Last updated on October 21st, 2020 at 04:38 am
When it comes to visualizing high-speed signals in all areas of modern electronics, the basic gadget that comes into the picture is an Oscilloscope. This is an indispensable electronic testing device that displays a two-dimensional plot of signals as a function of time.
With the advent of technological improvements, the potential demand of the oscilloscopes is increasing in a tremendous manner as they are used by Electronic Hobbyists, High School & College Laboratories, the Industrial Sector and so on. A wide variety of Oscilloscopes include the Analog Oscilloscopes, the Digital Storage Types, the Hand-Held Oscilloscopes, etc. These are available in the market from various manufacturers for different applications with altering price ranges. The following SIGLENT SDS1202X-E review we made here in ReviewerTouch gives an in-depth essence of SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope.
You can also read the Hantek DSO5202P Reviews if you want to check other modelos.
KEY FEATURES
This is an ultra-entry level digital oscilloscope under SDS1202X-E Series. It features 200 Mhz Bandwidth and two input channels (1MΩ, 18pF, 400Vpeak) with a sampling rate of 500Mega Samples per second. The all-new SDS1202X-E comes with Super Phosphor Technology (SPO), which commits the user with unmatched performance and signal accuracy so that an ultra-precise visualization of the output signal is displayed in a 7-inch TFT LCD screen of 800 x 480 display resolution.
In general, certain factors that assess the good quality of a digital oscilloscope are: Bandwidth, Memory Depth, Resolution, Audible Noise, Waveform Update Rate, Cost, etc. This Oscilloscope is not an exception to those parameters.
BANDWIDTH: A fundamental factor that determines the oscilloscopes capability to measure a signal. For SDS1202X-E, the value of Bandwidth is 200 Megahertz, which suits exactly for all low & mid-frequency signals and occasionally works for high-speed complex signals.
MEMORY DEPTH: Mathematically, memory depth is defined as the multiplication of sample rate times the acquisition time window. For example:
MEMORY DEPTH = SAMPLE RATE X ACQUISITION TIME WINDOW
The SDS1202X-E has a memory depth of 1 Giga Samples per second for single channel and 500 Mega Samples per second for dual-channel. Obviously, we could say that with 500MSa per channel, the SDS1202X-E can capture 500ms of time with a 1GSa/s sample rate. It captures input signals at a much faster rate.
RESOLUTION: It determines the level of comminution of measurement that can be made with the waveform without clipping. Digital Oscilloscopes with Higher Resolution levels will offer more small signal detail and it is indispensable for more accurate timing measurement when the signal changes. The SDS1202X-E can have a resolution score of 28 (256 Levels)
AUDIBLE NOISE: Due to various active and passive electronic components present inside the circuit board of a digital oscilloscope, it generates some form of noise. SDS1202X-E has no great number of fan noise (the noise generated by the cooling fan inside the cabin of an oscilloscope) and its observed value is 49.4dB. No annoying sound will be there at the time of operation.
The Heart (or) the main architecture of SDS1202X-E is the Zynq-7000 SoC as the core processing chip from Xilinx, which embedded the features of a typical high-end digital oscilloscope into this entry level scope. It has a dual ARM cortex series processor for the Processor System (PS) and Artix 7 based FPGA as the Programmable Logic (PL). The PS and PL are connected through the AXI high-speed bus, which intelligently eliminates the use of individual motherboards and all the circuitry can be found in a single compact Motherboard with a multi-layered PCB (Printed Circuit Board). Here, the FPGA is combined with the ARM Processor having a 1Mpoints FFT in the form of Ball Grid Array (BGA) IC.
Apart from the main processor, Analog Device’s HMCAD1511 is used as the High-speed Analog to Digital Conversion Chip for processing the analog inputs. For the memory and storage, single-chip DDR3 (Double Dynamic RAM) interface is used in parallel with Zynq-7000 SoC. The main feature in SDS1202X-E is the digital triggering with various modes like Edge Trigger, Slope Trigger, Pulse Trigger, Video Trigger, Window Trigger, Interval Trigger, Dropout Trigger, Runt Trigger, Pattern Trigger and Serial Communication Trigger. It also supports various math and windowing functions with a rise time of 1.8 nanoseconds.
It comes with USB interface for storing the data on a Thumb Drive/Pen Drive Storage where the data is stored in .png (Portable Network Graphics) format by inserting one storage into the front USB Port and pressing the Print/Save Button.
Other ports like including the LAN, EXTERNAL TRIGGER & USB COMMUNICATION Port are present on the rear side of the oscilloscope. Separate Software CD Packages are provided & are used to visualize the data in Laptop/Desktop PC by synchronizing the scope with any one of the above-mentioned methods.
Finally, with all the above-mentioned features and technical specifications. It is an absolute digital storage oscilloscope for any who interested in electronics and well suits for hobby projects. It also comes with a set of probes within the box along with various attachments.
- Power consumption: Normally, in case of any digital oscilloscopes or mixed signal oscilloscopes the electric power consumption would be in the range of 50 Watts. But, SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope comes with a power consumption of 25 Watts.
- Serial decoding – zero bucks: SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope comes with most popular serial communication interfaces like I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuits), SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter), CAN (Controller Area Network), LIN (Local Interconnect Network) along with free serial decoding feature which means that you can use it without purchasing a separate key. Also, on-screen tabulation of those serial values gives a better understanding to the user.
- Intensity graded display: A feature that enables the user to dig into some complex waveforms and differentiate the minor waveforms present inside the major waveform envelope with different colours and zooming capability.
- Operations and windowing techniques: Being priced as an entry level scope, it has signal operations like Signal Addition, Signal Subtraction, Signal Multiplication, Signal Division, Derivative of Signals – Integration and Differentiation Functions, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Square Root of a Signal. Also, Rectangular, Blackman, Hanning, Hamming and Flattop are the various windowing techniques available in this scope.
- Non-saturation in a display of output data even at high kHz frequency inputs.
- All of the control knobs are clickable with a nice detent.
- JTAG Interface and Serial Interface are present extra as PCB VIA on the Motherboard (VIA-Vertical Interconnect Assembly)
- Linux Version 3.19.0 and GCC version 4.6.1
- Fast Refreshing Rate of the Screen.
- Compact and Light
- Faster USB Communication with USB PC Host.
- Waveform capture rate up to 400,000 waveforms per second with Gate and Zoom Measurement.
- Lacks Waveform Generator which is available in higher models. So, sometimes there is a required additional setup for waveform generation.
- Trouble tracking the frequencies in 199 Hz and other lower frequencies.
- Trigger control knob has no detent and it is clickable only.
- No Automatic Attenuation setting, a manual option only.
- Large 7 inches TFT Display has no touchscreen.
- Trigger Cursor will disappear for no reason and the only way to get it back is by pressing the DEFAULT Button.
- Non-Sturdy Handles when compared with older models
- Presence of additional channels would be better.
ADDITIONAL REVIEWS OF SIGLENT SDS1202X-E
- 80,000 frames is the maximum recorded waveform length along with Video Triggering support for HD Televisions,
- Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) protocol with remote control commands,
- Ten different one button operations for most commonly used functions: Measure, Print, Clear, Auto Setup, Default etc.,
- New math co-processor enables 1M samples per waveform with a fast refresh rate.
- SPO technology facilitates easy identification of transients, jitter, glitches and spikes.
- Waveform capture rate of 100,000 waveforms per second under normal mode and 400,000 waveforms per second under sequence mode.
- Signal Standards for Video Triggering are NTSC, PAL, 720p/50, 720p/60, 1080p/50, 1080p/60, 1080i/50 and 500 uV/div is the minimum vertical input range
- Best one for debugging Hobby Projects that are made with Arduino, Raspbery Pi, Beaglebone, Programmable Interface Controller (PIC) and other Embedded System based development boards
- Zoom Measurement, Gating Measurement, Math Measurement and other 38 functions are measured automatically
- Responsive User Interface of the Display Menu with Multiple Languages Support and online help is embedded within the digital scope.
- At 200 Mhz, getting 2.5 samples per cycle is possible that satisfies phenomena of the Nyquist frequency and 100 Mhz Probes will work with this oscilloscope
- Sequence Mode is also called as segmented acquisition mode, where the maximum record length is divided into multiple segments (up to 80,000), according to trigger conditions set by the user and the qualifying event is captured with a very small dead time.
- Hardware based Pass/Fail Function at High Speed along with Security Erase Mode
- All sample data points are truly measured (up to 14M)
- Operating temperature is 10℃ to +40℃
- Display Menu can be kept ON/OFF as to get a good view and self-calibration is also available
- For the Roll mode, the time base range is 50mS/div to 100S/div. Like other oscilloscopes, Three Types of Coupling: DC, AC and Ground
- Features and High Performance of the SDS1202X-E 200 Mhz cannot be matched anywhere at this price
- Super Phosphor Oscilloscope is a combination of a huge waveform record memory of up to 14Mpoints, and a 256-level color and intensity grading and color temperature display
- Digital trigger system with high sensitivity and low jitter, producing stable waveform displays.
- Types of Measurements – Voltage, Time and Delay; Peak to peak, Vmax, Vmin, Vamplitude, Vrms etc., are a few among the 14 standard voltage measurements; Period, Frequency, Positive Width, Negative Width, Rise Time, Fall Time etc., are a few among the 9 standard time measurements
- Automatic measurement is another type of feature with the Measure Button
- Dot Display and Vector Display modes available
- 3 types of display grids- 14 x 8 grid, 2×2 grid, No Grid Option
- Waveforms Saving Types: Setups (.SET Fomat), Reference (.REF Format), .bmp (Bitmap Image Format), .jpg (Joint Photo Format), .png (Portable Network Graphics Format), .bin (Binary Format), .csv (Comma Seoarated Values Format), .dat (MATLAB Format)
- Disk Management Menu offers three important operations: Creation, Deletion and Renaming a file/folder
- The Self Calibration State of SDS1202X-E can make the oscilloscope to attain the best working state inorder to get the most precise measurement values
- Self-Testing Modes: Screen Test, Keyboard Test and LED Test
- Auto Measurement Feature comes with statistics of rise- and fall-time, amplitude, pulse width, duty cycle and many more features
- Size 312 mm × 150 mm × 134 mm (W × H × D) and Weight 3.5 kg are the Physical Dimensions
- Software that are associated with the SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope are Easyscope X, NI-VISA Runtime Engine 15.0. Before installing and operating any of the above software make sure that the device drivers are installed properly on the Host System and also it meets up the installation requirements.
We recommend you to check out the Rigol DS1102E Review for an updated guide.
QUICK COMPARISON WITH OTHER MODELS
- Bandwidth
- Sample Rate (max.)
- Waveform Capture Rate
- Memory Depth
- Display
- Channels
- FFT Data Points
- Waveform Generator
- Logic Analyzer
- Serial Decoder
- 200 MHz
- 1 GSa
- 100000 wfms/s
- 14 MPts
- 7 inch (800x480)
- 2
- 1 MPts
- NO
- NO
- YES
- 100 MHz
- 1 GSa
- 100000 wfms/s
- 14 MPts
- 7 inch (800x480)
- 4
- 1 MPts
- Optional
- Optional
- YES
- 200 MHz
- 1 GSa
- 100000 wfms/s
- 14 MPts
- 7 inch (800x480)
- 4
- 1 MPts
- Optional
- Optional
- YES
CONCLUSION:
For the above-mentioned price range, the SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope would be a great choice for anyone who loves to practice the art of electronics rather than studying it only with books. It will be suitable for Makers, Electronic DIY Hobbyists, Enthusiasts, passionate students, etc. With Super Phosphor Technology (SPO), a clear output resolution can be obtained with high speed accompanied by the unmatched performance of Zynq-7000 System on Chip and HMCAD1511 Analog to Digital Converter makes the scope to operate at an unmatched speed at this price range.
The soft pulsating power switch, utility buttons present on the front dashboard, properly labeled control knobs adds a little aesthetics to this digital oscilloscope. Overall, the SIGLENT SDS1202X-E Digital Oscilloscope is simply a “BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!”
Leave a Reply