Keysight Oscilloscopes Reviews

I'm currently using the 86100D and I've used the 86100C as well. The "D" is the most recent one so I'm using that right now.

We use it for test and validation. We want to verify measurements in our lab to make sure for our current products that everything looks optimal, as per the specs. We make sure that whatever we're looking at, the scope can give us all the features to validate that product. We use it for Tx jitter measurements, compliance measurements for ten-gig SFP+, QSFP28, and QSFP+. That's where it really is helpful, to do compliance measurements that actually correlate with the spec.

We are utilizing the full bandwidth. We use it for all speeds greater than ten gig.

There was a case where I was running a simulation of a channel, the transmit channel from the switch to the connector. In simulation, my eye measurement looked great. I wanted to see what it looked like in measurement. That's when I used the Keysight tool and a host compliance board, where I plug it into the device, using cables that plug into the scope. I measured the eye diagram to see how it correlated with my simulation. That correlation was very close. That's where it helps me really understand, whatever I’m working on in design, I can manipulate that in testing as well. It's great, it correlates there.

What I do like is the customer service, and the ability for the product to give a very clear indication of what we're trying to look at it. It breaks down all the parameters that we need to look at.

The user interface is great right now. I think they could improve it slightly, make it a bit more user-friendly. Although it is user-friendly, a bit more would make it even better.

In terms of additional capabilities, I would like to see more touchscreen and a larger screen. That would help. The current scope has a decent screen size, but at times what happens is, when I'm looking at it I need to have an extra monitor. If they could somehow improve that design with a bigger screen but not make it too heavy, that would be ideal. Some products do have a bigger screen but they're heavier. Maybe they can balance that out: Make it less heavy and provide a better screen resolution, a bigger size. That would help a lot.

There is room for improvement with some of the features of the scope. I would like them to make it a bit more simplistic. It's a very good tool overall, but if they could improve those issues slightly, that would help a lot. For example, if I want to look at what the total jitter is, they should make it simpler to find that, with different tabs. 

Their de-embedding feature is a very good feature, I like what it does, I think it's better than their competitors'. If they could improve that slightly too that would be nice.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give technical support a nine-and-a-half. They have very good technical support. They've been very responsive. Every time there has been an issue they've been very quick, giving speedy feedback.

We talked with the vendor regarding PAN4 applications, regarding the new technologies that have been coming out. They suggested what we could do to improve and what we need. The good thing was, based on the support, we were able to get everything we needed and just go from there. The traction with the scope vendor and checking what the application needs in advance and doing our own research on it helped us and provided us with our needs.

Pricing can be improved a bit. They try to make the pricing competitive but I think there are times that the competitors have good pricing. If Keysight can work on the pricing a bit more, that would help us to consider them completely, rather than the other ones.

Tektronix and LeCroy were on our shortlist. The reason we chose Keysight is that they are the most widely-used tools out there and we've been using them for a long time. And their customer service is a bit more responsive than the other vendors.

We did trials before purchasing and what we learned is that they all have regular tools, but in looking at the overall customer experience and features, Keysight was better.

Study what you're looking at. Analyze. See if the tool is applicable to what you are trying to measure. You have to do your own research and see if the solution matches the application you're looking for and what the requirements are. Of course, there's always a price budget so that's something that you have to look at. But I would highly recommend this product. It's a good product performance-wise.

I've used the product for more than seven years. I've used it at different companies as well, not just my current company. We used sampling oscilloscopes and real-time scopes to make eye diagram measurements. You're taking signals from your device on the test and looking at what it looks like; how clean the signal generator is from the transmitter. In the past I've also used it to look at the receiver eye too where you can actually drive a signal or a backplane and then look at it on the receiver end, using the scopes.

In terms of a learning curve, when I started my career with this product it took about a year to get really familiar with the tools. After that, it was complete repetition that makes you an expert. You keep learning more things about it as time goes on with the same product and there are new features with different specs. It took at least a year to get familiar with the product but every time you learn new things, it's under six months or so.

We have no plans to use it to support IoT. It's more for networking switches.

The current solution we have in the lab is upgradable. Keysight has done a good job there where they have given us a solution where they can actually upgrade it. At the moment what we have is the latest upgrade. All it required was buying the license and upgrading the scope.

We use a 40-gigahertz network analyzer to look at in-session loss or retention loss at 28 gigahertz. For us, the solution targets high-speed switches and routers, high-speed PCB. We are measuring 400-gig Ethernet. We're definitely using the full bandwidth of the product.

We need the results to be repeatable. By using the Keysight network analyzer, we get pretty reliable results. We like it.

• Accurate
• Fast
• High-bandwidth

Also, the PLTS is pretty convenient.

Some of the models have only two ports. It takes much longer to use a two-port. If they had a four-port, it would be much better.

Technical support is pretty responsive.

Keysight is on the high side. If they could make the price lower without sacrificing the quality that would be great.

We looked Tektronix, Keysight, and a few others. The reasons we went with Keysight are accuracy, reliability, and ease of use.

Create a shortlist and have a demo with each of them. Try each one. Once you do some trials, experiments, you will know what you want to choose. There are several things we look at: One is the accuracy, the second is the reliability of the equipment, and the third is how easy it is to use.

There is no learning curve because I've been using it for so long and it's pretty simple.

The solution is field-upgradable. We may add more functionality to the PLTS.

I would rate the product at eight out of ten. It's pretty easy to use, pretty reliable. It doesn't break, so it can work in a very harsh environment. But for a lot of additional functionality, we need to pay extra. So that is where there is room for improvement.

We're using the N5227A 67-gigahertz analyzer for signal integrity applications, the passive components.

The solution is targeting the high-speed application space for us. Since we design components, primarily connectors, it needs to be high-speed to meet all the demands a standard connector company would need to meet, like a Tyco or Amphenol.

We are measuring standard step signals, full signals. We are utilizing the full bandwidth of the product.

It does everything that's fundamental for SI design in general. I'm not really sure how to explain how it improved anything other than that it does exactly what I need it to do. I don't really need to add or subtract anything from what's already available.

It does everything: 

• frequency
• applications
• time domain
• transformation. 

It does everything that I need it to with the PLTS software and the network analyzer software.

The user interface can be buggy at times. But I'm an engineer, I figure out how to get around them pretty easily so that's not that much of a concern. It allows me to do everything I need to do.

I would like to see better post-processing data utility tools like a de-embedding.

Technical support is pretty responsive, pretty decent.

We didn't have a previous solution.

It's very expensive.

Be aware that there are other solutions out there that are cheaper. And if you're willing to put in the extra work to make up for the disparity between the products, I think it can be done.

There was a learning curve, but only in so far as I needed to be more familiar with signal integrity design in general. They do offer a lot of resources available to budding SI engineers. As soon as you get the basics down, you get the gist of how to use their equipment.

Our solution is field-upgradable. We plan on upgrading it, probably within the next five to ten years.

I would rank the product at seven out of ten. It does everything I need it to do, but it is really expensive and I think there are alternatives out there that I could choose that would be cheaper. But we already have the product.

We use Keysight VNA to make sure of our materials' performance and DKDF measurements.

It's mainly for 5G and high-speed, high-frequency systems. VNA can be used in multiple ways. Right now we are using it to characterize our materials. But in the future, we want to make some devices, like antennas or circuits, using our materials and measure them using VNA. It has a lot of capabilities.

For us, it's mainly RF signals. Typically, we measure about 40 gigahertz or so. We are not currently using the full bandwidth but we expect to in the future.

The measurements that the network and laser do are very important for us because DuPont is a materials company and we need to know the performance of our materials at high frequencies. This is the way to measure that, using the VNA.

It can go up to a very high frequency, up to 120 gigahertz. And the user interface is really good. It's really easy to navigate.

I would like to see it go to higher frequencies at the same price.

Also, we tried to connect multiple computers with a KVM switch but we could not do that using Keysight VNA. Keysight VNA comes with the PC inside it. We have other equipment as well, and we tried to combine it so that we had one monitor to control everything. With Keysight we could not do it. That's something of an inconvenience.

Technical support is very helpful. They have a local technical office up here in Santa Clara. They can come anytime we call them and they'll support us.

We didn't have a previous solution, but we did some investigation with our internal DuPont colleagues and also talked to experts to determine the right solution and we selected this one.

It's expensive, but the quality matters.

I would definitely recommend trying this product. It's a really reliable and high-performance machine.

In terms of a learning curve on the equipment, I had some training on the VNA before we purchased it, so for me training was done within a week or so. It was not really hard. But for colleagues, it took them some time to learn it.

Upgrades are always welcome. Apart from VNA, we need to purchase all the fixtures, other equipment to connect to VNA. They are very expensive tools, and that's part of upgrading what we are doing in the lab.

The solution, performance-wise is a ten out of ten. Price-wise, it's a six out of ten.

I use it with connected devices, like IoT, in the lab to validate, verify, or design.

With this scope, we are measuring: Internet signals, media signals, PCIe, USB signals, and some other low-speed serial interfaces.

The DDR Utilities that I have used on the scope speed up my debugging process. Similarly, I use the serial decoder for the serial interfaces, which helps me debug my product quickly.

The application utilities loaded on the scope help debug different protocols.

I like the Keysight user interface very much. It's based on the PC model. So, that's why we are using the PC all the time. We don't need to remember anything, as everything seems familiar.

Everybody is looking for more automation support, so that if they can incorporate more protocols. It makes it easier. 

People are always going for higher bandwidth and better probing solutions. It needs more flexible probing solutions, especially for the complex ICs. 

Cost is also a factor on one of the DDRs. I was trying to buy an interpolar so that I can hook up all the probes and have them rerun one time. However, that was quite costly. If I had to do a single or double debugging, then I maybe would spend time soldering each bar rather than using that because it was costly.

I do plan to take advantage of the upgrade whenever we are having an upcoming project as it's really good. Then, I don't have to buy new equipment. I just need to upgrade it. 

We use it with about 900,000 CDs.

We sometimes utilize the full bandwidth of the product.

The technical support is very easy to reach. I have contacted them a few times regarding the feature usage. These were for additional compatible solutions that I needed to purchase, and they were always very responsive to my requests.

While I don't have transparency on the pricing, it works within my budget.

We evaluated Keysight, Tektronix, and Anritsu.

We trialed Keysight and learned about the tool. We learned that we would be able to make use of it in the way that we were envisioning, and it supports all of those things that we wanted.

It's a very nice product. Whatever feature that I was looking for, it was within my budget. It was affordable. I can upgrade it later, if necessary. Plus, if something with an initial option was going out of my budget, they offered to give me something like a refurbished model. This made it worthwhile because the other option I explored was way beyond my budget, and I simply could not get approval for that additional amount of money.

Always reach out to the area manager or application engineer to show your interest. They are able to hook you up with the right technical application engineer, who can understand what you are trying to do, then recommend what are the best possible solutions and give you a demo for you to feel comfortable. It is also good for them to show you the features.

While it's more intuitive than other scopes, there is a little longer learning curve. I do consider it quick to learn.

It is targeted towards embedded systems and controller cards, like USB and PCIe.

We are measuring eye diagrams of the eyes of high-speed PAM signaling. It's the primary reference for measuring the quality of our transmitted signal, so we're using it to validate that we made the correct chip and that our circuits are working as expected.

They're 100-gigabit per second PAM-4 signals and they're enabling the data center and high-speed wireless connectivity. We're utilizing the full bandwidth of the product.

For us, the solution is targeting 5G, high-speed serial, and embedded systems. For example, in 5G, we're using the optical, we're measuring T.Q, or some fancy optical output. And for the embedded system, we're measuring the electrical performance, usually over some sort of backplane. 

The user interface has never been better. They improved it a few years ago with a more modern oscilloscope interface and it's easier to use, even for more junior people in our lab.

I would like be able to measure multi-lane simultaneously. Right now, the high-performance jitter solution measures one signal. I would like to capture many at the same time.

The room for improvement is the cost. It's always too expensive. And it's an industry-wide problem to correlate the measurements with real system performance on an oscilloscope.

They have an 800 number you call and they answer it day or night. And then, many of the engineers are in my Rolodex so I'll just call them directly and say, "What's up?"

The cost is always a struggle. We always wish that we could do more for less.

At our particular company, there's a very decent volume agreement between Keysight and my corporation, so that influences a lot. But we also extensively use the Tektronix as well as the LeCroy.

We did do trials/demos of the products on our shortlist before purchasing and what we learned was that demos never go as expected.

My advice would be to get the demos because everyone's application tends to be different. Sometimes it's the fixturing, or sometimes you realize some things in particular that make a difference for your needs. It's hard, just in theory, to know.

There's very much a learning curve. It's hard for me to talk about it in detail because I have used the tool for over 20 years, so as it evolves, I evolve too. Since the very beginning of time I've used many different solutions for measuring, starting off with HP then finally going to Keysight. It's always been a reference measurement method.

The solution is not field upgradable, typically. You need to buy a new one to go faster.

This product is a ten out of ten. The DCA-X is the industry standard. It's hard to get better.

We use it mostly for experimental measurements.

The space we use it in is high-speed and some instances of 5G as well. But we use it mostly for high-speed serial links. We are mostly measuring signal integrity and S-parameters. We're not using full bandwidth yet. We're still at lower speeds, but very soon we may be using the full bandwidth.

We use it to support connected devices as well. I can't go into details, but it's part of the internet of things. In my company we are trying to create a connected world. That is one of our main goals. There are different products located in different places and we want them all to be connected. This can definitely be useful to design and to include them.

We have done some measurements and also correlated with simulation and we were able to obtain a good match, so that's a good indication of the accuracy.

The most valuable features include the

• accuracy 
• embedding 
• calibration system.

Also, the user interface is nice. It describes the output well, so it's easy to use.

I would like to see the possibility of interacting with the software, new features for software post-processing. For example, once you're done measuring, it would be nice to be able to generate some data starting from the measurement data.

Technical support is very good. We received onsite support when there was an issue.

We didn't switch. Even in my previous company we were also using the same type of instrument, the same company. It was a little bit different application, different model, but similar.

It would be good if it were a little bit cheaper, of course.

The product is really satisfying. There are very few companies that they do the same, so there are not too many competitors. Keysight is very well known in the industry, in terms of accuracy and support. There are a few, but not too many, that you can choose from.

We did not do a trial beforehand in this case because we already had the VNA all over and we wanted to expand the bandwidth.

I would certainly recommend that colleagues use the same solution for their application.

I don't remember at the moment which model we're using, but it's the one with the highest bandwidth for the VNA.

There is a little bit of a learning curve but it's not too difficult because there is good support. I had some previous experience and it took me a few days to start and then, to get a little bit more familiar, took a few weeks.

In terms of field-upgradability, there a possibility by changing the software to add new features and we want to take advantage of that. For example, I know that the VNA can be also a spectrum analyzer, so we want to try to take advantage of that without buying another instrument. It will enable us to use it for two purposes.

We use them for experimental measurements.

Since this equipment does a lot of different things, it's hard to say what is most valuable. It's a one-stop solution. It does everything we need. The combined functionality is the biggest benefit.

Regarding the user interface, since we are so familiar with it, it's easy to work with.

The biggest challenge for us is getting to higher frequencies, higher data rates. The higher-data product is always more expensive so if it could be cheaper for high-frequency measurement, that is what we would ideally want.

There is room for improvement in the upgradability of the products. When we buy a platform, we would like that platform to survive two or three generations, because it is very expensive. If they could provide a more modular type of design, so if we want to upgrade one functionality then we could upgrade that module, rather than all the equipment, that would be helpful. That modularity is something we would like to see.

Keysight has been very helpful, their technical support is great.

We did not switch to this product from something else. Some equipment works up to 30 gigahertz. When we started developing the newer product, which has higher frequencies, obviously we needed to buy the newer generation. When we made those changes we evaluated different vendors.

We are looking at $600,000 and it's obviously expensive, but compared to others, everybody is in the same ballpark.

It is between Tektronix, Keysight, and LeCroy. Those are the three we look at.

We did trials and learned about the features, how easy to use the products are, how consistent the data measurements are, and things like that.

My advice would be to evaluate the Keysight product.

In our company we have been using the Keysight equipment for at least 15 years. We use many different versions so I do not remember specific model numbers but we use a lot of the scopes, as well as PPD.

Technology advances in this field so we are always in a learning curve because there is always new technology, new products, new features come out.

I would rate this product at eight out of ten because of the features, ease of use, and the support.