I already suggested this in my separate thread about DSO manufacturers using the Xilinx Zynq-7000 series.
See my separate thread about this: Retrofit kit and open source bench oscilloscope
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/other-dso-manufacturers-besides-gw-instek-that-use-xilinx-zynq-7000-series/msg983966/#msg983966You can compare it with some of the mountain bikes from the German company Bulls back in the days.
For 1000 EUR, you could get a mountain bike fully spec:ed with Deore XT parts, both in the front and the back. Some people just bought the mountain bike for parts. They would discard or sell the frame, and mount the parts on a new frame. This was much cheaper than buying the Deore XT parts yourself, even if you paid for a frame that you are not using, because Bulls had such a high turnover, they could buy these Deore XT parts in big quantities. Today, you can still buy such a mountain bike from Bulls with Deore XT parts at a similar price. But now people don't discard the frame anymore, because now the frame is premium as well
In the case of the oscilloscope, we would actually do the other way around. We only keep the build mechanics, the plastics, and the overall physical design. Chinese oscilloscope manufacturers, are extremely good at the build mechanics, the molding of the plastics, and the overall physical design. There is no way, to beat that as a small player. But on the electronics side however, it would be very feasible to spin your own PCB board, that adds super powers to your existing bench oscilloscope!
It would definitely be a nice Kickstarter project!
Where are you based in Sweden? I used to live in Linköping.
We could call the Kickstarter project as follows:
"The Scandinavian Retrofit Kit for a bench oscilloscope: Add Zynq-7000 super powers to your existing bench oscilloscope!" =)
But what base model should we select for the bench oscilloscope upgrade? We could go for a Rigol DS1054Z, as those are out there in the most quantities! Or do you suggest another base model?
BTW: One of my former colleagues works at a company in Linköping that is specialized in ADC technology.
One of the projects he worked on, was the design of a PCB board, for an entry level LeCroy oscilloscope,
that used the ADC technology from his company. Maybe we could use their technology for the PCB board
I can check with my former colleague, if he would be interested in helping out for, or being part of, such a Kickstarter project.