Owon HDS2102S Handheld 2-Channel 100 MHz Oscilloscope, Multimeter & Signal Generator (Review)

The Owon HDS2102S is a handheld two-channel 100 MHz oscilloscope, multimeter and arbitrary waveform (signal) generator in one. The ’S’ indicates the signal generator option. Models without the ’S’ in their name do not have one. A Mode button selects between oscilloscope, multimeter and signal generator, so the instrument is only one at a time. However, the signal generator remains active after starting it; therefore, signal tracing with either the oscilloscope or multimeter is possible.

Oscilloscope

The oscilloscope has two channels, a 100 MHz bandwidth and can sample at up to 500 Msps. The horizontal range is from 2 ns/div up to 1,000 s/div; the vertical range runs from 10 mV/div up to 10 V/div. The maximum input voltage is 400 V_PP. Triggering options are auto, normal, and single on falling or rising edges. There is no external trigger input.
Cursors allow for manually measuring time and voltage. Automatic measurements come in the shape of period, frequency, mean, peak-peak, min, max and amplitude. A Counter option is available for displaying a live frequency count.
 

Multimeter

In multimeter mode the HDS2102S becomes a 5-digit multimeter with a DC range from 200 mV (10 µV resolution) up to 1,000 V, a 40 Hz – 1 kHz TRMS AC range of 200 mV up to 750 V, and both AC and DC current up to 10 A. To justify the multi in multimeter, the HDS2102S also measures resistance from 10 mΩ up to 100 MΩ, capacitance from 1 pF up to 2 mF, and it can test diodes and continuity.

Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG)

The AWG with its sampling rate of 125 Msps can produce sines up to 25 MHz, square and pulse waves up to 5 MHz and ramps up to 1 MHz. As arbitrary waveforms, the HDS2102S features staircases, two Bessel and a sinc functions, and amplitude modulated sine waves.

Unboxing the Owon HDS2102S

Opening the box, you’ll find a black pouch protecting the instrument together with two BNC-to-crocodile leads, a set of multimeter probes, and a battery charger with USB cable. Besides the pouch, the box also contains a passive oscilloscope probe (OW3100, 100 MHz) and some documentation, including a printed manual in English.

The Owon HDS2102S feels surprisingly heavy as it weighs a little over 500 grams including the batteries. The latter are two replaceable 18650-type, 2600 mAh li-ion cells.

The instrument doesn’t really look like an oscilloscope, but more like a biggish multimeter with pushbuttons. It is a perfect fit for my hands. The 3.5″ 65k color display that takes up about one third of the front panel has a resolution of 320 by 240 pixels.

Things on the Sides

When you rotate the device upwards, you will discover three BNC connectors at the top end. Two of these are oscilloscope inputs, the third is the signal generator output. On the right side, hiding behind a protective lid, are the USB-C connector and the 1 kHz scope probe calibration signal. The USB-C connector allows for recharging the scope’s batteries. It also lets you use the instrument together with a computer.
 

Using the Owon HDS2102S

The user interface is quite intuitive, with a clearly visible power button in the lower-left corner of the front panel. After switching on the HDS2102S, it enters the mode you used last time. It takes a bit more than five seconds to become operational. Most of the pushbuttons have oscilloscope-related labels, making it easy to find your way around in oscilloscope mode, the instrument’s main mode. Switching between modes is sometimes slow, as the device must reload something, but it is unclear what.

The Owon HDS2102S in Oscilloscope Mode

In oscilloscope mode, pressing a button brings up a menu bar at the bottom of the screen. The four blue F keys select options in this menu. Some menus have more than one ‘page’. The menu disappears automatically after ten seconds of button inactivity (adjustable) or by pressing the button again, or by pressing the return arrow key. Only the CH1/2 button has a double function in this mode, as it selects between the two channels.

Note that some functions seem to require that both channels are switched on.
Super Large Time Base Range The time base goes up to 1,000 s/div (i.e. 16 minutes and 40 seconds), which is super long. Most oscilloscopes do not get past 50 s or so. This is great for capturing slowly evolving signals, which would otherwise require a data logger. If you use 1,000 s/div, make sure to set Shutdown Time to unlimited to avoid losing your data when the device switches off prematurely.

Store Settings and Signals

The Save button lets you store not only screenshots (CSV or BMP) but also up to four setting presets (‘objects’). This makes it easy to recall a setting when switching between measurements.

Most other functions will be familiar to oscilloscope users, and therefore I will not go deeper into that.
 

Multimeter Mode

Similarly, the multimeter is mostly a standard multimeter, so no surprises here either. It defaults to auto-ranging at 2 VDC. Press the Measure key to switch to manual range selection. The HDS2102S doesn’t retain its multimeter settings during power cycles and always comes up with the default values. This is probably to provide protection when switching on after an automatic power-down (after 30 minutes of inactivity, programmable) with the instrument still connected to a live signal (I was taught to leave a multimeter in AC mode, highest voltage).

Practical is that the multimeter has its own inputs, allowing you to leave the oscilloscope connected if you like. Pressing the Delta (‘Δ’) key in DC voltage or current mode stores the actual value, after which the meter starts displaying the difference between the actual and the stored value. Pressing Play/Pause holds the last value.

The Owon HDS2102S as Signal Generator

In Arbitrary Waveform Generator mode, only the blue keys (function and cursor) have a function. A graph shows how the parameters affect the waveform. Press Play/Pause to enable or disable the output. When this button is green, the output is enabled.
 

Even though the signal generator of the HDS2102S is called arbitrary, it is not possible to create or load your own waveforms.

Programmable Output Impedance

By default, in AWG mode, the display always shows ‘High Z’ in the status bar at the top. This refers to the output impedance. You can set it to 50 Ω by pressing the System key, then pressing F4 and then F3 (Load). This limits the output swing to 2.5 V_PP. Curious, however, is that you can go beyond that. If you do, you’ll notice that the displayed impedance increases too. As it turns out, the output impedance can be set anywhere between 10 Ω and 10 kΩ by pressing the cursor keys when setting the Load option.

Buzzer

Only in AWG mode does the System menu have a Buzzer On/Off option. Disabling the buzzer does not disable it in multimeter mode. The oscilloscope never beeps.

Signal Tracer

Once the generator is running, you can switch to oscilloscope or multimeter mode, which is very practical. However, if you do, the Play/Pause button then no longer controls the generator’s output but recovers its function for the new mode. It is easy to forget that you left the generator running. It must be switched back on manually after a power cycle (e.g., an auto shutdown).

PC Software for the Owon HDS2102S

From the Owon website, you can download the DS-Wave (a.k.a. HOS) utility (Windows only), to which the manual refers as Oscilloscope Software. I found it rather complicated and unintuitive to use. Even though it features FFT and some math functions, the program appears to have many issues that make it a bit unpractical.
 

Remote Control

The only thing I found practical was the remote control that lets you quickly set up the oscilloscope and signal generator. This is faster than using the instrument’s buttons. Also, you can control the signal generator without leaving oscilloscope mode.

Access Saved Data

The HDS2102S USB port must be in HID mode for DS-Wave to work (default, second page of the system menu). If you switch to MSC mode, the instrument becomes an external disk drive, and you can access screenshots (as an image or as a CSV file, depending on what you selected) and (binary) preset files.

Autonomy of the Owon HDS2102S

As the Owon HDS2102S is a portable instrument, its autonomy is, of course, of importance. With its factory default settings in oscilloscope mode and leaving it idle, the battery lasted for about five hours. Recharging it took about three hours. However, the default settings do not necessarily provide the best autonomy. For instance, display brightness is adjustable and defaults to 70%, so you can set it lower. The backlight defaults to always on, but it can switch off automatically after a certain, programmable time. The device shutdown time is adjustable too (and can be unlimited).

Long Low Battery

During my tests, the HDS2102S continued working for about two hours after the first Low-Battery warning popped up. If you press a key, it goes away, but it keeps coming back, which is a bit annoying in the end.

Because the batteries are replaceable, it may be an option to carry a second set for those situations where you really need long battery life. Using a USB power bank is another option.
 

Who is the Owon HDS2102S for?

Being a portable oscilloscope, the Owon HDS2102S is a great companion for anyone requiring scoping features in the field or away from the lab bench. It is easy to carry around and can go anywhere where a multimeter can go too. Maintenance, fault-finding, and repair are applications that spring to mind. Its multimeter and signal generator capabilities are appreciated features in such situations.

On the bench, the HDS2102S is a useful instrument too, but because it is a bit more difficult to manipulate and has fewer functions than a bench scope, I’d prefer the latter. Comparing the performance of the instrument with a 100-MHz bench scope (Siglent SDS1102X) didn’t reveal any important differences.

Isolated Operation

Because the device is battery powered, it is isolated from the bench ground and the mains supply (unless you connect the USB port). Therefore, you can place the ground clip anywhere in a circuit and easily take differential measurements. Working in circuits that connect directly to the mains supply is possible too. However, always keep in mind that the maximum input voltage is 400 V_PP. This may sound like a lot, but isn’t in mains-powered systems. Also, the included probe must be in 1:10 mode to handle this.

Internal Ground

Similarly, the signal generator too doesn’t have to be connected to the DUT’s ground. Of course, the oscilloscope, multimeter and signal generator inside the HDS2102S have the same common, so take care when tracing a signal with the oscilloscope.

Finally, the up to 1,000 s/div time base is another nice feature that makes the Owon HDS2102S an interesting investment for any electronics engineer.