Rigol DG2102 - UI bugs

[KrzysztofB]

https://youtu.be/n81Tj8h0GIw

First thing that hit me after powering up... 

Not great Rigol... not great

[KrzysztofB]

Some insides

[thm_w]

Seems like its defective.
We have a thread on the DG800/DG900/DG2000 which are all the same hardware: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/new-rigol-16-bit-function-generators-dg800900-series/

[KrzysztofB]

Oh, you think so?
Maybe someone with DG2xxx model could confirm if it's the same  in his ?
Maybe I should look for firmware update ?

[PA0PBZ]

What's the problem, the slow frequency increase? I wonder what the 2 big red arrows do under the dial...

[KrzysztofB]

I know what those do.
And know that can use the touchscreen to enter the value.
That is not the point.
Point is that it's for not reason that slow. Easily could have been more responsive.

[PA0PBZ]

Right, I see what you mean now. It looks a bit cheapish, would be nice if it had some mass/a flywheel.

[KrzysztofB]

It would be enough if it triggered every time when step of encoder wheel is made.
It just feels that everytime when value increases, there is some kind of delay and therefore it increases so slowly.

Honestly hardware wise both generator and power supply I got, look very nice. Can't say a bad thing.
It's that small UI / software things that if improved would make it way less annoying.

Also, generator can send ONE RS232 char.... How much more complicated would be to make it a string? How useful is to be able to send one byte? Eh

[thm_w]

It would be enough if it triggered every time when step of encoder wheel is made.
It just feels that everytime when value increases, there is some kind of delay and therefore it increases so slowly.

It does on my DG800, on the normal sine screen say, turn encoder to select "frequency", press the encoder wheel down, then rotate it to adjust the number. There is no lag and every notch corresponds to an increase.

I don't know how you got the encoder to enter data on this screen you show. Its for manual keypad entry with the touchscreen. Maybe they somehow screwed up the 2102 version of the software?

[KrzysztofB]

I guess I will have to live with that. 
Luckily I don't need to use those instruments everyday. 
Build quality I really like those. Only problem is I have a feeling UI in different parts of the world are "intuitive" in different way. 
So when I touch or click something I expect it to do something, but it does something completely different. 
With generator it's ok. It more bothers me with DP2032 power supply as that one will be used way more often.

[Martin72]

https://youtu.be/n81Tj8h0GIw

First thing that hit me after powering up... 

Not great Rigol... not great

Way too slow response IMHO...

[thm_w]

I guess I will have to live with that.
Luckily I don't need to use those instruments everyday.
Build quality I really like those. Only problem is I have a feeling UI in different parts of the world are "intuitive" in different way.
So when I touch or click something I expect it to do something, but it does something completely different.
With generator it's ok. It more bothers me with DP2032 power supply as that one will be used way more often.

I'm still not clear how you got to this screen:
- When you scroll the rotary knob on say Sine input options, select frequency, then press the knob, this screen comes up?
- Or does this screen only come up when you touch the "frequency" box on the LCD? (in which case its expecting touch input on the screen keypad, not using the rotary knob to adjust the number)

From what I see on youtube, the UI of the DG2102 is identical to DG800 other than the added "Shift" button.
I don't have this issue at all on the DG800, and the UI is fairly intuitive. So something is off here.

[KrzysztofB]

- When you scroll the rotary knob on say Sine input options, select frequency, then press the knob, this screen comes up?
- Or does this screen only come up when you touch the "frequency" box on the LCD? (in which case its expecting touch input on the screen keypad, not using the rotary knob to adjust the number)

Yes. Touching the screen on ie. frequency. The same applies to any value you are changing by tapping on the screen and invoking keyboard.
I mean, yes, one can say that it's a touch keyboard, but then why even implementing possibility of changing it with rotary?

Edit: 
I think I know why that happens
- If you use keypad on the screen, change doesn't happen until you hit OK button, if pressing EXIT it will be discarded.
- If using rotary in that window, change happens immediately, so if you press EXIT, value will be still changed. 

[thm_w]

Yes. Touching the screen on ie. frequency. The same applies to any value you are changing by tapping on the screen and invoking keyboard.
I mean, yes, one can say that it's a touch keyboard, but then why even implementing possibility of changing it with rotary?

Edit:
I think I know why that happens
- If you use keypad on the screen, change doesn't happen until you hit OK button, if pressing EXIT it will be discarded.
- If using rotary in that window, change happens immediately, so if you press EXIT, value will be still changed.

Yes, agreed, I think the bug here is that rotary encoder changes the value shown, it shouldn't.
It doesn't for me, but maybe it depends on the screen or something else I haven't figured out yet.

[KrzysztofB]

[TurboTom]

Most of the problems reported here had been introduced with the 2.06 firmware. With the previous version, there simply wasn't an option to change the digits with the encoder while in the numerical entry mask (which makes sense). Moreover, als had been discussed in the DG800/900 topic, Rigol broke the built-in arbitrary waveforms selection big time with the recent firmware. That's why I prefer to use the 2.05 firmware on my DG800(+). The few improvements that Rev 2.06 (esp. Amplitude modulation level setting scheme) is a bad trade for the additional bugs that come with it IMO.

About the output buttons causing to leave the numeric input menu one may have different thoughts. There's also a good argument for Rigol's approach: The numeric input menu is left but the output status isn't changed so the user can actually check (all of) the entered parameters before enabling the output.

Other manufacturers's AWGs also aren't without their flaws and bugs, actually I consider the DG800/900/2000 series (at least with F/W 2.05) one of the better and more conveniently usable instruments... YMMV 

Edit: If someone needs F/W 2.05, it's available here for the next week... https://easyupload.io/4iq2ck

[KrzysztofB]

Using knob would be absolutely fine. If done right.
Guess that what happens when people not using devices like that get to code UI for those.

[TurboTom]

Yes, but that is already implemented in the parameters screen. Use the encoder to highlight the parameter to change, press the encoder to activate parameter change mode, use the arrows to select the digit to change and turn the encoder to increment/decrement it. The changed value gets activated directly. And the count rate of the digits is fairly fast, no comparison to the change rate in the keypad entry screen. I simply don't see the need for the incremental encoder to work in the keypad entry screen.