EEVblog

Dave takes a look at the Owon SDS Series "Smart" oscilloscope.
The 300MHz model SDS9302. But apart from bandwidth and sample rate, the same as the SDS8302, SDS8202, SDS8102, SDS7102, and SDS6062.
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[@TwistedLogic93]

Dave, The unique autoscale function is actually a selling point of this scope. If you look into it a little more you'd see that it does real time auto-scale so you don't have to keep hitting the button. Every time you connect a signal it re-scales the signal to fit.

[@mbaker335]

The battery operation is particularly useful when working on high voltage/tube circuits. Ground does not go to power ground so isolated like any battery operated kit. Very useful as a second scope at a good price.

[@gingermetallurgist]

My first scope was and still is the SDS7102 (100MHz, 1GSa/s, $450 USD).. and I really like it... I am definitely a novice in electronics, but for what I use if for, it works perfectly. The giant screen and portable nature are more beneficial to me than a fast waveform update rate.

[@WooShell]

Recently bought the 100MHz version for ~350$, and I'm very satisfied with it. The UI takes a bit time to get used to (at least for me, with only an analog Hameg experience). Mine looks slightly different around the knobs, and I can't tip it over with the buttons either, so apparently Owon have taken a few of your criticisms back to their drawing board. Sure, the quality is not on par with an Agilent, but the price isn't, either ;-)

[@mathgeek11480]

Dave, you did me a huge favor about a year ago when I was buying a scope and I was looking at the Owon's because they're dirt cheap, all over the web, and I was a novice^2 who didn't know any better. You, having never touched or mentioned an Owon (at least not to my knowledge) talked me into getting a Rigol 1052. Thank you for that. I was disappointed you couldn't take it apart, but I have a feeling (and I may be wrong) that could be to Owon's benefit.

[@PY4SR]

Thanks Dave. We are with you.

[@dasswify]

I love these kind of reviews. Dave gives an honest review and goes through most of the important stuff. You're free to ignore the stuff that doesn't pertain to you; e.g. the problem with the button weight and that it easily flips doesn't concern me att all, but some of the other stuff do.

[@Alex1M6]

When I was looking to get my first scope I was debating between the Rigol and one of these Owon's, but after watching this I am so glad I went with the Rigol in the end.

[@ronshaw80]

IT wasnt a double negative. If you read the manual, you will see that they show the coupling mode. The straight line means DC coupling on that channel. The channel below shows a small sine wave, meaning it is AC coupled.

[@doogulass]

We have one of these Owon scopes at work. After about a year the fan went bad and now it is super noisy. Totally agree about the buttons being too stiff too.

[@KitCox]

From marmad on the blog, 23 May 2013, 12:12:57PM, Reply #148. "BTW, almost EVERYTHING you can do on a DSO affects the wfrm/s rate (and thus the Trigger out): persistence, measurements, extra channels, having a menu out, etc. because they change the variable blind time (i.e. the DSO is doing more processing)."

[@Kryoclasm]

I use the SDS7102 for basic electronic and ham radio adjustments. This is my first 100 MHZ scope. Seems to work, but it does have limitations. When I move up to a better scope the 7102 will live in my automotive workshop at work for GP diagnostics. Ill be getting the battery for it then.

[@TheBdd4]

Thanks for a good money saving review.

[@MrNguyenthuyhien]

Thanks for helping

[@KitCox]

At James Cutler: I do too. The SDS7102. This review makes me nervous. The last scopes I used were Tek 454's. This is the first digital scope I have ever had my hands on and don't have a clue how to test it.

[@engineeringawayout]

I too have a SDS7102 and I too like it. I need a cheap scope I can take on the road to customers facilities for testing. It is very small and light. What sold me was the 10M samples. I really use them for looking at communications. One thing I do not like on mine is you have to stop the scan to zoom into your waveform or it does not show you all the detail. Once you hit stop you can see what is going on.

[@Eman2000]

i wonder if the slow screen update rate has to do with power savings when the battery is used

[@DavidLeeMenefee]

In this case looks aren't deceiving. WOW! For a new modern scope one would expect much better that this. Thanks for the heads up.

[@cristobalmarag]

Thank you!!!!!

[@oetken007]

EEVBlog > What is the benefit of the standby switch. Does it boot faster? Can you let set the standby switch in the "on position" and it boots when you switch the mains switch?

[@Q8Police777]

I dont understand anything, but I love watching your videos.

[@TwistedLogic93]

With the extra weight of the battery the button problem is less. Also you can't beat the amount of scope you get for the money.

[@JamesCutlervk2tim]

I have the 100MHz scope - as far as I can tell, it works great. A tear down on this item would be good :)

[@alunjones3860]

They've improved the firmware since Dave did this review. I agree, I wouldn't pay extra for the bandwidth, just the 100MHz one. The battery and the fact it's lightweight are the main selling points and is why I bought one, which I'm satisfied with. I also have the Rigol DS1054Z, but my Owon gets more use, simply because it's more portable which is important for me.

[@Joru666]

Memory bank covers a set time period, lowering memory depth decreases sample rate. As you go to sample rate under 2x signal freq you get aliasing.

[@grumss9248]

looks like it has been 6years since my last post on this link... My sds8202 is still going strong, last week used it to fault find a 500Mhz LO on a microwave signal generator waveform, viewing BW is amazing on these scopes- i can see waveforms over 700Mhz on mine as long as i use a bit of sense... As a mainly RF guy, amazingly handy to see any stable waveform (even if its values are not correct) when faultfinding! It has its faults BUT geez its been handy here

[@thijsdebont]

I love my Rigol DS2072 even more now!

[@smling11]

Dave, you are doing the good equipment makers a big favor. There are a lot of gems that are very cheap compare to the established brand, but many time people shy away from all china after bitten by just 1 bad one. Great job, keep thrashing the bad one and very very meaningful work.

[@rotlerin]

Fantastic video. I love it when you sniff out poorly designed kit and get frustrated with it. Your rant gets near maniacal. Very informative and equally entertaining. I bet Owon directors are going to call an emergency meeting when they see this. Also glad I took your advice and got a Rigol DS2072 as my first scope.

[@LemoUtan]

Although not much can be done about the 'cheap build' aspects, most of the negatives (to put it kindly) are software related. A firmware upgrade might significantly ramp up its quality. Does that happen in practice? Or do they bring out one half-hearted software kludge in five years before they start on their next model releases? I suppose that might depend on how many they sell.

[@JeremyHongelectronics]

Lol I've been watching EEVblog recently more than TV...

[@JeremyHongelectronics]

This oscilloscope is tempting to get..

[@engineeringawayout]

Oh the fan on these are SERIOUSLY cheap. Mine started making noise from the bearings going out. They sent me a new fan and some seriously crappy instructions for taking it apart and changing it out. Im just glad I got it back together and working.

[@FunySmileXa]

can you show the data signal of the LVDS on an oscilloscope

[@Cybeonix]

I think Dave's point is that well made products can generally be navigated and used (save for some advanced features) by just a cursory look at the interface. Especially for someone with a background and experience in the industry.

[@_Junkers]

I have the SDS6062 and it only stung me around $300 USD back in 2014. As its low end counterpart it's actually pretty good value; it has many of the features and flaws of this unit. I wouldn't put up with the quirks for the money they are asking for this particular model though...

[@Q8Police777]

OH CRIKEY!! A NEW VIDEO!!

[@hanne1554]

They actually have a touchscreen line of oscilloscopes, but only 4 channel ones

[@ardian3141]

I bought a 30 MHz version (DS5032E) of Owon 'Smart' scope for about $300. Overall it's really similar to its 100 MHz brother in this video, just with less features. As Dave said, its user interface is not really good. Maybe they're trying to make the UI looks a little bit different from the others, but it's just not very ergonomically friendly. Anyway, for a $300 scope, it works quite well, I got what I paid for. I don't know if there is a better $300 scope out there on the market.

[@duncho1]

Great review! Thank you for your time, testing and posting this!!! I wanted to buy one, the basic DS6062 version. I need portable, powered by battery scope, which I will use mainly for car diagnostics. Could you maybe recommend a better scope with a battery option? Thank you! PS: you really made me laugh on some of your comments!! LOL

[@Autofixpals]

+duncho what he said.. need something with a battery option.

[@chrisvighagen]

Exactly! Everyone knows Dave's style and if he says somethign is well made then it is WellMade(TM) and you know that customers will buy it and pay a premium. If Dave cuts them down like a fruit ninja, then the consumers will stay away and the company will have to respond by addressing the issues and ave Dave re:review it to ascertain trust among the customers again. Like the ChipKit 3 incident which was for everyone's benefit.

[@prblakeslee]

Thank goodness I DID NOT see Dave's rants ("Noise" is more like it) before I bought it. I took everything he said with a grain of salt when he starts his review by calling the push switch a "standby button"?!?! It is a power switch plain and simple: AC-in>toggle-switch>(PS or B+)>push-switch>DCin His rants were fun though :-) I agree the 300MHZ stretches the one-size-fits-all approach to the SDS line. 70% of the review is spot-on. The other 30%? Uniformed bunk. Standby-switch?? Hehehe.

[@leohobbleohobb3781]

I seen 2 videos where you dont find the intensity adjustment for the screen i belive you said.Maybe the black window down the rigth corner is a ligth detection device and it has a auto intensity.on the other video it was a 14bit Owon.That had a black window up outside rigth screen corner also.in that video you could not find the screen intensity adjustment and maybe the window is litgh sensor behind it.Sorry for my bad english writing

[@KitCox]

That's 7102 too. Mark Madel isn't happy with that one either... (Same animal except for the bandwidth and a few other items.)

[@funtimess2995]

Hi, Great videos by the way. Its been a while i have not used an Oscilloscope. I am considering buying this scope, OWON XDS3104E Digital Oscilloscope. Is 100 Mhz sufficient for most applications or should i consider 200 Mhz?

[@gmayur3g]

Please help me choose between Hantek DSO5102P, OWON SDS 7102 and HTC PDO 50100S and if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. This is my first scope and my budget is around Rs 20000-25000. Please help it's urgent. Thank you.

[@gregd6022]

I've had the 200Mhz ver for 3yrs, hauling it around the planet countless times & even checking it in, never had any issues as Dave talks about - Most of Dave's comments are "oh this is not what i'm used to" whining, or "it's not as good as the scope at twice the price" essentially. (what's amazing is the Bandwidth + Mem depth vs Price, period). Dave is not a Pro, keep that in mind.

[@bitrot42]

+Greg D Not sure why you say dev isn't a "pro", but regardless, the usability/familiarity issues are pretty important when you're using a variety of gear and you need results in a hurry. There are some amazing budget scopes these days, so I think it's fair to judge them pretty harshly.

[@alynicholls3230]

"Dave is not a pro", why because he makes youtube vids?, in terms of qualifications and experience he is very much a "Pro". i have seen this before some people seem to think dave is just a hobbyist, but no, he is a professional electrical design engineer, and a damn good one too.

[@GaRbAllZ]

Great overview Dave Thanks. Pretty bad when the ds1052 updates faster

[@Luxeontech]

I have the HP Dual Chanal Oscilloscope BW 2 X 1,5 Ghz its a Sampling Scope Type: 140 A Scope, 1425 A SamplingTB and Delay TB Accur: 1ps 1410 A Unit Dual Sampling Vert Amplifier its a' good Oszi, i love

[@o.t.powell1142]

Why can't you troubleshoot i2c or digital troubleshooting? Just because it doesn't have a trigger option for it? Can't you just trigger it manually? What benefit does the i2c trigger setting have? You mentioned decoding? I'm new to the i2c world and a sophmore in the electrical engineering program. I just bought this scope.

[@KissAnalog]

O.T. Powell how has this scope worked for you?

[@jimeagle1]

Too bad you didn't do this review before I bought the OWON DS7102V scope instead of the Rigol 1052E about 1-1/2 years ago. The primary reasons I bought it were screen size, battery operation and memory size. The ability to look at longer waveforms using the 10 Mpts memory is a significant advantage for many of the uses for which I use a DSO. Customer support for the unit is also non existent though, frankly, Rigol hasn't done much better for my DSA815. At least Rigol's website is useful.

[@romeojr.fiecas4952]

Hi dave, pls do a siglent sds1072 review...thanks...

[@John_Ridley]

I bet this unit sits in stock at Trio Smartcal for months after this glowing look at it :)

[@davidprice2861]

Detent is the word, 'not' indent... Good critical review, Thanks..

[@Psychlist1972]

If you tear down the Owon, you'll find an old casio watch powering the whole thing.

[@vampifrog]

haha "Let's feed a signal up its clacker here"

[@Marisueksu]

vampifrog hi

[@NerdNordic]

Word. This one would be really interesting! Dave please? ;)

[@viesturssilins858]

I own a SDS7102 and I quite like it, but I am worried about the noise performance. On lowest vertical settings I have the line taking up a full vertical division with input 50ohm terminated. Is this to be expected or is my unit defective?

[@stylesoftware]

wow, that graphic persistence looks like the frame buffer wasn't sent a refresh from the software. BUG

[@clems6989]

Wish Rigol had a battery option. Would love the isolation in industrial environments.....

[@GautamKumarGoswami]

The two probes (those come with 7102) are of 10:1 /1:1 type or just 1:1 type ? And their model/cat. number ? I understand this DSO price is low & affordable to many like me but after watching YT videos, I think the inside story is really inferior & toy like finish with chip plastic granules & low grade components - specially the rotary encoders. On the other hand Rigol has far better inside stories. Initially I thought that I would go for Rigol DS 1054Z but recently heard that it has many software bugs. I do not have reqd money for Rohde & Schwarz or Keysight or Tektronix. I am confused - do not know what I will do now. Any friendly advice will be very helpful for me.

[@Luxeontech]

I am 38 years Meters technician for Spectrum Analyzer, Scope, Network Analyzer and all instruments of Hewlett-Packard, Tektronix, Wandel & Goltermann, Rohde & Schwartz, Fluke, Hameg etc. The DOS above SGS 82xx of Owon / Rigol or Hantek is a Scope great I love the setting. My Type Digital DOS for 5 days = SGS 8202 V (VGA) 2x200 MHz of Owon Prs. ~ € 710 (Ebay) TEST: Great for the price I love the device. Greeting from Walter from ULM (Germany)

[@SatyajitRoy2048]

Please do a tear down video on this product.

[@oetken007]

Was it using the screen memory as capture memory?

[@Q8Police777]

Laughed so hard at the artifacts part x)

[@JUANKERR2000]

The buttons are not "tight", they are heavily sprung.

[@sleepyduck]

i thought dave mentioned before in one of his previous episodes that his reviews helped companies for the better.............

[@AmericanLocomotive1]

Seems like its using a very similar operating system to the GW Instek

[@KitCox]

Dave, all the knobs are the same opti encoder(I'm guessing), since they're not 'pots' with different values. That's why they ALL have the built in push switch. Why two different types when one will work perfectly whether you use the swtich or not? After viewing this I'm worried that my SDS 1702V will be a bunner. I got it back in Dec 2011 for a ckt that will use DDR memory to store the output of a CS5340. Never used, too busy to work on it. Love your vids, hard work too. Thanks.

[@TheBdd4]

Dave, I have a Tek TDS 380 400MHz 2 ch scope and am considering a scope with 1GHz bandwidth and higher than its 1K storage length. Should I be afraid of buting something used? Could you give me some idea about what higher bandwidth color scopes, used or new I should consider on a limited budget for my audio to low RF design tinkering?

[@KX36]

channel 2 seemed to trigger fine, just the arrow isn't pointing to the trigger point!

[@RankUpGamers]

This was loaned by a person... and he gives honest reviews. Are you a EE with a KZbin that does reviews about almost anything related to EEing?

[@ValdemarCamilo]

I don't think i've ever wanted dave to tear down a scope more then now. I'm curious to see how they've done all the logicy bits. Is the update rate so slow cause they're hooking the display up to the proc and not to a FPGA?

[@opelize]

Hey that FFT function actually looks halfway decent at least....

[@Luxeontech]

YES go to Set Cal at SGS 82xx type, then it ok.

[@1SmokedTurkey1]

Hi Dave, I' know this isn't relevant to your video but I'm looking to buy my first scope. I'm torn between the Rigol DS1052E and the Siglent SDS1072CML. They're in my budget I can't go over their price. Which one would you recommend? Thanks!

[@KissAnalog]

1SmokedTurkey1 which scope did you get?

[@SeAfasia]

A very nice gift for me boys....

[@nxxxxzn]

cool

[@DMessham]

33:26 made my day

[@RadiantPhenom]

Yay!

[@ZXRulezzz]

17:46 Is that just me, or grid dots are actually flicker for some reason? :-\

[@donpalmera]

If it was slightly cheaper than a similar brandname scope and of similar quality I would. These companies obviously aren't great at making highly bandwidth feature packed units.. so that's why I said they should focus on building solid basic scopes.

[@renkodeboer8159]

Thanks for the review, decided to buy a Rigol.

[@drezster]

I thought of buying a OWON SDS scope. Well...45min of Dave's rant and now I want to slap myself. God, what was I thinking. Thanks, Dave, I owe you one.

[@tiagobaracho]

Dave.. please help me ! There are so many around 400 USD range... wich would you recomend around 400-450 USD ? i am not advanced on electronics, i fix usualy TVs power suply.... PC power supply.. and othe things.. i am not at all into design and engeneering... i would like to know what you would recommend to last long and do the job of testing power supply... i read so many things about so many units.. i really get lost.. .there are so many opinions... but i trust in yours the most... Thanks

[@teardowndan5364]

Since Rigol's DS1000Z series look like cut-down DS2000 and the DS2000 series performs so much better than the older DS1000 (pre-Z) ones, you might want to look at the Zs: around 1/4th the price of a DS2000 but still seem to get most of the perks. Most of the repairable stuff in PSUs, TVs, PCs, etc. operates at relatively low frequencies so the base 70-100MHz models should get most jobs done. If you were thinking of looking at DVI/HDMI/DP/etc. signals or any other high-speed serial busses in PCs, you can probably forget about it since you would need a 1000+MHz scope to get a clear picture on most of those.

[@tiagobaracho]

Daniel Sauvageau thanks man.. i already bought one ds2072A.... i couldn choose better than this... I did the hack on it and now its 300mhz and 56mpoints.... The hack is on eevblog forum.. Thanks man

[@Luxeontech]

I have in my private laboratories 8 Scope. Since 5 days the SDS 8202 V 2x 200 Mhz, the price of 710 € is OK for many settings, it makes to use fun. I have 5 DOS's, 1 Hameg 5 minutes Storage screen and 1 HP Scope 0 to 1.2 Ghz. Each scope has its individual character and is individually for themselves. My statement, I love Scope by type. The new SDS 8202 V is integrated. Regards, from Techn Physcal.Labor ULM. Your Walter Rossmann!

[@0LoneTech]

We got a couple of Owon combo scope/LA instruments at work. My experience is that they have decent functionality but quite crap interface (for example, the cursor knobs do nothing in scope mode, and the trigger menu has different settings with the same name). By the way, what's the point of a standby mode if the scope still takes forever to start from it?

[@schlechte-schaltungen]

The "standby" switch powers off the scope, but keeps the power supply running to charge the battery.

[@0LoneTech]

@@schlechte-schaltungen Then it's a charge mode, not standby. Weird labeling is common. Thanks for telling me, though.

[@TheProCactus]

Thats what I thought after my post. However a piece of gear like this ? I think the manual would be an interesting read. Myself, I do like to try to use a product before reading anything. But I would not make a review of a product without trying to be informed.

[@srscricket]

it seems I didn't say what I meant, his reviews have been dissapointing because of the items he got. It wasn't meant as comment on Dave's reviews, i love them and watch them as soon as they hit my e-mail box. Sorry for the confusion.

[@TheJennetteFan]

Teardown !!!

[@thefatmoop]

what's with all the haters? perfect review Dave.

[@TheProCactus]

Its a review !

[@TheQuantumFreak]

And that's why I just bought a 70mhz rigol

[@inciteman]

"Can I get a couple of hours of my life back.. pleaseee.. LOL... I admit I got one of these too just last month. It's my first scope, but here's what I've found with the software your suppose to be able to use it as a logic analyzer (the software does it), and with the battery it doesn't really tilt back as much when you press the upper buttons (doesn't tilt at all when you press the lower buttons) and the battery lasts about 4 hours on a charge. I figure I'll use it as a portable one later.

[@chrisvighagen]

Because it doesn't work as it should? IN all honesty the first time I ever heard that acronym was when a Seagate engineer came to S/SLUG in the mid 1990s and gave a talk on hard drives and Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology was the latest buzz. It just stuck in my then 14 year old head and when ever I see something fail spectacular I always remember what that engineer said. It is a reminder that not all things are as great in reality as it was on the marketing divisions paper

[@gunpaljain8350]

Does these chinese oscilloscope last?

[@DaruoshAghajaney]

this owon POS is absolutely crap. i bought it a year ago (what a mistake) and it stopped working after a week!! had a hard time to return it back and get a Rigol DS2000A.

[@ChipGuy]

VERY good, you confirmed what most of us already suspected. Sadly you coudn't take it apart. However, i think it could be much nicer with a major software tidy up. Won't rescue it but make is less painful. If lifetime hours could be donated, i would just give you back yours while working on that thing. Thumbs up on the "first impression"; Thumbs down on the scope.

[@TheCrazyStudent]

"Thanks for the review Dave"... "Perfect review, Dave"... "How can review without reading the manual"... Review, review, review. Do anyone actually listen to what Dave says in the video? Right at the beginning he says "This isn't gonna be a full review. I just got this for a short time, so this is more of a first impression video." Commenters, how about listening to what Dave says?

[@teunnederlof7526]

owon

[@maddoughnut5047]

Please don't bash me, im not a technician, but is an analogue (virtually limitless) precision just in case of an oscilloscope not superior to digitized wave display ?