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I'm looking for opinions on a function generator for my lab

rachaelp

So in my lab I have quite a good selection of equipment but one are a which is a little lacking is that of funciton generation. Now, My Keysight MSO-X3000A scope does have the embedded generator and I can create a number of different signals with that but it's limited in top end frequency and it's just a single channel. Also, being embedded in my scope it's a little more fiddly to use and less flexible as maybe a dedicated unit would be.

 

Now, I'd love a high end bit of kit like a Keysight, Rohde & Schwarz, or a Tektronix generator but they are horrendously expensive so I was looking around at what might be good in a nicer price range. So, I am not interested in the ultra cheap from Bangood or Ali Express or any of the expensive imports of the same flooding eBay and Amazon, this is for professional use so I want gear from a known company which is know to be of reasonable quality. Looking on the Farnell website I see a couple of Tenma units:

 

http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/72-2500/dds-arb-waveform-generator/dp/2450669?st=signal%20generator

http://uk.farnell.com/tenma/72-14120/function-arbitrary-wf-generator/dp/2830550?st=signal%20generator

 

Doing a bit of research it appears these are rebadged UNI-T products, the UTG2062B and UTG4162A respectively. Does anybody here have any experience with these units, either in the Tenma guise as sold on Farnell or the UNI-T originals? How are these units when it comes to trying to control them remotely? Can the two outputs easily be synced up as well as operated independently?

 

Are there any other suggestions for similar specced units in the same ballpark price range that people can recommend?

 

Many thanks,

 

Rachael

  • Hi Rachael,

     

    I've not used these, but I noticed that the first one you referenced is 14-bit/200Msps  rate, and that's very similar to a Rigol DG1022Z that I use, so I'm guessing it performs similarly too. I think such a performance level is useful, for general work. To be honest 80% of the time I only use the sine output, but it's good to know it has the other capabilities and they come in handy occasionally too.

     

    One instrument doesn't serve all purposes and I have limited means of signal generation too, so beyond the capability of the Rigol, I use a home-made DDS board for HF and VHF, up to 160MHz.

     

    The second unit you refer to looks extremely impressive, since it is 16-bit. Even 14-bit is good (it still beats the vintage function generators). but for £100 extra this looks awesome. Had I known about it, I would not have gone for the Rigol, and would have saved up for that second one. That price seems like good value for the features.

     

    Finally, there may be occasions when you want to go higher in freq. For that, it could be worth considering an SDR, that is a very cost-effective way. There are several options, I like LimeSDR although the software leaves a lot to be desired still.. anyway it is open source, and hopefully will get better.

     

    In summary, it seems like that second Tenma unit is extremely good value, and has useful features. Below that, the Rigol is quite good value, for basic general use. And for RF use, an SDR is cost-effective.

  • in reply to shabaz

    Hi Shabaz,

     

    Thanks for the advice. I agree, probably one device doesn't suit all. I think I'd like to cram as much into the one device as I can. I think of the ones I have seen so far that second Tenma looks really good, I need to do some more digging to see if I can find any decent reviews of it or it's UNI-T equivalent before I take the plunge though. I'll also look into the Rigol you mention and also maybe the Siglent equivalents. I don't really know much about the quality of all these brands though (other than Rigol I think are pretty good), are they well designed and easy to use or do they have UI quirks which cause problems

     

    That's a great idea to look into an SDR type device for higher frequencies. I remember you doing a blog post on the LimeSDR a while ago now, I'll have to go back and have a re-read of that.

     

    Best Regards,

     

    Rachael

  • in reply to rachaelp

    Hello Rachael,

     

    Definitely look at the Rigol range.

    Before forking out £600 on the Tenma device check up on the service/repair policy - this has been a serious weakness with this kind of own brand gear in the past.

     

    I use a Rigol DG1032Z and it's fine, good range of features including remote control by LAN and cheap. Nothing like as nice as a Keysight of course, but about 10% of the price.

     

    https://www.batronix.com/shop/waveform-generator/index.html

     

    MK

  • in reply to michaelkellett

    Hi Michael,

     

    That's a good point about service/repair. Given it's a rebadged UNI-T I wonder how any repair would be dealt with, would it go back via both Farnell and then Tenma to UNI-T themselves? I need to investigate some more. I'll definitely look closely at the various Rigol options, I have a feeling that's what I will end up with anyway image

     

    Best Regards,

     

    Rachael