Siglent SDS1104X-E vs Rigol DHO802 for Arduino

Specs side by side

Specs checked against manufacturer documentation and official Amazon listings. Siglent SDS1104X-E is hands-on tested by OhmSavvy; the Rigol DHO802 assessment is desk research. How we research.

Key differences

• →Channels: the SDS1104X-E has four, the DHO802 two. On Arduino projects this is the difference you notice first.
• →Bandwidth: 100 MHz on the Siglent against 70 MHz on the Rigol. Both are far above typical Arduino signal speeds.
• →Sample rate with every channel in use: 500 MSa/s on each of the Siglent's four, 625 MSa/s on each of the Rigol's two. With one channel on, the DHO802 reaches 1.25 GSa/s and the Siglent 1 GSa/s.
• →Decoding is standard on both: Siglent includes I2C, SPI, UART/RS232, CAN and LIN; Rigol includes UART, I2C, SPI, CAN and parallel.
• →Resolution and memory: the DHO802 is 12-bit and holds 25 Mpts with one channel on (10 Mpts with two). Siglent lists the SDS1104X-E as 8-bit with 14 Mpts per channel (7 Mpts with all four on).
• →The Rigol adds a 1024 × 600 touchscreen, HDMI output and USB-C 15 V power; the Siglent has a 7-inch 800 × 480 screen, runs from 100–240 V AC and also has LAN.
• →The SDS1104X-E carries our Hands-on Tested badge; the Rigol DHO802 assessment is desk research against maker specifications.

Spec by spec

The headline numbers point in opposite directions. The Siglent has more inputs and more bandwidth; the Rigol samples faster on one channel and keeps a higher per-channel rate once every input is busy, because it only splits its budget two ways instead of four.

Siglent's figures come from its SDS1000X-E series page and data sheet, which list serial trigger and decode as standard. Memory is shared per channel pair, so the SDS1104X-E has 14 Mpts on a channel when its partner is off and 7 Mpts each with all four running.

Siglent SDS1104X-E vs Rigol DHO802 for Arduino

Arduino projects are slow by oscilloscope standards. An Uno's analogWrite PWM runs at a few hundred hertz to about 1 kHz, servo pulses repeat at around 50 Hz, I2C usually clocks at 100 or 400 kHz, and hardware SPI on a 16 MHz board tops out at 8 MHz. Either scope shows every one of those cleanly, so speed is not the question. The questions are how many pins you need to see together and how much help you want reading what is on them.

SPI is where the channel count bites. A full transaction has four lines: clock, chip select, MOSI and MISO. On the SDS1104X-E all four sit on one screen under one trigger, so you can see whether chip select drops before the first clock edge and which device is answering. On the DHO802 you choose two, typically SCK and MOSI, and repeat the capture to check the others. The same applies to driving three servos or comparing several PWM outputs: four inputs let you check their timing against each other directly.

Decoding doesn't separate them. Siglent includes I2C, SPI, UART/RS232, CAN and LIN decoding free on the SDS1104X-E, and Rigol lists UART, I2C, SPI, CAN and parallel as standard on the DHO802, so on either scope a Serial.print at 115200 baud or an I2C sensor read appears as bytes and addresses, not just square waves you count by hand. Two channels are enough for most of that work: UART needs one line per direction and I2C only SDA and SCL. Where the Rigol pulls ahead is the analog side: its 12-bit converter against the Siglent's 8-bit helps with a potentiometer, thermistor or microphone feeding an analog pin, or the ripple on a 5 V rail from a USB supply. Its 25 Mpts (against 14 Mpts) also holds a longer serial capture.

Speeds are typical defaults for an Arduino Uno and common libraries; your board and code may differ.

Which should you buy?

What each one can and can't measure

A scope's rated bandwidth is where a sine wave has already lost 3 dB of amplitude, so it is a limit, not a working range. The usual rule of thumb asks for three to five times your fastest signal: about 20–33 MHz for the 100 MHz Siglent and 14–23 MHz for the 70 MHz Rigol. Every Arduino signal in the table above fits inside both. The 16 MHz crystal on an Uno sits inside the Rigol's range and comfortably inside the Siglent's. Our oscilloscope bandwidth explainer covers why the margin matters.

Where the gap does show is on edges. A digital pin switching between 0 and 5 V can change in a few nanoseconds, depending on the chip and load, and a rough estimate of the fastest rise time a scope can display is 0.35 divided by its bandwidth: about 3.5 ns on the Siglent and 5 ns on the Rigol. If you measure ringing or overshoot on a fast edge, the SDS1104X-E shows a little more of it. For checking whether a bus works, the difference rarely matters.

Sample rate is generous on both. At 500 MSa/s, each Siglent channel takes 62 samples in every period of an 8 MHz SPI clock; at 625 MSa/s the Rigol takes 78. Nyquist sets the floor at two samples per cycle, so both are far beyond it for Arduino work. The DHO802's 25 Mpts of memory (10 Mpts with both channels on) lets it hold a longer stretch of serial traffic at a high sample rate than the Siglent's 14 Mpts (7 Mpts per channel with all four on). Our guide to what GSa/s means explains how sample rate and memory trade off.

The limits are different for each scope. The DHO802 can't show more than two signals together and has no built-in generator or logic channels, so an eight-bit parallel bus needs a separate logic analyzer. The SDS1104X-E is 8-bit, so small analog changes resolve more coarsely, and its screen is a non-touch 800 × 480. Siglent sells 16 digital channels and a USB signal generator for the four-channel model only as paid options.

For a wider field, see the best oscilloscope for Arduino projects, the beginner oscilloscope roundup, the oscilloscope buying guide, our Siglent SDS1104X-E review and the two-channel matchup in Rigol DHO802 vs Hantek DSO2D10.

Frequently asked questions