500-MHz, 5G-sample/sec/channel DSO with memory of 1 million points per channel: now $10,990

LeCroy says that the five models in its WaveRunner 6000 series of digital scopes will propel the market to a new price/performance point (Picture). The new instruments offer maximum bandwidth of 2 GHz—compared with 6 GHz for the highest bandwidth real-time-sampling scopes available at press time. However, prices start at $10,990 and $15,990, respectively for the 500-MHz- and 1-GHz-bandwidth models in the WaveRunner 6000 series. The company expects these four-channel units to sell in the largest quantities of the series. The lower price is approximately 20% that of the least expensive 6-GHz-bandwidth real-time-sampling scope. What's more, WaveRunner 6000 prices include passive probes, whereas the prices of the more expensive units—from LeCroy and its competitors—do not.

The base units offer deep memory of 1 million points/channel or 2 million points/channel when you use no more than half of the channels. The scopes also incorporate the X-Stream architecture of LeCroy's wider bandwidth units. This architecture is responsible for the scopes' quick response to changes in control settings even when the display is of traces calculated from very-long-waveform records. Moreover, you can equip any of the scopes with optional memory as deep as 12 million points/channel or 24 million points/channel when you use no more than half of the channels. As in all LeCroy scopes—but not some competitive units—all of the memory is usable at all sampling rates.

Except for the 350-MHz-bandwidth, $7490 model, whose ADCs' maximum conversion rate is 2.5G samples/sec, all WaveRunner 6000 units use 5G-sample/sec ADCs. In the 1- and 2-GHz-bandwidth units, invoking the two-channel mode interleaves not only the memory, but also the ADCs, making the maximum conversion rate 10G samples/sec/active channel.

The new scopes weigh less and are smaller, both in frontal area and depth, than their higher priced brand mates. As a result, the screen's diagonal dimension is 8.4 in., but the display appears larger, perhaps because it occupies a larger portion of the panel area than do the displays of competitive scopes that also use 8.4-in. displays. Some seemingly minor improvements greatly improve the units' usability. Most of the front panels' rotary controls also respond to a tap or a push. LeCroy uses this feature to implement a "go-back" function similar to that of a computer keyboard's Escape key in many popular software applications.

LeCroy Corp, 1-800-453-2769, www.lecroy.com.