This page will present some projects with my Rigol scope. For now, just a remark on the first firmware update I received (00.00.01 to 00.01.01). The procedure stresses to update the firmware with a blank screen. The steps to get to this boot screen are according to the procedure to:
- “Press the power on button on the front panel of the instrument. All of the buttons will light.”
- “Repeatedly press the Help key on the front panel. All of the buttons will unlight.”
- “The Single light will illuminate.”
Instead of the step-by-step instruction given by Rigol, the trick is to press and release the ‘Help’ button during the one second all LEDs on the scope are on after pressing the power button. If you wait for all of the buttons to light, you are too late. If you have to press the Help key repeatedly, you are too late. The boot procedure of the scope should stop before the Rigol logo is shown and the ‘SINGLE’ button should be lit. The rest is like a walk in the park.
The update procedure for the most recent firmware updates (00.02.01.00.03 and 00.03.00.01.03) confirm the above. It’s disappointing though to see that some more obvious bugs in the firmware itself still have not been fixed yet.
There have been reports on a hack of the DS2072 to increase the bandwidth from 70 MHz to 200 MHz and unlock all features. I might consider this in the near future, when the timers of the evaluation period have stopped and the warranty period of my scope has ended.