In the summer of 2021 I bought a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) for my electronics workshop – a Hantek DSO2D15. This model is from the DSO2000 series and offers two channels with 150 MHz and an integrated signal generator with up to 25 MHz. There are also variants with 100 MHz (DSO2D10) and without a signal generator (DSO2C10 and DSO2C15). Now that I’ve been using it for over a year, it’s time for a review.
Use cases for an oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is always helpful when you want to analyze the time course of signals using a graphic representation. For example, you can check whether the waveform is “clean” or if there are interferences. PWM signals can also be easily displayed, as can be seen in this video where I checked a test setup:
Review by Kerry Wong
Kerry Wong tested the Hantek DSO2D10 very extensively and also opened it to show the structure in more detail. This model is practically identical in design to the DSO2D15 and only designed for a lower maximum frequency of 100 MHz:
Display and controls
The display has a resolution of 800×480 pixels, which is typical for devices in this price range. There is no display with different shades of gray for “Intensity Grading”, which emulates the afterglow behavior of picture tubes in analog oscilloscopes. While there is an option to persist the display content for 1-30 seconds – the displayed content does not dim over time like true “Intensity Grade” display, so the benefit is limited.
Next to the display there are 7 keys F0-F6, which are used depending on the selected function. With F0 you can always show or hide the menu.
The other keys are grouped into functional areas. It is positive that there are separate controls for channel-specific settings such as vertical position and scaling. Furthermore, some keys are illuminated in color when the corresponding function is activated, which also makes operation easier.
Range of functions
Explaining all functions in detail would lead too far here, so only an overview.
- Support for 1×, 10×, 100× and 1000× damping factor probes
- Various display variants such as XY display of two signals, long-term measurement with horizontal continuous display and two-part view with overall display and enlarged view of the selected section
- Mathematical combination of two signals: addition, subtraction, division
- Representation of a signal with configurable Fast Fourier Transformation
- Various trigger variants: Edge, Pulse, Video, Slope, Overtime, Window, Pattern, Interval, Under Amp, UART, LIN, CAN, SPI, IIC (I2C)
- Decoding of protocols: UART, LIN, CAN, SPI, IIC (I2C)
- Optional display of up to 32 individual measured values and voltage and frequency
- Storing the displayed signal as a waveform or display as a bitmap
- Signal generator with various waveforms, amplitude and frequency modulation and with the possibility of using your own waveforms as a signal, which can be created on the computer with a dedicated program
- Use on a computer via USB and software provided for it
Practical experience
In general, I can recommend the device as a cheap entry-level model. However, one should keep in mind that this is also noticeable in some details. The display modes for “XY” and “long-term measurement” are relatively slow and not always useful. Also, not all USB sticks work without problems and should be formatted with FAT32.
Even if it would be better if there were no errors at all, it is at least positive that Hantek regularly delivers firmware updates. My device currently uses the firmware version “1.0.2.0.0(221028.00)”, file name dso3kb_20221028.upk) and works reliably with it.
