Tektronix Oscilloscopes Reviews

We use a range of Tektronix scopes. We have a 33-gig, real-time scope, as well as some lower-end models that we use for general digital debugging. In addition, we do ISP/IO characterization and general analysis. We do high-speed serial designs that are embedded. We mainly focus on fiber-optic telecom gear.

We measure the full gamut of signals, whether it's low-speed control IO, like Is4c, all the way up to 28G certes designs. It's a full range of signals, and as far as the applications it's enabling, that's really our entire design.

We are utilizing the whole bandwidth.

For the high-end products, we do a lot of general analysis. We use it to verify reference plot jitter and that's very important, especially when problems come up with BER and particular types of designs.

The most valuable feature is the automation component in setting up some of these measurements. There a lot of software packages, which are a part of the 33-gig scope in particular, that make it easy to do some really complex measurements. For the most part, it's point and go.

With the lower-end scopes, we use the Is4c bus decoding. That's a very valuable feature for us. We use that on a monthly basis to debug a lot of Is4c problems that seem to pop up every so often.

Technical support is great. That's why we have been loyal to Tektronix. We have a local rep who helps us out with any problems that we have or assistance that we need in making measurements. That's really key. It's not so much the scope itself, but getting support when we need it.

It could always be cheaper, but I don't really get involved too much with the pricing.

Research well what you need because, with the capabilities of the instruments, you definitely pay up for getting a very high-end piece of gear, and that might not necessarily be exactly what you need, even though the sales guys tell you that it is.

It doesn't take too long to get acclimated to the product. Whenever we do have a problem, the local rep seems to be able to help us with it. It's important too, to make sure you're doing things right, and not necessarily do them on your own, thinking you're doing things right.

The user interface is usable. It's nothing fancy.

I believe our solution is field-upgradable, especially when it comes to software packages. If there's something that we need, we can get a key for that pretty quickly.

We are using it for testing.

The application space that this solution targets is embedded systems, i.e., security and data storage.

We use it a lot. We have multiple systems for manufacturing tests, and it's critical for our support. The support increases our productivity.

B-scan is its most valuable feature.

The user interface is very good.

We are looking for an Intel platform with the newest chipset.

They have to support the new industry standard.

We are utilizing the full bandwidth of the product.

The product is field upgradable, and we plan to utilize this going forward.

We call the technical support all the time.

We got a demo before purchasing. It helps us to have a high-level of understanding for what they do.

The pricing is okay. It was within our budget.

Our second choice would have been Keysight.

Try it if it is within your budget. It is a good product.

The learning curve is very quick. It takes about one or two days.

While we have plans to use this product to support connect devices, we are not currently doing so.

We are currently measuring signals from 3.0 and 4.0, and looking for 5.0.

Our primary use case is usually for testing analysis and diagnostics, or characterization.

We are using various models, power supplies, and scopes.

We are measuring all classes of signal families: Power, high-speed digital, RF, and analog.

This solution provides high confidence in the data being presented in the measurement to inform a design decision going forward. If I see that I've botched a design and believe in the measurement, then I'll fix it. If I don't have any confidence in the instrument and the measurement presented to me, I would struggle with using that instrument or knowing how to move forward and solving my problem.

• Bandwidth
• Reliability
• Flexibility of measurements

There are other devices out there which are more capable, offering more features, with as good quality tech support.

We are using the full bandwidth of the product.

The product is usually field upgradable.

Tecktronix pricing tends to be pretty fair and reasonable with current market trends. They don't usually bump up the price too much.

The user interface is simple and straightforward.

The application space that we are using the solution to target is vehicle devices.

We are not using this product to support connected devices, e.g., IoT development, nor are we planning to going forward.

We're mostly using high-speed network analyzer models, but then we have some low-speed signal integrity work that we do as well. We use the product for circuit debugging and signal analysis. For us, the product targets high-speed serial applications. It's fantastic.

We use it to support IoT development as well.

I'm not personally utilizing the full bandwidth of the product but there are other people who are using it to the full bandwidth. It's working well for the stuff that's meant for high-speed.

It has a good user interface. It's easy to use, easy to read. It's intuitive. The easier it is to use, the quicker you can get your job done, figure out what's wrong and move on. Ease of use is really the key.

If they could make the user interface even more intuitive that would help. If they could make it easier to read, to know where the buttons are, that's all I need.

The technical support is great. They come in, they show us how to use it. If we have questions, they'll give presentations.

It's cost-effective. The company buys whatever we need to buy. It really isn't a matter of cost. It might cost a lot of money, but if we need it we buy it.

There isn't so much of a learning curve. They'll come in and give you training for whatever kind of toy you want to use. The learning curve is fine.

The solution is field-upgradable. We have upgraded several modules as we have needed to. We'll buy the baseline and if something comes up, we'll upgrade.

The primary use case is for signaling to every waveform measurement and doing some post analysis of the waveform.

I trust Tektronix for its accuracy. The probes of solution fit my application. E.g., the speed of probes, the way that it is using probes with designs, and the probes' size. I like that.

• Accuracy
• High speed

I mainly use the basic version, as I am working with signaling 30 minute measurements, and just need the origin waveform. I and taking that waveform out from the scope and do further analysis with the other tool I have. Therefore, I don't use too many features of the scope.

I would like if they could have more customer support engagement.

Going forward, they should keep up with the industry's speed for oscilloscopes.

We have direct contact with technical support. We are always calling the person that we know there. That is the way it works.

I did not experience a learning curve because of contact person who we work together with at Tektronix.

I develop electric vehicle systems. I use the serial protocol analysis tools, as well as using it with some high voltage differential probes for measuring motor voltage and battery current. We are measuring CAN bus RS232, as well as some power signals for voltage and current.

Being able to monitor data from a CAN bus while the vehicle is running will cut down a lot of the feedback for the design mode. I can obtain things quicker because I can figure out exactly why things aren't happening. Or, if there's a fault, I can find out the source more quickly.

The ability to have the serial protocol analysis is key. 

Isolated probes are good to have, as most of the scopes don't have it. It drives up the cost when you have to buy isolated probes.

We would like more features for the CAN bus decoding, such as importing DDC files, which allows us to take the raw data and convert it into engineering units. So, if I wanted to look at speed from a vehicle instead of looking at a hexadecimal or binary values on the oscilloscope it can load the DDC file and display the actual speed in miles per hour.

Its connectivity and ability to use it with PCs and smart phones needs improvement.

You can get application keys for it. The hardware isn't really upgradable, but you can unlock additional functionality,

I don't utilize the full bandwidth. Most of the stuff that I do is for CAN bus, which doesn't need anything in the gigahertz range

First, I'd go over to Google. The manuals are pretty well-written. They have a lot of documentation there. It's also not hard to reach out to the technical support, as they are fairly responsive.

When I first started using an oscilloscope, it was a Tektronix. That is what my university had. There was a learning curve, but it was mostly associated with the fact that I did not know how to use an oscilloscope.

I was an intern at Tektronix, then I got a deal on a Tektronix Oscilloscopes. That was pretty much the reason why I chose it. I didn't pick it over a previous scope, because I didn't have one before.

Tektronix Oscilloscopes are really expensive for small businesses. The low-end scopes don't really compare performance-wise to what the other companies provide, like RIGOL . Mostly that just has to do with the software options.

It's available on the low-end scopes for free, but on the higher-end scopes, it is expensive. Therefore, it's a bit more difficult to make stuff work. 

It is really solid hardware. The only room for improvement is the software.

Make sure that you understand what you are going to use these oscilloscopes for and don't spend money on features which you don't need.

Some of competitors' user interfaces are more intuitive. The Tektronix Oscilloscopes user interface is a lot of method menu. The newer Tektronix user interfaces are easier, because they have touch screens.

The application space that the solution targets is embedded systems for electric vehicle development. For example, I'm working on an electric bicycle dashboard right now.

There will be some Bluetooth at some point. I haven't gotten to it yet.

We're using the Tektronix 8300 for measurements. It's a very good machine. We typically run with a serial DSLR application. The signals we measure are pulse and we are utilizing the full bandwidth.

Typically, our customers ask us about the full set of signal integrated characteristics, including TDR measurements and VNA measurements. Tektronix gives us manual measurements and we also do automatic measurements with a robot. We provide 100 percent coverage of PCBs. It helps to make sure our customers are happy.

Tektronix is robust and reliable. It's a hammer-resistant machine, a fact which is most important on our manufacturing floor.

The user interface is also good. I'm not in love with it, but it's really good. It's easy to control with our applications.

They need to add more memory to this machine because at this time the machine can support random simulation to the power of 15 but realistically, in requests from our customers, we need it to the power of 31. It's typically memory which is the issue.

Technical support is okay. I'm happy with it.

I would recommend this product.

Regarding a learning curve, there isn't one. It's a very good machine with very good support. If we need the support, they're there every time.

In terms of upgradability, again, I would like to see more memory. Right now, the machine has up to 50 gigahertz variance which, in most cases, is okay.

I would rate the product at eight out of ten because it's not too small and works in most cases. The two missing points are for the upgrades I mentioned. And if I give it a ten, they'll sleep quietly.

We use them for testing and measurement.

We do pretty standard stuff. We come up with a circuit and we expect it to do something. We simulate it, and then we test it out in the lab. We prototype it and then use the O-scope to verify our results, and if something's going wrong we try to track down what it is.

The application space we use it for is embedded systems. We do contract engineering and we pick up projects from different groups. We make an end solution for them. It's business-to-business, it's not really like end-consumer stuff. They come up with all sorts of things, like printers or reusing cameras in different ways.

We're measuring analog and digital signals. SPI is the fastest thing we run with. I don't think we're using the full bandwidth.

The most valuable features are everything they do. We primarily use the O-scopes and they help us figure out what's going wrong with our scope out signals.

In term of the user interface, it's okay. Ours are older models and I know some of the newer ones have touchscreens on them. But still, it's not difficult to use, once you get used to it.

There is room for improvement when it comes to the screen size. I don't really have a lot of complaints but screen size would be the biggest thing.

I have used technical support maybe once or twice. It was alright. I tried to get something fixed one time and I got an initial response and then I didn't get another response. But other than that, it's been okay. I haven't used it very often.

I didn't switch. The products were there when I started with the company.

They're all pretty expensive. If everything costs that much, I suppose the pricing is fair.

It works really well for general lab stuff, general testing, prototype and measurement.

I have been using Tektronix products since I started. I might have used them in college, too, so it's been about seven-and-a-half years. We're using a couple of the O-scopes, the MSO3000 and the MSO4000. We also have some arbitrary function generators and some power supplies.

There is definitely a learning curve. It was so long ago that I don't really know how long it takes to get acclimated to the equipment.

We actually just started an IoT project, so I'm now using it for that.

I would rate the products at nine out of ten. Personally, I don't give things a perfect score unless they really are perfect. They do what I need them to do and work pretty well. They're just a little outdated, but that's not really their fault.