waveform generator

[nctnico]

Nowadays most equipment is fully digital with a tiny bit of analog so aging will have very little effect. Besides the Siglent is so cheap that by the time it gets quirky I simply buy a new and much better one and still spend less money than buying a Tek or Agilent which will be outdated and unsupported by then as well.

A used Agilent 33120A, for example, comes with a service manual with full schematics. This service manual will still be usable ten years down the road. This manual also documents the communication protocol, allowing the user to easily write my own software to interface with it. I still use 20+ years old equipment this way, even though I don't have an antique computer that

The Siglent supports USBTMC so you don't need any Siglent specific drivers. The programming manual can be downloaded from Lecroy. You can also opt to use a USB-GPIB dongle from the front and connect it to a GPIB bus. So programming without Siglent's / Lecroy's software is no problem.

I've used the Agilent 33120A a long time ago but I never liked the user interface. If you buy an AFG/AWG make sure it has a big screen so you can see what you are doing.

@Wuerstchenhund: In what way does the jitter make it useless for you? I've used my Siglent SDG for several measurements (including pulses) but the jitter didn't got in the way. Actually I knew about the jitter before I bought it.

[Oracle]

@ jpb: ok, so a Rigol should fit my needs, the other choice would be an Agilent 332**A.... I don't know, I have to find out more time to read and compare the whole data sheet.

Big screen arbitrary are a problem: in my room there is no much space left... and i don't want to have a valuable portable instrument in the garage.