» As usual, this product category garnered tons of reader reviews and responses. Tekýs new family of digital storage scopes took top honors this time around, and also drew the most comments from readers. All the other products in this category were highly regarded by voters as well and, once again, many commented: "I wish I could afford it."
(1) TEKTRONIX Tek pushes scope performance envelope to 15 GHz eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "The new products in the TDS6000 family of digital storage oscilloscopes (DSO)--the 12 GHz TDS6124C and the record-breaking 15 GHz TDS6154C--along with the P7313 Z-Active low-loading probe, offer customers uncompromised industry-leading performance for the most demanding applications.
" Readers say: » "Wow it is amazing the frequency of this scope."
» "Good ranges and very useful in the right application."
» "Bandwidth leadership gets my vote."
» "Splendid!"
» "...Good idea on test point interface. Excellent human interface."
» "Good scope for 1080p testing/evaluations."
» "Amazing products. I have always wondered what is used to test high-end scopes."
» "We would buy one now if we had the capital available, but alas, we don't."
» "For Field-Induced Charged Device Model (FICDM) ESD discharges, these Tektronix scopes appear to be very effective at measuring sub-100 ps waveforms."
» "The low cost of the tips is very important to cost of ownership. I wish more manufactures considered this, instead of always trying to gouge for every buck they can..."
» "This is amazing. I thought 10GHz single shot was beyond belief a few months ago. Now 15GHz. I can capture and analyze the fastest electrical data in real time."
USABILITY RANK: 1
(2) AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES Portable scopes pace today's fast clock speeds, edge rates eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "With a real-time display update rate up to 30 times faster than competing models, the Agilent 6000 Series can now show critical events in complex waveforms, dramatically reducing design verification and debug time.
" Readers say:
» "The most complete and general purpose, easy-to-use, scope I have ever seen. Great for embedded design troubleshooting and a display quality that outperforms everything seen before; final good-bye to the analog scope."
» "Great for some field applications. Great display rate."
» "If the UI is anything like the 54622D I'll love this scope."
» "USB a good idea. Pricing reasonable..."
» "The large display is a big advantage over the TDS3000 scopes."
» "Lot's of nice features."
USABILITY RANK: 2
(3) AMHERST SYSTEMS ASSOCIATES Software transforms many Windows-based realtime oscilloscopes eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "M1 Version 4 is definitely not your typical evolutionary release. It's brimming with imagination and focused on making your oscilloscope much more productive, easier to use, and significantly less expensive to own over its useful life. Version 4 makes revolutionary strides literally on every front, and it would be a disservice for me to pick one or two to comment on. " Readers say: » "Looks very powerful, I like the design goal of easy to use."
» "I wish I had this software. A nice update to a good product."
» "Have seen this in an educational environment and was very impressed..."
» "Jitter specs are important in many serial bus specs and, without having done a technical analysis, it seems that a tool like this would be quite valuable."
» "This really looks useful, but I have to ask, 'can you play Space Invaders on it?'"
USABILITY RANK: 3
(4) SAELIG COMPANY Low cost hardware, software helps craft DSP filters without coding eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Signal Wizard II is a unique new, real-time DSP-based filter design system for conditioning audio bandwidth signals with exceptional sharpness. A key feature of Signal Wizard II is that it allows designers to design and produce a high-performance filter in seconds without any DSP knowledge, or even understanding the mathematics involved behind digital filter designs.
" Readers say:
» "Helping create DSP filters without code could be a large cost savings on some projects."
» "This was a very smart idea!"
» "Looks like a lot of thought went into this. We all like this product."
» This looks great for prototype work"
» "This should make some engineering design tasks a little easier. Depending on other factors, it could even help time to market."
» "I am considering the start-up of a company related to high-end audio products, and this product could accelerate my development time."
» "Sounds easy to use, powerful, cost effective, small..."
USABILITY RANK: 4
(5) LECROY LeCroy's scopes get unique mixed-signal outboard pods eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "The MS-32 enables users to operate more efficiently, with fewer re-connections and faster time to results, compared to solutions with only 16 digital channels. Furthermore, the MS-32 and oscilloscope combination is available for a very affordable price.
" Readers say: » "I haven't used a LeCroy scope in a long time, this is a great idea."
» "Good price point for the number of features and performance."
» "Hmmm, this scope has the potential to be the next addition to my lab. Small, and 2x the channels of my current Agilent mixed-signal scope."
» "Good price/performance ratio."
USABILITY RANK: 5
(6) KEITHLEY INSTRUMENTS Modular scalable test set comprises source-measure ATE eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Built on Keithley's third-generation source-measure technology (patent pending), the Series 2600 System SourceMeter instruments combine the highest throughput source-measure unit (SMU) in the industry with a scalable instrument form factor to allow seamless integration into systems from 1 to 16 SMU channels. " Readers say: » "Speed is everything when it comes to testing. Time is money."
» "Nice features built in for component testing."
» "They have done it again and are on the front side of the technology curve."
» "Very good combination of features."
» "Seems like a cost effective way to perform some kinds of ATE. I like the PC independent feature."
» "This product will definitely be something that allows the small company access to the ATE world, a company such as the one I am considering starting to develop high-end audio equipment where test and evaluation of transistors and circuits is key to finding the right combination of components for lowest distortion."
» "This piece would make a nice addition to my permanent bench setup. Flexible design."
USABILITY RANK: 6
(7) RHODE & SCHWARZ RF calibrator crowds out multiple single-function instruments eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Unlike competitive solutions, the FSMR eliminates the need to cable together multiple, single-function instruments or a spectrum analyzer, power meter, and PC. The FSMR is an excellent choice for use by manufacturers with large numbers of signal generators or attenuators, as well in military and commercial metrology laboratories.
" Readers say:
» "A bit pricey but a nice combination of features. I wish I had this several years ago."
» "An incredible instrument, wish I could afford one."
» "Communications T&M would really want this"
» "This would be a real help for developing radar and satellite communications equipment."
» "interesting!"
USABILITY RANK: 9
(8) ANRITSU Anritsu's RF synthesizers span "DC to daylight" eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Covering up to 325 GHz with mmW modules, the MG3690B combines highperformance, easy configurability, and an attractive price point, making it well suited for a variety of signal source applications.
" Readers say:
» "Nice phase tracking measurement capability. Attractive price. Makes it good choice for a variety of signal-source applications."
» "Looks like a very capable instrument. The wide range is obviously a 'family' characteristic, not present in a single instrument."
USABILITY RANK: 8
(9) NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS PXI plug-in is a 7-1/2-digit DMM, digitizer eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Engineers now can accurately measure from picoamps to kilovolts with the new PXI-4071 FlexDMM--a multifunction device that features a 7-1/2-digit (26 bits) digital multimeter and an 1.8 MS/s isolated digitizer. The PXI-4071 gives engineers the flexibility, resolution, functionality and isolation required for challenging applications such as fuel cell testing, leakage measurements, IV curve tracing and data converter linearity testing.
" Readers say:
» "Good price, nice broad range of capabilities, good integration with support software vendors."
» "Cool Card!"
» "This new FlexDMM gives faster current measurement resolution at low current levels (10 KHz/sub 1 uA at 1 mA range) which is good for today's CMOS Iddq measurements."
» "Nice fit to the mix of instrumentation products"
» "We have many sets of test equipment using PXI components, and this DMM looks ideal for future applications."
USABILITY RANK: 7
(10) VXI TECHNOLOGY LXI-standard thermocouple conditioner is an industry-first eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "The EX1048 high-density, scalable instrument is compact and standalone, and can connect directly to your Ethernet network, greatly reducing setup and installation time. Multiple devices are easily integrated and synchronized through the built-in dedicated LXI Trigger Bus interface, as well as with other synchronization features inherent in LXI based instrumentation.
" Readers say:
» "Ease of use seems to be one of the strong points."
» "Great for characterizing temperature distribution in an instrument."
» "As an OEM, this product could help with compliance testing of our products. We currently use a Fluke Data Bucket for this function, but the LXI standard used by this product will improve data availability."
» "Very Impressive."
USABILITY RANK: 10
