just alligator clip it for serial data? That's an odd way to make a serial connection. Adding 1/8 phono would have been easy.

Is it the same lugs for Generator too? Or is one of BNC's the Generator?

My 703 Signal Generator stops at 344kHz.

Also, a slight bug. When exiting Signal Generator, it exits back to Scope default mode, not where the settings were, and, it knocks backlight down to 30%.

[kwass]

That's exactly what I used for settings.  For hardware, I used something like this from Amazon.  It only has RX, TX and GND so there's no way to mess up the handshaking options! https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

Did you cut off the 1/8" end and wire it to a USB-C male end? My 703 only has USB-C
Is there a 1/8" female to USB-C adapter made for just the serial lines?

Not to the USB-C port.  The serial output is on the probe calibration lug and the ground next to it.  Very strange, but the serial data output seems to be just a throw-away idea.  There's much wrong with the way they implemented this, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

[Veteran68]

Lug gnd is tx- and signal lug is tx+ ?
So you just alligator clip it for serial data? That's an odd way to make a serial connection. Adding 1/8 phono would have been easy.

Is it the same lugs for Generator too? Or is one of BNC's the Generator?

Yes, same lugs. Connect the TTL GND line to the GND (small) lug, and the RX line to the signal output (big) lug. Set your PC terminal to 115200/8/N/1. When UART mode is on the meter sends continuously.

It's crude, but it works.

[Randy222]

Lug gnd is tx- and signal lug is tx+ ?
So you just alligator clip it for serial data? That's an odd way to make a serial connection. Adding 1/8 phono would have been easy.

Is it the same lugs for Generator too? Or is one of BNC's the Generator?

Yes, same lugs. Connect the TTL GND line to the GND (small) lug, and the RX line to the signal output (big) lug. Set your PC terminal to 115200/8/N/1. When UART mode is on the meter sends continuously.

It's crude, but it works.

But the TTL interface is needed, right?
Posted earlier --> https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

So with that adapter, we need some type of clip-on to 1/8 female to make it usable. A clip-on that slips on over the lugs, makes contact and retains connection.
Spring loaded pcb with pads, in a 3D printed case ?

Printed a concept connector. Slip boxes basically (one fits in the other). One side plugs into the lugs, the other side accepts 1/8" plug. Obviously would need to be bigger, and will need to house the connections.

Anyone interested in such?

[kwass]

Lug gnd is tx- and signal lug is tx+ ?
So you just alligator clip it for serial data? That's an odd way to make a serial connection. Adding 1/8 phono would have been easy.

Is it the same lugs for Generator too? Or is one of BNC's the Generator?

Yes, same lugs. Connect the TTL GND line to the GND (small) lug, and the RX line to the signal output (big) lug. Set your PC terminal to 115200/8/N/1. When UART mode is on the meter sends continuously.

It's crude, but it works.

But the TTL interface is needed, right?
Posted earlier --> https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

So with that adapter, we need some type of clip-on to 1/8 female to make it usable. A clip-on that slips on over the lugs, makes contact and retains connection.
Spring loaded pcb with pads, in a 3D printed case ?

Just cut off the 3.5mm plug and solder some alligator/crocodile clips to the leads.  They work well with these lugs.

[Veteran68]

But the TTL interface is needed, right?
Posted earlier --> https://www.amazon.com/DSD-TECH-3-5mm-Cable-Interface/dp/B07XXVF4RM

So with that adapter, we need some type of clip-on to 1/8 female to make it usable. A clip-on that slips on over the lugs, makes contact and retains connection.

My USB to UART cable does not terminate in a 3.5mm plug, it terminates in female Dupont connectors, handy for fitting to header pins. Like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014GZTCC6

For the 703S I used a pair of breadboard Dupont wires in between and just wedged the pins into the generator lug holes to test the UART feature. If I were actually doing some logging with it I'd fasten it with crocodile clips or some other fixed attachment.

If you have the 3.5mm version, then yeah you either cut off the plug and use the bare wires (or attach clips or pins or whatever). Or if you want to keep it intact, rig a female 3.5mm jack to bare wires to mate with it.

It's unlikely I'd use the 703S for logging or remote display, I was just testing out the feature since some were asking and I had a TTL cable handy. All of my bench DMMs and scopes have LXI (ethernet) connections, and for handhelds I have a couple of more serious DMMs plus an Owon HDS2202S scope with USB interfaces that I'd use before this one.

[Randy222]

I suspected low interest in such connector. I'll drum up something from spare parts, just to have as a data cable for the 703. Perhaps a good additional to have when it comes time to sell off the unit. 

[Altair8800]

It looks like the learnelectronics YouTube channel is the first to give a review of the ZT-703S DMM/Oscilloscope.

[naiclub]

It looks like the learnelectronics YouTube channel is the first to give a review of the ZT-703S DMM/Oscilloscope.

Does the 703S have X,Y mode?

[RAPo]

Yes it has x-y but it seems to be slow.
Zoyi has now the official release
https://youtu.be/7oOIPuvy2qU?si=wwuMHl1cxUcE-zXd

I've ordered a 703S in their shop.

[naiclub]

Yes it has x-y but it seems to be slow.
Zoyi has now the official release
https://youtu.be/7oOIPuvy2qU?si=wwuMHl1cxUcE-zXd

I've ordered a 703S in their shop.

Is this mode right?

[naiclub]

From my experience using the SOYI 702s, the ohm measurement in the circuit is worse than the Uni-T 61X. The measurement is not very accurate and the result display is very slow. I think if I had the money I would probably move to the Owon-HDS242S which is very accurate. Plus it shows results quickly.

[Aldo22]

It looks like the learnelectronics YouTube channel is the first to give a review of the ZT-703S DMM/Oscilloscope.

These Youtube testers are a strange lot!   
I really don't know much about measuring equipment, but the first thing you get told when you buy a new oscilloscope is:
"Calibrate the probes" and the second thing you get told is "don't measure above 5/6MHz with a 1x probe".
"learnelectronics" has 160,000 subscribers and he does exactly that!

Then he wonders why the amplitude drops at 10MHz
He then says that he doesn't believe it can do 50MHz.
Why "believe" and not measure?

Also, what does a 500KHz sine test mean with a 50MHz oscilloscope?
Have I misunderstood something? I am not a native English speaker.

[Veteran68]

These Youtube testers are a strange lot!   
I really don't know much about measuring equipment, but the first thing you get told when you buy a new oscilloscope is:
Calibrate the probes and the second thing you get told is don't measure above 5/6MHz with a 1x probe.
"learnelectronics" has 160,000 subscribers and he does exactly that!

I've watched Richard for awhile. I like him but he is an odd fellow, and while he has considerable theoretical knowledge of fundamentals and an easy way of explaining things in a way that beginners & hobbyists can understand, he's awkward as hell when it comes to physically using/doing things. Be it soldering, using a hot air station, test equipment, probing, etc. He tilts me every time he grabs his hot air nozzle and starts waving it around, taking a minute and a half to desolder something. Or when he probes with his beat up Fluke 77 and can't seem to keep the probe tips in place while also pressing so hard his hands shake. I cringe when I watch him sometimes.

That said, his graph paper drawings and video series "All You Need to Know about XXX to Fix Stuff" are his best work, IMO, if you're a hobbyist trying to gain some practical theory quickly. It's just his hands-on work that gives me fits.

EDIT: My mistake, I misread the channel as "learnelectronicsrepair" which is Richards channel. "learnelectronics" is a different channel entirely. I've actually been a long-time subscriber to both.

[Altair8800]

@ Veteran68 et al.

I find the computing and electronics fields to be the most peer teaching fields out there.  This is easy to teach others and tons of free (and not so free) resources out there (instructor videos, blogs, books, websites, forum boards, etc.).  Because a lot of people are self-taught (and even if they learn formally get a Comp Sci or EE degree they still learn a lot more on own after formal training...), therefore people tend to be experts in some specific areas while being maybe lacking (or not as strong suit) in others.   

I'm under the assumption Richard/learnelectronics guy started out in electronics from the USA Navy.  So likely learned a lot on his own afterwards...  He is likely popular because he knows more than first time electronics people and willing to share what he knows...

I'm looking forward on other ZT-703S reviews from other YouTubers...  Especially on it's capabilities/limitations and a few Tips or Tricks...

[Aldo22]

Richard/learnelectronics writes that there is something wrong with his heart:

"Yes, I know my hands are large/fat. It's because of a heart condition I suffer from called Congestive Heart Failure. (...)
One of the symptoms is that it causes fluid retention, mostly in the hands, feet/ankles, and face.."

That explains his physical problems, but not the 1x probe.

[idolclub]

ZT-703s Firmware v1.2.7 ~ 2024.01.15

[kwass]

Where did you get this from?  Is there a change log?

[Randy222]

That Richard Paul vid is just a preview of the meter.
Does not appear to be a full test/compare vid.
Yeah, he perhaps missed a few things to highlight or look at, but it did not appear to me to be anything more than a quick setup and push the buttons.

[Veteran68]

My apologies, I read "learnelectronics" as "learnelectronicsrepair." Richard from learnelectronicsrepair is the guy I was referring to.

I've actually subscribed to both for awhile now. They're similar size channels in terms of subscribers, although learnelectronics has been at it longer and has about 3x as many videos.

Yes,

Richard/learnelectronics writes that there is something wrong with his heart:

"Yes, I know my hands are large/fat. It's because of a heart condition I suffer from called Congestive Heart Failure. (...)
One of the symptoms is that it causes fluid retention, mostly in the hands, feet/ankles, and face.."

That explains his physical problems, but not the 1x probe.

Yes he did get his start in the US Navy, and unfortunately suffers from CHF. And even so, I don't find him as physically awkward as Richard from learningelectronicsrepair when it comes to being hands-on. As I mentioned, Richard excels at lecturing and diagramming the theory and fundamentals, while learnelectronics (I can't recall his name) is better at the hands-on aspects. Both are good channels in their own way.

[Aldo22]

..., while learnelectronics (I can't recall his name)...

I think his name is Paul, as some people in the comments thanked "Paul" for the video.

[Veteran68]

..., while learnelectronics (I can't recall his name)...

I think his name is Paul, as some people in the comments thanked "Paul" for the video.

Yes, now that you mention it, I do recall his name being Paul.

[Randy222]

Anyone know the cpu/architecture these 702/703's are built on?

[Altair8800]

Where did you get this from?  Is there a change log?

Katie/kwass et al.,  I started a nice post explaining on how to get the updated ZT-703S firmware upgrade, but thought better to install on mine first, but when I did I got the following error message.



I'm trying to contact Zotek (maybe a few hours they will start work) to try and let them know there is an issue, figure out what this exactly mean, and if they can solve it...

In the meanwhile, here is what I was going to originally post...  Maybe you have better luck than me...?

=====

Where did you get this from?  Is there a change log?

@ Katie et al.,

If you go to Zoyi's website here:
https://zotektools.com/products/zoyi-zt-703s/

Click "Up Date the File" button/link

Then click  "Update the file" button/link

It will take you to a Google Drive and if you click Download it will give you a file called something like:
ZOYI-703S-FW-V127(1).ZTK

I assume the *.ZTK extension is Zoyi's DMM firmware update extension.

To see how to update the firmware there is a YouTube video on how here (with older sister DMM 702S, assume same way to do firmware update)

Nutshell steps (at least for Windows, correct me if I'm wrong)
Turn off ZT-703S
Plug in USB-C cable from PC to ZT-703S
Press F1 and then Power (might have to hold)
On Windows computer should create a new Drive something like RAM E: (note drive letter might be different on your particular computer)
If you go to this new RAM Drive letter it should show a folder called "firmware"
Place the above file *.ZTK inside the "firmware" folder
On the ZT-703S it should show progression bar and "upgrading, do not power off"
=====

[Veteran68]

Same issue. The firmware file is 626K and there's only 592K of 608K total available.

The 702S firmware update was only 364K. Sounds like someone forgot to add a bit more flash memory to account for the 703S firmware size. Or else forgot to strip symbols or something from this build.

[Randy222]

No issue here upgrading 703 to v127

702 latest appears to be v58, about half size of the 703 v127

But, no need to power up holding buttons.

Turn on 703
cable to PC
goto scope mode, menu, scroll to USB, select it
dump the ZTK into the "firmware" folder, it will then update with progress bar and then reboot

For the mem issue 703's, do you have any data or pic files in any of the folders?

[Veteran68]

No, there is nothing in the flash drive other than an empty firmware folder and the hidden system folder that Windows always adds. Besides that, the total folder capacity isn't big enough to contain the firmware update file. It's only 608K total, with 592K free. The firmware file is 626K.




How big is the RAM volume on your 703S?

[Altair8800]

@Veteran68 and everybody else...

Randy222 gave me a clue...

Do this FORMAT the device (this will clear out images)...



Then in the oscilloscope Menu system go to USB and click the F3 button to Enter it...

Then Drag and Drop (copy) the ZOYI-703S-FW-V127(1).ZTK to the FIRMWARE folder




ZT-703S "should" say upgrading do not power off... 

Voila... It should be upgraded...

Note1:  When I first tried upgrading firmware (which failed) it said RAM and then the newly assigned Drive Letter for the ZT-703S.  This time after doing FORMAT it says FLASH and the newly assigned drive letter and gave more folders (Application, data, log, pic) in addition to firmware and System Volume Information folders.

Note2:  I wish Zotek people would have a Change Log or History (of what changes they made) so we do not have to guess...

Note3:  I also wish Zotek had it where you can go back older version (in case something goes wrong).

[Altair8800]

Same issue. The firmware file is 626K and there's only 592K of 608K total available.

The 702S firmware update was only 364K. Sounds like someone forgot to add a bit more flash memory to account for the 703S firmware size. Or else forgot to strip symbols or something from this build.

Addendum: After you go to Oscilloscope Mode, then press MENU and do a FORMAT of the ZT-703S, and then go to USB mode, in Windows File Explorer it will show something like FLASH E:\ and if you click properties, it will show unit memory has 16 MB.



Note:  Again, your drive letter might be different (like D:\ or F:\ or other) because likely windows auto assign next available free drive letter and your computer might be differently partitioned than mine)

[kwass]

Note2:  I wish Zotek people would have a Change Log or History (of what changes they made) so we do not have to guess...

Take a look here: https://www-dt830-com.translate.goog/thread-8262-1-1.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_sch=http

Change Log for the prior version but not this latest one.  There's a bunch of info about all the Zoyi products on this forum if you more up a level or two.

[Randy222]

I did no formatting, my 703 is out-of-box, less the v127 I just installed.

My win10 shows 703 flash drive as "14.393MB capacity". I will assume the 703 has a 16MB ram/rom chip.
With v127 installed flash drive shows just north of 10MB as free, and just north of 3MB as used.

[Veteran68]

This is all very interesting. I wonder why some of ours show such a small 600K "RAM" volume when the apparent capacity should be ~16MB. As I said, and as you can see from my screenshots, other than some hidden 16K filesystem overhead there's nothing in mine.

When I get home today I'll try to format approach and see what happens. Odd that it doesn't come formatted out of the box, yet has the firmware folder in place like it's been prepared to received fw updates.

[Altair8800]

I did no formatting, my 703 is out-of-box, less the v127 I just installed.

My win10 shows 703 flash drive as "14.393MB capacity". I will assume the 703 has a 16MB ram/rom chip.
With v127 installed flash drive shows just north of 10MB as free, and just north of 3MB as used.

My hunch is that maybe you (Randy222) upgraded the firmware right away therefore you had no problem.  Whereas Veteran68 and I maybe saved a few waveforms testing out the device.  Because of this maybe this altered things and/or even though we deleted the waveform pics that they still took up some space or cache (not 100% certain on this).  Anyway seems like if you do a FORMAT this clears out everything which then give you room to do the firmware install...

@Katie/kwass
That Chinese forum board DT830 link is actually referring to the new 703S.  Seems like they are actively and quickly trying to find bugs and fix them as soon as possible.

One thing to note with the Ver 1.27 firmware upgrade, it seems to fix the problem in which if you were in MultiMeter Mode and you turn off the unit it will likely default to Oscilloscope Mode.  Now whatever Mode you were in when you turned off the machine (or assume auto-off) that when you restart it will go to the last mode you were in (which is the way it should be)...

[Veteran68]

My hunch is that maybe you (Randy222) upgraded the firmware right away therefore you had no problem.  Whereas Veteran68 and I maybe saved a few waveforms testing out the device.

Not the case for me. I'd saved nothing, ever. In fact since I got it I've done little beyond turn it on, and test the UART function as discussed before. I have a 702S already so was familiar already with the function, and hadn't had a use for this one yet (I collect far more than I use, I have somewhere around 35-40 handheld DMMs/scopes).

It's telling that our out-of-box experience is one where the volume is labeled "RAM", contains just a firmware folder, and is only 608K in capacity. Whereas post-format it's labeled FLASH, has multiple folders, and is 16MB in size. So either Randy's left the factory later and was formatted properly (possible, as mine was a preorder and may have been an early unit), or he'd already formatted it, perhaps not realizing or remembering. Curious to hear from others as to how theirs is formatted out of the box.

One thing to note with the Ver 1.27 firmware upgrade, it seems to fix the problem in which if you were in MultiMeter Mode and you turn off the unit it will likely default to Oscilloscope Mode.  Now whatever Mode you were in when you turned off the machine (or assume auto-off) that when you restart it will go to the last mode you were in (which is the way it should be)...

Yes this was the main update with the last 702S firmware update. I noted earlier that I was surprised that the default had regressed in the 703S. I expect that the 703S and its delivered firmware were already in development/being finalized when the 702S update occurred, and they didn't merge their code before the 703S release.

[Randy222]

v127 for 703 is very bad

I went into scope with prob set 10x ch1, changed freq to 1kHz sine 1v, back to scope and hit AUTO, it combed a few time scales to 100ms, then the unit seemed to freeze/crash and screen shut off to black, but 703 is still powered on! I press power button and flat line ch1 appears, then some just seconds later screen goes black again (Auto Off setting is set to OFF, I don't see any sleep or screen timer). Screen goes dark every 30sec.
(sine wave with DC coupling seems to be the culprit for AUTO with "crash", switch it to AC coupling and AUTO seems to be "ok")

1v on 10x probe config should not be hard for 702/703 to display, but weird stuff.
Also, using square wave, no longer can set freq or v or duty cycle. It's now just 1kHz 50%.

Measuring 1v sine, is off. 1v set, vpp says 860.0mv, or, the actual setting of 1v for the signal is off, not sure which.
Depending on volt scale chosen, the vpp measure changes, anywhere from 850mv all the way to 1.5v !

Set freq out sine 5kHz 1v (arbitrary setting), hit AUTO, then go into menu and cycle the Trigger Mode from Auto to Manual to Single and back to Auto, on the last back to Auto, scope sticks in STOP mode.
Scope will not allow you to turn off both channels at the same time.

I try the Calibrate menu item (open ports), it displays "Under Calibration" and then 5sec later a "Check Failure" notice (assume to mean claibrate failed). Where is the fail notice? It did not write any user accessible file into any folder when in USB mode.

Something not right with v127.

Timescale issue at 100ns seems to be fixed, I can tune all the way down to 10ns with the square wave.
Note: the F1 + power on is the same things as turning on USB from scope menu.

[kwass]

One thing to note with the Ver 1.27 firmware upgrade, it seems to fix the problem in which if you were in MultiMeter Mode and you turn off the unit it will likely default to Oscilloscope Mode.  Now whatever Mode you were in when you turned off the machine (or assume auto-off) that when you restart it will go to the last mode you were in (which is the way it should be)...

It's not quite fixed.  On the 702 you can switch from multimeter to scope and back and you'll be on the function/range that you had before, on the 703 this will reset to auto-ranging VDC every time.  That needs to be fixed.

[Veteran68]

Note2:  I wish Zotek people would have a Change Log or History (of what changes they made) so we do not have to guess...

Take a look here: https://www-dt830-com.translate.goog/thread-8262-1-1.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_sch=http

Change Log for the prior version but not this latest one.  There's a bunch of info about all the Zoyi products on this forum if you more up a level or two.

Copied here for posterity. Last week's 1.19 release is also newer than what mine came with. Not at home right now but last night when trying this update I want to say my shipped version was 1.09.

2024.01.15 ZOYI-703S-FW-V127
    has fixed several problems discovered by friends in the group,
    but the details have not been announced yet

2024.01.08 ZOYI-703S-FW- V119
    1. Fix the problem that the 100ns time base trigger position is incorrect.
    2. Fix the problem that the time base will occasionally be confused when scaling the waveform after stopping in the single trigger mode.
    3. Fix the abnormal measurement value in the rolling mode.
    4. Fix the rolling mode.
    5. Fixed the problem that the grid is occasionally eaten in scrolling mode
    6. Fixed the problem that in multimeter mode, occasional garbled characters will appear when powering on
    7. Fixed the problem after switching between different applications, the problem of language out of sync
    8. Add the function of maintaining the current language after restoring the default settings
    9. Fix the problem that the U disk cannot be opened occasionally
    10. Unify the frequency unit
    11. Fix the startup memory mode, the multimeter interface is turned off and turned on to start the multimeter. Turn off and on the oscilloscope in oscilloscope mode
    12. Remove the "prompt that the trigger may be unstable"
    13. Optimize the AUTO logic and fix some problems in AUTO mode, including possible crashes, stucks, timeouts, etc.

[Randy222]

Note2:  I wish Zotek people would have a Change Log or History (of what changes they made) so we do not have to guess...

Take a look here: https://www-dt830-com.translate.goog/thread-8262-1-1.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp&_x_tr_sch=http

Change Log for the prior version but not this latest one.  There's a bunch of info about all the Zoyi products on this forum if you more up a level or two.

Copied here for posterity. Last week's 1.19 release is also newer than what mine came with. Not at home right now but last night when trying this update I want to say my shipped version was 1.09.

2024.01.15 ZOYI-703S-FW-V127
    has fixed several problems discovered by friends in the group,
    but the details have not been announced yet

2024.01.08 ZOYI-703S-FW- V119
    1. Fix the problem that the 100ns time base trigger position is incorrect.
    2. Fix the problem that the time base will occasionally be confused when scaling the waveform after stopping in the single trigger mode.
    3. Fix the abnormal measurement value in the rolling mode.
    4. Fix the rolling mode.
    5. Fixed the problem that the grid is occasionally eaten in scrolling mode
    6. Fixed the problem that in multimeter mode, occasional garbled characters will appear when powering on
    7. Fixed the problem after switching between different applications, the problem of language out of sync
    8. Add the function of maintaining the current language after restoring the default settings
    9. Fix the problem that the U disk cannot be opened occasionally
    10. Unify the frequency unit
    11. Fix the startup memory mode, the multimeter interface is turned off and turned on to start the multimeter. Turn off and on the oscilloscope in oscilloscope mode
    12. Remove the "prompt that the trigger may be unstable"
    13. Optimize the AUTO logic and fix some problems in AUTO mode, including possible crashes, stucks, timeouts, etc.

#13 seems to still be an issue in v127

[Shonky]

Anyone know the cpu/architecture these 702/703's are built on?

702 is an Artery AT32F403AVGT7. 703 probably the same?

[Randy222]

Anyone know the cpu/architecture these 702/703's are built on?

702 is an Artery AT32F403AVGT7. 703 probably the same?

An ARM Cortex M4F 32bit.

Thanks.

[Randy222]

My 703 now turns screen off every 30sec, but I see no menu item to change that.
This seemed to happen after the unit appeared to have crashed while attempting Auto on a 1v sine 5kHz with probe settings 10x.

Anyone else have screen-off issue?

[guyincog]

My 703 now turns screen off every 30sec, but I see no menu item to change that.
This seemed to happen after the unit appeared to have crashed while attempting Auto on a 1v sine 5kHz with probe settings 10x.

Anyone else have screen-off issue?

I think that is the "BL" setting in the menu. As I recall,  30/60/120s (or never)

[Randy222]

My 703 now turns screen off every 30sec, but I see no menu item to change that.
This seemed to happen after the unit appeared to have crashed while attempting Auto on a 1v sine 5kHz with probe settings 10x.

Anyone else have screen-off issue?

I think that is the "BL" setting in the menu. As I recall,  30/60/120s (or never)

I only have Bk Light, for me is only a % for brightness. Other than that I have an auto-off menu item (set to off), auto-off powers off the device.
I seem to have a 30-sec screensaver that just turns the screen off black. I don't see where to change that. Has to be a bug in v127.

[Altair8800]

My 703 now turns screen off every 30sec, but I see no menu item to change that.
This seemed to happen after the unit appeared to have crashed while attempting Auto on a 1v sine 5kHz with probe settings 10x.

Anyone else have screen-off issue?

I turned my ZT-203S on Volt Meter mode.  Did nothing (not testing just let it set) and it turned of in about 2 minutes.  Since quyincog suggest the BL (back light time) setting I checked mine and it said 120s. 

It seems like the BackLight turns off whole screen (to black) but if you quickly press Power button (or any key) it turns back on.

[Altair8800]

@ Randy222

Try:
Got to Oscilloscope mode
Press Menu
Press > (right arrow next Menu) 4 times (which should take you to the 5th menu tab).
there "should be a BL time above the F4 key

[Altair8800]

Adendum:


I think this is how it works "BL time" is sort of like auto turning off Screen in Windows in Power Saving Mode. And if you tap any key it quickly turns back on [the screen].

"Auto Off" is sort of like auto turning off (or more like Sleep mode because the unit boots pretty darn quick) in Windows Power Saving Mode...  After it turns the meter off you have to long press the Power button (2 seconds) to reboot/turn on.

[Randy222]

Found the BL menu item.  on myself.

I will try to make the v127 crash again and see if it comes back with BL set to 30s.

[tonyalbus]

Hi, i put some tests together, but somehow i have the feeling they changes something with the sampleing.
Still my sample from Zotek needs to arrive, not sure what version that will be, this was a pre release from teh store mentioned many times before.
i tested off video with the firmware 1.0.9 and then i could go above 46 MHz .. not very stable but i could.
now i did same test with 1.2.7 and, is was a no go...it was going allover the place... it was very stable upto 46 MHz though.. and that has improved a lot.
it seems they made a choice of going above 50 and shaking or stable upto 46... can agree with them.
anyone has firmware file from before 1.2.7 ?   please share. i like to do more tests.

[ahakman]

I don't have the installable firmware file, but my unit still has 1.0.9 on it as I haven't updated yet.
I'll be back home in a couple of days and able to run more tests with more test equipment when I'm back.

[Randy222]

I keep the 703S just to have around.
I did order a FNIRSI Dpox180h

[Randy222]

703S with the v127 FW

Anyone trying to Calibrate and it fails to calibrate?

[tonyalbus]

Yes mine failed to, but then i found out, i had switched off 1 of the channels,
So switch both channels back on, or set it first to Defaul.. and than do a calibrate, then it will work.
Silly yes.

[Randy222]

Thanks tonyalbus for that tip. You would think the meter would tell you "turn both channels on". If it's in the manual, well, I not read the manual fully.

[tonyalbus]

Yeah manuals who reads those
i agree, there should be some sort of message or they just need to switch the channels on.. its silly.
when i got the failed message, i was just thinking, what i did last and that was switching the channel off.
but in the back of my mind i was thinking, neah that can not be it, that would be stupid... but it was.

[Atlan]

Software error, either inform me about it or turn on the channels.
Fnirsi doesn't win.

[Randy222]

Software error, either inform me about it or turn on the channels.
Fnirsi doesn't win.

What does this mean?

[Randy222]

When in the low ohms range, is there a REL setting to zero out ends of the probes?

[Atlan]

That it can be easily fixed in the new firmware. 

Fnirsi will also have similar problems in the firmware.

[Randy222]

Was using the Zoyi to measure my 1833C LCR meter in measurements.

Oddly, the Zoyi is useless on scope side if it's not in Auto mode. As soon as you change the V or T scale, the scope prints wrong frequency number. It was reading 1833C 100Hz a-ok in Auto mode, I change the T scale to see more or less cycles on the screen and the freq counter goes goofy.
And yes, I even made sure trigger was good to get good stable waveform on the screen.

Maybe the fnirsi dpox180h will be better? Will test that when it arrives in a few days.

[tonyalbus]

Received my 'real' zt-703s sample from Zotek i had teh SNAKOL version before
What i see it that the BOOT version is newer from Zotek.
The firmware can be updated, but the BOOT i dont know. it is maybe a hardware version.
The serial number is way newer also and even the box it comes in has iproved
it looks very nice now istead of the 702s box with a sticker saying its a 703s.

[naiclub]

Received my 'real' zt-703s sample from Zotek i had teh SNAKOL version before
What i see it that the BOOT version is newer from Zotek.
The firmware can be updated, but the BOOT i dont know. it is maybe a hardware version.
The serial number is way newer also and even the box it comes in has iproved
it looks very nice now istead of the 702s box with a sticker saying its a 703s.

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

I would like to ask, is the zt-703s still worth using or not?

[tonyalbus]

one page back you find my review, decide yourself.
i don't understand the question i think maybe
If you are still deciding 702s or 703s, than i would think go for 703s.

[Veteran68]

Received my 'real' zt-703s sample from Zotek i had teh SNAKOL version before
What i see it that the BOOT version is newer from Zotek.
The firmware can be updated, but the BOOT i dont know. it is maybe a hardware version.
The serial number is way newer also and even the box it comes in has iproved
it looks very nice now istead of the 702s box with a sticker saying its a 703s.

Interesting. I have the SNAKOL version too, with the same older 1.0.13 BOOT version as you. My serial starts with 003700 -- I'm not certain if that makes it older than your 003900 serial or not, but since the new one has a smaller number at 002F00 then either it's not meant to indicate sequence... or they're counting down. Mine is updated to the latest 1.2.7 firmware.

I definitely got the old style box, which was the same box for the 702S (and other Zoyi meters I have), not the more modern looking one you got this time.

So the question is, are there material differences in hardware and performance between the SNAKOL version and the newer one? Not that this is a serious instrument for me, it's more of a novelty to add to my growing collection, but I'm curious. And also annoyed if Zoyi released to market a grossly immature product instead of waiting just another month or two to release the final version. And is SNAKOL complicit in anything here? It did seem a bit shady that they were pre-selling for so long without calling it a pre-sale.

[tonyalbus]

when one buy before official release date from non official zoyi store one can expect an early model. thats the risk one takes.
but luckily the firmware updates work also on the early models.

but yes i want to open both to see if there is an real hardware difference.

[ahakman]

Being back home now (actually been back most of the week, but was busy with other stuff), I decided to check out some more things on the ZT-703S
I still have the original 1.0.9 firmware on mine.

When running in "High" mode, the frequencies output by the generator accessed from the menu (Menu -> left -> F4) are WRONG other than the 1khz probe compensation signal, which is actually correct. In any other output mode though, the frequencies are wrong.

5.0 kHz => is actually 7.0 kHz
2.0 kHz => is actually 2.8 kHz
1.0 kHz => is actually 1.4 kHz
etc etc (same scaling factor of 1.4 is present at all frequencies).

Oddly, using the "other apps -> Gen", the frequencies are correct
But in Sine output mode, it doesn't meet the 2.5Vpp claim at all (more like 2.0Vpp) and above 400kHz, the waveform is very triangular, not sinusoidal. Same can be said for any of the "partial sinusoidal" waveforms - they get very triangular and aren't very sinusoidal.

Going the other way and looking at a signal from an external generator, I see some peculiar aliasing too:

Feed in a 20Mhz sine wave, at 10, 25, and 50ns/div, things look pretty good and the frequency reads correctly. At 100ns/div, the frequency measurement is wrong (probably due to the overall bug at 100ns/div). From 250ns/div through 200us/div things look ok-ish - what you'd expect, the waveform getting more and more "solid" as the timebase is too slow to see any detail in the signal. At some timebases, there is some overall AM-ish distortion of the overall envelope though - definitely some kind of periodic noise, or some kind of aliasing showing up. Then suddenly at 500uS/div, it looks like a pure sinewave again, perfectly triggered and stable, at a much lower frequency, but the frequency measurement shows 0 as it can't measure anything. Definitely misleading if you're looking at an unknown signal and manually moving through timebases to have such an aliased signal appearing.

Comparing the same signal on the Owon HDS2202S, you get none of that at any timebase with the same 20MHz sine signal being fed in - there are some "sinusoidal-ish" aliased signals at very slow timebases on the Owon (5ms/div), but they're not triggered and stable, but rolling, giving a good indication that that's not the true signal, and just an aliasing / sampling artifact.

On an Agilent DSO-X 2024, there is no hint of aliasing or any waveform that resembles a "slower sine" at any timebase right up to and beyond 1S/div.
If you compare sampling rate at timebases, the Agilent scope is using a far higher sampling rate at every timebase compared to the Owon. The ZT-703S doesn't seem to indicate sampling rate vs timebase at all, so it's really hard to know what it's doing.

With the cheap price of the Zoyi, or even the Owon HDS series, and it being potentially many people's "first scopes", they definitely leave a lot of "traps for young players" as Dave would say...

I'm not sure if there's anything else anyone wants me to measure before I upgrade the firmware - turns out I don't currently have a working function generator above 20Mhz, except for potentially with an SDR, or with a VNA not sweeping, but set to a fixed frequency. The wavegen in the DSO-X 2024 only goes to 20Mhz, and my proper RF sig gen needs repairs.

[Randy222]

Received my 'real' zt-703s sample from Zotek i had teh SNAKOL version before
What i see it that the BOOT version is newer from Zotek.
The firmware can be updated, but the BOOT i dont know. it is maybe a hardware version.
The serial number is way newer also and even the box it comes in has iproved
it looks very nice now istead of the 702s box with a sticker saying its a 703s.

My 703 from snakol came in a box that shows and says "3-in-1 dual-channel" on face of box, and, the pic used appears to be the 703S ("25000 counts", etc) but the actual model on the pic is not there, but duly noted the side of the box has two models listed as check-boxes, 702 and 703, and the 703 is marked on my box. There's no "703S" sticker on a 702 box.

The 703 I got has boot v1.0.14, but I am not sure the boot version matters too much.

So it does appear the 703 I got from snakol was the latest from Zoyi when snakol shipped to me. Earlier 703's were likely just being rushed out using 1st rev firmware stuff and 702 boxing, but I don't suspect the actual 703 hardware is any different.

[Randy222]

Being back home now (actually been back most of the week, but was busy with other stuff), I decided to check out some more things on the ZT-703S
I still have the original 1.0.9 firmware on mine.

When running in "High" mode, the frequencies output by the generator accessed from the menu (Menu -> left -> F4) are WRONG other than the 1khz probe compensation signal, which is actually correct. In any other output mode though, the frequencies are wrong.

5.0 kHz => is actually 7.0 kHz
2.0 kHz => is actually 2.8 kHz
1.0 kHz => is actually 1.4 kHz
etc etc (same scaling factor of 1.4 is present at all frequencies).

Well, "1.4" sounds like a math mistake in the old code.
Testing on the old FW is good for reference only.
Upgrade to the v1.2.7 FW and see what changes.

[Randy222]

I did get fnirsi depox180h today.
Have to say, the 180h is like the light in light-&-day vs the scope of the Zoyi.

Didn't need instructions manual to learn the menu's, 10min of just pushing buttons, and now super ez to use it. Hidden menu's? Not sure yet.

Out of the box, no idea about FW versions, all the functions seems to work ok. BNC's twist on and lock, unlike Zoyi.

Signal gen a-ok up to 20MHz, and there's like ~8 or so signal profiles to choose from, and you can dial in the freq one digit at a time.

The one item of interest for me on the 180h, is the FFT. I need to test it some to see if it reads harmonics ok, but having FFT in a small handheld is something I have been looking for.

Now just need to Zo-tek folks to fix the bugs in the 702/703 FW.

[wedgehog]

Being back home now (actually been back most of the week, but was busy with other stuff), I decided to check out some more things on the ZT-703S
I still have the original 1.0.9 firmware on mine.

When running in "High" mode, the frequencies output by the generator accessed from the menu (Menu -> left -> F4) are WRONG other than the 1khz probe compensation signal, which is actually correct. In any other output mode though, the frequencies are wrong.

5.0 kHz => is actually 7.0 kHz
2.0 kHz => is actually 2.8 kHz
1.0 kHz => is actually 1.4 kHz
etc etc (same scaling factor of 1.4 is present at all frequencies).

Oddly, using the "other apps -> Gen", the frequencies are correct
But in Sine output mode, it doesn't meet the 2.5Vpp claim at all (more like 2.0Vpp) and above 400kHz, the waveform is very triangular, not sinusoidal. Same can be said for any of the "partial sinusoidal" waveforms - they get very triangular and aren't very sinusoidal.

Going the other way and looking at a signal from an external generator, I see some peculiar aliasing too:

Feed in a 20Mhz sine wave, at 10, 25, and 50ns/div, things look pretty good and the frequency reads correctly. At 100ns/div, the frequency measurement is wrong (probably due to the overall bug at 100ns/div). From 250ns/div through 200us/div things look ok-ish - what you'd expect, the waveform getting more and more "solid" as the timebase is too slow to see any detail in the signal. At some timebases, there is some overall AM-ish distortion of the overall envelope though - definitely some kind of periodic noise, or some kind of aliasing showing up. Then suddenly at 500uS/div, it looks like a pure sinewave again, perfectly triggered and stable, at a much lower frequency, but the frequency measurement shows 0 as it can't measure anything. Definitely misleading if you're looking at an unknown signal and manually moving through timebases to have such an aliased signal appearing.

Comparing the same signal on the Owon HDS2202S, you get none of that at any timebase with the same 20MHz sine signal being fed in - there are some "sinusoidal-ish" aliased signals at very slow timebases on the Owon (5ms/div), but they're not triggered and stable, but rolling, giving a good indication that that's not the true signal, and just an aliasing / sampling artifact.

On an Agilent DSO-X 2024, there is no hint of aliasing or any waveform that resembles a "slower sine" at any timebase right up to and beyond 1S/div.
If you compare sampling rate at timebases, the Agilent scope is using a far higher sampling rate at every timebase compared to the Owon. The ZT-703S doesn't seem to indicate sampling rate vs timebase at all, so it's really hard to know what it's doing.

With the cheap price of the Zoyi, or even the Owon HDS series, and it being potentially many people's "first scopes", they definitely leave a lot of "traps for young players" as Dave would say...

I'm not sure if there's anything else anyone wants me to measure before I upgrade the firmware - turns out I don't currently have a working function generator above 20Mhz, except for potentially with an SDR, or with a VNA not sweeping, but set to a fixed frequency. The wavegen in the DSO-X 2024 only goes to 20Mhz, and my proper RF sig gen needs repairs.

I think it did say in the manual not to use high mode below 30 MHZ or something?

[gtv]

customer review from Snakalstore:
....................
Additional feedback
28 Jan 2024
For information, Snakal Global Store and Snakal Instruments Store are the same seller with the same legal details.

[YurkshireLad]

Snakol == Snake Oil?   

[lchao]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

[naiclub]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

Has anyone tried it yet? And how does it compare to the previous version?

[Altair8800]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

When I went to this site my antivirus program gave a virus warning.

So I'm not going to try it out...

 

[naiclub]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

When I went to this site my antivirus program gave a virus warning.

So I'm not going to try it out...

 

According to this
I'd like you to try and see how different it is from the previous version. Please help me explain.

[lchao]

Sorry for that. I have CrowdStrike Falcon on my PC and there was no alert for me, so I've downloaded the file and uploaded it to Virustotal. There's no harmful code detected, see attached picture. Unfortunately I cannot attach a .ztk file here, so I cannot share it.

Here are the checksums.
MD5: c95adc5abc8818221ccb45ccf80c4d8c
SHA-1: f10f17f20781f71f17ca3900403fda2db85ddcef
SHA-256: 836bfce13c9a509245e420a4008a0e6eb15909e5438cbce082432ce7da3d3d1a
SSDEEP: 12288:M20rqJdjWNGP/JOpKUaThf6je9sLNIQsvYlyzbTRzaDic:V7V8K1Tp6je26Qsv9Hgic
TLSH: T171D4AE4F2F1D1EFDB06E0D155FB861B089692A101E8970BAF14983B87D9ACB366714CF
File type: unknown
Magic: data
File size: 625.19 KB (640192 bytes)
fILE NAME: ZOYI-703S-FW-V128.ZTK

[wasedadoc]

You can attach a zipped version of the ztk file.

[wedgehog]

There you go mate

[wasedadoc]

You can attach a zipped version of the ztk file.

I put a Zip up for you mate.

Not for me as I don't have one of those Zoyis but I see that already at least someone else might be grateful.

[wedgehog]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

How come it now says that page does not exist?

[naiclub]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

How come it now says that page does not exist?

It's because of the bad website. of the company has not been updated It's older than Google Chrome. Makes the user enter the website and get an error. The only way you can enter is with Brave or Fire Fox.
Or whoever enters for the first time, a pop-up will ask you to choose a language. Please don't choose English. Leave it like that.

[wedgehog]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

How come it now says that page does not exist?

It's because of the bad website. of the company has not been updated It's older than Google Chrome. Makes the user enter the website and get an error. The only way you can enter is with Brave or Fire Fox.
Or whoever enters for the first time, a pop-up will ask you to choose a language. Please don't choose English. Leave it like that.

Hi, Thank you. Have you any idea what they have updated?

[naiclub]

Has anyone tried the newest v1.28 FW update available on Zotek's website? http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

How come it now says that page does not exist?

It's because of the bad website. of the company has not been updated It's older than Google Chrome. Makes the user enter the website and get an error. The only way you can enter is with Brave or Fire Fox.
Or whoever enters for the first time, a pop-up will ask you to choose a language. Please don't choose English. Leave it like that.

Hi, Thank you. Have you any idea what they have updated?

I don't know because I don't have this model. I'd like to know as well.

[RAPo]

Well be aware, Avast is giving me:

[naiclub]

Well be aware, Avast is giving me: (Attachment Link)

According to this

[Randy222]

Well be aware, Avast is giving me: (Attachment Link)

But user attached the 128 as a zip, so just grab that (a zip on eevb).
I was able to download from site, I also grabbed the zip. Same hash for ztk file. Did not install it yet.

Btw, if your own machine has malware software that blocks url's, you can always try to grab stuff from online tools, like reqbin site.

[Veteran68]

That szzotek.com link looks highly suspicious to me. Zotek's official website is zotektools.com. And whois shows they've anonymized their domain registration -- not that that alone is red flag, many legit business use a private registrar, as do I, but in light of all the other red flags it doesn't help with credibility. I'd suggest caution.

Code: [Select]

└─$ whois szzotek.com
   Domain Name: SZZOTEK.COM
   Registry Domain ID: 2009928071_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
   Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.paycenter.com.cn
   Registrar URL: http://www.xinnet.com
   Updated Date: 2024-01-23T07:52:25Z
   Creation Date: 2016-03-07T04:18:09Z
   Registry Expiry Date: 2028-03-07T04:18:09Z
   Registrar: Xin Net Technology Corporation
   Registrar IANA ID: 120
   Registrar Abuse Contact Email: supervision@xinnet.com
   Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +86.4008182233
   Domain Status: ok [url]https://icann.org/epp#ok[/url]
   Name Server: NS1.ALIDNS.COM
   Name Server: NS2.ALIDNS.COM
   DNSSEC: unsigned
   URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: [url]https://www.icann.org/wicf/[/url]
>>> Last update of whois database: 2024-02-03T21:45:33Z <<<

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit [url]https://icann.org/epp[/url]

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar.  Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois
database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and
automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or
modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry
Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for
information purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information
about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not
guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide
by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data
to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass
unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone,
or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes
that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to
use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or
query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right
to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure
operational stability.  VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the
Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign
reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Domain Name: szzotek.com
Registry Domain ID: 2009928071_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.paycenter.com.cn
Registrar URL: http://www.xinnet.com
Updated Date: 2024-01-23T07:52:25Z
Creation Date: 2016-03-06T16:00:00Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2028-03-06T16:00:00Z
Registrar: Xin Net Technology Corporation
Registrar IANA ID: 120
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: supervision@xinnet.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +86.4008182233
Reseller:
Domain Status: ok [url]https://www.icann.org/epp#ok[/url]
Registry Registrant ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant State/Province: GD
Registrant Postal Code: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Country: CN
Registrant Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Registry Admin ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin State/Province: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin PostalCode: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Country: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Registry Tech ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech State/Province: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech PostalCode: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Country: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Name Server: ns1.alidns.com
Name Server: ns2.alidns.com
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2024-02-03T21:45:55Z <<<


For more information on Whois status codes, please visit [url]https://icann.org/epp[/url]


The Data in Paycenter's WHOIS database is provided by Paycenter
for information purposes, and to assist persons in obtaining
information about or related to a domain name registration record.
Paycenter does not guarantee its accuracy.  By submitting
a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that,
under no circumstances will you use this Data to:
(1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission
of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations
via e-mail (spam); or
(2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that
apply to Paycenter or its systems.
Paycenter reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.
By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy.!!


[naiclub]

That szzotek.com link looks highly suspicious to me. Zotek's official website is zotektools.com. And whois shows they've anonymized their domain registration -- not that that alone is red flag, many legit business use a private registrar, as do I, but in light of all the other red flags it doesn't help with credibility. I'd suggest caution.

Code: [Select]

└─$ whois szzotek.com
   Domain Name: SZZOTEK.COM
   Registry Domain ID: 2009928071_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
   Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.paycenter.com.cn
   Registrar URL: http://www.xinnet.com
   Updated Date: 2024-01-23T07:52:25Z
   Creation Date: 2016-03-07T04:18:09Z
   Registry Expiry Date: 2028-03-07T04:18:09Z
   Registrar: Xin Net Technology Corporation
   Registrar IANA ID: 120
   Registrar Abuse Contact Email: supervision@xinnet.com
   Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +86.4008182233
   Domain Status: ok [url]https://icann.org/epp#ok[/url]
   Name Server: NS1.ALIDNS.COM
   Name Server: NS2.ALIDNS.COM
   DNSSEC: unsigned
   URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: [url]https://www.icann.org/wicf/[/url]
>>> Last update of whois database: 2024-02-03T21:45:33Z <<<

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit [url]https://icann.org/epp[/url]

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar.  Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois
database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and
automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or
modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry
Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for
information purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information
about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not
guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide
by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data
to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass
unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone,
or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes
that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to
use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or
query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right
to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure
operational stability.  VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the
Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign
reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.
Domain Name: szzotek.com
Registry Domain ID: 2009928071_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.paycenter.com.cn
Registrar URL: http://www.xinnet.com
Updated Date: 2024-01-23T07:52:25Z
Creation Date: 2016-03-06T16:00:00Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2028-03-06T16:00:00Z
Registrar: Xin Net Technology Corporation
Registrar IANA ID: 120
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: supervision@xinnet.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +86.4008182233
Reseller:
Domain Status: ok [url]https://www.icann.org/epp#ok[/url]
Registry Registrant ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant State/Province: GD
Registrant Postal Code: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Country: CN
Registrant Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Registry Admin ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin State/Province: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin PostalCode: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Country: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Admin Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Registry Tech ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech State/Province: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech PostalCode: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Country: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Phone: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Phone Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Fax: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Fax Ext: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Tech Email: link at http://whois.xinnet.com/sendemail/szzotek.com
Name Server: ns1.alidns.com
Name Server: ns2.alidns.com
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2024-02-03T21:45:55Z <<<


For more information on Whois status codes, please visit [url]https://icann.org/epp[/url]


The Data in Paycenter's WHOIS database is provided by Paycenter
for information purposes, and to assist persons in obtaining
information about or related to a domain name registration record.
Paycenter does not guarantee its accuracy.  By submitting
a WHOIS query, you agree that you will use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that,
under no circumstances will you use this Data to:
(1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission
of mass unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations
via e-mail (spam); or
(2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes that
apply to Paycenter or its systems.
Paycenter reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.
By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy.!!


http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-101.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-170.html
According to this

[naiclub]

Has anyone updated? How is it? How is it different from .127? Please help me explain.

[Veteran68]

http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-101.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-170.html
According to this

"According to this" what?

You still don't address the fact that these are non-TLS links pointing to what appears to be a non-official Zotek website that trips people's malware software left and right.

EDIT: I see that if you choose the English site at the top of the home page, it does take you to zotektools.com. That alone doesn't guarantee legitimacy, but looks better. BTW the links you posted don't work for me.

[naiclub]

http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-101.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-170.html
According to this

"According to this" what?

You still don't address the fact that these are non-TLS links pointing to what appears to be a non-official Zotek website that trips people's malware software left and right.

EDIT: I see that if you choose the English site at the top of the home page, it does take you to zotektools.com. That alone doesn't guarantee legitimacy, but looks better. BTW the links you posted don't work for me.

I'm sorry. I don't know a single thing about what it is. Or is it a virus?

[Randy222]

http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-101.html
http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-170.html
According to this

"According to this" what?

You still don't address the fact that these are non-TLS links pointing to what appears to be a non-official Zotek website that trips people's malware software left and right.

EDIT: I see that if you choose the English site at the top of the home page, it does take you to zotektools.com. That alone doesn't guarantee legitimacy, but looks better. BTW the links you posted don't work for me.

szzotek.com is suspicious, to say the least.
Now the webpage shows the 703s, that's odd.

Also, the fqdn has no 'A' records in DNS, just a CNAME to a host at faipod.com

ICANN has santioned that registrar Xin Net Technologies many times.

Why szzotek.com loads a ton of javascript from various "fai" urls is red flag for sure, for just posting links for some downloads.

You can see all this using the DIG online tool, lookup CNAME for the szzotek site, and, use Cloudflare Radar Scan to get all the details of the full URL's (webpage URI's) the user here posted.

[wedgehog]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

[Randy222]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

As a rule for forums, please always list the FW #, because "new" changes day by day.
Was it the v128 from the suspect website, or v127 from official site?

I have 703 on v127. Goto scope, change output signal to sine (should just default to 5kHz), exit out and hit Auto, it basically crashes.

I not even sure why, when you turn off ch2 and you have signal on ch1, pressing Auto activates ch2 while it combs the freq to find best volt & time scales.

v127 seems to be problematic on the scope side of the code.

[guyincog]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

I cannot tell which menu item you are claiming to be changing. The two that I know of are the "BL time" setting in the oscilloscope menus and the "auto off" time in either set of menus. If those are all set the way you want them, I would probably do a "format" then a "default" and see if it behaves correctly after that.

[kevbry]

If anyone orders the kit with the 703 plus two probes, take care when unpacking. For mine they just taped the bag with the extra probe to the front of the box containing the instrument, then coated the whole thing in tape and bubble wrap. One snip of the scissors and I now own a 6 piece oscilloscope probe cable.

[naiclub]

If anyone orders the kit with the 703 plus two probes, take care when unpacking. For mine they just taped the bag with the extra probe to the front of the box containing the instrument, then coated the whole thing in tape and bubble wrap. One snip of the scissors and I now own a 6 piece oscilloscope probe cable.

In conclusion, what is it? Or are the scissors cutting the cable damaged?

[kevbry]

> In conclusion, what is it? Or are the scissors cutting the cable damaged?

I cut the cable in several places while removing the bubble wrap. Not their fault, I should have been more careful. Though the second probe being outside of the box was unexpected.

[naiclub]

> In conclusion, what is it? Or are the scissors cutting the cable damaged?

I cut the cable in several places while removing the bubble wrap. Not their fault, I should have been more careful. Though the second probe being outside of the box was unexpected.

I would like to express my condolences. Next time please use just a knife.

[wedgehog]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

I cannot tell which menu item you are claiming to be changing. The two that I know of are the "BL time" setting in the oscilloscope menus and the "auto off" time in either set of menus. If those are all set the way you want them, I would probably do a "format" then a "default" and see if it behaves correctly after that.

I did say it switches off after the same period of time so I guess it's the Auto off?

[wedgehog]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

As a rule for forums, please always list the FW #, because "new" changes day by day.
Was it the v128 from the suspect website, or v127 from official site?

I have 703 on v127. Goto scope, change output signal to sine (should just default to 5kHz), exit out and hit Auto, it basically crashes.

I not even sure why, when you turn off ch2 and you have signal on ch1, pressing Auto activates ch2 while it combs the freq to find best volt & time scales.

v127 seems to be problematic on the scope side of the code.

The post is not about the firmware! and there is only 128 at the moment, it's about Auto shut of control.

[wedgehog]

If anyone orders the kit with the 703 plus two probes, take care when unpacking. For mine they just taped the bag with the extra probe to the front of the box containing the instrument, then coated the whole thing in tape and bubble wrap. One snip of the scissors and I now own a 6 piece oscilloscope probe cable.

I did, but at least my second probe was thrown inside the box next to the box the 703S was in! Sorry to hear your ended up being damaged.

[Randy222]

If anyone orders the kit with the 703 plus two probes, take care when unpacking. For mine they just taped the bag with the extra probe to the front of the box containing the instrument, then coated the whole thing in tape and bubble wrap. One snip of the scissors and I now own a 6 piece oscilloscope probe cable.

I did, but at least my second probe was thrown inside the box next to the box the 703S was in! Sorry to hear your ended up being damaged.

Same with mine. 703 box and a probe in bag next to the 703 box.
I assume the box is same size for the 702 and it can't accomodate a 2nd probe, so instead of re-doing packaging for the 703 they just toss in an extra probe. In a world of save-money, makes sense.

[Randy222]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

As a rule for forums, please always list the FW #, because "new" changes day by day.
Was it the v128 from the suspect website, or v127 from official site?

I have 703 on v127. Goto scope, change output signal to sine (should just default to 5kHz), exit out and hit Auto, it basically crashes.

I not even sure why, when you turn off ch2 and you have signal on ch1, pressing Auto activates ch2 while it combs the freq to find best volt & time scales.

v127 seems to be problematic on the scope side of the code.

The post is not about the firmware! and there is only 128 at the moment, it's about Auto shut of control.

v128 from where?
Zotek site only has v127 for download, at the moment.
https://zotektools.com/firmware-update-703/ ------> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5GLloua8nbk5bFO4p7Zw5z5m3VUuqUF/view

[Aldo22]

New video:
https://www.eevblog.com/2024/02/07/eevblog-1597-zoyi-zt-703s-80-2ch-50mhz-oscilloscope-multimeter-review/

I still think a DSO2512G plus an AN870 offers more bang for the buck.

[wedgehog]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

As a rule for forums, please always list the FW #, because "new" changes day by day.
Was it the v128 from the suspect website, or v127 from official site?

I have 703 on v127. Goto scope, change output signal to sine (should just default to 5kHz), exit out and hit Auto, it basically crashes.

I not even sure why, when you turn off ch2 and you have signal on ch1, pressing Auto activates ch2 while it combs the freq to find best volt & time scales.

v127 seems to be problematic on the scope side of the code.

The post is not about the firmware! and there is only 128 at the moment, it's about Auto shut of control.

v128 from where?
Zotek site only has v127 for download, at the moment.
https://zotektools.com/firmware-update-703/ ------> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5GLloua8nbk5bFO4p7Zw5z5m3VUuqUF/view

See posts from naiclub on page 10, all I did was convert it to .zip

[tunk]

Review by EEVblog member Defpom.
Looks like he tested it with an old firmware version (1.1.0) so
some/most of the bugs he found may may be fixed in newer
updates.
https://youtu.be/MD0IkgcyF0o

[Randy222]

I haven't installed the new software yet but I was using the 703S yesterday and I noticed that no matter what I set on the display menu tab, even if I set it to off, the display switches off at what appears to be the same period of time, I don't want it to switch off at all! most annoying when I am working on the bench, just in the middle of a measurement and the damn thing goes off!

As a rule for forums, please always list the FW #, because "new" changes day by day.
Was it the v128 from the suspect website, or v127 from official site?

I have 703 on v127. Goto scope, change output signal to sine (should just default to 5kHz), exit out and hit Auto, it basically crashes.

I not even sure why, when you turn off ch2 and you have signal on ch1, pressing Auto activates ch2 while it combs the freq to find best volt & time scales.

v127 seems to be problematic on the scope side of the code.

The post is not about the firmware! and there is only 128 at the moment, it's about Auto shut of control.

v128 from where?
Zotek site only has v127 for download, at the moment.
https://zotektools.com/firmware-update-703/ ------> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5GLloua8nbk5bFO4p7Zw5z5m3VUuqUF/view

See posts from naiclub on page 10, all I did was convert it to .zip

I still not following.
V127 is the latest available from Zotek site.

[YurkshireLad]

So DefPom reviewed a device with 1.1.0, but the latest is 1.1.127? Why would they send such an old version - were they getting rid of old protoypes/test devices?

[Veteran68]

Reviewers and online influencers often get pre-release/prototype models well in advance of GA. Dave just posted a video reviewing the ZT-703S and comparing to the ZT-702S -- his 702S was an early preview model and he managed to brick it by trying to flash it to the current firmware, which it apparently wasn't compatible with.

[YurkshireLad]

Reviewers and online influencers often get pre-release/prototype models well in advance of GA. Dave just posted a video reviewing the ZT-703S and comparing to the ZT-702S -- his 702S was an early preview model and he managed to brick it by trying to flash it to the current firmware, which it apparently wasn't compatible with.

Yeah I saw that. I don't get why they would ship defective products; I guess they assume enough people will just buy them anyway so it doesn't matter if they get negative reviews.

Edit: I was tempted to get a 702s after watching several reviews.

[wedgehog]

Reviewers and online influencers often get pre-release/prototype models well in advance of GA. Dave just posted a video reviewing the ZT-703S and comparing to the ZT-702S -- his 702S was an early preview model and he managed to brick it by trying to flash it to the current firmware, which it apparently wasn't compatible with.

I don't understand the point of the company sending an old prototype to someone for a review, they are guaranteed to get a bad write-up because there will be problems with it, and Bricking when you try to do a firmware update is the worst kind of review, everyone will be afraid to do updates!

[Randy222]

So DefPom reviewed a device with 1.1.0, but the latest is 1.1.127? Why would they send such an old version - were they getting rid of old protoypes/test devices?

no. from the actual FW code, its "V1.2.7"
v127 for short.
Sorry for that confusion.

The latest being shipped appears to be BOOT: V1.0.14 with APP V1.2.7

The latest available is from Zotek wesbite, the links I already posted.

[YurkshireLad]

So DefPom reviewed a device with 1.1.0, but the latest is 1.1.127? Why would they send such an old version - were they getting rid of old protoypes/test devices?

no. from the actual FW code, its "V1.2.7"
v127 for short.
Sorry for that confusion.

The latest being shipped appears to be BOOT: V1.0.14 with APP V1.2.7

The latest available is from Zotek wesbite, the links I already posted.

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wasn't sure what 127 was. 

[Randy222]

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wasn't sure what 127 was. 

But you went to the Zotek site to see the latest FW available, yes?

[RAPo]

My 703S bought at https://thedmm.com/ just came in
It has Boot:V1.0.15, App:V1.2.8

(I've sold my 702S)

[Randy222]

My 703S bought at https://thedmm.com/ just came in
It has Boot:V1.0.15, App:V1.2.8

(I've sold my 702S)

I waiting on Zoyi support to respond to me about v1.2.8

Odd the unit is shipping with 128 but only 127 available for download.
I wonder if v128 is tied to the 1.0.15 boot, my 703 came with v127 and v1.0.14 boot.

[RAPo]

I will send an email to Tim from the ddmm.Com and report
back.

[modrobert]

Is the 703s signal generator good enough for 10x probe calibration using square wave at 1kHz with latest firmware?

[RAPo]

Yes, it is (although you cannot calibrate the 703S itself using the signal generator (for that, you have the use the square wave at the output).

Is the 703s signal generator good enough for 10x probe calibration using square wave at 1kHz with latest firmware?

[RAPo]

I can confirm that V1.2.7 works with boot V1.0.15.
Then, I tried to upgrade using V1.2.8 on page 10.
Havoc did arise: the scope said updating and restarted.
After that, the initial screen was flashing on/off, and the scope wouldn't turn off.

I had to open the scope, remove the battery, wait for some seconds, reinstall V1.2.7 (by using F1+power on, exit F2), and reinstall V1.2.8 (all while on USB and battery removed).
The 703s is working again, phew.

[kamil004]

Hello ;)
Does anyone know the changelog for v1.2.8 ?
Also i have boot 1.0.15

[Randy222]

I can confirm that V1.2.7 works with boot V1.0.15.
Then, I tried to upgrade using V1.2.8 on page 10.
Havoc did arise: the scope said updating and restarted.
After that, the initial screen was flashing on/off, and the scope wouldn't turn off.

I had to open the scope, remove the battery, wait for some seconds, reinstall V1.2.7 (by using F1+power on, exit F2), and reinstall V1.2.8 (all while on USB and battery removed).
The 703s is working again, phew.

Yeah, I think this is why most are waiting for updates from the Zotek (Zoyi) website.

I still not seen procedure to update boot rom code. Boot v1.1.14 may not be compatible with some unknown App v1.2.8

[Atlan]

By how many screens can the signal be shifted?  How long can I view the course of the signal?

[naiclub]

(I still can't sell zoyi702, no one is interested)

[wedgehog]

(I still can't sell zoyi702, no one is interested)

Why would anyone want it when 703S is available?

[Aldo22]

(I still can't sell zoyi702, no one is interested)

Why would anyone want it when 703S is available?

Why would anyone want a 703S? 
It's all a question of price.

[RAPo]

... or a scope in the form of a multimeter with a rudimentary x-y functionality.

[oliv3r]

Just ordered one after watching the view. While not a super scope; it's imo great to have a portable isolated (cause battery operated) one for on the side. It's like those €5,- multi-meters. Always nice to have 1 or 2 to just have.

I got a MSO5k for my other hobby stuff, that I turn on at least 4 times a year :p

But again, being able to measure without having to worry about shortening anything to ground is still pretty cool. And the portable aspect! For those needs, it's great. I must admit though, I am disappointment they only supplied a single probe Even for that price, they could have put in two in the box. Found out they have 'options' when ordering to get a two probe one, so canceled and reordered. Lets see. Still for €90,- it's a nice toy to have in the box.

[wedgehog]

Just ordered one after watching the view. While not a super scope; it's imo great to have a portable isolated (cause battery operated) one for on the side. It's like those €5,- multi-meters. Always nice to have 1 or 2 to just have.

I got a MSO5k for my other hobby stuff, that I turn on at least 4 times a year :p

But again, being able to measure without having to worry about shortening anything to ground is still pretty cool. And the portable aspect! For those needs, it's great. I must admit though, I am disappointment they only supplied a single probe Even for that price, they could have put in two in the box. Found out they have 'options' when ordering to get a two probe one, so canceled and reordered. Lets see. Still for €90,- it's a nice toy to have in the box.

Hi Olly, Exactly, I have a 500mhz 4 input Rigol on the bench, but for a quick look at something away from the bench it's ideal. I find some of the comments I have seen quite incredible, people expect the Earth for £75 or whatever, it's like when you sell a second-hand car fairly cheap and the buyer goes over every inch complaining about a little scratch here and a little dent there. I always say, Oh! you expected a brand new top of the range car for £800! You get what you pay for, especially in electronics, and I think for the price it's wonderful. Yes you will get the second probe thrown in the box beside the little box the scope/meter comes in so be careful when you open it.

[Randy222]

Any word when v1.2.8 will be available from Zoyi site?

[Greg J]

anyone was able to figure out how to turn off sounds yet? When changing mode, it beeps like hell - I hate that stuff.

[Razvan_N]

I have updated the firmware using v1.2.8 from the szzotek.com website and it works well on my unit (boot v1.0.15) although I still cannot tell what is changed in this version

If someone from Zotek is reading this: PLEASE put in an option to mute the beeps and bring back the temperature reading!!! We will supply our own thermocouples!

[naiclub]

Now is there a solution to the issue of measuring pairs of scopes? Has anyone tried it yet?

[Edmiri]

Im having the same issue with calibration, Check Failure.  Did you fpund any solution?

[RAPo]

Im having the same issue with calibration, Check Failure.  Did you fpund any solution?

turn both channels on and do the calibration.

[naiclub]

Im having the same issue with calibration, Check Failure.  Did you fpund any solution?

Make a scope that can measure pairs. But why can only measure 1 channel? You are definitely deceiving consumers.

[Edmiri]

Well people forget that one channel is off. Plus this is my first scope so im not a pro.

[Randy222]

Well people forget that one channel is off. Plus this is my first scope so im not a pro.

The firmware is bizarre in that regard.
If I hit "cal" then the code "should" prompt you with something like "disconnect all channels, then press MENU to continue", and then from there the cal code does it's thing, and it should turn on both channels at the start of it's routine.
That's what the code "should" do, but it's not coded that way.

Did Zoyi post up v1.2.8 code yet?

[Edmiri]

No. Latest version i could download from zotektools.com is ZOYI-703S-FW-V127(1).ZTK

[ha_embedded]

The laser-wiped multimeter chipset in the ZT-703S could be a DTM0660L - at least it seems to have an identical pinout (see below). But there is no indication in the datasheet about 25000 counts capability. The SZ20 from Aneng also uses the DTM0660 and also claims 25000 counts:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/aneng-goes-crazy-with-new-meters/msg4773944/#msg4773944

(Aneng SZ20 probably aka Zoyi ZT-225, also 25000 counts)

Anyone familiar with this? Is there a special version of the DTM0660 with higher resolution or is it done with interpolation?

Datasheet DTM0660: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6fbSrbAyU1lUlhBQXY3bS1RLU0/view?resourcekey=0-j-BXh9QdU7HVI-Wgu3Gpew
English translation: http://www.kerrywong.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/DTM0660DataSheet.pdf

Not important, I am just curious.

[Veteran68]

Did Zoyi post up v1.2.8 code yet?

No. Latest version i could download from zotektools.com is ZOYI-703S-FW-V127(1).ZTK

As was posted previously, 1.2.8 is available from the szzotek.com site, which is the Chinese language site for Zotek.

http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

[lchao]

V1.2.9 update content
1. Fixed the problem that when switching to multimeter mode, pressing F1 to F4 will cause the measurement items and the interface UI to be out of sync.
2. Optimize frequency measurement. When the frequency cannot be measured, the frequency value will become "--.--".
3. Optimize the AUTO strategy, which is faster and more accurate in identification.
4. Fix the problem that the frequency and time base are sometimes inaccurate in high-speed mode.
5. Fix the problem that the signal generator outputs an incorrect frequency in high-speed mode.
6. Fix the possibility that the U disk cannot be opened when FLASH prompts that there is insufficient memory.

[Randy222]

Did Zoyi post up v1.2.8 code yet?

No. Latest version i could download from zotektools.com is ZOYI-703S-FW-V127(1).ZTK

As was posted previously, 1.2.8 is available from the szzotek.com site, which is the Chinese language site for Zotek.

http://www.szzotek.com/h-col-159.html

But why is it not on the regualt Zoyi site?

Even the domain registration info for szzotek is odd.

[Veteran68]

But why is it not on the regualt Zoyi site?

Even the domain registration info for szzotek is odd.

It's behind a private registry service, just like the western zotektools.com site, just a different one. That by itself isn't that uncommon (most of my domains are behind private registrars), although I would expect most legitimate businesses to expose their domain contacts. I was skeptical of szzotek too when it was first mentioned (pretty sure in this thread) and suggested caution, but did some digging and came to conclusion it was legitimately their China-facing site. If you answer the prompt about English, it actually redirects you to the zotektools site.

Many Chinese equipment manufacturers have different internally-facing sites. Also some of them (e.g. Rigol) will post firmware updates to some sites and not others. So this really isn't that unusual.

On a loosely related note, Darren Walker had a Zotek rep on his YT channel a week or so ago when he was unboxing the 703S and asked her about the Zoyi vs Zotek distinction. We all knew they were the same company, but she clarified that Zotek is the western facing brand while Zoyi is the internal to China/Asia brand. She said they weren't allowed to market as Zoyi outside of China, so adopted the name Zotek. She didn't explain why, I assume for trademark or other reasons.

[Edmiri]

I know its to much to ask for this but can this scope measure signal noise and ripple to some degree? For example on a atx power supply. If yes whats the best configuration in settings for this purpose?

[naiclub]

V1.2.9 update content
1. Fixed the problem that when switching to multimeter mode, pressing F1 to F4 will cause the measurement items and the interface UI to be out of sync.
2. Optimize frequency measurement. When the frequency cannot be measured, the frequency value will become "--.--".
3. Optimize the AUTO strategy, which is faster and more accurate in identification.
4. Fix the problem that the frequency and time base are sometimes inaccurate in high-speed mode.
5. Fix the problem that the signal generator outputs an incorrect frequency in high-speed mode.
6. Fix the possibility that the U disk cannot be opened when FLASH prompts that there is insufficient memory.

Where did you get it from?

[kloetpatra]

What annoys me most is that beeing not in use, negative values causes the digits jumping around, because the string is centered together with the minus sign.

1.2.9 firmware direct link: http://www.dt830.com/forum.php?mod=attachment&aid=NDU1MDl8NjVhZGVjYzJ8MTcwOTAzMDM2M3wwfDgzMzE%3D

The changelog thread and download links: http://www.dt830.com/thread-8331-1-1.html

[Randy222]

But why is it not on the regualt Zoyi site?

Even the domain registration info for szzotek is odd.

It's behind a private registry service, just like the western zotektools.com site, just a different one. That by itself isn't that uncommon (most of my domains are behind private registrars), although I would expect most legitimate businesses to expose their domain contacts. I was skeptical of szzotek too when it was first mentioned (pretty sure in this thread) and suggested caution, but did some digging and came to conclusion it was legitimately their China-facing site. If you answer the prompt about English, it actually redirects you to the zotektools site.

Many Chinese equipment manufacturers have different internally-facing sites. Also some of them (e.g. Rigol) will post firmware updates to some sites and not others. So this really isn't that unusual.

On a loosely related note, Darren Walker had a Zotek rep on his YT channel a week or so ago when he was unboxing the 703S and asked her about the Zoyi vs Zotek distinction. We all knew they were the same company, but she clarified that Zotek is the western facing brand while Zoyi is the internal to China/Asia brand. She said they weren't allowed to market as Zoyi outside of China, so adopted the name Zotek. She didn't explain why, I assume for trademark or other reasons.

I covered all this a few pages back. Registration of the name is kinda useless. Follow the DNS and stuff. No 'A' record, the name is just a CNAME to some other site.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-zoyi-multimeteroscilloscopes-zt-70xs-up-to-50mhz250msps-(nov-2022)/msg5316196/#msg5316196

[lchao]

V1.2.9 update content
1. Fixed the problem that when switching to multimeter mode, pressing F1 to F4 will cause the measurement items and the interface UI to be out of sync.
2. Optimize frequency measurement. When the frequency cannot be measured, the frequency value will become "--.--".
3. Optimize the AUTO strategy, which is faster and more accurate in identification.
4. Fix the problem that the frequency and time base are sometimes inaccurate in high-speed mode.
5. Fix the problem that the signal generator outputs an incorrect frequency in high-speed mode.
6. Fix the possibility that the U disk cannot be opened when FLASH prompts that there is insufficient memory.

Where did you get it from?

https://www.mydigit.cn/thread-438809-1-1.html

[Razvan_N]

My 703S has a problem with the charging LED (underneath the translucid red power button). After a while it starts blinking randomly. Thinking the LED might have a problem, I put a green LED in parallel, and it blinks just like the red LED.
So it seems like the driving voltage itself is the culprit. I did not check the other side of the PCB, but from online sources I've seen no traces related to this LED.
This means its connections go through an intermediate layer that makes it very difficult to follow.
Anyone else having this problem? Any thoughts?

[kloetpatra]

My 703S has a problem with the charging LED (underneath the translucid red power button). After a while it starts blinking randomly. Thinking the LED might have a problem, I put a green LED in parallel, and it blinks just like the red LED.
So it seems like the driving voltage itself is the culprit. I did not check the other side of the PCB, but from online sources I've seen no traces related to this LED.
This means its connections go through an intermediate layer that makes it very difficult to follow.
Any thoughts?

Well it must be going to the microcontroller. Can't you just find it with a continuity tester?

[Randy222]

Interesting the FW keeps getting smaller, V129 much smaller.


V127.ZTK bytes: 641256
V128.ZTK bytes: 640192
V129.ZTK bytes: 561512

[tunk]

My 703S has a problem with the charging LED (underneath the translucid red power button). After a while it starts blinking randomly.

If the charging IC is a TP4056, from some datasheets it suggests
that it's "BAT PIN Connect 10u Capacitance; No battery".

[Razvan_N]

There's no TP4056 in sight, just a chip marked 4086B which I assume is the charger. Pin 2 is connected to a 474 resistor (470 kohms) that unfortunately does not lead to the LED (I checked the continuity). It probably leads to the microcontroller, then to the on-screen battery indicator and the button LED. I suppose the microcontroller is underneath the metal shield and I would not mess around unless I really have to and I do something that is documented.

[ha_embedded]

My 703S has a problem with the charging LED (underneath the translucid red power button). After a while it starts blinking randomly.

Same behaviour here. I think it happens when the cell is at 4.2V and the current falls below the „fully charged“ threshold. The flashing stops after a few minutes (and probably comes back when the threshold is reached again due to discharge and settling).
So nothing to worry about, just a messy implementation without proper hysteresis for 100% charged. I have seen this on other products as well.

[lchao]

Can this device handle x100 probe?
In the tech spec only x1 and x10 is mentioned, but on this official picture https://8164272.s21i.faiusr.com/2/ABUIABACGAAgrPLRrQYogsCewQMw0A840A8.jpg (source: http://www.szzotek.com/h-pd-127.html) x100 can be seen in the lower right corner of the screen. Here https://8164272.s21i.faiusr.com/2/ABUIABACGAAgrPLRrQYos5WJ2AMw0A840A8.jpg too.

[ha_embedded]

Just checked on my device, x100 not available (FW 1.2.9)

[ha_embedded]

Interesting the FW keeps getting smaller, V129 much smaller.


V127.ZTK bytes: 641256
V128.ZTK bytes: 640192
V129.ZTK bytes: 561512

Maybe someone in the development team discovered the compiler optimisation level.

[lchao]

But why is it not on the regualt Zoyi site?

Even the domain registration info for szzotek is odd.

Who knows?! Even the official site just leads you to a google drive. And the v1.29 isn't available on either one, it just appeared on some Chinese forums...

[G-son]

Can this device handle x100 probe?

Handle or handle? It should work fine with a 100X probe, it just won't adapt the voltage scale to show the actual voltage it it doesn't have a 100X mode. You need to do the X100 calculation yourself in that case, just like we did with most analog scopes of yesterday.

[Randy222]

But why is it not on the regualt Zoyi site?

Even the domain registration info for szzotek is odd.

Who knows?! Even the official site just leads you to a google drive. And the v1.29 isn't available on either one, it just appeared on some Chinese forums...

I get how and where v1.2.9 showed up. If it's not from the vendor then you don't know what you're getting, at least from that user-vendor perspective.

[kloetpatra]

I get how and where v1.2.9 showed up. If it's not from the vendor then you don't know what you're getting, at least from that user-vendor perspective.

Well the changelog is there. If you mean in aspects of trust... you shouldn't trust a chinese vendor anyway. It's a multimeter with no network connectivity and got no camera and no microphone. It won't sniff data and it won't farm bitcoins. So you should be pretty safe.
I tried disassembling the firmware, but entropy says it's encrypted.

[Edmiri]

Is the warranty voided if you flash firmware that you get on websites other that official website?

[Randy222]

Is the warranty voided if you flash firmware that you get on websites other that official website?

If the unknown FW bricks it, and you claim warranty, and they find odd fw installed, no warranty.

[ha_embedded]

There are only very few persons on this planet writing software for this device and most likely they are all employed at Zotektools.com. Software seems to be encrypted and packed into some special format. Zero chance someone outside the team would spread experimental risky software without permission. On the other hand you can probably not brick the device with any other  binary file that does not meet the package format.
If really the device bricks during or after the update I would simply return (if possible at all) as faulty without any comments on the software version. Would really someone take the effort and deeply dig into the (bricked) (single-chip) controller just to find out if an „official“ updates was installed?

[Veteran68]

C'mon guys, we're talking about cheap Chinese test equipment, typically purchased from Chinese marketplaces. Unless you're buying from Amazon or some established Western dealer, do you really expect warranty service at all, for any reason whatsoever? MAYBE you can get a damaged/DOA device replaced through the marketplace, if you're lucky. But getting service/support and a malfunctioning unit replaced later? Good luck.

And I say that as a Zoyi fan. I think they make pretty damn good gear in their price range. If it turns out they do provide timely support for such things, then I'll be an even bigger fan. But I have no real illusions about that.

[Randy222]

C'mon guys, we're talking about cheap Chinese test equipment, typically purchased from Chinese marketplaces. Unless you're buying from Amazon or some established Western dealer, do you really expect warranty service at all, for any reason whatsoever? MAYBE you can get a damaged/DOA device replaced through the marketplace, if you're lucky. But getting service/support and a malfunctioning unit replaced later? Good luck.

And I say that as a Zoyi fan. I think they make pretty damn good gear in their price range. If it turns out they do provide timely support for such things, then I'll be an even bigger fan. But I have no real illusions about that.

True, but I do want it to work right, because I use it as a tool, and the "work right" code should come from the actual vendor, even if 26 other websites have the ZTK file that the vendor should be hosting on their site.

[twern]

It appears lots of people have bought from the SNAKOL site.

How about the ZOYI "Official Store?" Are they really "officially" the Zotek Tools store, whatever that means?

Anybody have experience with them?

[Veteran68]

It appears lots of people have bought from the SAKOL site.

How about the ZOYI "Official Store?" Are they really "officially" the Zotek Tools store, whatever that means?

Anybody have experience with them?

If you're talking about this store, then yes I have experience buying a couple of other DMMs from them. SNAKOL was the first Ali store to list the ZT-703S for sale (preorders, basically) which is why they got a lot of early orders. It took awhile for Zoyi's store to list it.

[mwb1100]

Would really someone take the effort and deeply dig into the (bricked) (single-chip) controller just to find out if an „official“ updates was installed?

I'm reminded of: https://youtu.be/N0rOe59wKAc?t=41

"They got us workin' in shifts!"

[lchao]

Have you seen that the Aneng version is also out? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006532737130.html
They don't sell it in a 2-probe version kit, price is in the same range as the Zoyi, but in the Aneng store you pay the shipping on top.

In the other official Zotek store https://thedmm.com/shop/zt-703s/ you can get the unit for $99 + $19 shipping if destination is in EU. In this price they offer an extra "waveform testing lead" + a 16 pcs testing leads set,  2 year warranty and automatic replacement of the unit instead of repair. This is quite a good package in my opinion.

[Veteran68]

Most Aneng products are Zoyi rebrands. They don't actually make their own stuff.

In the other official Zotek store https://thedmm.com/shop/zt-703s/ you can get the unit for $99 + $19 shipping if destination is in EU. In this price they offer an extra "waveform testing lead" + a 16 pcs testing leads set,  2 year warranty and automatic replacement of the unit instead of repair. This is quite a good package in my opinion.

Pretty sure that's not an "official" Zotek/Zoyi store. Just passing themselves off as such by trying to look official. TheDMM.com is a brand of zoyitools.com which states at the top of the page that they're an "agent" of Zoyi. The official Zoyi web site (outside of China/Asia) is zotektools.com. Zoyi is the company but they're not allowed to market outside of China as Zoyi, which is why they use the Zotek brand.

I see this with a number of Chinese dealers, pushing themselves as an official manufacturer site. It's pretty deceptive if you ask me, because at first glance it looks entirely official and people will be lured in by an assumption they are official. I see it in the test equipment space a lot, and also the 3D printer space with the likes of Creality -- for years that was a competing Creality "store" that was not affiliated with Creality in any way, but let people believe they were. They had a lot of customer service issues that Creality was constantly blamed for. Another example is siglent.eu, which some believe is Siglent's official Euro site, but is really a 3rd party distributor (a legitimate one, and they do have an "Authorized Distributor" badge on the web page, but it's just not obvious to everyone).

[Razvan_N]

In the Measurements section, what is the difference between FCNT and FREQ? I'm translating the manual and I don't have the meter handy.

[kloetpatra]

In the Measurements section, what is the difference between FCNT and FREQ? I'm translating the manual and I don't have the meter handy.

FCNT: hardware counter based on the trigger. It will display 0.000Hz when trigger level is set outside of waveform.
Freq: software analysis of the waveform in the display memory. It will display --.-- if it can not determine the frequency.

[gtroc71]

I cant seem to open any of those links for firmware 1.2.9
Does anybody have an alternate link or could upload it here?

[black6host]

I've attached the 7zip file with 1.29.  I installed it on my 703S that had 1.10 and boot 1.0.14 (not the .15 boot) and it installed with no trouble.

[jeremybh1]

EDIT: One major fault appears my lack of understanding behind a menu option.  Earlier I complained the maximum delay time before the screen turns off was 120 seconds.  It appears if you select the setting "OFF" this actually means the display stays on. 

Another issue is the entire feature set of the multimeter is behind one button.  I often cycle between continuity and diode mode, yet these plus two other functions are behind one button so I have to press press press to get to what I want, meanwhile three other buttons side next to it doing nothing.

A custom firmware community would be awesome.

Or a voice to the developers would be ideal but judging by my inability to navigate the chinese language forums I don't think my ideas will be heard.

[jeremybh1]

Thank you
The steps were:
Older laptop with windows 10
.7z extracted

Zoyi 703 turned off and unplugged
F1 and Power button held together, turns on to USB DISK mode
then connect via USB to computer
Navigate to Flash -> firmware folder
Copy and paste ZOYI-703S-FW-V129.ZTK into this folder
Device immediately recognises a new update and it self flashes (no confirmation required)

[jeremybh1]

I chose to remove the plastic screen guard and replace it with a glass screen protector instead.
My mind 'knew' the screen was the same size as the Canon R6 and I happened to have a spare glass protector on the shelf.
4 screws to loosen
Plastic pry tool into middle of black rubber either side of case and it pops
6 screws to remove from logic board and 1 from each BNC jack
Pop out thick guard, leave bezel in place
Apply glass screen protector (or even a matte one!)
Reassemble.
The unit looks more professional as the screen appears totally flat.  It looks like the black levels are better and glare is more tolerable.
Can recommend

[jweaver]

I just got my 703S and am really happy with it.. I bought it to work today to show it to colleagues and connected both channels to the test output expecting to see 2 identical traces

But whilst my yellow line show the correct waveform, the blue line is flat... After decreasing the amplitude, the wave came into view but its 10x smaller than the yellow channel..

I have swapped the probes between the channels and the cables are not the cause.. Its got nothing to do with the 10x switch on the probes.. And I have the 703 set to 1x... But even if I change it to 10x it doesnt' actually do much.

In order to see both traces, I have the yellow channel set to 1v per division (Peak to Peak 2.5v), and the blue trace to 100mV (peak to peak .25v).

The correct voltage I am measuring is 2.5v so the blue side is wrong.

As its exactly 10x, I am assuming that this is a software issue, but I can't work out what I am doing wrong.

Anyone else seen this?

Jon

[RAPo]

 Did you set the same sensitivity on both channels on the 703S?

I just got my 703S and am really happy with it.. I bought it to work today to show it to colleagues and connected both channels to the test output expecting to see 2 identical traces

But whilst my yellow line show the correct waveform, the blue line is flat... After decreasing the amplitude, the wave came into view but its 10x smaller than the yellow channel..

I have swapped the probes between the channels and the cables are not the cause.. Its got nothing to do with the 10x switch on the probes.. And I have the 703 set to 1x... But even if I change it to 10x it doesnt' actually do much.

In order to see both traces, I have the yellow channel set to 1v per division (Peak to Peak 2.5v), and the blue trace to 100mV (peak to peak .25v).

The correct voltage I am measuring is 2.5v so the blue side is wrong.

As its exactly 10x, I am assuming that this is a software issue, but I can't work out what I am doing wrong.

Anyone else seen this?

Jon

[jweaver]

Did you set the same sensitivity on both channels on the 703S?

Where do I set the sensitivity? Do you mean the X1/X10 option on the probes? And the x1/x10 option in the settings?

If we are talking x1/x10, both probes are X1 and changing between X1 and X10 in the menu doesn't actually seem to do much, other than changing the voltage value..

Is there another option I have overlooked?

Edit: I think i have worked it out.. I didn't realize you could change between Ch1 and Ch2 in the menu.. And when I found this, noticed that the X1/X10 could be set independently.. Mine were different, so I have set both channels to X1 and its working now....

So ignore me... Thanks.

[RAPo]

Yep, thats what I meant.  Great, you've figured it out. Have fun with this lovely little device.

Did you set the same sensitivity on both channels on the 703S?

Where do I set the sensitivity? Do you mean the X1/X10 option on the probes? And the x1/x10 option in the settings?

If we are talking x1/x10, both probes are X1 and changing between X1 and X10 in the menu doesn't actually seem to do much, other than changing the voltage value..

Is there another option I have overlooked?

Edit: I think i have worked it out.. I didn't realize you could change between Ch1 and Ch2 in the menu.. And when I found this, noticed that the X1/X10 could be set independently.. Mine were different, so I have set both channels to X1 and its working now....

So ignore me... Thanks.

[jweaver]

Is there any benifit of installing 1.29? I have 1.27 but I always like the idea of having the latest software.

Are there any new features? I notice that the TXT file inside the zip is not English, so is the firmware safe to install on an English device?

Edit: Ignore me again.. Just read back and saw the release log.. No harm in installing it, so I will give it a go when I get a minute.

[Randy222]

Is there any benifit of installing 1.29? I have 1.27 but I always like the idea of having the latest software.

Are there any new features? I notice that the TXT file inside the zip is not English, so is the firmware safe to install on an English device?

Edit: Ignore me again.. Just read back and saw the release log.. No harm in installing it, so I will give it a go when I get a minute.

1.29 is bigger than 1.27

[black6host]

I just got my 703s a couple of days ago and I must say, I'm very happy with it.  My main use for it is as a repair tool on my bench for audio device repair and kit building.  It's a pretty solid machine and once you use it the interface becomes easy to work with.

Hah!  That yellow sticker over the ports used for amperage measurements made it quite clear not to forget to take it out of amp mode and not use those ports for measuring voltage.  Of course I removed it right away as I needed to measure mA on a kit I'm building.  And of course, after forgetting to change the leads back to the right ports I was taking voltage measurements like a dummy.  I had my power supply set to 9 volts with current limiting at 400mA.  I wasn't getting good voltage readings, go figure, lol.  I'm happy to say that there was no damage to the DUT or the meter so there's some amount of protection there.  All bets would have been off with no current limiting and it's not something I plan on doing again.  But it survived.

All in all I am very happy with it and would buy it again.  I do have a nice Siglent on the bench but I prefer having a sacrificial scope, lol.  Plus, it's just so damned convenient when you just want quick measurements and an easy way to get a signal trace.  5/5 stars.

[Randy222]

I just got my 703s a couple of days ago and I must say, I'm very happy with it.  My main use for it is as a repair tool on my bench for audio device repair and kit building.  It's a pretty solid machine and once you use it the interface becomes easy to work with.

Hah!  That yellow sticker over the ports used for amperage measurements made it quite clear not to forget to take it out of amp mode and not use those ports for measuring voltage.  Of course I removed it right away as I needed to measure mA on a kit I'm building.  And of course, after forgetting to change the leads back to the right ports I was taking voltage measurements like a dummy.  I had my power supply set to 9 volts with current limiting at 400mA.  I wasn't getting good voltage readings, go figure, lol.  I'm happy to say that there was no damage to the DUT or the meter so there's some amount of protection there.  All bets would have been off with no current limiting and it's not something I plan on doing again.  But it survived.

All in all I am very happy with it and would buy it again.  I do have a nice Siglent on the bench but I prefer having a sacrificial scope, lol.  Plus, it's just so damned convenient when you just want quick measurements and an easy way to get a signal trace.  5/5 stars.

Yes, but the scope needs to work right to be useful.
We are all still wondering if the mystery 1.29 has fixed anything?

[Luvticus]

Can anyone verify a distortion in some waveform views? I connected a 1:100 probe measuring mains voltage (220V) and got the following distortions every 13th cycle (I counted the cycles from one to the next appearence of the distortion by using the move function of the oscilloscope). A similar picture I got on connecting a DC-AC power-inverter that was powered by battery (so there is nothing wrong with my mains;-). 13 cycles of 50 Hz are every 260 ms, I guess. Maybe there is something in acquisition of the signal not so perfect? I used the normal mode (not highspeed-mode) and the actual newest 1.29 Firmware from the DT830-site in which they fixed some problems.



Here are some more strange distortions, I collected:




Another bug in highspeed-mode not in normal mode with the 1.29 FW is the squashing of the waveform after pressing the cursor-button.




I hope that zoyi will fix that and maybe also implement the 1:100 Probe selectability for getting correct values with this kind of probe.

[m72]

When I choose a bit of phosphor screen I view the same strange. Not all time but very often.
FW 1.2.9

[Vapor8]

Just received my Zoyi ZT-703S, purchased from the "ZOYI Official Store" on Aliexpress about 7 days ago. Surprised to see a Boot and FW not previously mentioned - BOOT: V1.0.16 & FW: V1.3.0

Literally just got it out of the box, so haven't been through it to try and determine what's different in this fw compared to 1.2.9...

[Randy222]

Just received my Zoyi ZT-703S, purchased from the "ZOYI Official Store" on Aliexpress about 7 days ago. Surprised to see a Boot and FW not previously mentioned - BOOT: V1.0.16 & FW: V1.3.0

Literally just got it out of the box, so haven't been through it to try and determine what's different in this fw compared to 1.2.9...

Wondering if they (or someone) is just up'ing the version # in the same boot & FW files to make it seem like the device is coming super "fresh"?

This is why we really need the official vendor to post up some release notes and the downloads to the FW's.

[Luvticus]

When I choose a bit of phosphor screen I view the same strange. Not all time but very often.
FW 1.2.9

Jitter would look similar, difficult to see in your jpg. If you use the original bmp-file of the zt-703 screen-copy function and convert it directly to png for uploading here would show your curve more detailed...
I hope, Zoyi also implements in future firmware saving directly to png instead of bmp, would be possible to save 10x more screencopies in the limited memory of the zt-703. One guy in the dt-830 forum already asked for implementing that, beside some more functions ...

[fk0]

Hello...

  I want to ask anybody who owns ZT-703S. It is able to save captured waveform into file?   Not as a picture, but as text or binary file, which then can be parsed by software.  I read the manual, and as I understood, it is only writes pictures into the memory.  Looks like a joke. Who need picutres?  I can photo a screen by phone.  But, for example, if I need analyze some CAN/LIN/RS-485 data packets, it would be convenient to have possibility to record packets and analyze records on PC.  And if waveform can be saved, how many samples?

[ksxx]

Hello...

  I want to ask anybody who owns ZT-703S. It is able to save captured waveform into file?   Not as a picture, but as text or binary file, which then can be parsed by software.  I read the manual, and as I understood, it is only writes pictures into the memory.  Looks like a joke. Who need picutres?  I can photo a screen by phone.  But, for example, if I need analyze some CAN/LIN/RS-485 data packets, it would be convenient to have possibility to record packets and analyze records on PC.  And if waveform can be saved, how many samples?

I have ordered one but not yet received it. I dont expect this option to be present, but I agree that this would be a very useful feature. The OWON multimeter scopes have that feature (and a PC app) but only 8k sampling memory vs 128k of the 703S.

[Edmiri]

Can anyone tell me whats the minimum value capacitance it can measure? Its not showing any digits on small ceramic capacitors.

[csuhi17]

Can anyone tell me whats the minimum value capacitance it can measure? Its not showing any digits on small ceramic capacitors.

Range     Resolution   Accuracy
9.999nF    0.001nF    ±  (5.0%+20)

Maybe above 0.020 nF.
But I don't understand what is the point of writing the pF value on the display, when the minimum inaccuracy is +20 count?!

[Edmiri]

Because i can add in series another capacitor that i know the exact value and then get the first cap value.

[csuhi17]

Because i can add in series another capacitor that i know the exact value and then get the first cap value.

Even so, the inaccuracy of the device does not disappear.
What I mentioned above.

If you want to measure a small value 0.03 nF capacitor whose true value you do not know.
And you connect a 1nF capacitor "in parallel" with it.

Then if everything is with 0% tolerance, it should be 1.03nF.

But due to the measurement inaccuracy of the instrument, you can measure here. ±(0.0515nF+0.02nF) that is
1.03nF-0.0715nF = 0.9585nF
and
1.03nF+0.0715nF = 1.1015nF
value between

But you won't be able to calculate from this how much the smaller 0.03nF capacitor is.

Since the inaccuracy is related to the measured values in %, if you try the same thing as described above with an 8nF, the inaccuracy will be greater, because of course the 5% of the 8nF is much larger than that of the 1nF.

With the 20 count inaccuracy, I don't understand why they didn't cut off the last, smallest digit and write 2 count instead.

I apologize if it is difficult to understand, I struggle a lot with google translate

[ksxx]

Because i can add in series another capacitor that i know the exact value and then get the first cap value.

Even so, the inaccuracy of the device does not disappear.
What I mentioned above.

If you want to measure a small value 0.03 nF capacitor whose true value you do not know.
And you connect a 1nF capacitor "in parallel" with it.

Then if everything is with 0% tolerance, it should be 1.03nF.

But due to the measurement inaccuracy of the instrument, you can measure here. ±(0.0515nF+0.02nF) that is
1.03nF-0.0715nF = 0.9585nF
and
1.03nF+0.0715nF = 1.1015nF
value between

But you won't be able to calculate from this how much the smaller 0.03nF capacitor is.

Since the inaccuracy is related to the measured values in %, if you try the same thing as described above with an 8nF, the inaccuracy will be greater, because of course the 5% of the 8nF is much larger than that of the 1nF.

With the 20 count inaccuracy, I don't understand why they didn't cut off the last, smallest digit and write 2 count instead.

I apologize if it is difficult to understand, I struggle a lot with google translate

many meters have the same problem. The only meter that I have that really shows meaningful values down to a few pF (4.7pF) is an OWON clamp! meter. Most others show nothing if a small cap is measured.

[Edmiri]

Wouldn't the inaccuracy be the same for both caps? I mean if i add a known 10pf cap and it adds 7pf to the multimeter than i know its 3pf off so i calculate the same % for the unknown cap value also?

Example. Unknown cap shows 7pf. I add a known 10pf cap and it shows 14pf total. This way i know both caps have 10pf value

[Edmiri]

Which OWON version?

[ksxx]

its an OWON CM210E (30€).

[csuhi17]

I don't know how much this will help you, I measured a 10pF ±0.5pF capacitor, so its value is actually between 9.5 and 10.5 pF.

My Aneng A3009 has a 0.000nF display
0.016nF measured.
And my Owon has 00.030nF
Which is a little outside of your spec.
Aneng, on the other hand, is much closer to reality. I don't have any other DMMs at the moment, just lots of Owons and an Aneng.

Zoyi should also be able to measure in the smallest measure range.
If you have several capacitors whose value you know, you can find out from where it works by moving towards the smaller value.

Wouldn't the inaccuracy be the same for both caps? I mean if i add a known 10pf cap and it adds 7pf to the multimeter than i know its 3pf off so i calculate the same % for the unknown cap value also?

Example. Unknown cap shows 7pf. I add a known 10pf cap and it shows 14pf total. This way i know both caps have 10pf value

If you think about it, no. The inaccuracy is given by simple math.
The Zoyi ha measures
1nF then the error is ± 0.07nF
At 10nF, the error is ±0.7nF

I have noticed that it will not always grow linearly. If I add a 0.05nF capacitor to the 10nF, sometimes only 0.02nF changes.
This cannot be called a measurement.

For measuring small values, it is worth using the measuring instrument created for it.

its an OWON CM210E (30€).

As far as I know, it also runs under the name Owon CM2100 /B.
B has bluetooth.

[Edmiri]

I measured a cap that has code 10 on it and it doesnt show value in zoyi. Even 2 caps in parallel dont show. Only 3 caps show value of 00.010
Meanwhile the bside esr02 pro shows 29pf for same 3 caps.

Could this be because i calibrated the zoyi? Is there a way to reverse the calibration, like format option or flashing new firmware?
Do i need to leave the multimeter probes attached during calibration so their resistance is canceled?

[wasedadoc]

I very much doubt that the calibration procedure has any effect on the multimeter readings.  Only the scope.

[Edmiri]

I measured a cap that has code 10 on it and it doesnt show value in zoyi. Even 2 caps in parallel dont show. Only 3 caps show value of 00.010
Meanwhile the bside esr02 pro shows 29pf for same 3 caps.

Could this be because i calibrated the zoyi? Is there a way to reverse the calibration, like format option or flashing new firmware?
Do i need to leave the multimeter probes attached during calibration so their resistance is canceled?

I very much doubt that the calibration procedure has any effect on the multimeter readings.  Only the scope.

After using another shorter probe i was able to measure even 5pf capacitor. I think if the probe was better zoyi can measure down to its resolution 1pf. The default probe is to long maybee.

I hope future firmwares introduce a pf scale.

[indman]

The only meter that I have that really shows meaningful values down to a few pF (4.7pF) is an OWON clamp! meter. Most others show nothing if a small cap is measured.

This is a false statement. Very many multimeters, when properly adjusted, show units of picofarads. Of course, given the factory error of such measurements. For example, I have the HP-890CN and HP-4070, which can display picofarads and are quite good. Look at the pictures I took earlier. In addition, if you want to measure such small capacitances more competently, you should use appropriate devices that exclude the influence of conductors, which contribute their capacitance and error to the measurement. I have also shown an example of such a simple device on the photo.

[csuhi17]

After using another shorter probe i was able to measure even 5pf capacitor. I think if the probe was better zoyi can measure down to its resolution 1pf. The default probe is to long maybee.

I hope future firmwares introduce a pf scale.

If the one shown in the picture is the measuring probe that I also bought, then it is a waste. After the first few measurements, I threw it in the trash...
I didn't see it in your previous pictures.

[Edmiri]

It came with bside esr02 pro.
They show the correct value. Stock probes are way off.

[indman]

Edmiri,What will this device show if the capacitance is connected directly to the input terminals without using tweezers and conductors?

[Mortymore]

It came with bside esr02 pro.
They show the correct value. Stock probes are way off.

That's why the REL button exists in most meters (it's the red one in ZT-703S, as far as I can tell)
With it you can remove any leads effect when measuring low capacitance or resistance values.

You can see "REL" on the display of the meters that indman show in Reply #358

[Edmiri]

Edmiri,What will this device show if the capacitance is connected directly to the input terminals without using tweezers and conductors?

If you were asking about bside than i already did that.

It came with bside esr02 pro.
They show the correct value. Stock probes are way off.

That's why the REL button exists in most meters (it's the red one in ZT-703S, as far as I can tell)
With it you can remove any leads effect when measuring low capacitance or resistance values.

You can see "REL" on the display of the meters that indman show in Reply #358

I tried that and same results.

[indman]

If you were asking about bside than i already did that.

No, I was asking what the ZT-703S would show since it is the one being discussed in this thread.

[Mortymore]

@ Edmiri

This is what I was trying to say, about using the REL button to zero readings to increase accuracy when measuring low values of capacitance or resistance

https://youtu.be/n58H1v0Wa5w?si=SQCfzxT2DQp3T7s2&t=1378

[indman]

This is what I was trying to say, about using the REL button to zero readings to increase accuracy when measuring low values of capacitance or resistance
https://youtu.be/n58H1v0Wa5w?si=SQCfzxT2DQp3T7s2&t=1378

This is an unfortunate example of how small capacitance measurements should not be made using the REL button.
You can't hold such a small capacitor in your hands! And note that with the probes connected, the multimeter display shows only zeros when it is not touching them.

[Mortymore]

This is what I was trying to say, about using the REL button to zero readings to increase accuracy when measuring low values of capacitance or resistance
https://youtu.be/n58H1v0Wa5w?si=SQCfzxT2DQp3T7s2&t=1378

This is an unfortunate example of how small capacitance measurements should not be made using the REL button.
You can't hold such a small capacitor in your hands! And note that with the probes connected, the multimeter display shows only zeros when it is not touching them.

In that regard, it is indeed. But I didn't find another example were the REL button was used with this hand-scopes.

[indman]

Mortymore, Yes it is. I watched several video reviews of the ZT-702 and ZT-703 on Youtube.
In all videos it is clearly visible that in capacitance measurement mode the display shows 00.000nF both with and without factory probes connected!
This tells us that the probes connected to the input terminals do not add any capacitance to the result on the display, and this can never happen.
Probes, like any conductors, have their own inductance,resistance and capacitance. The capacitance which will change as their position in space changes and in your hands.
Therefore, the readings on the 00.000nF display do not display real values, but relative ones  even without pressing a button REL. This happens because at the factory, Chinese friends do not particularly bother themselves with carefully setting up and calibrating such cheap devices. Therefore, the technical characteristics contain such a huge error in this part of the range
9.999nF 0.001nF ± (5.0% + 20)
Although in fact the device can measure small picofarads quite accurately if you first add another capacitance to its measuring input, which he showed us in his examples Edmiri. The capacity of the tweezers, which is connected to the input terminals of the ZT-703, is apparently optimally suited for the device to actually display units of picofarads. I wonder what capacitance this tweezers will have if you measure it, for example, using BSide ESR02? 

[Edmiri]

If you were asking about bside than i already did that.

No, I was asking what the ZT-703S would show since it is the one being discussed in this thread.

I tried a Electrolytic capacitor since the ceramic ones could make contact because of short legs.
Using stock probes 9.4uf
Direct contact 9.522uf

@ Edmiri

This is what I was trying to say, about using the REL button to zero readings to increase accuracy when measuring low values of capacitance or resistance

https://youtu.be/n58H1v0Wa5w?si=SQCfzxT2DQp3T7s2&t=1378

Yes I've tried and no results.

[indman]

I tried a Electrolytic capacitor since the ceramic ones could make contact because of short legs.
Using stock probes 9.4uf
Direct contact 9.522uf

An electrolytic capacitor is not suitable for us to determine the required additional capacitance when measuring picofarads.
You can solder small pieces of conductors to short legs, for example, to the 30pF capacitance that you showed in your measurement example.

[Mortymore]

I see... It seem that this is another case of the meter displaying a perfect 0.000 if its its close to that, to make the user happy.
I bought recently a RC3563 battery tester, that acts like this.
So in low capacitance measurements, the "close to zero" messes the readings despite the Relative measurement is used.

Nice to be aware of that 

[Edmiri]

Ceramic 33 cap.
Stock probes 0.011nf
Bside esr02 probes 0.033nf
Direct connection shows 00.000
Of i add another cap it shows the value. The connection is ok

The value of cap starts a bit low than it peaks at the values i wrote above.

[indman]

Ceramic 33 cap.
Stock probes 0.011nf
Bside esr02 probes 0.033nf
Direct connection shows 00.000
Of i add another cap it shows the value. The connection is ok
The value of cap starts a bit low than it peaks at the values i wrote above.

This is how it should be, I explained the reasons in my message above. To make it more clear to you what I was explaining, I will show you a few photographs that I took today. I have tweezers that are very similar to yours, as well as probes with thin needles also similar to your factory ones.
I measured the intrinsic capacity of the tweezers and probes. Now, I hope, the reason for this behavior of the ZT-703 when measuring small picofarads is clear?

[Randy222]

Ceramic 33 cap.
Stock probes 0.011nf
Bside esr02 probes 0.033nf
Direct connection shows 00.000
Of i add another cap it shows the value. The connection is ok
The value of cap starts a bit low than it peaks at the values i wrote above.

This is how it should be, I explained the reasons in my message above. To make it more clear to you what I was explaining, I will show you a few photographs that I took today. I have tweezers that are very similar to yours, as well as probes with thin needles also similar to your factory ones.
I measured the intrinsic capacity of the tweezers and probes. Now, I hope, the reason for this behavior of the ZT-703 when measuring small picofarads is clear?

We should expect to have some measured C of the probe set, but certainly the reading will depend on how the lead wires cross over each other and how close the ends are to each other. It is perhaps possible that the 16pf set could read 45pf if the leads were arranged differently? I don't think it would be good to REL at 45pf and then completely rearrange the leads to go measure a cap. If anything the whole thing needs to be in a jig, the measured leads C then REL'd by meter or by hand, and then DUT placed into the measuring jig.

[Edmiri]

I have tried repositioning the probe leads and had no diference. I also tried reel mode and same results.
Strange why it didnt read at all when connected directly to the input terminals.
Also why it needs some minutes of usage before the capacitance value raise.  This is for both stock probe and Bside twezers. After it warmed up i read even 1pf capacitor using bside tweezers.

[indman]

We should expect to have some measured C of the probe set, but certainly the reading will depend on how the lead wires cross over each other and how close the ends are to each other. It is perhaps possible that the 16pf set could read 45pf if the leads were arranged differently?

No,there won't be that much change in capacitance. Of course, it will vary in some limits from the position of wires in space, but such a capacitance of 45-50pF, which has tweezers, is unlikely to reach. I could be wrong of course, I just wanted to explain this effect with different probes, which observes Edmiri.

I have tried repositioning the probe leads and had no diference. I also tried reel mode and same results.
Strange why it didnt read at all when connected directly to the input terminals.

As I see from your last message, you still did not quite understand the meaning of what I was trying to show in my photos and in the message above. Perhaps because of my bad English? Sorry! Maybe someone else who understood what I wanted to say will explain it to you more clearly.

[Edmiri]

You we're very clear.
What i don't understand is why when i directly connect the capacitor to the multimeter without any probe, it doesn't show any value. Larger than 33pf ca0acitors show value, so this means the connection is ok.

[indman]

What i don't understand is why when i directly connect the capacitor to the multimeter without any probe, it doesn't show any value. Larger than 33pf ca0acitors show value, so this means the connection is ok.

Once again, I'll try to explain to you why this is the case. You see the numbers 00.000nF on the display of the ZT-703S with no capacitance connected. In reality, this is not the case. Imagine that now your device displays a conditionally negative value (-00.033nF). When you connect a 33pF capacitance directly to the input pins, this conditionally negative value is compensated and you can see that the display shows no change, i.e. it shows 00.000nF. If you connect another capacitance directly to the input jacks, e.g. 100pF, you should see a result of about 00.067nF on the display, i.e. 100pF-33pF=67pF.

[m72]

My observations.
The multimeter is a separate part of the circuit. The most common and widespread multimeter made on DTM0660/DTM1106. Therefore, any answers to the topic “how it works” and “what to do with it” can be found in topics about this chipset. There will be nothing new here. All the nuances, all the limitations stem from the capabilities of the DTM0660.
a) It can be calibrated at any time by recording what you need in I2C EEPROM. I remade the current shunt, calibrated it by writing down the settings at address 0x2A and got an “ideal meter for 4-20 mA”. In Russian it's "as easy as to send two bytes."
b) When switching to a multimeter, its mode will always be voltage measurement because no one bothers with maintaining the operating mode. Yes, in fact, this is unlikely to work out in this circuit design.

[indman]

The multimeter is a separate part of the circuit. The most common and widespread multimeter made on DTM0660/DTM1106. Therefore, any answers to the topic “how it works” and “what to do with it” can be found in topics about this chipset. There will be nothing new here. All the nuances, all the limitations stem from the capabilities of the DTM0660.

The ZT-702S multimeter uses DM1109EN and EEPROM 24C02 chip. In the ZT-703S, the multimeter chip is still unknown since the markings have been erased and EEPROM 24C02. There are many similarities with the DTM0660, but there are also differences.

a) It can be calibrated at any time by recording what you need in I2C EEPROM. I remade the current shunt, calibrated it by writing down the settings at address 0x2A and got an “ideal meter for 4-20 mA”. In Russian it's "as easy as to send two bytes."

Not all calibration constants and configurations are stored in the I2C EEPROM, so for each device model the contents of the EEPROM will differ significantly. There are many things that are already pre-recorded at the factory into the main DM chip and their value cannot be changed or a special calibration procedure is required, which is known to the manufacturer!

[MarkusWandel]

This is odd.  The Zotek website offers v1.27, and that's what people seem to be generally talking about.  But the one I just got shows firmware 1.30.

Interesting bugs found so far:  While showing it to a friend, first the trigger position indicator disappeared.  Only the tiny green right arrow at the top right showed, but no amount of scrolling left and right brought the trigger position into view, and in fact, scroling was infinite since it kept wrapping around.

Shortly after that, the trigger mode button stopped working.  It was just stuck in "Auto", no way to go to single shot any more.  Toggling the unit off and on, and toggling between scope and multimeter mode, changed nothing.  Resetting the scope to defaults fixed it.

Also, shouldn't there be a way to change the scale/position settings for channel 2?  Selecting channel 2 in the menu affects nothing; the directional buttons still change channel 1.  The only way I've found is to disable channel 1 temporarily; then they access channel 2.

One hopes for active bug fix updates.  But again, why do I have newer firmware than what is downloadable?

Main dislike other than the issues above, is that the buttons need a pretty heavy press.

[ksxx]

Also, shouldn't there be a way to change the scale/position settings for channel 2?  Selecting channel 2 in the menu affects nothing; the directional buttons still change channel 1.  The only way I've found is to disable channel 1 temporarily; then they access channel 2.

This sounds annoying... Will receive mine in the next few days. I will most likely use only 1 channel 95% of the time. What can we expect for around 80€ only? Lets see if we get more FW updates or if Zoyi rather releases a new scopemeter model.

[MarkusWandel]

Another question, is everybody's ZT703s as noisy as this one?  Probe clipped to the calibrator output/ground lug, default square wave output, haven't messed with the calibration screws yet.

About 2-3 pixels of noise regardless of the vertical scale.  Even with the probe grounded, at some vertical scales about 2 pixels of noise are present as in the last screenshot; at others the line is flat.  Par for the course at this price level?

[Hoggy]

Another question, is everybody's ZT703s as noisy as this one?  Probe clipped to the calibrator output/ground lug, default square wave output, haven't messed with the calibration screws yet.

About 2-3 pixels of noise regardless of the vertical scale.  Even with the probe grounded, at some vertical scales about 2 pixels of noise are present as in the last screenshot; at others the line is flat.  Par for the course at this price level?

I've noticed the same thing - and was wondering if it was just me...

My 3 cheapie ZeeWeii scopes don't show this much noise.

[Mortymore]

Glad that they don't show perfect lines, as they seem to show perfect zeros on multimeter, to make some users happy 

[indman]

Glad that they don't show perfect lines, as they seem to show perfect zeros on multimeter, to make some users happy 

Bingo,you think right! Beware if you see a straight, nice and noiseless sweep line on digital oscilloscopes, as well as absolute zeros on the display when measuring capacitance!

[MarkusWandel]

Next one:  I haven't found a way to display absolute voltages for the horizontal cursors; it only displays a delta.

As long as the voltage graticule is accurate (with the channel zero point arrow lined up visually) one can just place one cursor on, say, 0V and then read the absolute voltage for the other off the delta.  But  have I missed something?

[MarkusWandel]

Beware if you see straight lines on cheap oscilloscope that is.  My previous experience with a digital scope, when I was still doing that sort of analog lab work, 30 years ago, was with a HP 54100.  And that one really did give clean lines - at higher pixel resolution too - for DC values.

[MarkusWandel]

Watched the video above.  Admittedly all the work with the old expensive early generation digital 'scope was in single-shot mode.  And I don't have any screenshots left (hardcopy in those days - you hooked up a printer via HPIB) to really confirm that my memory is accurate.

[Fungus]

Next one:  I haven't found a way to display absolute voltages for the horizontal cursors; it only displays a delta.

As long as the voltage graticule is accurate (with the channel zero point arrow lined up visually) one can just place one cursor on, say, 0V and then read the absolute voltage for the other off the delta.  But  have I missed something?

STOP it then use the trigger level as a "cursor".

[MarkusWandel]

Is this more "don't expect too much from a cheap scope" stuff?  I clipped both the probes (P2060) to the calibrator lug - and the ground clips to the ground lug - to finally adjust the compensation screws.  Nice and rectangular, but... different amplitude?  I figured OK, cheap probes, don't exactly do 10:1 attenuation (both were switched to 10X).  But swapping the BNC connections didn't change anything.  Channel 2 still shows the same, lesser amplitude.

[wasedadoc]

Is this more "don't expect too much from a cheap scope" stuff?  I clipped both the probes (P2060) to the calibrator lug - and the ground clips to the ground lug - to finally adjust the compensation screws.  Nice and rectangular, but... different amplitude?  I figured OK, cheap probes, don't exactly do 10:1 attenuation (both were switched to 10X).  But swapping the BNC connections didn't change anything.  Channel 2 still shows the same, lesser amplitude.

If you have not done so already, try doing the calibration.

[kloetpatra]

It looks like new stock is sold with 1.3.0 Firmware. However it is still nowhere to be found online.

[Harrow]

My ZT-703S arrived today, purchased from AliExpress. I was surprised it wouldn't turn on since the batteries are usually delivered with 50% charge. I opened it up and found that I have no battery inside!!!

I'm wondering if it's worth the effort of sending it back, or probably I'll just buy a battery and put it in myself. Does it matter if I install an ICR or IMR 18650? Are they interchangeable? Which should I be using in this?

[Razvan_N]

They are both compatible, but I would use ICR. IMR is for high drain applications, it would be overkill for a scope.

[indman]

I'm wondering if it's worth the effort of sending it back, or probably I'll just buy a battery and put it in myself. Does it matter if I install an ICR or IMR 18650? Are they interchangeable? Which should I be using in this?

What do you need to buy a battery for now? You can check if the device works by simply connecting an external 4.0V voltage to it, e.g. from a power supply unit.
If the device works in all modes, simply negotiate with the seller for compensation for the missing battery. If the device is not working, you should return it to the seller.

[Harrow]

What do you need to buy a battery for now? You can check if the device works by simply connecting an external 4.0V voltage to it, e.g. from a power supply unit.
If the device works in all modes, simply negotiate with the seller for compensation for the missing battery. If the device is not working, you should return it to the seller.

Thanks. This is the first time I've used AliExpress. I just found the 'Message Center' and contacted the seller. I had connected power to it and it does work, so hopefully they can simply send me a battery.

Otherwise, I'm quite happy with the unit and how it works. Having grown up using hefty Tektronix CROs in the 80s, I'm still boggle-minded that I can have this in my hand for under $100.

[Maksnav]

I just wanted to post a PSA, most probably know this already but when buying anything of value from AliExpress please video record the opening of your package in one continuous shot all in frame.

I purchased the ZT-703 2x now from AliExpress the first one was returned to the seller because the package weight didnt match the discription during shipping and never made it out of china. The second one was flat out scammed and the seller sent me some gel pads that look like small shoe inserts or something. It came in a large order with several items. The recording i made was corrupt (not sure what happened) Luckily AliExpress refunded my purchase without it. Ended up buying a ADS1013D for 50$ off ebay for use in the mean time. Again just wanted to share my cautionary tale.

[ksxx]

Just got my 703S. It took me some time to realize that the function generator available via the 'More Apps' menu does not work together with the scope functionality at all. Either use the scope or the enhanced function generator! The low frequency generator accessible via the 'Output' option on the other hand is always available. However it seems that setting some of the other waveforms (triangle etc) then imposes a 100us minimal timebase setting.

fw is 1.29

[Randy222]

Just got my 703S. It took me some time to realize that the function generator available via the 'More Apps' menu does not work together with the scope functionality at all. Either use the scope or the enhanced function generator! The low frequency generator accessible via the 'Output' option on the other hand is always available. However it seems that setting some of the other waveforms (triangle etc) then imposes a 100us minimal timebase setting.

fw is 1.29

Did it ever work the other way? All I saw was freq gen made signal a bnc and the signal being generated was in the display.

Does the manual say it works any other way?

[lchao]

Just got my 703S. It took me some time to realize that the function generator available via the 'More Apps' menu does not work together with the scope functionality at all. Either use the scope or the enhanced function generator! The low frequency generator accessible via the 'Output' option on the other hand is always available. However it seems that setting some of the other waveforms (triangle etc) then imposes a 100us minimal timebase setting.

fw is 1.29

This issue is present in v1.27 too. In the below video a workaround is described:
https://youtu.be/T7kXdiVXet4?t=55

You should turn on the signal generator through the More Apps menu, in this case you can go down to 10ns.

[Veteran68]

My ZT-703S arrived today, purchased from AliExpress. I was surprised it wouldn't turn on since the batteries are usually delivered with 50% charge. I opened it up and found that I have no battery inside!!!

I'm wondering if it's worth the effort of sending it back, or probably I'll just buy a battery and put it in myself. Does it matter if I install an ICR or IMR 18650? Are they interchangeable? Which should I be using in this?

Depending on seller, destination country, shipment method (passenger air vs cargo air vs sea), and probably some other variables, lithium chemistry batteries are considered hazardous and are banned from being shipped as regular cargo. I've had a number of items ship from China without their batteries, while others come with. Sometimes they tell you they're shipping sans batteries, and other times they do not. It's pretty much a lottery. Either some sellers are applying the regulations to everything they sell just to avoid hassling with who gets batteries and who doesn't, or they don't care about regulations and ship batteries regardless.

I'm not usually concerned about it, because typically if I'm ordering from AliExpress and the like it's because of a price advantage anyway, so the extra cost of a battery is a non-issue. Fortunately I maintain a supply of most common rechargeable formats including 18650's and a few different LiPo pouch types, so unless it's some exotic battery it's seldom much of an inconvenience for me. It would be courteous for the seller to clearly state in their listings that they ship without batteries, and what type is required, just so buyers can be prepared.

All that to say this is not unusual, and you're unlikely to get a battery from the seller, thought they might be generous enough to refund you a couple bucks to supply your own battery.

[Harrow]

I just wanted to post a PSA, most probably know this already but when buying anything of value from AliExpress please video record the opening of your package in one continuous shot all in frame.

I purchased the ZT-703 2x now from AliExpress the first one was returned to the seller because the package weight didnt match the discription during shipping and never made it out of china. The second one was flat out scammed and the seller sent me some gel pads that look like small shoe inserts or something. It came in a large order with several items. The recording i made was corrupt (not sure what happened) Luckily AliExpress refunded my purchase without it. Ended up buying a ADS1013D for 50$ off ebay for use in the mean time. Again just wanted to share my cautionary tale.

Interesting. I was about to spend almost $1000 on an oscilloscope on AliExpress. Now you've got me wondering if it's a bad idea.

[Harrow]

Depending on seller, destination country, shipment method (passenger air vs cargo air vs sea), and probably some other variables, lithium chemistry batteries are considered hazardous and are banned from being shipped as regular cargo. I've had a number of items ship from China without their batteries, while others come with. Sometimes they tell you they're shipping sans batteries, and other times they do not. It's pretty much a lottery. Either some sellers are applying the regulations to everything they sell just to avoid hassling with who gets batteries and who doesn't, or they don't care about regulations and ship batteries regardless.

I'm not usually concerned about it, because typically if I'm ordering from AliExpress and the like it's because of a price advantage anyway, so the extra cost of a battery is a non-issue. Fortunately I maintain a supply of most common rechargeable formats including 18650's and a few different LiPo pouch types, so unless it's some exotic battery it's seldom much of an inconvenience for me. It would be courteous for the seller to clearly state in their listings that they ship without batteries, and what type is required, just so buyers can be prepared.

All that to say this is not unusual, and you're unlikely to get a battery from the seller, thought they might be generous enough to refund you a couple bucks to supply your own battery.

There was no mention in the ad of it being 'sans battery', however, I just looked at the reviews and a lot of people have made the same comment. Anyway, no big deal. Online ordering is always a lottery and I'm pretty happy that the product arrived with two probes and that it works.

**UPDATE**  I just got a return message from the seller saying they can't ship with a battery. So, I can just order an 18650 from AliExpress and hope they don't send me an empty package and say the same thing, lol.

BTW, do I need to use a 'protected' cell?  I've never used an 18650 before and just saw a post about it.

[Atlan]

The battery takes a long time to arrive.  (more than 30 days) Because they probably go by train or ship.  He was born from other things that go by air.  The package with the battery is usually marked with a yellow sticker and a battery and fire pictogram.

[ksxx]

Just got my 703S. It took me some time to realize that the function generator available via the 'More Apps' menu does not work together with the scope functionality at all. Either use the scope or the enhanced function generator! The low frequency generator accessible via the 'Output' option on the other hand is always available. However it seems that setting some of the other waveforms (triangle etc) then imposes a 100us minimal timebase setting.

fw is 1.29

Did it ever work the other way? All I saw was freq gen made signal a bnc and the signal being generated was in the display.

Does the manual say it works any other way?

No, the manual does not say anything about that but it also does not state that it is NOT possible to see the waveforms on the scope. Maybe it is just me, but it feels like you buy a car with a radio and then find out that you can listen to the radio only when the motor is off. The reviews were at least unclear or the reviewers were confused themselves. Just to make the facts clear again to the followers of this thread, as of FW 1.29, the only generator signal that allows for the full capabilities of the scope (no 100us limit) is the 1kHz square wave calibrator signal. Other signals up to 2-5kHz can be used with together with the scope function (100us limit). The extended generator options (up to around 100kHz etc) can only be used stand-alone in the separate App. If you encounter the 100us time base limit in your scopemeter  and want to go back to normal, you need to go to the output menu (generator) and select the square wave option (the one were frequency and amplitude show no values ---)
Overall, the scopemeter works quite reliable with the 1.29 firmware. No crashes, little menu weirdness, triggering works fine and the operation in the single channel mode is fun. With two channels the operation is more cumbersome but also works ok.

[Mortymore]

I just wanted to post a PSA, most probably know this already but when buying anything of value from AliExpress please video record the opening of your package in one continuous shot all in frame.

I purchased the ZT-703 2x now from AliExpress the first one was returned to the seller because the package weight didnt match the discription during shipping and never made it out of china. The second one was flat out scammed and the seller sent me some gel pads that look like small shoe inserts or something. It came in a large order with several items. The recording i made was corrupt (not sure what happened) Luckily AliExpress refunded my purchase without it. Ended up buying a ADS1013D for 50$ off ebay for use in the mean time. Again just wanted to share my cautionary tale.

Interesting. I was about to spend almost $1000 on an oscilloscope on AliExpress. Now you've got me wondering if it's a bad idea.

A very bad idea in my opinion. One my find great and honest sellers in Aliexpress, but also many dishonest sellers, from those who sell garbage, item not as stated, cancel deals many days after purchase, and I even received an empty bag stating 10g of weight, hence, obviously empty, just for fun. Had to report that to authorities, as Pyapal requested, because Aliexpress didn't do anything for days, so I turned into Paypal, the only method I use to pay on Aliexpress.

Despite a deal can go smoothly, one has to think about support. I would never risk to spend $1000 in an item in Aliexpress and expect local support if needed.
Just my 2cents

[Aldo22]

Depending on seller, destination country, shipment method (passenger air vs cargo air vs sea), and probably some other variables, lithium chemistry batteries are considered hazardous and are banned from being shipped as regular cargo.

Most of the products I have ordered so far have come with a "built-in" rechargeable battery.
As far as I can see, the zt703s has an officially "replaceable" battery.
Maybe that's the difference?

Is there a difference in safety whether a battery is built-in (officially non-removable) or not?

P.S. I don't have a zt703s, I'm just guessing.

[MarkusWandel]

Cheap scope expectation management.

I have an old 15MHz analog scope.  It is honestly 15MHz.  If you put in a higher-bandwidth signal, you see a 15MHz low-pass filtered version of it.  For example, a 6MHz square wave will look pretty rounded, but rock steady with no strange artifacts.

This thing claims to be 50MHz bandwidth, which may well be true, but I don't think there's anything even resembling a 50MHz "brick wall" low-pass filter.  So if you sample a higher-bandwidth signal you can get some gruesome artifacts.   I don't have access to high-quality lab equiment, specifically no function generator and no better quality scope to compare to.  What I do have is a 3.6864MHz clock oscillator module which, based on lab experience in a past life, puts out a clean signal - it had better, being a clock source.  Let's put it on (first pic).

Whoa!  I could handle "ringing" on the edge, but every edge looks different!  10s persistence shows the variation.

Well, that's overmagnification.  In high speed mode, this thing does something like 250Ms/s but at 50ns/div that's only about one sample every other pixel.  So zoom out to 100ns/div (second picture).  This shows several different "versions" of the rising and falling edges, now at roughly 1:1 ratio between horizontal pixels and samples.

Right, get a hold of yourself.  This is not a $20K lab scope.  This is a scopemeter.  What do people use them for?  Debug power supply issues, audio issues, and, in the old days, standard definition TV issues (that's the world my 15MHz analog scope was born into).  I do still have a single SD video source in this house - an old video camera.

Third picture:  Pretty!  That's the 3.58MHz colour burst on the "front porch" of a scan line.  Zoomed in (4th pic) it still looks pretty good, though not particularly sinusoidal.  So back to reality.  This thing totally does what hobbyist scopes need to do.  You could debug a switching power supply with it, for example.

Just for laughs, back to the square wave at the same horizontal resolution (250ns/div) as the last capture.  You can see the artifacts, but all in all it looks square wave-ish.  Note the probe was compensation adjusted at 1KHz so it may not be perfect at this zoom level.

It's not the probes by the way.  I tried a high quality, Tektronix 250MHz scope probe that I happened to have, and the waveforms look essentially the same.

[RAPo]

Well, the version mystery is solved.

Zoyi states:

Just to let you know, the factory's latest version right now is 1.2.7. If someone says they got 1.3.0, that's actually an internal naming method by the engineering department.
In reality, both versions are the same. Whenever there's a new update, I'll let you all know here first.

See this video:

[wasedadoc]

Whoa!  I could handle "ringing" on the edge, but every edge looks different!  10s persistence shows the variation.

Totally to be expected. The sampling rate would need to be an exact integer multiple of the signal fundamental frequency to make every cycle display the same.

[Altair8800]

Anyone else getting BLOCKED from going to thedmm.com website?

It might just be my particular AntiVirus (AVG)...  AVG is stating:

"We've safely aborted connection on thedmm.com because it was infected with URL:Blacklist"

[Atlan]

That sounds like a bad joke It's great to release new firmware versions that don't change anything But it looks like product support exists.

[Razvan_N]

It's funny that all three downloadable versions have different sizes, although Tim claims they are all the same!

[Fimek]

Hello, what I have noticed is the occasional appearance of artifacts around the triggering edge. Besides, there are extra artifacts when persistence is turned on (as far as I remember - they have been mentioned within this thread). Also - there are problems with trigger level. To provide stable signal it must be set close to a signal base line. If it it set closer to the upper level but still below the signal amplitude then the oscilloscope looses synchronization. In fact the occasional artifacts around the triggering edge and problems with triggering are the most annoying. And the buzzer - is generates sound in multimeter mode while it remains silent in oscilloscope mode. There should be an option of controlling the sound in both modes at once. This is why I'm very much interested in release of an updated firmware

[Altair8800]

My hunch is that some of these versions might be beta version that their engineers are working on and they have not yet a stable (for release) version yet.   

I think Tim (Zoyi/Zotek) might not have said it the best way...

[Dave_g8]

Cheap scope expectation management.

I have an old 15MHz analog scope.  It is honestly 15MHz.  If you put in a higher-bandwidth signal, you see a 15MHz low-pass filtered version of it.  For example, a 6MHz square wave will look pretty rounded, but rock steady with no strange artifacts.

I agree with the comment of managing the expectations of these devices.

Input signals with fast transitions can show ringing on the reconstructed displayed waveform due to sampling and interpolation. The sin(x)/x only works accurately for band limited signals presented to the ADC input.

In the Excel examples below, the blue dots show the sampled values and the red line the sin(x)/x interpolation.

The first case is with fast transitions and the second case is with slower (band limited) transitions presented to the sampling device.




The example below shows reconstructing a 7.1 MHz sine wave with a sampling rate of 40MSa/s.

[swampy]

Hi. I have been a member for a long time, but I just rejoined because my membership seems to have lapsed; possibly for lack of posting, lol. Anyway, I thought you might like to know that the latest firmware for the ZOYI ZT-703S, version ZOYI-703S-FW-V132.ZTK is now available on the official website here: https://zotektools.com/firmware-update-703/ I have installed the firmware without any issues. I have not yet had time to see what has been updated, except that I notice I now also have a X100 probe option. 

[ksxx]

Official update to 1.32 worked for me as well. Beside the 100x option, there seem to be no visible news in the menu. Not 100% sure, but the AUTO function seems to make better choices with offsets and sensitivity when using 1 channel vs 2 channel. The vpp,min,max measurements  give readings that do not depend on the vertical offset anymore. RMS though does change with the vertical offset. Still, the measurements are off by a lot for spiky signals like pulses with a low rep rate. It looks as only a fraction of the displayed data is used for the measurements and thus the peaks while visible might get thrown out of the analysis.

[ksxx]

a quick tip for the problem of the BNC connectors being too tight/short: Get a BNC T or 90deg adapter and file down the end of it by a few 100 microns. Probably leave it on the meter. 

[MarkusWandel]

If I update to the new 1.32 (the thing now has "1.30" on it) and something stops working that previously worked
- will it accept a firmware downgrade?
- where can I get the older 1.27 release, just in case?
Goes without saying I'll keep the 1.32 upgrade file around for potential future use.

[lchao]

If I update to the new 1.32 (the thing now has "1.30" on it) and something stops working that previously worked
- will it accept a firmware downgrade?
- where can I get the older 1.27 release, just in case?
Goes without saying I'll keep the 1.32 upgrade file around for potential future use.

On the thedmm.com the link still points to v1.27 (at least yesterday it was, right now I cannot check it):
1. go to the website: https://thedmm.com/shop/zt-703s/
2. Scroll down to the "Download File" button
3. Click on the button -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j5GLloua8nbk5bFO4p7Zw5z5m3VUuqUF/view?usp=drive_link

[Luvticus]

Downgrading from 1.3.2 to 1.2.7 works without problems as long as the USB-Mode works. I just had temporary problems with the scope getting recognized in USB-Mode with FW Version 1.3.2. The USB-letter appeared and disappeared on my Windows 11 Desktop after a
split of a second! I reverted my last change in the setup options and the scope was recognized again. The change was switching off the 4th parameter in the measure-Menue (VMAX also seen in the following attachments) on Channel 2, don`t know if this caused the problem. I could not reproduce it. Probably a reset to default would have solved the USB-Problem also.
Anyhow, the FW 1.3.2 like the versions before still has the problem of sporadically showing distortions in the waveform like in this examples:





Has anyone made similar experience?

Short update:
I got the USB-recognition-problem also with FW 1.2.7 and independent of the number of parameters shown in the measure box. Maybe I have a faulty unit...

[ksxx]

Anyhow, the FW 1.3.2 like the versions before still has the problem of sporadically showing distortions in the waveform like in this examples:

(Attachment Link)

(Attachment Link)

Has anyone made similar experience?

I was curious about this behaviour and did some experimenting. Used the built in generator with triangle and 100Hz to be in the same range as your signals. I can reproduce such signal shifts only if I set the the trigger horiz offset OUTSIDE the current time window. The 703 shows a small horizontal green arrow in this situation. Normally if the trigger is within the time window, there is also the trigger 'T' visible in this range pictogram at the top. Your last screenshots however show that the trigger is in the current time window and in this case I did not observe the  effect. It is a bit of a problem that potential large horizontal offsets after zooming into a waveform in STOP/HOLD mode are not reset when you go back to RUN mode. I have to click quite a bit to get it back into range. Maybe a long-press on TRIG should better not only reset the trigger level but also the trigger offset.

[Fimek]

I guess it is the same problem as I have observed.

1st picture: the signal (I've confirmed the signal purity with another oscilloscope):
2nd picture: What oscilloscope shows - 1st timebase settings  (the frequency measurement is disturbed)
3rd picture: What oscilloscope shows - 2nd timebase settings

The problem occurs no matter if persistence is active. It also appears on second channel.

[Luvticus]

I was curious about this behaviour and did some experimenting. Used the built in generator with triangle and 100Hz to be in the same range as your signals. I can reproduce such signal shifts only if I set the the trigger horiz offset OUTSIDE the current time window. The 703 shows a small horizontal green arrow in this situation. Normally if the trigger is within the time window, there is also the trigger 'T' visible in this range pictogram at the top. Your last screenshots however show that the trigger is in the current time window and in this case I did not observe the  effect. It is a bit of a problem that potential large horizontal offsets after zooming into a waveform in STOP/HOLD mode are not reset when you go back to RUN mode. I have to click quite a bit to get it back into range. Maybe a long-press on TRIG should better not only reset the trigger level but also the trigger offset.

I can confirm, that the artifacts appear reproducible on sweeping the horizontal trigger offset to the right and/or to the left border, also in run mode. Also the frequency reading changed to a wrong value  while scrolling. After pressing the stop button I counted 130 ms distance with my setup (values and ranges in the picture) until the exact same distortion was showing up.

[tzok]

I find ZT-703S to be very useful and a great upgrade over ZT-702S. As its predecessor, it is very intuitive in use, but I'm missing an option to cycle through cursor modes by long pressing F4. Other Fn keys have well-thought-out long-press functionalities, only F4 has none.

[black6host]

Do you have cursors turned on by selecting menu and cycling through until where you can specify what cursor type?  (Horizontal, vertical or both...)  This has to be set prior to the F4 key selecting any cursors.  If you don't, F4 won't do anything.  I've had no problems with any of the firmware versions from 1.27 on, haven't tried prior versions.

I find ZT-703S to be very useful and a great upgrade over ZT-702S. As its predecessor, it is very intuitive in use, but I'm missing an option to cycle through cursor modes by long pressing F4. Other Fn keys have well-thought-out long-press functionalities, only F4 has none.

[black6host]

I'd like to post that like many others, when I received my 703S I was unable to get probes locked onto the BNC connectors.

I'm happy to report that after usage for awhile that the supplied probe goes on and locks as it should without undue twisting.  I haven't used the second channel much so putting the probe on that and getting a lock is still problematic.  My guess is should I use that connector more often it would loosen up a bit as well.

It shouldn't be an issue at all and I'm glad it resolved itself before I started modifying the case or probes.

[tzok]

Do you have cursors turned on by selecting menu and cycling through until where you can specify what cursor type?  (Horizontal, vertical or both...)  This has to be set prior to the F4 key selecting any cursors.  If you don't, F4 won't do anything.  I've had no problems with any of the firmware versions from 1.27 on, haven't tried prior versions.

Yes, but I don't understand, why they haven't assigned cycling through these menu options (cursors: none, horiz., vert., both) to F4 long-press. It would be way more convenient, than navigating through the menu. Especially, since there is nothing else assigned to F4 long-press.

[black6host]

Probably because you'd have to cycle through all the cursors, horizontal and vertical, to adjust the ones you want.  If you're only interested in time then having horizontal cursors you don't use just adds info you don't need on screen.  And, you may not want cursors visible at all.  I think the approach is a good one given the limitations of a handheld but hey, I'm open to suggestions! 

Yes, but I don't understand, why they haven't assigned cycling through these menu options (cursors: none, horiz., vert., both) to F4 long-press. It would be way more convenient, than navigating through the menu. Especially, since there is nothing else assigned to F4 long-press.

[ksxx]

I find ZT-703S to be very useful and a great upgrade over ZT-702S. As its predecessor, it is very intuitive in use, but I'm missing an option to cycle through cursor modes by long pressing F4. Other Fn keys have well-thought-out long-press functionalities, only F4 has none.

Do you really use the cursor tool on this small instrument? Fo me the current F4 it is a total waste. I would rather suggest to have the trigger mode or measurement settings on this button.
Another one: The long press on F2 (move) should not only reset the vertical offset but also the horizontal offset.

[tzok]

Do you really use the cursor tool on this small instrument?

Yes, it is very useful for me. I was missing cursor functionality in ZT-702S. For me, it is one of the most crucial functions, way more useful than automatic measurements.

[naiclub]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KHQ1eRaz8SKMaxU8eJanosP-IL7But85/view

ZOYI-703S-FW-V132.ZTK

[lchao]

Official update to 1.32 worked for me as well. Beside the 100x option, there seem to be no visible news in the menu. Not 100% sure, but the AUTO function seems to make better choices with offsets and sensitivity when using 1 channel vs 2 channel. The vpp,min,max measurements  give readings that do not depend on the vertical offset anymore. RMS though does change with the vertical offset. Still, the measurements are off by a lot for spiky signals like pulses with a low rep rate. It looks as only a fraction of the displayed data is used for the measurements and thus the peaks while visible might get thrown out of the analysis.

Some info on what's new in Firmware 1.3.2 (by Tim - who left Zoyi):
1， Fix the inaccurate duty cycle measurement.
2， Add probe attenuation of X100.
3，Add voltage amplitude calibration, and include amplitude calibration test in the manufacturing process.
Source: comment section of this video:

PS: Some time ago on this forum thread there was some speculation about the trustworthiness of firmware updates from various sources and the conclusion was more or less that the Zotek official Google Drive is the best. Now it's fun to see how untrustful are the members of the dt380.com Chinese forum with the zotektools.com website. As I learned on the forum they're getting the firmware updates directly from Zotek support in mail which they post/share in the forum. For them that's the only reliable source, and not the English Zotek site...

[Astur_TorQue]

I guess it is the same problem as I have observed.

1st picture: the signal (I've confirmed the signal purity with another oscilloscope):
2nd picture: What oscilloscope shows - 1st timebase settings  (the frequency measurement is disturbed)
3rd picture: What oscilloscope shows - 2nd timebase settings

The problem occurs no matter if persistence is active. It also appears on second channel.

Hi the aneng is going well? Is the hardware the same as zoyi 703s right? The firmwares update well? Thanks

[Razvan_N]

Hi the aneng is going well? Is the hardware the same as zoyi 703s right? The firmwares update well? Thanks

I don't know about Aneng, but I have some BSIDE ZT-702S and Zotek firmware totally works. The only difference between Zotek/Zoyi-branded scopes and BSIDE is the splashscreen that doesn't say ZOYI but DIGITAL OSCILLOSCOPE.
That splashscreen does not change after flashing Zoyi firmware.

[ksxx]

The measurement values in Scope mode seem to have more problems than I thought before when in DC input mode(FW1.32). I measured the switching on signal of my PSU at 12V setpoint. I set the scope to 100ms/div and 5V/div. The signal on the screen clearly shows the 12V amplitude of the voltage ramp. The vpp,max,min values are completely off and do depend on where I set the vertical offset.
Zoyi please fix this. I cannot imagine that this is hard to do.

[Astur_TorQue]

Hi the aneng is going well? Is the hardware the same as zoyi 703s right? The firmwares update well? Thanks

I don't know about Aneng, but I have some BSIDE ZT-702S and Zotek firmware totally works. The only difference between Zotek/Zoyi-branded scopes and BSIDE is the splashscreen that doesn't say ZOYI but DIGITAL OSCILLOSCOPE.
That splashscreen does not change after flashing Zoyi firmware.

I see, I think that is just the bootloader splashscreen

[Razvan_N]

Zoyi, Zotek, if you are reading this: this device could be for the scope world what Quansheng UV-5 is for the radio world!
Sell the hardware but make the firmware open source!

[Fimek]

I had to sell mine because there were too many bugs in the software which made the oscilloscope not trustful. I'm sure that the producer will solve these issues, but this will take time.

The signal generator that operates exclusively with the oscilloscope was a cherry on top

Otherwise it would be a great inexpensive tool. Soon I will compare the ZOYI 703s with ZEEWEII DSO3D12, which I recently bought. The new one seems better in terms of user interface and the possibility of using multimeter, oscilloscope and generator simultaneously.

[Astur_TorQue]

Zoyi, Zotek, if you are reading this: this device could be for the scope world what Quansheng UV-5 is for the radio world!
Sell the hardware but make the firmware open source!

Hahaha chinese are not very keen on opening firmware.. even if they are force to like with android

[Razvan_N]

Hahaha chinese are not very keen on opening firmware.. even if they are force to like with android

Well, the radio I mentioned above is Chinese and sales exploded precisely because it can be flashed with custom
firmware that added LOTS of extra functionality. Zotek can, at least, leave the apps open source or publish a SDK.
There are four free app shortcuts besides the image viewer and the signal generator.

[Astur_TorQue]

Hahaha chinese are not very keen on opening firmware.. even if they are force to like with android

Well, the radio I mentioned above is Chinese and sales exploded precisely because it can be flashed with custom
firmware that added LOTS of extra functionality. Zotek can, at least, leave the apps open source or publish a SDK.
There are four free app shortcuts besides the image viewer and the signal generator.

Unfortunatly if somnething opensource appears, it will be a new one created from scratch, like openwrt

Is not very common having multimeters upgradeable

[tunk]

Unfortunatly if somnething opensource appears, it will be a new one created from scratch, like openwrt

OpenWRT wasn't created from scratch. Originally it was based on GPL code that Linksys had to release.

There are code created from scratch for oscilloscopes (plus reverse engineering the hardware):
- Fnirsi 5012h, by EEVblog member atadarov:
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/reverse-engineering-fnirsi-5012h/
- Fnirsi 1013d, by EEVblog member pcprogrammer (and later updated by others):
  https://github.com/pecostm32/FNIRSI_1013D_Firmware
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fnirsi-1013d-100mhz-tablet-oscilloscope/2200/

[Astur_TorQue]

Unfortunatly if somnething opensource appears, it will be a new one created from scratch, like openwrt

OpenWRT wasn't created from scratch. Originally it was based on GPL code that Linksys had to release.

There are code created from scratch for oscilloscopes (plus reverse engineering the hardware):
- Fnirsi 5012h, by EEVblog member atadarov:
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/reverse-engineering-fnirsi-5012h/
- Fnirsi 1013d, by EEVblog member pcprogrammer (and later updated by others):
  https://github.com/pecostm32/FNIRSI_1013D_Firmware
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fnirsi-1013d-100mhz-tablet-oscilloscope/2200/

Then that would be great... but I don't thin that will happen


PD: I just got my "zoyi 703S" now rebranded by aneng aos03 65 € in aliexpress with coupons and offers (battery included), not bad right?

[lchao]

New, v1.35 FW is published on the d380 forum.
http://www.dt830.com/forum.php?mod=attachment&aid=NDU2NjJ8YWQ0YmU0MmJ8MTcxNDA3OTU3MnwwfDg0MDA%3D
It is mentioned, that the AUTO function was improved in this version.

[Astur_TorQue]

New, v1.35 FW is published on the d380 forum.
http://www.dt830.com/forum.php?mod=attachment&aid=NDU2NjJ8YWQ0YmU0MmJ8MTcxNDA3OTU3MnwwfDg0MDA%3D
It is mentioned, that the AUTO function was improved in this version.

The malware prevents me from downloading, is it safe?

[Razvan_N]

Yes, it's safe for the PC and functional on the 703S, I flashed it yesterday.

[ksxx]

The measurement values in Scope mode seem to have more problems than I thought before when in DC input mode(FW1.32). I measured the switching on signal of my PSU at 12V setpoint. I set the scope to 100ms/div and 5V/div. The signal on the screen clearly shows the 12V amplitude of the voltage ramp. The vpp,max,min values are completely off and do depend on where I set the vertical offset.
Zoyi please fix this. I cannot imagine that this is hard to do.

looks like this issue is fixed in fw 1.35. The min/max measurements still give funny results in roll mode and stopped. Btw, the trigger level value shown at the top is nonsense. Note , the trigger vert position on the Zoyi is always related to the screen coordinates. When you switch the vert sensitivity , the trigger arrow stays at the same position. A bit unusual for me, but for this small unit maybe not a bad choice. 

[ksxx]

I did some tests with the Zoyi and some other meters I have access to. The AD780 was trimmed to give a 2.5000V output on the (old) HP desktop meter. The film capacitors were measured with an Agilent 4294A impedance analyser at 10KHz. The table shows that my 703S gives the results closest to the ones by the more advanced equipment. Yet most of the meters tested do well enough for most situations. Even the 10$ T7 component tester gives great results!