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4 channel scopes, budget. Siglent or Rigol? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 day ago by ikidd@lemmy.world to c/askelectronics@discuss.tchncs.de

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I don't need much more than 100Mhz but I'd like to have serial/CAN decoding. I could probably get away with a 2 channel, but it seems like a lot of the extra features like wifi control and digital channels only come on the 4 channels like the 1204X-E, plus it has some waveform generation (though maybe that's an addon?).

Anyone have a budget model they'd recommend? The DS1504 seems like it's getting a bit long in the tooth and the price point doesn't really seem competitive with better scopes.

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[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've got a Rigol DS-1054 and the serial decoding is terrible. It can capture 24 million sample points, but it will only decode from the few hundred points that are displayed on the screen. That means it will only decode a few bytes of data. I don't know if any of their newer models have gotten any better.

Definitely get a 4 channel scope. The extra channels will come in handy even if you think you don't need them. The digital channels tend to be less useful. The 16 channels you get on a scope are not enough to probe a parallel bus, but way more than you need for serial. I would rather use a USB logic analyzer. It's easier to work on a PC with a big monitor and the ability to write your own protocol decoders if needed.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 2 points 14 hours ago

This is all really good advice. Appreciate it.