Rigol Oscilloscope

I recently purchased my first oscilloscope, a Rigol DS1054Z. What sold me on this one is the built in protocol decoding and the ability to be unlocked. Out of the box, this is a 50 MHz, 4-channel scope capable of 1 GS/s sampling for just under $400.

It just so happens that these Rigol scopes can be unlocked with a little bit of software (enter your serial number, DSER, and click Generate). This unlocking ups it to 100 MHz of bandwidth, expands the memory from 12 Mpts to 24 Mpts, unlocks some advanced triggers, unlocks the decoders, and unlocks the recording feature.

The advanced triggering and decoding supports RS-232/UART, I2C, SPI, Runt, Windows, Nth Edge, Delay, and Time Out.

Rigol scopes also have full control over USB or ethernet. They come with what appears to be decent software but are also widely supported in other applications. There is support, via VISA, for LabView, Excel (VBA), MatLab, Sig-Rok/PulseView, etc.