Rigol WFM Viewer Ported For Non-Windows Users

March 25, 2013 by Mike Szczys 5 Comments

rigol-wfm-parser-for-linux

[Matthias Blaicher] may think this isn’t a big deal when it comes to the amount of work he put into the hack. But for us, anything that extends the functionality of the versatile yet affordable Rigol DS1052E is a win. In this case he’s taken a previous hack and made it work for more people by extending the functionality of the WFM file format viewer.

[Dexter2048] pulled off the original hack which allows this oscilloscope to be used as a spectrum analyzer. [Matthias] didn’t want the tool to be limited to running only on Windows systems so he got to work. This isn’t quite as easy as sounds because the only part of the original code that was released is the parser itself. [Matthias] had to build everything up from that starting point. His software uses standard Python to parse the WFM file and reformat the data. The features included in the current version allow you to export data as a CSV file and even plot the waveform and FFT as seen above.

Giving The Rigol DS1052E ‘scope A Spectrum Analyzer

October 10, 2012 by Brian Benchoff 16 Comments

Like a lot of hardware tinkerers, [dexter2048] has a Rigol DS1052E oscilloscope sitting on his bench. One day when trying to coax some information out of the FFT setting, [dexter] threw his hands up in frustration and decided to write a file viewer with FFT spectrum analysis. The resulting viewer gives this very capable and inexpensive oscilloscope a spectrum analyzer.

[dexter2048]’s app is able to capture signals from 0 Hz to 500 MHz and demonstrated this fact by sticking a piece of wire into one of the Rigol’s inputs. The resulting waveform is then sent to a computer where [dexter] got a nice picture of the radio spectrum between 82MHz and 114MHz. In his graph, you can clearly see the FM radio stations that can be picked up in [dexter]’s lab.

This small modification to the Rigol DS1052E oscilloscope it the latest in a long line of hacks that give this wonderful, inexpensive scope double the bandwidth, data collection via Python, and even a homebrew version of Pong. Anything that provides new functionality for old gear is great news to us, and we look forward to many, many more 1052E hacks in the future.

Tip ‘o the hat to [Murlidhar] for sending this in.

Grabbing Data From A Rigol ‘scope With Python

March 30, 2012 by Brian Benchoff 13 Comments

While a fancy Rigol 1052E oscilloscope is a great tool and a wonderful portable oscilloscope we heartily recommend, sometimes you just need to use the more ‘advanced’ functions of an oscilloscope. Luckily, [cibomahto] figured out how to use a Rigol scope with Python, allowing for easy remote viewing and control of a Rigol 1052E ‘scope on any desktop computer.

[cibomahto]’s Python script grabs the screen and can send commands to the oscilloscope, effectively obviating the need for the slightly-terrible Rigol Ultrascope software. Not only that, controlling the 1052E is possible under OS X and Linux because of the portable Python nature of [cibomahto]’s work.

The Rigol DS1052E has become the de facto standard oscilloscope to grace the workbenches of makers and hackers around the globe. With a small price tag, the ability to double the bandwidth, and an active homebrew development scene, we doubt [cibomahto]’s work of grabbing data over USB will be the last hack we’ll see for this fine machine.

Thanks to [Markus] for sending this one in.

Homebrew On The Rigol DS1052E ‘scope

December 31, 2011 by Brian Benchoff 15 Comments

We love our little Rigol 1052E oscilloscope. It’s seen us through some perplexing problems and loved being upgraded from 50 MHz to 100 MHz. We’ve always been pleased with its role dictating waveforms for us, but we never thought we’d see homebrew apps for our little ‘scope.

We’re not exactly sure who [Krater] is, but he’s been working on some homebrew development for the Rigol DS1052E oscilloscope. Right now the capabilities are somewhat limited; all programming is via PEEKs and POKEs. Still, this is a fairly impressive development.

This wonderful little ‘scope has already had some time in the limelight by being easy to upgrade to 100 MHz. Hopefully with the new capabilities (Tetris, somebody make Tetris), this scope will become a staple in workshops around the world.

A tip ‘o the hat goes to [Rainer Wetzel] for sending this one in. Check out the video after the break to see an almost-working game of Pong playing on the 1052E

EDIT: [krater] dropped into the comments to tell us about his blog entry. Keep up the good work.

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Rigol Oscilloscope Teardown And Repair

March 10, 2011 by Mike Nathan 10 Comments

[Hotsolder] encountered a bad encoder in his Rigol Oscilloscope, so he opened it up in order to replace the damaged part. According to him, it was quite an adventure, so he documented the disassembly and component swap for the benefit of anyone else out there that might have to do the same.

The teardown is in the form of a slideshow, which is available on his site. The images are all pretty well annotated, so you should be able to follow along quite easily if you happen to be tearing one apart yourself. There’s not a ton of exotic things to see inside the scope, it pretty much contains what you would expect to see if you cracked one open.

The encoder replacement went off without a hitch, and he even took pictures of the defective one to discuss how it works.

It’s definitely a quick and interesting read if you are simply curious about oscilloscopes, or if you happen to need to dismantle yours.

[Thanks, oakkar7]

Hackaday Podcast Episode 328: Benchies, Beanies, And Back To The Future

July 11, 2025 by Kristina Panos 2 Comments

This week, Hackaday’s Elliot Williams and Kristina Panos joined forces to bring you the latest news, mystery sound, and of course, a big bunch of hacks from the previous week.

In Hackaday news, the One Hertz Challenge ticks on. You have until Tuesday, August 19th to show us what you’ve got, so head over to Hackaday.IO and get started now! In other news, we’ve just wrapped the call for Supercon proposals, so you can probably expect to see tickets for sale fairly soon.

On What’s That Sound, Kristina actually got this one with some prodding. Congratulations to [Alex] who knew exactly what it was and wins a limited edition Hackaday Podcast t-shirt!

After that, it’s on to the hacks and such, beginning with a ridiculously fast Benchy. We take a look at a bunch of awesome 3D prints a PEZ blaster and a cowbell that rings true. Then we explore chisanbop, which is not actually K-Pop for toddlers, as well as a couple of clocks. Finally, we talk a bit about dithering before taking a look at the top tech of 1985 as shown in Back to the Future (1985).

Check out the links below if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

Download in DRM-free MP3 and savor at your leisure.

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Budget Brilliance: DHO800 Function Generator

July 8, 2025 by Matt Varian 1 Comment

The Rigol oscilloscopes have a long history of modifications and hacks, and this latest from [Matthias] is an impressive addition; he’s been working on adding a function generator to the DHO800 line of scopes.

The DHO800 series offers many great features: it’s highly portable with a large 7-inch touchscreen, powered by USB-C, and includes plenty of other goodies. However, there’s room for enhancements. [Matthias] realized that while software mods exist to increase bandwidth or unlock logic analyzer functions, the hardware needed to implement the function generator—available in the more expensive DHO900 series—was missing.

To address this, he designed a daughterboard to serve as the function generator hardware, enabling features that software tweaks can unlock. His goal was to create an affordable, easy-to-produce, and easy-to-assemble interface board that fits in the space reserved for the official daughterboard in higher-end scopes.

Once the board is installed and the software is updated, the new functionality becomes available. [Matthias] clearly explains some limitations of his implementation. However, these shortcomings are outweighed by the tremendous value this mod provides. A 4-channel, 200 MHz oscilloscope with function generator capabilities for under $500 is a significant achievement. We love seeing these Rigol mods enhance tool functionality. Thanks, [Matthias], for sharing this project—great job bringing even more features to this popular scope.