Cheap Rigol Oscilloscope from Ebay

[David L. Jones]

I saw the new Rigol DS1052E is going for $679 on Ebay Australia, *including
postage* from China.
2CH, 50MHz, colour, 1GS/s, 1M sample memory, USB host.
Couldn't resist at that price and had to get one, and it just turned up on
my desk this afternoon (tracking provided). Ordered Mar 4th, and there were
a few days delay because he didn't have them in stock yet.

First impressions - very nice indeed, and performance seems much improved
from a previous Rigol I've used.
External build quality appears to be excellent, feels nice'n'reliable.
Was brand new in the orignal box with paperwork and 2 switchable probes. No
manual, just a quick start quite in Chinese.
Waranty certificate included but not sure if that's applicable in Oz.

So if you are in the market for such a scope, it seems like very good value
indeed at the moment.

Dave.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

I saw the new Rigol DS1052E is going for $679 on Ebay Australia, *including
postage* from China.
2CH, 50MHz, colour, 1GS/s, 1M sample memory, USB host.
Couldn't resist at that price and had to get one, and it just turned up on
my desk this afternoon (tracking provided). Ordered Mar 4th, and there
were a few days delay because he didn't have them in stock yet.

First impressions - very nice indeed, and performance seems much improved
from a previous Rigol I've used.
External build quality appears to be excellent, feels nice'n'reliable.
Was brand new in the orignal box with paperwork and 2 switchable probes.
No manual, just a quick start quite in Chinese.
Waranty certificate included but not sure if that's applicable in Oz.

So if you are in the market for such a scope, it seems like very good
value indeed at the moment.

**I've been looking at the Rigols too. I had a mate try to buy one in China
for me, but he was unable to secure a brilliant price. It was only a little
less than Emona's price. I suspect some price controls on the product ATM.
How much did you save over the Emona price?

I'd be interested in hearing your further experiences with the product.

 

[David L. Jones]

**I've been looking at the Rigols too. I had a mate try to buy one in
China for me, but he was unable to secure a brilliant price. It was only a
little less than Emona's price. I suspect some price controls on the
product ATM. How much did you save over the Emona price?

I'd be interested in hearing your further experiences with the product.

Emona is $799ex
https://secure1.ozhosting.com/emona/shop/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=72
So with GST it's $880 + delivery.
I paid $679 including delivery, saving >$200
They are usually more expensive than this on Ebay, but there is one
particular guy (happyseeds) who has just got a new bunch of them for this
price. He also has the same one listed under other currencies and it's more
expensive. So AU listed ones are the cheapest. Item 350176778696.
There is a big price jump to the 100Mhz model.

One noticeable thing so far is the cooling fan. Not overly loud, but
noticable in an ordinary office. Many other similar scopes don't have a fan
at all, so it's a bit of a difference. Not as loud as a 3000 series Tek for
example. Not sure why it needs it, the air is barely warm after an hour.
Takes around 30W in normal use.

The PC software works and looks ok. A virtual front panel lets you take
control of the scope in real time.

Surprisingly hefty weight (a fair bit more than a Tek TDS200 series for
example) , but that's a good thing when some control knobs need to be pushed
often. The weight seems to come from the rather thick looking internal
ventilated metal shield that covers everything inside.

Really nice feel on the controls and general handling, nice attention to
details. Things like swing out tilting feet that snap solidly into place,
big rear feet and a nice carry handle that locks into place.

The buttons light up nice and bright and even, almost too bright. The screen
is also very bright and usable at virtually any angle.

Saving screen shots to USB stick worked fine. Comprehensive ability to file
manage inside the scope.

Operation is quite responsive for a low end scope, better than I expected.

Need to use it in anger before getting a good feel for it's performance, but
I really like it so far.

Dave.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

Emona is $799ex
https://secure1.ozhosting.com/emona/shop/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=72
So with GST it's $880 + delivery.
I paid $679 including delivery, saving >$200
They are usually more expensive than this on Ebay, but there is one
particular guy (happyseeds) who has just got a new bunch of them for this
price. He also has the same one listed under other currencies and it's
more expensive. So AU listed ones are the cheapest. Item 350176778696.
There is a big price jump to the 100Mhz model.

**<SNIP>
Thanks for extra info. Please keep us (me) updated when you use this thing
in anger. If it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could post some screen
shots and stuff.

 

[David L. Jones]

**<SNIP>
Thanks for extra info. Please keep us (me) updated when you use this thing
in anger. If it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could post some screen
shots and stuff.

A couple of screen shots here (USB key dump):
http://www.alternatezone.com/images/rigol/
Shows a 50MHz LVTLL signal, so bandwidth is pretty much as expected.
I've had quite a few people ask about it now, so will have to post a full
review sometime, or perhaps even some operational video.

As a baseline, compared to a Tek TDS210 or TDS1002, it's no contest, I'd
never give back the Rigol. It's a superb scope for the money.
Got a chance to use it for I2C and other digital debugging at work today and
I couldn't fault it. Fast and responsive, and the big memory can't be beat.
By far the best scope at this kind of price point.

Dave.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

A couple of screen shots here (USB key dump):
http://www.alternatezone.com/images/rigol/
Shows a 50MHz LVTLL signal, so bandwidth is pretty much as expected.
I've had quite a few people ask about it now, so will have to post a full
review sometime, or perhaps even some operational video.

As a baseline, compared to a Tek TDS210 or TDS1002, it's no contest, I'd
never give back the Rigol. It's a superb scope for the money.
Got a chance to use it for I2C and other digital debugging at work today
and I couldn't fault it. Fast and responsive, and the big memory can't be
beat. By far the best scope at this kind of price point.

**That's a big call. Perhaps I best examine one of these things more
closely. Thanks for the comments.

 

[David L. Jones]

**That's a big call. Perhaps I best examine one of these things more
closely. Thanks for the comments.

Not a big call at all, it's obvious in fact when you look at what's
available in this bottom end market:
- Rigol 1000E series
- Tek 1000B series
- Agilent DSO3000 series
- Lecroy WaveAce series
- Instek GDS-2000 series
- Owon PDS6000 series

(Have I forgotten any?)

The Owon is your classic chinese no-name junk, and doesn't have a 1G/s
sampler so I'd rule it out right now. But if you want, the 250MS/s 60MHz 6K
point memory PDS-6062S sells for $1100 in Oz or almost $800 on Ebay. No
contest against the $700 ebay Rigol. For almost the same price as this
rubish you can buy the Rigol locally from Emona, with more sample rate and a
ton more memory.

The Instek aren't bad, but only have 25K point memory and are much bigger.
Emona price is almost $1500. If you want the cheaper GDS-1000 series with
250MS/s then it comes down to $800 for the 25MHz unit, or $978 for the 40MHz
unit. Again, no contest at all with the Rigol.

The Agilent DSO3000 is just an older rebadged Rigol 5000 series. Older
firmware, less memory, bigger case etc. Again, no contest.

The Tek 1000B series is much more expensive and only has 2.5K point memory,
again, no contest.

The Lecroy WaveAce series is not cheap I believe, but it's only got 4K point
memory. Again, no contest.

The Rigol is under $700 on Ebay, (or under $900 from Oz), has 50MHz
bandwidth, 1GS/s with 16K memory, or 500MS/s with a massive 1M point memory,
and is very good quality. It simply cannot be beat, I recon you'd be a fool
to buy anything else in this bottom end 50-60MHz market (I haven't priced
the higher bandwidth market).

Dave.

 

[David L. Jones]

**That's a big call. Perhaps I best examine one of these things more
closely. Thanks for the comments.

Not a big call at all, it's obvious in fact when you look at what's
available in this bottom end market:
- Rigol 1000E series
- Tek 1000B series
- Agilent DSO3000 series
- Lecroy WaveAce series
- Instek GDS-2000 series
- Owon PDS6000 series

(Have I forgotten any?)

The Owon is your classic chinese no-name junk, and doesn't have a 1G/s
sampler so I'd rule it out right now. But if you want, the 250MS/s 60MHz 6K
point memory PDS-6062S sells for $1100 in Oz or almost $800 on Ebay. No
contest against the $700 ebay Rigol. For almost the same price as this
rubish you can buy the Rigol locally from Emona, with more sample rate and a
ton more memory.

The Instek aren't bad, but only have 25K point memory and are much bigger.
Emona price is almost $1500. If you want the cheaper GDS-1000 series with
250MS/s then it comes down to $800 for the 25MHz unit, or $978 for the 40MHz
unit. Again, no contest at all with the Rigol.

The Agilent DSO3000 is just an older rebadged Rigol 5000 series. Older
firmware, less memory, bigger case etc. Again, no contest.

The Tek 1000B series is much more expensive and only has 2.5K point memory,
again, no contest.

The Lecroy WaveAce series is not cheap I believe, but it's only got 4K point
memory. Again, no contest.

The Rigol is under $700 on Ebay, (or under $900 from Oz), has 50MHz
bandwidth, 1GS/s with 16K memory, or 500MS/s with a massive 1M point memory,
and is very good quality. It simply cannot be beat, I recon you'd be a fool
to buy anything else in this bottom end 50-60MHz market (I haven't priced
the higher bandwidth market).

Dave.

 

[Tom]

David L. Jones wrote:
....

As a baseline, compared to a Tek TDS210 or TDS1002, it's no contest, I'd
never give back the Rigol. It's a superb scope for the money.
Got a chance to use it for I2C and other digital debugging at work today and
I couldn't fault it. Fast and responsive, and the big memory can't be beat.
By far the best scope at this kind of price point.

Dave.

Now I know why I've seen your Tek on eBay
Tom

 

[Tom]

As well as an Agilent, an Hitachi, and an older Rigol!
I've had lots of toys of late :->

I'm pretty darn sure I could re-sell this Rigol at a profit, but it's a
keeper.

Dave.

It's my birthday.... Might even think of getting one myself if you think its so good.
Tom

 

[David L. Jones]

David L. Jones wrote:
...

Now I know why I've seen your Tek on eBay
Tom

As well as an Agilent, an Hitachi, and an older Rigol!
I've had lots of toys of late :->

I'm pretty darn sure I could re-sell this Rigol at a profit, but it's a
keeper.

Dave.

 

[Tom]

David L. Jones wrote:
....

P.S. It's interesting to note that I paid around $900 for my first brand new
20MHz CRO (a Kikusui 5021) back in the early 80's.

I still remember what I've paid for 8 MHz XT clone with 640 kB RAM, two 360 kb floppy drives and amber monitor... a lot more than my car was worth.
Tom

 

[David L. Jones]

It's my birthday.... Might even think of getting one myself if you think
its so good.

Well, to be honest I'd rather have a $50K Agilent, but for $679 you do get
an awful lot.
Happy birthday!

Dave.
P.S. It's interesting to note that I paid around $900 for my first brand new
20MHz CRO (a Kikusui 5021) back in the early 80's.

 

[KR]

I saw the new Rigol DS1052E is going for $679 on Ebay Australia, *including
postage* from China.
2CH, 50MHz, colour, 1GS/s, 1M sample memory, USB host.
Couldn't resist at that price and had to get one, and it just turned up on
my desk this afternoon (tracking provided). Ordered Mar 4th, and there were
a few days delay because he didn't have them in stock yet.

First impressions - very nice indeed, and performance seems much improved
from a previous Rigol I've used.
External build quality appears to be excellent, feels nice'n'reliable.
Was brand new in the orignal box with paperwork and 2 switchable probes. No
manual, just a quick start quite in Chinese.
Waranty certificate included but not sure if that's applicable in Oz.

So if you are in the market for such a scope, it seems like very good value
indeed at the moment.

Dave.

I also ordered one last week, at that price and the published features/
specs, I simply couldn't pass it up !
Colour display was also a pleasant surprise for a scope in that price
range.

Considering how much some of the older, used and lower spec gear sells
for on ebay,
I thought that if I got it and it turned out to be not much chop, I
would just re-sell it on there. Not much risk.

From what you say, looks like I wont have to do that

Looking forward to its arrival soon

 

[David L. Jones]

I also ordered one last week, at that price and the published features/
specs, I simply couldn't pass it up !
Colour display was also a pleasant surprise for a scope in that price
range.

I can't go back to those old washed-out Tek TDS mono screens any more!
Was forced to use one (TDS1012) last night for some bebugging at work, and
it was pretty miserable looking (and the small memory was really annoying).
The sceen on this new 1000E series Rigol is much better and brighter than
the one used on the older 5000 series.
More resolution would be really nice of course, but all these low end
instruments settle on 320x240, with the exception being the super-cheap Owon
units - too good to be true? - almost certainly.

Considering how much some of the older, used and lower spec gear sells
for on ebay,
I thought that if I got it and it turned out to be not much chop, I
would just re-sell it on there. Not much risk.

That's what I figured as well.

My old ~12yo Tek TDS210 sold a few months back for practically the same
price as this new Rigol. Silly when you think about it.
And then someone paid $1000 for the 5000 series Rigol I had, albeit that was
100MHz and almost as-new.

From what you say, looks like I wont have to do that
Looking forward to its arrival soon

Let us all know how you like it.

Dave.

 

[Swanny]

I saw the new Rigol DS1052E is going for $679 on Ebay Australia, *including
postage* from China.
2CH, 50MHz, colour, 1GS/s, 1M sample memory, USB host.
Couldn't resist at that price and had to get one, and it just turned up on
my desk this afternoon (tracking provided). Ordered Mar 4th, and there were
a few days delay because he didn't have them in stock yet.

First impressions - very nice indeed, and performance seems much improved
from a previous Rigol I've used.
External build quality appears to be excellent, feels nice'n'reliable.
Was brand new in the orignal box with paperwork and 2 switchable probes. No
manual, just a quick start quite in Chinese.
Waranty certificate included but not sure if that's applicable in Oz.

So if you are in the market for such a scope, it seems like very good value
indeed at the moment.

Dave.

Got one too. Arrived today (about 8 days door to door). Quite impressive
for the price. I've yet to give it a good test but all the basic
functions appear to be working and the build quality appears excellent.

 

[David L. Jones]

I noticed just a couple of days ago that Rigol has a new 4 channel scope,
apparently just showing up in the states. But, it doesn't have the 1M
memory
<sob>. It's very good looking, though. eBay item #260380435750

Yes, that's the 1000B series as opposed to the 1000E series being discussed.
You loose the big memory, but you gain 2GS/s, 4 channels, independant
vertical controls, and Ethernet interface.
The other series is the 1000A series that ups the sample rate and the screen
refresh rate, but again no big memory.
A rather unusual line-up.

Dave.

 

[Trevor Wilson]

I saw the new Rigol DS1052E is going for $679 on Ebay Australia, *including
postage* from China.
2CH, 50MHz, colour, 1GS/s, 1M sample memory, USB host.
Couldn't resist at that price and had to get one, and it just turned up on
my desk this afternoon (tracking provided). Ordered Mar 4th, and there
were a few days delay because he didn't have them in stock yet.

First impressions - very nice indeed, and performance seems much improved
from a previous Rigol I've used.
External build quality appears to be excellent, feels nice'n'reliable.
Was brand new in the orignal box with paperwork and 2 switchable probes.
No manual, just a quick start quite in Chinese.
Waranty certificate included but not sure if that's applicable in Oz.

So if you are in the market for such a scope, it seems like very good
value indeed at the moment.

**I just downloaded the user manual. VERY impressive. This was not written
by a Chinese speaking person. It is very, very good indeed. A request, if
you have the time, David: Could you post some screen shots of the FFT mode
please?

If I can sneak this one past the boss, I'll but one.

 

[David L. Jones]

**I just downloaded the user manual. VERY impressive. This was not written
by a Chinese speaking person. It is very, very good indeed.

The Rigol website is actually slightly out of date for manuals and software.
Here is the latest user manual I got on CD with my unit:
http://www.alternatezone.com/files/Rigol 1000E User Guide.pdf
Not sure if the differences are significant though.

A request, if you have the time, David: Could you post some screen shots
of the FFT mode please?

Will do. Stay tuned.

Dave.

 

[David L. Jones]

The Rigol website is actually slightly out of date for manuals and
software.
Here is the latest user manual I got on CD with my unit:
http://www.alternatezone.com/files/Rigol 1000E User Guide.pdf
Not sure if the differences are significant though.


Will do. Stay tuned.

Done.
http://www.alternatezone.com/images/rigol/

Using the 1KHz probe cal oscillator.
As you can see, it's possible to have split screen, overlayed screen, or
standalone screen.
X and Y cursors possible with manual and tracking modes.
Last shot is using Blackman, others were using Hamming.
It's not possible to use the LONG memory mode with FFT switched on,
regardless of timebase.
The frequency display is the excellent hardware frequency counter at work,
i.e. works regardless of timebase or vertical scale.

Dave.