Instek's new 2204 O'scopes

[Igor The Terrible]

Hi:

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

Thanks in advance


Igor

 

[David L. Jones]

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.
http://www.rigolna.com/products_osc_DS5000.aspx
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

 

[David L. Jones]

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.
http://www.rigolna.com/products_osc_DS5000.aspx
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