You know, I bought an R&S 50MHz mixed-signal scope that had the ability to software upgrade to 100MHz. It's more expensive than the Rigol, but the UI is miles ahead of Rigol as well.
Anyway, I was pretty happy with it and used it at 50MHz until one day I needed the extra speed to debug a higher speed glitch. Quick call to my distributor, pay a couple hundred bucks, and I instantly have a faster scope on my bench.
Part of me is grouchy that it was just a product key to type in, but honestly, I have a great tool at a reasonable price point and I didn't have to pay for the extras until I needed them.
Could I have just hacked it? Probably. But I'm making money using the thing, it's a tax writeoff, and I don't mind paying for well-made equipment.
Anyway, I was pretty happy with it and used it at 50MHz until one day I needed the extra speed to debug a higher speed glitch. Quick call to my distributor, pay a couple hundred bucks, and I instantly have a faster scope on my bench.
Part of me is grouchy that it was just a product key to type in, but honestly, I have a great tool at a reasonable price point and I didn't have to pay for the extras until I needed them.
Could I have just hacked it? Probably. But I'm making money using the thing, it's a tax writeoff, and I don't mind paying for well-made equipment.