Rigol Technologies

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Overview

RIGOL Technologies is a Chinese manufacturer of electronic test and measurement instruments, including digital oscilloscopes, RF spectrum analyzers, digital multimeters, waveform generators, power supplies, and spectrophotometers.¹³⁴ The company serves customers in over 90 countries, focusing on industries such as automotive electronics, new energy, semiconductors, and general electronics, with products positioned as cost-effective solutions for R&D and manufacturing.³⁴ It holds over 500 patents and operates subsidiaries including in the US via rigolna.com.¹³

History

RIGOL Technologies was founded in Beijing, China, in 1998 and released its first product, a high-performance virtual digital storage oscilloscope, in May 1999.¹ The company listed on the STAR Market (688337.SH) and continued developing products like the RSA5000 real-time spectrum analyzer and MSO7000/MSO5000 series on the Ultravision-II platform in 2018.¹⁴ As of 2025, it has 539 authorized patents, including 441 invention patents, and has been recognized on China's Top 500 Patent List from 2019-2022.³

Product Lines

Product Line	Positioning	Price Range
Digital Oscilloscopes	General-purpose benchtop scopes	$300 - $10,000
RF Spectrum Analyzers	Real-time and benchtop RF analysis	$1,500 - $20,000
Waveform Generators	Function/arbitrary waveform generation	$400 - $3,000
Digital Multimeters	Precision bench DMMs	$200 - $1,000
DC Power Supplies	Programmable power supplies	$250 - $2,000
Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes (MSO)	Mixed-domain signal analysis	$1,000 - $8,000

Manufacturing

Products are manufactured by RIGOL Technologies CO., LTD. in China, with headquarters and primary operations in Beijing.¹³⁴ The company emphasizes in-house R&D for hardware, algorithms, and software, supporting its patent portfolio.³ US operations via rigolna.com in Beaverton, Oregon, focus on sales and support rather than manufacturing.²⁷

Notable Products

MSO7000 Series - High-bandwidth mixed signal oscilloscope on Ultravision-II platform.
RSA5000 Series - Real-time spectrum analyzer for RF analysis.
DS1000Z Series - Entry-level digital oscilloscope with good performance-to-price ratio.
DG800 Series - Arbitrary waveform generator for signal simulation.
DP800 Series - Programmable linear DC power supply.

Reputation

RIGOL is regarded by professionals and enthusiasts as offering capable test equipment at lower prices compared to brands like Keysight or Tektronix, making it popular for education, hobbyists, and budget-conscious engineering.¹⁵ Strengths include feature-rich scopes with high sample rates and modern interfaces, backed by a growing patent portfolio.¹³ Criticisms focus on build quality, firmware bugs, and support responsiveness being inferior to premium competitors, though improvements have been noted over time.¹

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