Instek's new 2204 O'scopes

Hi:

Has anyone used one? Any thoughts or comments on them and are they worth the $$$?

Thanks in advance

Igor

I have not used this one, but lets have a quick look:

- 25KB sample memory, that's fairly decent actually, better than the

2-4KB available on other low end scopes. But is it 25KB per channel, or shared?

- Colour screen, doesn't say what the resolution is though?

- USB interface, great, but does it store screen captures as an image file onto a memory stick? If it does, I'm sold.

- Not much in the way of waveform storage or processing features.

- 1GS/s is standard in this price range.

- Waveform update speed unknown?

I'd say the nearest competitor is the Agilent (rebadged Rigol brand actually) at a similar price. I've used that one and it's not bad, but it only has 4KB waveform memory and can't save to USB memory stick. But it has some really nice filters, waveform storage, counter and pass/fail envelope display, that could make the difference for you.

The Rigol and Agilent are practically identical.

If the Instek can dump images to memory stick then I'd say it's probably the better unit with it's extra sample memory. Sample memory is always my #1 requirement on a digital scope, worth it's weight in gold.

There is another brand out too with similar specs, but the name escapes at the moment.

Dave :)

BTW, yes, these scopes are certainly worth the money, and are not out of the reach of the hobbyist. The low end digital scope market has boomed in recent years with quite a few players coming on the market, so the choice is good. It's actually amazing what you get for the money in these things. But remember, they are *low end* digital scopes, so if you are looking for "analog like" updating speed and performance you will be dissapointed, you have to pay 5 times the price to get that. You'll appreciate having a 2nd hand analog scope on your bench in addition to one of these.

What will you be using it for primarily?

Dave :)