Yaakov, I would just throw another two names in the hat: GW Instek and Micsig.

Thanks for this. I've all but settled on the Siglent because of it's cost and feature set. I will be buying the add-on AWG so I can do Bode plots, in addition to other uses, and the logic probe since the cost is so low. I didn't expect to have an MSO, but I am happy to take it, it will find use.

I definitely need a bench scope for this purchase, but there is a spot for something more portable in the future, so I will certainly make a note of Micsig

Thanks for the additional information, I appreciate it.

 

Thanks for this. I've all but settled on the Siglent because of it's cost and feature set. I will be buying the add-on AWG so I can do Bode plots, in addition to other uses, and the logic probe since the cost is so low. I didn't expect to have an MSO, but I am happy to take it, it will find use.

I am pretty sure you will be happy with your purchase! (I also forgot that you had furnished your selection with an internal AWG ).

 

Hello.

I am getting ready to buy a scope for general use and have just about settled on the Keysight DSOX1204G.

Is the consensus this is a good choice? Are there hidden problems? Are there better choices in this class?

This looks like a fine scope. Ignore statements from others about bandwidth. All that matters is samples/second (2Gs/s in this scope's case), which means their smallest resolution is 10 slices of time-- you will get high-fidelity wave-forms. And 200MHz is arguably faster than any project you will likely ever need to work on. So yes, I'd say this looks like a great scope. As long as it's accurate, you should never need another one. Make sure you know the cost of the probes- they can be very expensive as _they_ are the interface between the scope and the work. How they view the work, so the scope sees the work.

If you get it, get them to throw in a third probe as a spare in case you accidentally ruin one along the way. The function generator is nice, and you will never regret having 4 traces available.

Look around, get it < $1200 if you can (that's a common price I found).

 

Bandwidth and sampling rate both matter.

A 200MHz bandwidth scope is not going to capture fast rise times and fall times accurately if times are shorter than 10ns. There are times when you need higher bandwidth.

I routinely use a 350MHz analog scope in order to study TDR experiments.

 

This looks like a fine scope. Ignore statements from others about bandwidth. All that matters is samples/second (2Gs/s in this scope's case), which means their smallest resolution is 10 slices of time-- you will get high-fidelity wave-forms.

I"m sorry but that's nonsense.

The analog BW of a scope is very important because it dictates which signals (or better, frequency components) your scope can 'see' and which not. The sample rate on the other side only needs to be high enough to satisfy Nyquist-Shannon (i.e. fsample > 2x fmax), which in practice means at least 3x the maximum frequency component. For 200MHz BW, that means 600MSa/s are sufficient to truly reproduce any signal the scope can 'see'. That's the math.

If you now raise the sample rate, you still won't get any additional details, as your scope is still limited to frequency components up to 200MHz. That's the physics.

That means there's no real benefit in a 200MHz scope that samples at 2GSa/s over one that samples at 1GSa/s. The 2GSa/s scope will produce more data, but not more detail.

These things don't work the way you think they do.

Make sure you know the cost of the probes- they can be very expensive as _they_ are the interface between the scope and the work. How they view the work, so the scope sees the work.

Ahem, like pretty much every scope, the Keysight DSO-X1204G already comes with four passive probes, although ones that are poorly made. Better probes aren't expensive, though, and like any low-end DSO the DSO-X1204G lacks the advanced probe interface for active probes, so there are no really expensive probes for this scope anyways.

 

This looks like a fine scope.

It is a fine scope, but it isn't as good a value as others. I wasn't really looking for advice on specs, I knew what I wanted, and thankfully, @Wuerstchenhund who has a lot more experience in purchasing T&M gear than I do was able to answer the questions I had very substantively and offer the alternative I am going to buy.

Keysight is a good company, but it is not a high value company on the low end. The market they serve best is on the high end.

The Siglent is going to give me better performance and a much larger feature set for the money, and I am quite happy with it.

As far as bandwidth, if I need more it will be the time to buy an additional, faster scope which will cost a lot more money.

 

Just to wrap up this thread, I ordered the Siglent with the AWG and logic probe options. Quite pleased with the decision at this point, I expect it will live up to my expectations. Looks like I am going to have a Siglent bench, since I also ordered some other items to round it out.

Thanks everyone for the help, I am glad that AAC isn't a typical swamp of flames and geek wars. I look forward to spending time here.

 

Congratulations on your new toy! Let us know how you like it after you use it a bit. I'm sure other members will be interested in your feedback.
Have fun!

 

A final capper for the thread, the scope arrived, and it brought some friends!

Now it's all about learning the new kit, and posting my experiences for others to learn from.

Thanks again to everyone who helped, I really appreciate it.