Siglent Oscilloscope Current probe alternatives

[16bitanalogue]

Hello Forum,

I have a Siglent SDS5104X 1GHz oscillscope in my home lab. I am lacking current probes, and Siglent does offer their SCP5030(A) which is a little pricey.
There are several forum posts that discuss alternatives like Cybertek, ZLG ZCP30, or even MicSig (presumably CP1003) on sale for $500:
https://www.saelig.com/product/cp1003.htm

I have an all Siglent setup at home, but it is hard for me to justify the Siglent price for their SCP5030A if they are actually made by someone else or if there are equivalents that some one may have used.

Anyone have experience with the MicSig with Siglent scopes? I will use them for 2-4MHz, 40A peak inductor current waveforms for bucks/boosts. 40A is pushing it for this probe.

[tautech]

Hello Forum,

I have a Siglent SDS5104X 1GHz oscillscope in my home lab. I am lacking current probes, and Siglent does offer their SCP5030(A) which is a little pricey.
.............

I have an all Siglent setup at home, but it is hard for me to justify the Siglent price for their SCP5030A if they are actually made by someone else or if there are equivalents that some one may have used.

Ya think.

Not at all pricey IMO when you compare it against other profession current probe options. 
100 MHz 30A rated AC/DC current probe for under $3k is pretty reasonable IMHO.

Mine's been tested to its 50Apk rating and AFAIK it is a Siglent current probe as it uses their SAPBUS connection interface.
Buy once, cry once is my advice.

[KungFuJosh]

Yeah, but if you don't have the budget for the fancy-shmancy SAPBUS probe, there are tons of great options for much less money. Ohhh noo, you need to power it externally. Oh well.

[tautech]

Yeah, but if you don't have the budget for the fancy-shmancy SAPBUS probe, there are tons of great options for much less money. Ohhh noo, you need to power it externally. Oh well.

Plug and Play shouldn't be underestimated.....you can change attenuation and perform probe degaussing from the scope.....with touch or mouse control or as a customer of ours did when testing high power switching devices from a safe distance, using the webserver.

Professional users need professional solutions. 

[Martin72]

Yeah, but if you don't have the budget for the fancy-shmancy SAPBUS probe, there are tons of great options for much less money. Ohhh noo, you need to power it externally. Oh well.

There aren't many alternatives on the market.
The measurement principle, the bandwidth, the accuracy, and the degaussing function—you don't find these features just anywhere, so the price is correspondingly high.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-cp6030-current-probe-a-very-very-short-review/msg5352083/#msg5352083

In that thread, I tested the Current Probe with and without SBus; price-wise, there isn't much difference between them.

The only alternative I see is to buy a used Tektronix system (A6302/AM500/TM500); that way, you get the same quality, just used and at a lower price.

[KungFuJosh]

I agree the expensive one is more convenient, but there are plenty of options depending on the OP's needs. The SCP5030 is 4.5 times more expensive than his Saelig link for the CP1003. The other benefit of the non-proprietary current probe is that if he changes scope brands, his probe will still be useful.

[Martin72]

That's why we still have LeCroy oscilloscopes—because of the current probes.
But I've switched over, and the last 6 current probes (all from Siglent) that I bought for work don't have a bus interface.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the bus interface either; as you correctly pointed out, it's a matter of convenience and makes the current clamp a bit more compact.
More important are the features themselves and the Micsig… well… I’d tested it, just as I’d tested almost everything else in recent years that falls under the “Tektronix principle.”
Including an “Instrance” current clamp that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The conclusion from all these tests was that you either have to dig deep into your pockets or buy a used Tek current probe along with a power supply and amplifier—if you value good performance, that’s a given.
If something like the Micsig is enough for him, well, then everything's great.

[KungFuJosh]

Yup. Noise performance, sensitivity, and accuracy requirements obviously depend on the user's needs. For me, the Tek probe bundle I had was great, but I sold it. It's bulky and I never used it after upgrading and calibrating it.

[Conrad Hoffman]

That price is nuts for a home lab. I'd go on eBay and look at new/used Pearson current transformers. Higher ratings and better bandwidth. Or, make a DIY Rogowski probe and amplifier.

[Momchilo]

With the CTs or Rogowski coils you cannot measure DC currents and you cannot switch the sensitivity.

Those measurement methods are more useful for high AC currents (and high isolation voltage).

For "normal" lab use those 50A AC/DC clamps are way more accurate. There are not many CTs or Rogowski coils above 50MHz and for sure not cheaper.
Also it is not easy to find useful cheap Pearson CTs.

But of course you can use/buy them if they are fine for your applications.

[tautech]

..............
The only alternative I see is to buy a used Tektronix system (A6302/AM500/TM500); that way, you get the same quality, just used and at a lower price.

For decades my preferred current probes were Tek P6021 and P6022 (60/100 MHz) and at one time you could find them relatively cheap on the 'Bay but TBH they were often dodgy and even good ones only did AC with low end frequency limitations and lower current capability.
P6021 is a similar size to SCP5030 models but if you need the 100 MHz capability of the bit smaller P6022 the current capability is less and the jaw smaller (3.58mm) for both these Tek probes.

These are great current probes and still available new today but at a higher cost than SCP5030 or the A version which both offer DC capability.

No contest IMO and why I splashed out on a SCP5030A....connect and go....channel autoset to Amps.

[16bitanalogue]

I am surprised no one has asked me why am I squeaking over the price of the Siglent current probe when I already have a Siglent SDS5104X in my home lab. 

I consider it a gift from a company that went under.

I can swing the price of the probe, but it stings a little.