I just stumbled across these:
I know Rigol design and make the low end Agilents, but this appears to be something different again.
Plus they are going damn cheap on eBay:
$699 for a 200MHz, 1GS/s, 16KB, VGA screen scope.
Anyone know anything about these?
Dave.
And the datasheet says made in the EU, with a 5 year warranty. Wittig Test Technologies are the US distributor.
Dave.
Thanks for that.
Dave.
Yeah I'll stick to my 45 year old 1S1 1GHz sampler.
I'm amazed that they can come up with the money to purchase plastic moldings and get some semblance of a production line going yet they can't find some decent programmers.
I wouldn't be surprised if the problem is that they hired an ME for the case design and other mechanics, but they're doing the software and hardware design in-house and simply aren't that good at it... but won't admit it and therefore hire outside help.
I'm also not convined that just ripping off HP's interface/mechanical design is really going to garner them many sales they'd otherwise lose... it's not like anyone's fooled, are they? I'd take the chance to try to improve on HP's design or at least come up with your own "style" even if the interface is largely the same.
Some companies do that. Like Instek where I bought a scope a while ago. It has rather interesting features over and above of what the "big two" offer. Also a fast PC connection that really helps guys over 40 like me. Don't have to juggle between 1.5x and 3x glasses anymore when using that scope. Now if they just hadn't picked those bonbon colors as channel identifiers ...
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
Yes, I remember you seemed rather happy with that purchase. Which model did you get again?
I like what the cleverscope.com guys have to offer, although I do wish they'd go above 100MHz (but I guess I'm spoiled when 400MHz 2465s have been around forever and it's been more than a decade since I've had anything less than
500MHz digital readily available at work).That Instek GSP-830 spectrum analyzer is looking nice, although they want $5,400 for it.
Hmm... and here I was thinking was a useful and inexpensive display/control something like a Nokia N800 (800x480 4.1" LCD,
Yeah, most test equpment sure doesn't "look" like test equipment anymore these days.
John Larkin's stuff still does. :-)
---Joel
messagenews:481b06ff$ snipped-for-privacy@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
_HP's_ design??!! Puleeeezzz!
It is the GDS-2204. The not so nice thing is a lowish screen resolution but OTOH the screen is rather bright. Had to turn it way down. Often I use the PC anyway and then you can have all the resolution you want. It's amazing how many languages they crammed in, some I don't even know (they are only indicated in their native "hyroglyphs"). Also I don't like the automatic transition to equivalent time sampling that all those DSOs do.
Nowadays you really need more than 100MHz.
Wait until you grow older. Then a 15" laptop screen is really nice :-)
I just got used to it and I'd rather accept bonbon colors and 25K storage depth than Tek look and 2.5k depth.
However, it does carry a different price tag. He's hinted that there could be a d.s.e. discount though.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
I know they didn't design the hardware itself, but don't you think they still "designed" the interface (both GUI and mechanical)? Or did Rigol or whoever it was already have that design out before HP came along?
His P400 programmable pulse generator is quite reasonably priced... we almost bought one at work here, although then the guy who was thinking of needing one decided he didn't, in fact, need such fast pulses after all.
I think his point was that Tek lead with cheap DPO's.(and usable triggering)
RL
I am still using an analog pulse generator, the PM5785B from Philips/Sweden. Ok, not totally analog since you can click the number of pulses into a mechanical BCD switch array with rolling number wheels. I love that little retro gadget in there.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
In the late 1980's I was in the market for a DSO, and I worked for a company that was a stocking distributor and service center for Tektronics. However, the programming interface was klunky, and the controls were not laid out very well. They even had a test board to check performance. I wound up purchasing a Hitachi storage scope, which I still use today. It's only 60 MHz but I don't do RF, and it's fine for switching power supplies, audio, and line frequency work that is my usual fare.
I had always liked HP scopes over Tek, and I still have an HP130A. I liked their panel layouts, and the large knobs with a subdued color scheme and a very positive feel. There is a picture of this model (along with racks of old HP equipment) in this website I found:
I also had one of the HP200B oscillators with rounded corners that was vintage 1941, but I gave it away with a lot of other old equipment for which I did not have room (or use). It's nice to know someone cares enough to preserve this legacy.
Paul
IMHO Tek had the better trigger sensitivity and behavior.
Oh man, my wife would have a fit if I ran a museum as large as that.
How did they mill the numbers and such into the metal in those days? They didn't have CNC back then.
I've got an old Rhode&Schwarz SMF that dates back to that era, but with a tired tube in there. My wife would like it if it went into the hands of someone who treasures that, as long as that someone isn't me ;-)
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
That man has a lot of cats.
Oh, and HP equipment too.
I enjoyed his writing about his teaching experiences, e.g.,
---Joel
Nice. Although I think he misses an important point. Even today's good students aren't as good anymore as they came 20 or more years ago. For EEs the reason is that while they are motivated most never had exposure to real hardware. Because everything was given to them. When their radio, toy, whatever broke they just got new one and chucked the broken one.
It's just like with any other task. For example the best drivers are not the smart cookies but the ones with half a million miles or more under the belt. Nothing and certainly no amount of school activity can replace real experience.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
Yes, although starting somewhere in the '80s even if they had wanted to repair the old one it became substantially harder as more and more discrete components ended up inside of hard-to-source ICs. I wonder if there are even any professional TV reapair shops left that troubleshoot to the component level rather than just the module level? (Since of course with labor costs being what they are relative to new modules cost, it's generally cheaper not to do so.)
---Joel
He needs them to keep mice out of the equipment. My second house is full of electronic equipment, surplus parts, tools, books, and other "junk", so his place looks familiar. And I no longer have a cat, and I have found mouse nests in some of my stuff.
Yes, I tend to agree. I saw an early example of this even at Johns Hopkins University, where I attended from 1966 to 1970. For one thing, I had problems with advanced calculus, and I really did not understand much. I would get scores of 15 or 25 out of 100. Yet they were graded on the curve, and I actually passed! I took the course over again, with an instructor who spoke real English and did not write in Sanscrit, and I learned a little more, but this time I passed with a "C" for test scores well under 50%.
In a class on Games and Artificial Intelligence, I worked hard on a programming project and turned in a pretty good assignment, and I was appalled when it was returned with a note saying that the professor had learned that there was a lot of cheating going on, although he did not specifically blame me. I'm sure things have deteriorated since then.
It seems that the PC thing to do, these days, is to reward laziness and poor learning habits, at the expense of those who take the time and effort to learn and do independent research and make efforts above and beyond what is demanded. The "no child left behind" program pushes students through the system with little or no absolute requirements for graduation, and are often rewarded just for not engaging in criminal activity (which is also tolerated). Maybe this should be replaced with a program of "No child's behind left unspanked"!
This attitude, poor character, and lack of responsibility also appears as poor decision making in real life, as evidenced by many of those who are now losing their homes in the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Many of these people were duped into getting themselves into unrealistic situations because they did not get a good education, which was freely offered to them, and had the expectation that things would be just given to them because they were somehow entitled to it. They kept their poor spending habits and accumulated more debt, until their house of plastic cards fell down on them. But now they expect the government to step in and save them from their own irresponsibility.
I was challenged on this when I brought it up and discussed it on rec.pets.dogs.behavior, where most people thought I was being heartless and uncaring about these poor people. I realize there are some cases where good people had bad things happen to them through no fault of their own, and they deserve some sympathy and assistance, but most probably were lazy students with poor character.
Paul
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