Iām sorry to bother you. Iām sure the information I seek is somewhere in here, but my eyes and head hurt after trying to scan a lot of the 60 pages here.
Mine is HW version 2.72, System version 1.60, and it says Device Firmware Upgrade V3.12C. I get no end of errors when trying to use it.
I was hoping to get it working, but it is unclear to me what works with it. I had tried Gabonator and that didnāt work, I saw later that it doesnāt work with my HW version. I put Version 1.60 back on it, now I get error messages many times when I press a button.
I was hoping to install Wildcat. But it is not clear to me which one I can use. I see 5.1 has FPGA files with a ReadMe that says it doesnāt work with earlier HW versions like mine. But does that mean 5.1 wonāt work for me, or only that I can use it but not to install the FPGA files?
Thank you for any help.
5.1 should work fine. Itās just the FPGA than can only be installed on HW 2.81. There will be a couple of functions such as full speed sampling that will be missing but everything else should work OK.
Hi, Wildcat,
Just install 5.1 on 2.81 DSO. It works without any problems for my device.
Thanks!
Thanks, Wildcat!
Now I have to figure out why my 2.72 Quad wonāt stay connectedā¦
Thanks for the feedback!
Hope to hear from more users, curious to know how many have the problem vs how many donāt.
I still have an HP netbook with Windows XP, based on some comments on other threads I tried it on that. Yay! It stays connected. I put Wildcat 5.1 on it, it is beautiful!
I stopped messing with this a year ago due to frustration at all the firmwares not working with HW 2.72, and the original firmware that came with it being very buggy.
I donāt care that this occupies all the slots, it does so much I donāt need any more slots! I think I can finally get some use out of this. A year not plugged in hasnāt been kind to the battery, I guess I need to replace that next.
Again, thank you!
Steve Greenfield AE7HD
Wildcat hi. No ADC problems found with v5.1 on HW 2.81 here. Temperature around 20 Celsius.
Fantastic update! Thanks.
I should also mention that after the firmware update, it stays connected with later versions of Windows.
Hi, wishes to all, new to the forum. 
Wishes especially to the workers, who brought it with their outstanding work and time and extra time :shock: to the actual status. :!: :!:
I found the product by luck and wouldānt have bought it without reading āallā the pages of this blog. Thanks.
I hope it supports me during my technical study.
I have made the test (hopefully in the way you need, but only with one channel :roll:). I would interpret no ADC problem at room temp. I would have uploaded the images, but I have to learn it first. Put them in later if wished 
;
Again thanks a lot.
(Mayby later, end Jul.16, when I have to finished my master work (examination Sep.16), I want to give some time for work and support back.)
ok I found it,ā¦
[attachment=1]20160323_DSO203_channel1-test.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]20160328_DSO203_Software 2 Boot serial-covered.jpg[/attachment]
Thanks for the feedback.
Norbert:
Check with the device in full speed buffer mode. With the same signal displayed as on your post, keep pressing the right toggle center button (switch #6) until the bottom notification zigzag turns blue with an orange border (the area under āsave fileā in your screenshot). The problem mostly shows up in this mode and in channel A. You could check Ch B with the same settings just to make sure. Also, raising the gen output level (Vo 1.3V on menu) to around 2.5V and using the .5V range should minimize waveform noise.
Thanks againā¦
With 5.1 no problems whatsoever.
Wildcat, thanks once again!
Tested with size optimisation - no noticeable differenceā¦
I replaced the ADC chip on my DSO which was showing abnormal CH(A) traces. Used an Analog Devices AD9288-80 chip which I purchased from Digikey.com.
The old ADC chip was the same as yours; markings were difficult to read, but appeared to be HWD9288BSTZ-40.
Attached, are screenshots of BEFORE and AFTER ADC chip upgrade with WC5.1 and FPGA V1.1 installed. Screenshots for āfull speed oversamplingā and ānormal bufferā modes.
Thanks again for the feedback. I think the results speak for themselves.
For those with issues with their DAC using V5.1 and itās FPGA with HW 2.81 an alternative would be to use the FPGA supplied with V5.0 . This should work fine with V5.1 and HW 2.81 with the problem DACās, and while it would not have full speed sampling, it would provide improved level based triggering accuracy and overall triggering stability at the fastest timebases over the factory FPGA. It would also provide auto mode freerun behavior selection.
A few days ago I ordered a DSO202, but something went wrong with the order. This will be fixed soon, but Iām now thinking of cancelling the order to get this DSO203 instead.
Its price is a bit higher, but I think it might be worth it.
I havenāt owned an oscilloscope for 30 years now, but would like to have one again. If Iām getting much more ābang for the buckā with this one I will cancel that order of the DSO202.
I didnāt know anything about a custom firmware like this one.
Is there one for the DSO202ā¦
I would love to get some input before that order goes throughā¦
Thanks
Frater,
DSO203 has many custom firmwares to try out. 4 channels to work with. Bandwidth is much better.
My choice is DSO203.
Jerson
I appreciate your reply and I know itās somewhat off-topic, but I had no time to research it.
It seems my order for the Nano is now cancelled and I can order this DSO203.
The order needed cancelling anyhow, even if I still took that DSO202
It does seem to be a much newer device (the touch), but I think
Another question.
They speak of 2 analog channels and 2 digital channels on this one.
The dso202 has 2 analog channels, does it?
The touch 202 is a newer device and has good eyecandy but less analog bandwidth. However, I can swear by the DSO203 I own for a some time now. If you need more info, please open another thread so as not to divert this thread topic.
Hi, WildCat! I want to thank you for excellent operation and to wish a good health!
I updated the DSO203(HW 2.81 SYS1.64 DCU 3.43) on version 5.1 and used FPGA 1.1. I checked operation of an oscillograph in the mode of the complete buffer. Results are visible on a photo. Problems begin in the AC1V,AC2V,AC5V mode. In channel B there are no such problems.
Thanks for the feedback.
This is not an issue with the ADC. This is noise picked up by the preamp. Noise from the ADC would show up the same on the screen regardless of the vertical range used.
I had a similar problem with my unit, causing thickening of the trace on ChA in full speed mode similar to yours. Turned out to be a bad ground. The metal frame that holds the LCD is grounded by a stick-on metalized tape to one of the input or generator output jacks and it was making an intermittent connection. You could move the plugs around when inserted into the jacks and the noise would cut in and out.
In any case, this is definitively noise picked up by the front end in the input section. The device switches in a different op-amp when set to ranges of 1V/div and above. Looks to me like noise from the rest of the circuitry is being leaked into that section, possibly from a bad ground, capacitive coupling, power supply issues, etcā¦ ChA seems more susceptible to this for some reason, probably because of the location of the circuit traces on the board. The LCD is also a prime cause of radiation into the circuitry if itās frame is not properly grounded, since it covers the entire board. The grounding method is rather poor, relying on simple pressure of part of the frame onto the metalized stick-on tape.
As I mentioned previously, the full speed mode will, by itās more sensitive nature more readily reveal any noise, whether generated by the circuit you are monitoring or generated inside the scope itself. This is in fact part of what makes it useful. Also, loose or defective probe plugs making a poor ground connection where inserted into the input jacks can cause problems like this.
You could try reverting to an earlier FPGA, itās possible the extra circuitry for the full speed mode is causing an increase of noise on the supply lines, and an increase in this noise, but since itās only appearing on some of the ranges, I suspect that some hardware issue in the preamp is causing this, and that it would also show up with earlier FPGAās, though possibly to a lesser extent. Notice that the āspikeā part of the noise shows up in your screenshots even when not in full speed mode.
Hi, Wildcat! Thanks for the detailed answer, I have understood you. It is interesting whether other owners of this version have such effect?
Prompt how you have solved a problem with grounding of LCD?