TSP

In this episode Shahriar reviews the Rohde & Shwarz RTB2004 10-Bit oscilloscope. With its high-resolution touch-screen, intuitive and capable GUI as well as excellent analog/digital performance this scope competes very well against other 2000 series instruments from Tektronix and Keysight. This extensive review includes instrument teardown, overview and dedicated experiments as follows:
01:17 - Model comparison and R&S scope lineup.
02:20 - Front panel, rear panel and overview.
05:01 - Instrument teardown and analysis.
13:37 - Power on and basic functions including intensity grading, XY mode.
26:29 - Multi-tone behavior, FFT and ADC performance.
33:17 - Experiment with ambient light follower: Analog and RS232 digital serial capture, triggering and analysis.
48:03 - Experiment with external DAC: Analog and I2C data capture and search using remote web interface.
57:19 - Built-in arbitrary waveform generator behavior and performance.
The Signal Path
www.TheSignalPath.com
/ thesignalpath
www.Patreon.com/TheSignalPath

[@Thesignalpath]

*Please note that a new firmware version has been made available since the recording of this video which addresses some of the issues I found in my review. Make sure you update your scope!*

[@valerondany2371]

Hello! Can you help me? I have an FSP13 spectrum analyzer. Its input mixer is faulty, I cannot determine the mixer model, part number.

[@kenwallace6493]

I bought the RTB2004 based on this review. After two years, it has been the best scope I've ever used (sold my Tek). At the time it cost $4K, a very reasonable price.

[@LarrysMachineShop]

Awesome review, and thanks, indeed pushed me to actually go buy this unit. I trust your reviews better than any others.

[@danielhatch5347]

FYI, if you want to change the "Edu. Mode" button, just press the small gear icon directly above the center vertical graticule. This allows you to select which shortcut buttons to have in the top-left toolbar.

[@jassimjaved3309]

You're so knowledgable and smart! Loving these reviews!

[@SJFOM]

Great review as always Shahriar, got excited for the review when I saw it lurking in the background of your BK Precision repair. As a first scope this would make the perfect Christmas present - please include me in your draw!

[@Dhamian]

I would like to enter the draw. This is the most thorough and comprehensive review of this equipment I've seen so far! Thank you

[@nxt-1]

Nice, in depth review. What else can we ask for? (except for Santa to enter me in the draw) Good luck to those who entered and thanks for reviewing Shahriar.

[@andycooper1684]

Another great video Shahriar. I stumbled across your channel a while ago and even though the material is often way above my head, your style makes it accessible and enjoyable. I currently have a beloved but cranky Tektronix 454 - the first scope I used 45+ years ago - and even though it pains me to think about putting it out to pasture, the RTB2004 would look good on my bench :-). Keep up the good work.

[@galileo_rs]

You are obstructing the view ;) The image of all that test gear and the painting would make a great motivational poster. And yes, include me in the draw.

[@thedill1984]

This unit would be the become the centerpiece of my bench and so I would love to be considered for the draw. And thank you for showing such generosity to your viewers!

[@gpcgamerTV]

Seems like a really nice piece of equipment! Of course I would also like to be included in the draw. I must say, I really enjoy these high quality reviews, so keep up the good work!

[@williammiller5490]

Great review. This is by far one of the better reviews on a new scope I've seen in a great while. Please keep up the good work. I too would love to be considered to receive this scope. Thanks again.

[@HarblesTheSkeptial]

I enjoy your videos because they are very well done. The production values are very good, the headset mic, for example, is appreciated as it keeps your commentary very intelligible with a minimum of ambient room reverberation, fan noise, etc. The content is consistently excellent and always informative. I like the varying levels of detail you go into, sometimes just a layman level overview and sometimes exploring the complex minutia of any given topic. Yours is one of the best Electronics Vlog pages on KZbin. You do seem adverse to showing your soldering techniques so if you haven't yet please make a video specifically on rework tips and tricks. Indeed I would be very pleased if Santa brought me a R&S RTB2004 for the imminent Solstice Celebrations.

[@zhoeon]

As always your reviews are clear and exhaustive; please keep them coming and include me in the draw!

[@semidemiurge]

A very comprehensive review, the time you take to do these is very much appreciated. Please add me to this list.

[@bradfordthorne]

Thank you for providing such consistent in-depth content - every video is a treat. I would love to be considered for the scope.

[@davidnewell5376]

As a poor Canadian student who has been saving pennies for a (far inferior) scope, receiving this R&S would be an incredible help. Please enter me in the draw! Thank you, both for the draw and for all of the amazing content that you create.

[@KerryWongBlog]

Thanks for staying up all night and prepare this video!

[@GrubiBG]

Thanks for the great review, as always, and RTB2004 will be great add to my lab. Please include in the drawing :) If I missed review on the portable Scope RIders, will love to see those, too.

[@InXLsisDeo]

Damn, that scope looks dope ! You are by far the best T&M equipment reviewer out there. Anyway, entering for the draw ! :)

[@sporqer]

Please enter me in the draw! Very insightful teardown of the scope, manufacturing quality of this unit is very good!

[@jonathankatz6804]

may as well throw my name in the hat as well, been watching for a few years now, keep up the excellent work

[@xisente]

It seems like a lot of thought went into the design! Please put me in the drawing, this scope and the experiment you laid out really inspire me!

[@Voteformiles10]

Excellent review as always. I'm often recommending your videos to friends at uni.

[@KX36]

love the UI. Especially the labelled axes on the FFT. Wish more manufacturers did that.

[@paulapappelbaum6983]

That was a nice tour through what the scope offers! And finally a quiet scope... Please also include me in the draw.

[@eskwadrat]

Excellent video along with FPS1500 review helped me to familiarize with both R&S instruments quickly. Thank you.

[@233kosta]

OK, colour me impressed. That single board solution is very elegant!

[@Sujitth]

Awesome tear-down and review. The PCB Layout of the single board for the acquisition, processors and memory were nice, the layouter might have enjoyed a lot ;) The GUI with touch is just awesome. btw from what source you are taking the AM modulation and carrier waves? show some images of that setup? The XY mode show were superb, I really need to study about that more. excellent RGB light application troubleshooting, i really like it.

[@djhatton]

Hey Shahriar. Another excellent video! Really appreciate how much effort you put into generating experiments for us. I'm just starting to build up my lab. I really need a scope, but they're all a bit beyond my 'mi goreng' student budget at this stage. Having a box that would also serve as a fn gen and logic analyser would be a dream come true!

[@bobfuller]

Wow, I don't have anything as useful or sophisticated as the R&S RTB2004 on my bench. It would be extremely beneficial in helping me understand all the different bus types and fault finding, so I'd love to take part in the draw, please. Really learn a lot from your videos.

[@glenyeldho5782]

Awesome video ! Only one KZbinr that test the gears up to it's bones ! I am interested in this scope

[@quantumbubbles2106]

As always, I'm being late to the party, but hopefully not too late. As I grew up with Hameg (now R&S) scopes in school and at university, a dream would come true... Anyway, great review, Shahriar!

[@DmitriIvanov]

Thanks for tearing down the equipment when you review it, really makes it something special!

[@ernie708]

Fav feature is the split screen XY / time base mode. Count me in for the raffle, I could really use the scope! Shahriar, couldn't you just add a 50 ohm feed-thru to terminate? Do the fancy 50 ohm scopes really do more?

[@Nathan-qn9ec]

Excellent content as always Shahriar. Count me in for the drawing!

[@maukka1187]

Great review with some actual use cases! I'd like to enter the draw as well. The extra bits of vertical resolution would come in handy.

[@Instrumentals-music]

Yes, I would like to enter the draw! I have the R&S FSC6 spectrum analyzer for my RF hobby, the RTB2004 would be the perfect unit to have!

[@emi22n]

Thank you for this chance and congratulations to any winner, I think it's a very exciting oscilloscope.

[@theworldaccordingtome6448]

Thank you for the extensive review. It would be awesome if I could be included in the draw. Thanks again for all your work, it is much appreciated.

[@kenwallace6493]

A great and detailed review. I'm now considering R&S instead of Siglent. Siglent does have a nice matt screen however so if anyone has a good fix for the glossy R&S screen, I'm all ears.

[@spdonnellan]

A beautiful instrument and a great review. I would love to have it on my bench. Any word from R&S about the software changes you mentioned?

[@nic_muses]

Sure, I'm mostly commenting to enter the draw, but I also want to say that was an awesome review and I'm sure many hours went into producing something so comprehensive but tightly presented.

[@cpopte]

We are two guys developing IoT using NXP LPC1788 and we would really make use of this kind of scope. We are currently using his older brother ... a Hameg 203 from 1994 :) . I must say that in X-Y mode , Lissajoux paterns look better on mine ... but that triggering on your is absolutely amazing ! Please count us in for your draw. Anyway whoever wins it - I wish him all the best. And btw...this is the review that your took a break to do a quick repair right ? Haha. Waiting for more repair videos.

[@raviteza8]

Like your reviews and especially the RF stuff. You explain it so well. Yes, plz include me in the draw! I am looking for an entry level scope anyways.

[@JustinDavidow]

Awesome review Shahriar! Always loved the German approach to test equipment; could really use a scope for various design + troubleshooting tasks! please include me in the draw! :D

[@aidanfransen3571]

Always been an electronics enthusiast and would love to be in the draw to have this scope as I start an Electronic and Computer Systems Engineering degree next year. Thanks for the review and keep up the good work. Cheers

[@s3sebastian]

I made the mistake and looked up the "affordable entry price point" that Shahriar mentioned at the beginning of the video for this 300MHz version of the scope. I don't know what I expected but it's an order of magnitude higher than for my DS1054Z. It surely would be nice to have something like that though, with the function generator and the logic analyzer built in and the higher sampling rate and bandwidth, but probably someone else can utilize it better than I do. It's a generous giveaway for sure.

[@robdb787]

Hi Shahriar, a question about the (apparent) 'unlocking' of the AM carrier frequency versus the modulation frequency at timestamp 21:47 in the video: wouldn’t it be possible that the problem is not the unlocking of the carrier frequency, but the limited resolution of the trigger? We are talking 1 Mhz vs 100 Hz (1:10,000) which means that only a minor variation in the triggering circuit (only 10 bit resolution 1:1024) would mean a (perceived) phase difference in the carrier signal, .. while the signals could very well be perfectly locked.

[@ddowlingau]

I have a Hameg HMO1024 and you can really see the Rohde & Schwarz rebranding that the RTB2004 is building on from this platform. The touch interface looks like it adds a lot to the intuitive interface for the scope. Great that you demonstrated the mixed signal features of the scope as that is what I most like about the HMO1024. Being able to monitor an I2C, SPI or RS232 bus and at the same time probe around with one or 2 analogue channels is fantastic when messing with A2D or audio codecs. Please include me in the draw :-)

[@funkimunky1]

The review was great. All your videos are really helping with me getting into electronics. I would love to get this scope.

[@BoydWaters]

I am still learning from this single video. Super grateful thanks!

[@dimmog]

Scopes are gorgeous nowadays especially Rohde & Schwarz. Very cool review Shahriar! Please included me in the drawing. Thanks

[@PauiComa]

Wow, what a G.U.I. ! and very responsive aswell. Nice review, I especially like it when you test the limits of the devices with your other high end signal sources and the explanations are comprehensive. Thanks. Please include me in the draw :)

[@gishageorge8492]

Thanks a ton for the opportunity for a student like me to have a go at owning one of these.........

[@tboy32]

An MSO would definitely be a helpful tool to have instead of separate instruments & trying to correlate timing (a practice I've found myself doing in the past). R&S have always impressed me with their designs. If you'd be so kind as to enter me into the drawing I'd love for a chance to own a tool like this. Thanks!

[@Wompylulz]

I study physics at university and I absolutely love electronics, my thesis will probably be on semiconductors! I would really love to have that unit and it will be very useful for may hobby and my career because I don't even own a scope right now! Thank you so much

[@M0UAW_IO83]

Having struggled with my ancient 35MHz Hameg analogue 'scope this week it's become glaringly obvious it's utterly worn out and I need a new 'scope, it would make my Christmas, nay, my year if i were to win that R&S 'scope so please, count me in and enter me into the draw please. Oh, and thank you for the excellent videos, by far the most in depth and detailed reviews, teardowns etc I have found so far.

[@megaqboy]

I'm almost done with my bachelors, and I learn lots of things from you. I would love to have an oscilloscope to use for some personal project I like to start when I finish my bachelors. I would like to be included in the draw.

[@d3xdrive]

I haven't even watched a single second of the video yet, but judging by the comments alone I'd like to enter whatever contest is available to enter and if this oscilloscope is available in said contest and furthermore I hereby enter my name 49,000 times so that I have an about a 50/50 chance of winning it since this was not expressly forbidden. edit: Having watched the video, I'm still very impressed with the UI they have put together (after seeing it on Mike's channel). I would love to have an oscilloscope with this kind of capability! I am sure there are people who here who don't even have one oscilloscope as I do (the venerable Rigol 1054z), but I could really use the web-based functionality and even more helpful to my hobby work would be the ability to save and reproduce waveforms like that scope supports! Thanks as always for your great videos! I hope you get to 50k soon, slightly hurting my chances but putting you over a well-deserved threshold.

[@drndarevicnikola]

Very nice review! Problem with the UART trig could be a sw bug because you were displaying messages as ASCII and searching in HEX. Include me in the draw, please :)

[@nmrgrnm]

In for the draw and congratualtions on a really comprehensive review!

[@RobEinstein]

This is scope is my dream... given that i can't get it for while its picture is now the wallpaper of my computer... would love to be considered into the draw. Who knows... my dream could come true! Btw, absolutely great review!!!!

[@muttleysnickers6228]

Thank you R&S and Shahriar for a great review as always, please include me as a contestant, many thanks.

[@cmuller1441]

Another great video from TSP. You can add me in the draw. This would definitely be a great replacement for my cheap usb scope.

[@aperturecontrols7463]

Great review! It's amazing how all that functionality is put onto a single board compared to my "vintage" Tek 2235 analog scope. The video could've used more Pooch, though. ;) I'd like to be included.

[@davidgreaves9787]

This is a very nice scope - and it shows that you have spent a lot of time on the review - great job. Please put me in the draw and should I win it I will definitely use it.

[@DaruoshAghajaney]

Hello from Tehran :) It would be more than a dream for me to win the giveaway or even purchase the scope, however let's try my chances. BTW a very very nice video and I love your approach of reviewing T&M tools. You turned a boring scope review into a very informative and rich learning experience.

[@doscucharas]

Please enter me into the draw. Truly awesome review and it looks like a great scope indeed.

[@necetraay9860]

Please enter me in the draw as well. Love your videos, especially how you show how it functions with various applications during reviews.

[@jirikonop1354]

Hi, very nice instrument and very nice review. I love the Rohde&Schwarz instruments :-)!

[@kuro68000]

With the sine and AM signals, the trigger point is near DC as you point out. But there is some noise too. Couldn't that be the reason for the signals not appearing to be locked?

[@22icyo]

Hey Shahriar, thanks a lot for all the very in-depth video you have done through out the years, most of the time, they are way clearer than actual EE classes... (well mine anyway). I really hope you continue for a long time. (and please enter me in the draw )

[@jpdiagnosys840]

Ia

[@6alecapristrudel]

I'd like to enter the draw! X-Y mode looks amazing, and you get the waveforms themselves too! It would come pretty handy for my DIY electrochemical rig.

[@kb65342]

As always, fantastic video. Educational and entertaining. Love the LED demo. An hour well spent. Thank you for all your great work. I'm not lucky, but please include me in the draw.

[@rattnallen0]

Great teardown/review! The scope would fit nicely on my bench so please include me in the draw.

[@kissingfrogs]

I would like it but cant say I really need it. Great video by the way.

[@martinpastva7989]

I'd like to enter the draw. Thanks for the review and other advanced videos, great work!

[@bongolongoallthetime]

I'd like to get one too... I'm a follower of TSP since the beginning, I really appreciate the quality of your content.

[@martinmckee5333]

I've got a venerable Tek 485 (with a flaky ch1 that has provides some interesting debugging), but it just doesn't handle the digital stuff I'd love to work on. So, sign me up. As always, an excellent review and interesting experiments. Cheers!

[@berniwa]

I'm in too ;-) A 10bit scope would make my life much easier.

[@transfunktionator]

Very good review, thank you! I'd really like to have this great scope for my lab! I had the RTB at work for a couple of days and liked it. Very nice look&feel and good functionality for an entry level scope. There are just a few software issues: Could you activate the "high resolution" mode and zoom out on a sinus signal? You will see a lot of drastic aliasing-like effects, even though the signal in the deep memory is OK (confirm by zooming in). The automatic measurements seem to work on the screen data (or at least some sort of "reduced" data), not on the deep memory. You can see that when you activate a rise time measurement on a square signal and then zoom in and out of a stopped acquisition. The frequency generator cannot be adjusted below 10 mV peak-peak. It is still pretty good for an auxiliary output though. The 10-bit ADC is extremely nice, I think it has about 7.5 effective bits (SNR) in the 1V/div range, much better than all 8-bit scopes I have seen yet. I miss the 10V/div setting that most other scopes have, though. The RTB offers 5V/div maximum.

[@miroslawwlodkowski256]

Count me in please, crossing my fingers... may get lucky :). Great scope by the way and MSO.. so exciting

[@enojelly9452]

Fantastic as always, Shahriar! Please enter me into the drawing. My cheap 2ch 70MHz Siglent has served me very well over the years, but given that I have since started to do projects on FPGAs (and, to a great part thanks to you, have even gotten into digital filter theory, so a better FFT and less quantization noise helps), it yearns for a replacement.

[@emi5370]

I'm not familiar with Rohde & Schwarz but I see there are clever features in this unit. However, I don't understand why do they do a remote interface looking as the instrument itself. It doesn't seem very convenient to use with a mouse ! However it's a nice piece of art. Good luck to the participants !

[@MrAtomicLlama]

Great video as usual, and great scope. Since I'm still in the dark ages and manually wire my scope into my logic analyzer to do the analog/digital correlation, I'd like to be included in the drawing please! And thanks again for producing these!

[@TheKubux]

I would live to enter the draw. Awesome unit, the MSO capability would save me a lot of time recently.

[@mikepeterson3259]

I always look forward to your videos and walk away with something new learned. I would appreciate it if I could be placed in the drawing for the new scope, as it would be a great addition to the bench!

[@killincards]

This mso would really help my career in making consumer electronics. Thank you for the opertunity.

[@daBigR--]

Please consider in in thedraw, the big screen would be a very welcome feature for my presbyopia

[@RobertGallop]

Really hope I could win this scope. I’m teaching my 9 year old electronics because he’s interested with it, almost as much as video games and nerf battles. With this I could make what’s happening visible, and that will go a long way with understanding. Then of course it would be terrific for everything else on the bench!

[@epozofortunic]

are the UART /SPI /I2C decoders available with the device, or do you need to purchase them separetly (or addiotionaly) when you buy the Osciloscope?

[@jgalbreath]

Hey you are incredibly detailed in your videos I use them regularly for reference material. Yes I will be happy to participate in this drawing of this incredible piece of equipment.

[@svartir6668]

10 bit is an enhancement for measuring power electronics. But will R&S implement advanced math or power analysis options? If yes, then this would be a nice scope for me ;-)

[@pewpewipsc]

My good old tektronix tds210 isn't up to the challenge for me anymore, so this scope would definitely step up my game. Please include me in the draw.

[@rampdd]

Definitly better than the Rigol for my mixed signal investigations. Put me in the jar for the draw :) I was also wondering why I got not mail from patreon that you've done a new review.

[@Iaretibu]

Wow this scope is pretty amazing, I would like to be entered to the drawing as this would come in handy with my EE studies. And great video review by the way!

[@DrFrank-xj9bc]

The last time, I've seen pure copper tuner boxes, that was 40 years ago, when I dug into 20 years old tube AM/FM radios. Is there any obvious reason, why R&S used these copper boxes? This is a wonderful RF video, again

[@justinshears879]

Thanks for great review of the R&S Scope, I'm new to electronics and it is mind boggling the stuff you talk about but very interesting, I have a few old R&S equipment but would love to own a new one, so please allow me to enter the draw. Many Thanks