Review

The Rohde and Schwarz MXO5 is the fastest-performing oscilloscope on the market–even when all 8 channels are active! Bald Engineer checks out the precise trigger, ridiculously fast update rate, and a serial decode feature he missed with his review MXO4 review. Check out what is new with the MXO5, how it compares to the MXO4, and some new features available on both. Related Links [R&S] MXO5 Product Page [YouTube] Bald Engineer’s MXO4 Hands-On [YouTube] Measuring Apple II Clock Glitch (with MXO5)

KiCad 8 just dropped, and here are Bald Engineer’s eight must-try features! The February 2024 release brings a whole host of new stuff to the Schematic editor. However, the PCB editor, CLI, and Simulation tools also received attention. (There are something like 900 closed issues for the 8.0.0 Milestone!) Which of these is your favorite?

Hands down, no questions asked; the MXO 4 Oscilloscope from R&S is the most impressive scope I have ever used. The main reason I say that is because it is FAST. Over the past 20 years, I have worked for 3 of the 4 top oscilloscope companies (always in technical roles.) So I have used almost every major oscilloscope model for the past two decades. Now, regarding oscilloscopes, “fast” can mean a couple of different things. First, it could mean the bandwidth is very high. The MXO 4 is a low-to-mid-range bandwidth instrument with options from 200 MHz to 1.5 GHz. So, that isn’t what I mean by fast. Second, it could mean how quickly it starts up. And even though it is a PC-based instrument, it is ready to make measurements in about 45 seconds. But that isn’t what I mean.