Siglent oscilloscopes have a crazy crippling automatic waveform History mode that is always on, you can't switch it off, and it gobbles up all your sweet juicy sample memory.
Why?
Previous video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVxDibdosdI
Forum: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1312-siglent-oscilloscopes-crippling-history-mode!/
#Siglent #Oscilloscope #Review
EEVblog Main Web Site: http://www.eevblog.com
The 2nd EEVblog Channel: http://www.youtube.com/EEVblog2
Support the EEVblog through Patreon!
http://www.patreon.com/eevblog
AliExpress Affiliate: http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/c2LRpe8g
Buy anything through that link and Dave gets a commission at no cost to you.
Donate With Bitcoin & Other Crypto Currencies!
https://www.eevblog.com/crypto-currency/
T-Shirts: http://teespring.com/stores/eevblog

Hi. This is just a quick follow-up video to my main channel video on the oscilloscope zoom out feature I guess which is on most scopes but it's not on Sickle and scopes and I believe Lacroix Our scopes work the same way as well, but I don't have one. So and when you press, stop here. If you zoom out on the time base, of course there's no.

There's actually no data captured either side of that. so it seems the fairly particular Sigler scopes I think are Pico scope might do it as well. Someone mentioned that on the forum, but like most other scopes on the market will actually use the full memory depth and capture. but you can see down here.

even though we've got 200 mega memory depth set which is absolutely fantastic, they have 200 Meg It's only 200 ke points down here and to go to the 200 Meg I've really got to go all the way down. So where is it there you go? Overall, at 20 milliseconds per division before it'll use all 200 make points there. So you got this 200 Meg point scope which is fantastic, but let's say or which is what I was using. Here is an example: 5 microseconds per division, you only get a hundred K points.

So if it's got 200, make a memory. why is it only giving and why is it only using a hundred K points And it does exactly the same thing in single-shot mode as well. You would think that all if you press single-shot it should use all the full 200 meet. but it doesn't and I've realized what siglent are actually doing here.

This is actually a deliberate trade-off they've made with the history function down here. there's a history button here you'll notice that's off and that history's a feature where it captures multiple frames of waveform so each trigger cycle capture a frame put in memory so that you can actually replay frames. It's a really handy feature on modern scopes. Absolutely fantastic sequence.

Got it? Most other modern scopes have a history feature. Nothing unusual about that at all, but what Sieglin have done is determined that it's so important that they have to use it all the time. even when you've got it switched off. look visit like I can physically switch it on history mode on Ok and you can see that it's automatically.

Uh, stopped here. It's automatically gone into stop mode and then we can and actually go through the different frames. You can see that it's got. You know, Ninety.

You know, two thousand, almost two thousand different frames. And that's what History Mode does. Once again, nothing you know unusual about this. This is how it works on every scope.

But even if I turn history mode off, this is off here. it's still in History Mode. Watch this If I Go stop like that we can actually still go into. Even though history mode is off here, we can still actually turn on history Mode and it's still captured that data.

Yes, that data is actually really there because if I do this and I yep and I go stop like that and then we go into history and turn it on. You'll notice like that wasn't residual data from last time. that's really data. But it's so it's using history mode continuously.
Sickling have determined and Lucroy determined because a siglent actually make manufacture there. The OEM for a lot of for Lacroix is like lower end scopes. but anyway, they've determined that history modes so important. You know we're gonna sacrifice that 200 Meg sample memory.

That fantastic 200 mega memory and we're going to use it all the time. And you're only allowed a hundred K points at five microseconds per division. It changes and if you go of course all the way, look for hundred points down here at 20 nanoseconds put at 200 points where if we've used something like the Yaqui site that we saw over here, it's only gotta lousy for Meg of memory. which is you know, not much these not a huge amount these days, especially for the price, but it uses the full four Meg like down at these time basis.

Whereas the Sigma will only use 400 points, it'll actually go down to like ten points right at five hundred picoseconds per to be unique. At ten samples on there it looks like there's more because it's not in dot mode. If we go into dots you can see yeah they're the why do they look like that? Oh, because it's it's retry. Goering If we stop it, you'll only see oh I don't know if you can see that, but yeah, you've only got twenty dot there.

Twenty samples in there. So yeah, this is just like they've decided that we've got all that memory, but not not, we can't use it. That's what they've done. They've made the trade off.

This history mode is always honor as far as I'm aware. Please correct me in the comments down below if I'm wrong and I've looked at the manual bomb and it's not really clear that it does actually miss. Say that like history, it does imply that history modes always there, but it's It's not really clear and they're certainly not clear that you're trading off that 200 make of memory. they're pretty exclusively for.

you know, these sequence scopes on the market. Not sure about all models, but I think it's like this is a siglent thing and a Lacroix thing. So yeah, they're making that trade-off It's just. ah, giving away all that 200 mega memory depth.

and and by the way it you would think that for run stop mode. Okay, fair enough. I Can actually think okay, this is probably not an unreasonable choice. It's actually could be very helpful to have it always on, right? So when you do run stop.

okay, no worries, right? you've got all the frames in there. But when you decide that you setup your horizontal trigger, your vertical horizontal trigger, setup your horizontal, you set up your trigger, you set up your vertical, everything else, you're ready to capture your signal and you do your single shot capture. It should switch out of this. you know, 40 K points here or hundred K points or whatever it is based on the time, pace and give you your full 200 Meg which we actually have set.
I've deliberately set the two hundred meet. but even in single shot capture mode, it will not do it like because we just hit single-shot capture right. Let's do it again. There we go right.

Single shot capture. No, it actually disables it in single stop mode, but doesn't then give you the advantage of the extra deep memory. Why? That's an insane choice? Why would you do that? I Don't get it please. Somebody at Sieglin who designed this thing, Please tell me.

I you would make that choice fair enough. I'm gonna I'm gonna give it to him in run/stop mode. Okay, automatic history mode. You can.

Some people might even say that's kind of cool, but when you hit single shot mode, No. damn it. I would want my full 200 Meg of memory or whatever memory depth I've chosen there I I Can't see a reason why you wouldn't do that and a couple of people asked about the acquisition mode here. Does that have any effect? The fast isn't because we've only got a limited memory, because we're on fast mode will know the slow mode actually makes no difference at all.

We can, you know? Stop that and it works exactly the same way. We can single-shot capture that it works exactly the same way. The fact the slow mode seems to like, do nothing else apart from just slow down the updating. you don't get any extra benefit in terms of memory or anything else.

The the history mode and everything works exactly the same in slow or fast mode and it basically are implies that in the manual as well anyway. huh? Rant over please. But at least we know now why they don't do the zoom out thing of course. And and by the way, yes, if you if you go into history mode and deliberately you like have it on and up.

Nope. It turns off. See, it's confusing. Well you go into it here.

it's off. You would think that the history features off, but it's not. It's still continuously sat there using up all that 200 mega memory to capture all those different frames in there continuously. Baman Baman Baman Baman and it fills it up.

And when you stop it. Bingo. The frames are what you've got to hit the history button. The frames are instantly there in the 200.

so they are using the 200 mega memory, just not in the way you want them to in most cases. So and and no you can't there. there is no data. There's only the in this particular case based on this time based a hundred thousand points in there for every frame.

So the whole to under using the whole 200 Meg but they use it. You know taking frames is 100 K 100 K 100 K and okay and just filling up with you know, 1987 frames there. So I yeah Anyway, it's the trade-off you get with the siglent and I believe the Lacroix as well. But please correct me down below.

Anyway, there you go. Aye aye yeah that not specially in single-shot mode there I'll shut up now. catch you next time.

Avatar photo

By YTB

19 thoughts on “Eevblog #1312 – siglent oscilloscopes crippling history mode!”
  1. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Chris Brown says:

    I prefer it to capture multiple triggered events not just one long continuous event.
    Now I know wind out the time and capture a single event

  2. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Koller says:

    I have a Siglent SDS2104X HD and this is FIXED!
    And it has an option to always use all the memory available.
    Maybe it got implemented on the X Plus as well?

  3. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars tzok83 says:

    Please note, that these new Siglent scopes always store only one frame of data, where a frame is a period of time currently visible on the screen (timebase x no of division on the screen). On the other hand, they use a huge overampling, so you may "zoom in" after stopping. My SDS1104X-U samples at full 1GSa/s from 1ms/div. So if you want to single shot capture a longer period of time, just set lower timebase, and zoom in after triggering. I quite like it… it is only a matter of getting used to it. It is different, but it doesn't mean it is worse.

  4. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Wallace Owen says:

    It makes sense. How fast is the RAM? Most likely nowhere near fast enough to keep up with the high sample rate that'd be needed. The kind of fast RAM used by LeCroy is very pricey stuff.

  5. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars lnpilot says:

    Seems like a bug to me. Not a feature.

  6. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kay bhee says:

    screw customer policy

  7. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kay bhee says:

    crazy crippling automatic waveform History mode

  8. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kyo adam says:

    It's the same principle used in smartphones cameras, taking a picture, then zooming into it or zooming then taking the picture.

  9. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kahvac says:

    I was ready to buy Siglent until I seen this. Memory depth is too important to skimp on. I'll be looking into more expensive scopes. Thanks Dave for the heads up.

  10. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars David Halliday says:

    Just got a 1104x-e this bugs me. Also the sample rate drops to squat unless your zoomed right in on the timebase

  11. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars q zorn says:

    Mmmm they went for EZ…? hook the scope up to the net and someone will hack into it and make it all better….:) nice video thanks

  12. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars csgcsg78 says:

    So I understand this : As the history is always on (in background) , the additionnal memory is in reality used for history. True ?

  13. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars movax20h says:

    My guess is that when you press Single it just displays you the most recent capture using same settings as in run/stop configuration. Which is easy to implement. In other scopes, when you press single, it would need to actually reconfigure acquisition, and refill memory, which can lead to delays, and time to take to show things on screen (as it also need to capture things before and after, ignoring the trigger). But often it is so little that it is not worth doing. I.e. I don't mind waiting extra 50ms if it fills more buffer to show me more context which can be useful.

  14. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Sid Harth says:

    tiz a long time u've done a review. Anything in the pipeline, might i suggest a review n teardown of the Tektronix MSO2000B series please

  15. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars kramer3214 says:

    I Can confirm that the LeCroy "WaveSurfer" I use at work does this. I didn't realize it until I purchased a Keysight MSOX2024A for personal use and got used to using it…

  16. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Pica-Delphon says:

    Nice Rant but True..Make a Upgrade..

  17. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Steve Tobias says:

    If you use the network function and plug in a RJ45 cable so you can use the computer software, can you then increase the memory capture and zoom better on the PC Software???

  18. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars Zimah11 says:

    Please, I have a problem with the Fluke 192B discharge, I cannot leave the screen at startup. I can connect a probe to channel A and it seems to be working, but I can't do anything else or change any parameters. All the keys do not respond except for the “power” and “user” buttons when they are pressed and activated to reset. Otherwise, the "user" button is also dead. This led me to exclude that the keyboard sheet was a problem and that it had never been used. Has anyone gone through this situation? , I tried to reset the device with the "on" and "user" buttons, I heard the device beep twice, indicates that the reset was successful, but the button still does not work after performing the reset ,,, any help please,

  19. Avataaar/Circle Created with python_avatars EEVblog says:

    Technically you can get the full memory depth you need at any timebase, but you have to set a slow main timebase first and then use the the split screen dual waveform Zoom feature and then set your required secondary timebase. No other scope forces you to operate in this convoluted way.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *