Advanced performance scopes start at prices under $1,300

Available in four-channel versions with bandwidths of 70, 100, 200, and 300 MHz, X Series oscilloscopes — the second generation of SDS2000 digital scopes — provide higher capture rates and longer record lengths than first-generation scopes, so they are able to provide greater insight into the performance of devices under test. Priced from $1,285, the scopes are based on Super Phosphor (SPO) technology, a set of waveform acquisition and graphics processing technologies designed to provide advanced performance with real-time sampling rates up to 2 Gsamples/s.

Advanced features of the SDS2000X Series include waveform capture rates up to 500,000 wfm/s, record length up to 140 Mpoints, and 256-level color and intensity grading display. Innovative design provides such trigger modes as edge, slope, pulse, window, runt, interval, dropout, pattern, and HDTV video, and an array of measurement and math capabilities are built in; the history function can record up to 80,000 frames of waveforms. Functions are easily accessible from the control panel, with the most common ones accessed with a single-button. Low background noise supports 1mv/div to 10V/div amplitude display. 

Options include a built-in 25MHz arbitrary waveform generator, 16 digital channels (MSO), and serial decoding. All scopes have an 8-in. TFT-LCD display with SuperVGA resolution, and the 200- and 300-MHz models support auto detection of 10X probe with read-out port. I/O interfaces include USB host, USB device, LAN, pass/fail, trigger out, and, optionally, GPIB. A full range of current and voltage probes are available.