I've owned a Siglent DS1104X-E for 10 months and so far it has met most of my expectations.
I've used it for measuring ripple and noise on power supplies (bandwidth limited to 20MHz, AC-coupling); for decoding UART, I2C and CAN traffic; for monitoring glitches on analog power supply lines: for checking analog sensor inputs; for displaying PWM-width modulated signals; and for "plain" digital signals such as reset lines. It's worked great for all these use-cases. The built-in web server has allowed me to easily zoom in on details and to share my findings with my colleagues fast. Very useful in Corona-times when many of us are working from home.
There's been a few times when I've felt limited by just having four channels and wished that I had the logic analyzer dongle which is needed to make use of the MSO functionality. But so far I've been able to hook up my DSLogic logic analyzer to the trigger output. Has required some eye balling between the DSLogic GUI screen and the scope, but so far it's got the job done.
I've found the Eres acquisition mode useful when I've wanted to measure a signal with higher precision.
You can change the fixed point of the horizontal scaling transformation (which point stays the same place on the display) to either be the trigger or the center of the screen but it's buried deep inside sub menus. Likewise you can change if the center of the screen or the vertical offset reference should be the basis for the vertical scaling. But you again have to dig through the menu system.
Compared to the Rigol scope that I've used previously I find the knobs and button much more responsive and I enjoy the less cluttered menus.
Overall I'm very happy with my scope and would recommend it to others.
Siglent SDS1104X-E oscilloscope reviews
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Review by Daniel Näslund
Posted on 23/04/2021
Review by David O
Posted on 14/04/2021
The SDS1104X-E has unmatched value, only usurped for some by the new 1104X-U. Omissions from this new model include the 1M FFT and the possibility of 16 digital channels as well as some other minor changes like a 2ns/div max timebase vs the SDS1104X-E's 1ns/div. These feature are worth having in the 1104X-E, at least for me, especially when the sale price of an SDS1104X-E is so close to the RRP of the SDS1104X-U.
The scope is very easy to use, though has some operational difference compared to other brands. Once familiar with it, its easy to setup measurements and acquire data. One of the strongest features of this scope is the serial decode, and other protocol decoding modes. This is often an addon or extra feature which is only reserved for more expensive scopes, but Siglent delivered. The massive memory depth is a must have over cheaper (or sometimes more expensive) scopes which can only capture data in the tens-of-thousands of points. Being able to single shot capture at a 14M memory depth and zoom all the way in to explore the signal is fantastic. Though do note that the 14M of memory is not always available at some timebases, the full memory depth can be found in the history mode, one of the operational differences I mentioned earlier. Certainly not as elegant as solutions from Keysight, but not a deal breaker for the price.
The scope is very easy to use, though has some operational difference compared to other brands. Once familiar with it, its easy to setup measurements and acquire data. One of the strongest features of this scope is the serial decode, and other protocol decoding modes. This is often an addon or extra feature which is only reserved for more expensive scopes, but Siglent delivered. The massive memory depth is a must have over cheaper (or sometimes more expensive) scopes which can only capture data in the tens-of-thousands of points. Being able to single shot capture at a 14M memory depth and zoom all the way in to explore the signal is fantastic. Though do note that the 14M of memory is not always available at some timebases, the full memory depth can be found in the history mode, one of the operational differences I mentioned earlier. Certainly not as elegant as solutions from Keysight, but not a deal breaker for the price.
Review by Ben Mehnert
Posted on 12/12/2020
Review by Edward
Posted on 10/11/2020
TL;DR: Great all round 'scope for an electronics bench, unless you need something super specific
I'm an electronic engineer - mostly embedded and basic analog stuff - that went freelance recently. So I needed to setup my home electronics lab, and a general purpose oscilloscope was priority number 1.
I went with this option over the similarly priced Rigol and GW-Instek options, as it has slightly better specs (e.g. sampling rate, memory depth) and a much nicer front panel design in my opinion.
So far I've been really impressed with the oscilloscope. The screen looks great, the serial decoding is especially useful, and there are lots of advanced triggering options to help capture the exact moment.
My only real gripe with this unit is the "adjust" (aka intensity) knob. It has no detents, sometimes changes your selection when you press it and generally just feels a bit cheap. It is a shame as it is one of the most used knobs.
I'm an electronic engineer - mostly embedded and basic analog stuff - that went freelance recently. So I needed to setup my home electronics lab, and a general purpose oscilloscope was priority number 1.
I went with this option over the similarly priced Rigol and GW-Instek options, as it has slightly better specs (e.g. sampling rate, memory depth) and a much nicer front panel design in my opinion.
So far I've been really impressed with the oscilloscope. The screen looks great, the serial decoding is especially useful, and there are lots of advanced triggering options to help capture the exact moment.
My only real gripe with this unit is the "adjust" (aka intensity) knob. It has no detents, sometimes changes your selection when you press it and generally just feels a bit cheap. It is a shame as it is one of the most used knobs.
