Feeltech Fy6800

[Tubetec]

Apparently Im one of the lucky winners of a brand new  Sig Gen 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/contests/feeltech-fy6800-signal-generator-free-trial/

I already have the 6600 model a few months ,and I am a contributor over on that post at EEV , I seem to have managed to pass their requirements for entry. Several of us contributed suggestions that ended up incorporated in the new model .
Meanwhile Ive pulled out the switcher psu and replaced it with an old style transformer/linear supply in my 6600 model ,handy to have rails that are trimable . Although some of the earlier firmware revisions had issues ,the latest machines V3.2.1 seem to be ok ,and value for money wise its hard to beat .

Like any ungrounded device that runs of a switcher ,voltages of around half the mains input can end up on the ground rail, I'm really starting to wonder about all this in terms of reliabillity,not so much with valve gear ,but more sensitive transistorised circuitry. Lets say I have a stomp box running off a smps with no ground ,the instant I go to plug in the low voltage connection to the pedal the ground see's a hundred or more volts ac ,then when I link the pedal to an amp thats grounded that voltage is shorted to ground , again depending on the type of circuitry involved it might be harmless or terminal to the device .

Anyway one of the mods they made to the 6800 model is a proper IEC mains connector with ground ,6600 model remains unearthed via the mains .

 

[Tubetec]

So yeah my prize arrived today , it has new firmware and a few more options than the previous model .
Aside from the extra VCO setup page the os  looks identical to the old model, Sync mode is now accessed via menu instead of having its own button on the front panel.  The push switch on the rotary encoder is gone too replaced instead by the front panel 'select' switch. They have installed an iec mains connector which grounds the signal board via the psu ,and a rubberised front panel with light touch buttons ,so the unit doesnt have the tendency to move around on the bench when you press the buttons .
For the money its hard to beat the Feeltech ,there are a handfull of other budget chineese Arb Gens on the market none compares in terms of functionality. Several much higher priced units by Rigol may  win in terms of build quality ,but value and features the feeltech wins out in the end, coming it at about 25% the cost of an equivalently spec'd Rigol . It does remind me a bit of the old Thurlby Thandar sig gens we had in college ,but in comparison the feeltech has way more functions and even a screen to display many parameters simultaniously ,where simple push button range selection ,waveshape,amplitude and dc offset was about all you got back in the old days. If anyone wants to know more about it your welcome to have a look here ,
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/feeltech-fy6600-60mhz-2-ch-vco-function-arbitrary-waveform-signal-generator .
Theres a good little gang of us there working on several mods, both hardware and software for the FY6600/6800 .