Hacking the Rigol DS1052E Oscilloscope with Linux
Hacking the Rigol DS1052E Oscilloscope with Linux

I was in the market for an oscilloscope, but I didn t want to spend much. I found out about Rigol and their line of $300-400 scopes, and was getting ready to buy one. Then I found a post on how to make your ds1052e, which costs about $400 into a DS1102E, which costs about $700 with a simple firmware modification! I bought the scope right after, and I received it in the mail today. It s pretty nice by default, but doubling the bandwidth is always a plus.

The ds1052e has a 50Mhz maximum frequency, but it has exactly the same hardware (as far as the reverse-engineering folks can tell) as the DS1102E, which has a 100Mhz maximum. This guide will show you how to make the switch very easily using Linux. You can do it in Windows too, but it s a bit more involved, and Linux makes it really really easy.

I ve attached the Rigol user guide for both units, in case you don t have one. http://www.rigoloscilloscope.co.uk/wholesale/Rigol-Oscilloscope-50MHz-DS1052E-1G-SG-1M-3-years-warranty-Special-Offer-24.html