Rigol DHO4204

The RIGOL DHO4204 Digital Oscilloscope is a 200 MHz, four-channel instrument developed for engineers who need greater vertical detail, low-noise signal acquisition and fast waveform capture. It is part of the RIGOL DHO4000 Series and uses the company’s second-generation Centaurus chipset with the UltraVision III oscilloscope platform.

Unlike a conventional 8-bit oscilloscope with 256 vertical quantisation levels, the DHO4204 uses a native 12-bit analogue-to-digital converter with 4,096 quantisation levels. This provides 16 times more vertical resolution, helping engineers distinguish small signal variations, ripple, noise and distortion that may be difficult to identify on lower-resolution instruments.

The oscilloscope provides four analogue channels with a standard bandwidth of 200 MHz. Its bandwidth can be upgraded through supported software licences when future applications require higher-frequency measurements.

High-Resolution Signal Acquisition

The DHO4204 is suitable for measurements where signal amplitude detail is as important as bandwidth. Its 12-bit vertical resolution supports accurate observation of:

• Power-supply ripple
• Low-amplitude sensor outputs
• Audio and analogue signals
• Switching power-supply noise
• Control-loop behaviour
• Power-rail disturbances
• Signal overshoot and ringing
• Small signals riding on larger DC levels
• Electronic component behaviour

High-resolution acquisition modes can further improve effective vertical resolution when reduced measurement bandwidth is acceptable.

Low-Noise Measurement Performance

The DHO4000 platform provides a typical noise floor as low as 18 µVrms under specified test conditions. The combination of low-noise front-end circuitry and 12-bit acquisition improves visibility into small signal details.

The oscilloscope also provides vertical sensitivity down to 100 µV/div, allowing engineers to examine microvolt-level signals without relying entirely on external amplification.

These capabilities are particularly useful for:

• DC power-rail analysis
• Low-noise analogue circuit development
• Sensor interface testing
• Medical electronics development
• Audio circuit analysis
• Power integrity measurements
• Battery management system testing
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Channel-Dependent Sampling Performance

The DHO4204 provides a maximum real-time sampling rate of 4 GSa/s. The available sample rate depends on the number of active channels:

• 4 GSa/s with one analogue channel active
• 2 GSa/s per channel with two analogue channels active
• 1 GSa/s per channel with all four analogue channels active

This architecture allows users to select maximum single-channel sampling performance or use all four channels for correlated multi-signal measurements.

Deep Acquisition Memory

The DHO4204 includes 250 Mpts standard memory depth in single-channel operation. An optional memory upgrade increases the maximum record length to 500 Mpts.

Standard memory allocation:

• 250 Mpts with one channel active
• 125 Mpts per channel with two channels active
• 62.5 Mpts per channel with four channels active

Optional maximum memory allocation:

• 500 Mpts with one channel active
• 250 Mpts per channel with two channels active
• 125 Mpts per channel with four channels active

Deep memory helps maintain a useful sample rate during long acquisitions. It allows engineers to capture complete start-up sequences, serial communication activity, power events and intermittent faults while retaining enough detail for zooming and navigation.

UltraAcquire Waveform Capture

The DHO4204 supports UltraAcquire mode as a standard function, providing a maximum waveform capture rate of up to 1,500,000 waveforms per second.

A high waveform update rate improves the probability of detecting rare events such as:

• Intermittent glitches
• Runt pulses
• Abnormal edges
• Timing violations
• Unstable clock activity
• Signal dropouts
• Power-supply disturbances
• Occasional communication errors

UltraAcquire displays acquired waveforms using intensity grading, helping engineers distinguish frequently occurring signal behaviour from rare anomalies.

Advanced Trigger Functions

The DHO4204 provides multiple trigger modes for isolating specific waveform conditions.

Trigger functions include:

• Edge trigger
• Pulse-width trigger
• Slope trigger
• Video trigger
• Pattern trigger
• Duration trigger
• Timeout trigger
• Runt trigger
• Window trigger
• Delay trigger
• Setup and hold trigger
• Nth-edge trigger
• Zone trigger
• Serial bus trigger with supported options

Zone triggering allows users to draw one or more regions on the touchscreen and define whether the waveform must enter or avoid those regions. This can simplify the detection of irregular waveform behaviour without requiring complex trigger configuration.

Serial Bus Triggering and Decoding

The DHO4204 supports serial protocol triggering and decoding for embedded, automotive, audio and aerospace applications. Availability depends on the installed software options.

Supported protocol packages include:

• RS232 and UART
• I2C
• SPI
• CAN
• CAN FD
• LIN
• FlexRay
• I2S
• MIL-STD-1553

Protocol decoding displays bus information alongside the physical waveform, helping engineers identify packet errors, timing problems, invalid data and signal-quality issues.

Waveform Measurement and Analysis

The oscilloscope includes automatic measurement, waveform mathematics and statistical analysis tools for detailed signal evaluation.

Available functions include:

• Automatic voltage measurements
• Time and frequency measurements
• Rise-time and fall-time measurements
• Pulse-width and duty-cycle measurements
• Phase and delay measurements
• Measurement statistics
• Cursor measurements
• Waveform mathematics
• FFT frequency-domain analysis
• Digital filtering
• Histogram analysis
• Mask testing
• Search and navigation
• Waveform recording and playback
• Reference waveform comparison

These tools allow users to complete common debugging and validation tasks directly on the oscilloscope without repeatedly transferring data to external software.

Power Electronics Testing

The DHO4204 is well suited to power electronics because of its 12-bit resolution, low-noise floor, deep memory and support for differential and current probes.

Typical power applications include:

• Switching power-supply analysis
• DC-DC converter testing
• Inverter and motor-drive testing
• Gate-drive signal analysis
• Power-rail ripple measurement
• Start-up and shutdown testing
• Power-device switching behaviour
• Control-loop response
• Battery-management system testing
• SiC and GaN device development

Optional power-analysis software supports automated power measurements. Suitable high-voltage differential probes, current probes or optical-isolation probes must be selected according to the voltage, bandwidth, current and common-mode requirements.

Connectivity and Remote Operation

The DHO4204 can be integrated into networked laboratories, production systems and automated test platforms.

Connectivity options include:

• USB Host
• USB Device
• Gigabit LAN
• LXI support
• HDMI video output
• AUX output
• Web-based remote control
• SCPI remote programming
• Optional USB-to-GPIB connectivity

Web Control allows the oscilloscope interface to be viewed and operated through a compatible browser on the same network. SCPI support enables integration into automated validation and production-test systems.

Battery-Powered Operation

The DHO4000 Series supports an optional battery pack and battery holder. Battery operation makes the oscilloscope suitable for applications where mains power is unavailable or where greater portability is required.

Potential applications include:

• Field maintenance
• Automotive testing
• Industrial plant troubleshooting
• Mobile laboratory work
• Remote equipment inspection
• Isolated measurement environments

Battery components are optional and should be included separately in the quotation.

Applications

The RIGOL DHO4204 is suitable for:

• Embedded-system development
• Microcontroller and FPGA debugging
• Power electronics testing
• Switching power-supply analysis
• Automotive electronics development
• CAN, CAN FD and LIN bus testing
• Industrial control-system testing
• Sensor and analogue circuit analysis
• Power-rail and ripple measurements
• Audio electronics testing
• Signal-integrity troubleshooting
• EMI troubleshooting
• Semiconductor testing
• Production-line validation
• Research and development
• Engineering laboratories
• Educational laboratories
• Automated test-system integration
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Why Buy from RevineTech?

RevineTech supplies professional test and measurement equipment for electronics design, industrial testing, research, education and production applications.

Technical product-selection assistance includes:

• DHO4204 bandwidth selection
• Bandwidth-upgrade requirements
• Passive probe selection
• High-voltage differential probe selection
• Optical-isolation probe selection
• Current probe selection
• Serial protocol software
• Power-analysis options
• Memory-depth upgrade
• Battery pack and holder
• Rack-mount requirements
• Calibration and documentation
• Automated test integration