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Budget Handheld Oscilloscope Landscape

Research compiled March 2026

FNIRSI Product Family

FNIRSI (Shenzhen FNIRSI Technology Co., Ltd.) makes a range of oscilloscopes spanning entry-level kits to dual-channel professional handhelds. The devices fall into distinct hardware tiers.

GD32-Based Handhelds (closest to 2C53T)

Model MCU Bandwidth Sample Rate Display Notes
2C53T GD32F307VET6 (Cortex-M4, 120MHz) 50 MHz 250 MS/s 2.8" 320x240 Our target. 3-in-1 (scope/DMM/siggen). FPGA: Gowin GW1N-UV2
2C23T Likely GD32 10 MHz 50 MS/s 2.8" 320x240 Predecessor to 2C53T. 3-in-1. 1 MHz siggen vs 2C53T's 50 kHz
2C53P Unknown (likely GD32) 50 MHz 250 MS/s 4.3" IPS touch Tablet form factor of 2C53T. Probably ~90% identical internals
5012H GD32F407VET6 (Cortex-M4) 100 MHz 500 MS/s 2.4" LCD Single-channel scope only. MCU is factory read-locked. Has open-source RE by ataradov
DPOX180H Unknown 180 MHz 500 MS/s 2.8" IPS Digital phosphor, 50k wfm/s, 20 MHz DDS siggen

Allwinner Tablet-Style (different architecture)

Model MCU/SoC FPGA Bandwidth Display Notes
1013D Allwinner F1C100s/F1C200s (ARM926, 600MHz) Anlogic EF2L45LG144B 100 MHz 7" 800x480 touch ADC: 2x AD9288. Battery-powered tablet
1014D Allwinner F1C200s Anlogic EF2L45LG144B 100 MHz 7" TFT 2-in-1 with siggen. AC-powered benchtop

Entry-Level (STM32, no FPGA)

Model MCU Bandwidth Notes
DSO-150 STM32F103C8 200 kHz JYE Tech clone/rebrand
DSO-152 Likely STM32 200 kHz Updated DSO-150
DSO-TC3 Unknown 500 kHz 3-in-1: scope + siggen + transistor tester
FNIRSI-138 Pro Unknown 200 kHz Pen-style form factor
1C15 Unknown 110 MHz Pen-style probe scope

Key Architectural Note

The 1013D/1014D (Allwinner ARM9) are a completely different platform from the 2C53T (GD32 Cortex-M4). No binary compatibility. Different FPGA communication: 1013D uses GPIO bit-banging on Port E, 2C53T uses USART2 serial with string-based commands. The 2C53P is the most likely "free" second target given probable hardware similarity.


Competing Brands

Hantek

Model MCU FPGA Bandwidth Notes
2D72 STM32F103VET6 (Cortex-M3) Lattice LCMXO2-1200HC 70 MHz 3-in-1 handheld. Popular competitor to 2C53T. Different MCU and FPGA vendors
DSO5102P Unknown Unknown 100 MHz Budget bench scope. Bandwidth unlock hack exists
6022BE/BL Cypress FX2LP N/A 20 MHz USB scope. Best open-source support (OpenHantek6022)

OWON

Model MCU FPGA Bandwidth Notes
HDS272S GD32F303 (Cortex-M4) Anlogic EG4X20BG256 70 MHz 3-in-1 handheld. Same MCU vendor as 2C53T
HDS2102S GD32F303 Anlogic 100 MHz 2-channel, well-regarded. ~$250
HDS2202S GD32F303 Anlogic 200 MHz Top of HDS line

The OWON HDS series is interesting — same GD32 MCU family and Anlogic FPGA as FNIRSI. Suggests shared supply chain or reference designs.

Miniware

Model MCU Bandwidth Notes
DS212 STM32F103VET6 1 MHz Pocket scope. Open-source, very hackable
DS213 STM32F103VET6 15 MHz Supports 4 firmware slots

Others

  • HANMATEK HO52: Popular with automotive users. Budget handheld.
  • Zeeweii DSO3D12: W806 MCU (C-SKY CK804 core). Has active RE project (ZeeTweak).
  • JYE Tech DSO-138/150: Educational kit scopes on STM32F103. The original hackable budget scope.

Shared Hardware Patterns

Budget Chinese test equipment converges on a small set of components:

Component Used By Notes
GD32 MCUs (Cortex-M4) FNIRSI 2C53T, 5012H; OWON HDS series GigaDevice. Pin-compatible STM32 alternatives. Dominant in this segment
Anlogic FPGAs FNIRSI 1013D/1014D; OWON HDS series Shanghai Anlu. Go-to Chinese FPGA for budget test equipment
Gowin FPGAs FNIRSI 2C53T (GW1N-UV2) Another Chinese FPGA vendor. Better documented than Anlogic
Lattice FPGAs Hantek 2D72 (LCMXO2) Western vendor, used by Hantek
AD9288 ADC (or clones) FNIRSI 1013D/1014D, 5012H; Hantek 2D72 Dual 8-bit 100 MSPS. The standard choice
GT911/GT915 touch FNIRSI 2C53T, 1013D, 1014D Goodix. I2C. Same family across all FNIRSI models
Winbond W25Q SPI flash All FNIRSI models Size varies: 2MB to 16MB
ST7789V / ILI9341 LCD Various Parallel RGB565, memory-mapped
STM32F103 Hantek 2D72; Miniware DS212/213; JYE Tech kits Older/simpler designs

No confirmed cases of truly identical PCBs across brands, but component-level convergence is striking. FNIRSI also offers ODM/OEM services, so some unbranded AliExpress scopes may be FNIRSI hardware inside.


Open-Source Firmware Projects

Active (as of March 2026)

Project Target Last Activity Stars Notes
Atlan4/Fnirsi1013D FNIRSI 1013D Feb 2026 74 Solo developer (471 commits). Most active FNIRSI firmware project
OpenHantek6022 Hantek 6022BE/BL Oct 2025 1054 Maintenance mode. PC software + firmware for USB scopes
mean00/lnDSO150 DSO150/DSO Shell Mar 2026 64 Active, solo developer
taligentx/ZeeTweak Zeeweii DSO3D12 Dec 2025 25 RE + binary patching, not a full rewrite. Uses Ghidra for C-SKY arch
EEVengers/ThunderScope Custom hardware Mar 2026 1237 Open-source from-scratch scope (USB4 streaming). Not replacement firmware

Dormant / Dead

Project Target Last Commit Stars Notes
pecostm32/FNIRSI_1013D_Firmware FNIRSI 1013D Feb 2025 153 Foundational RE work. Essentially dormant since Jan 2024
pecostm32/FNIRSI_1014D_Firmware FNIRSI 1014D Jun 2024 28 Dormant. Explicitly incompatible with 1013D
ataradov/open-5012h FNIRSI 5012H Nov 2021 142 Dead. Alpha stage, required MCU swap due to factory lock
ardyesp/DLO-138 JYE Tech DSO-138 Sep 2022 395 Dead
michar71/Open-DSO-150 JYE Tech DSO-150 Jul 2020 262 Dead
circuit-specialists/Hantek-2D72 Hantek 2D72 2019 39 Dead. Firmware tools and unbrick utilities

Community RE Efforts (not full firmware)

Source Target Activity Notes
EEVblog: 2C53T thread FNIRSI 2C53T Active discussion jbtronics identified Gowin GW1N-UV2 FPGA. Dr. Blast patched V1.2.0 to expose hidden filesystem
fuho/owon_hds200 OWON HDS200 series Oct 2024 Info archive with firmware versions and hardware docs, not firmware
pecostm32/FNIRSI-1013D-1014D-Hack FNIRSI 1013D/1014D Archived Schematics, IC datasheets, FPGA protocol docs. Gold-standard RE reference
Donwulff/FNIRSI_1014D_Firmware FNIRSI 1014D Aug 2025 Fork of pecostm32 with experimental changes

Fully Open-Source Scope Hardware

Project Notes
ThunderScope 4-channel 100 MHz USB4 scope. Open hardware + gateware. Most active open-source scope project overall
HaasoscopePro 2 GHz 3.2 GS/s 12-bit USB scope
ScopeFun Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA + Cypress FX2LP

Why Projects Die

Every dead project above follows the same pattern:

  1. Single maintainer does heroic RE work
  2. Writes functional firmware tightly coupled to one device
  3. Burns out or moves on after 1-3 years
  4. Project goes dormant; community has no way to continue

pecostm32's 1013D firmware is the clearest example: 153 stars, real users, active forks (Atlan4) — but the original author stopped, and the architecture doesn't support other devices.

The projects that lasted (OpenHantek6022 at 1054 stars, ThunderScope at 1237 stars) became platforms with multiple contributors and broader scope than one device.


Opportunity Assessment

No one is building a multi-device open-source firmware platform for budget handheld oscilloscopes.

The gap:

  • Stock firmware on all brands is universally criticized (bad FFT, no protocol decoding, limited features)
  • Hardware is converging (GD32 + FPGA + AD9288 is the standard architecture)
  • Users are technical enough to flash firmware (hobbyists, EE students, makers, automotive)
  • The 2C53T is currently the hot budget scope — new, popular, $60-80 price point
  • No existing project targets it with a replacement firmware

Viable multi-device targets (same GD32 family):

  1. FNIRSI 2C53T (GD32F307) — primary target
  2. FNIRSI 2C53P (likely same internals, different LCD) — easiest port
  3. FNIRSI 5012H (GD32F407) — has existing RE work, single-channel
  4. OWON HDS200 series (GD32F303) — cross-brand, same MCU vendor + Anlogic FPGA

Code that ports across all of these with zero changes:

  • FFT engine (windowing, peak detection, averaging, max hold)
  • Signal generator waveform math
  • Auto-measurement algorithms (Vpp, Vrms, frequency, duty cycle)
  • Protocol decoders (I2C, SPI, UART, CAN)
  • Waterfall spectrogram rendering
  • Display persistence effects
  • Math channels, cursors, trigger logic (software side)
  • File export, screenshot capture

Code that requires a per-device HAL (~500-1000 lines each):

  • LCD init + pixel write
  • FPGA communication protocol
  • ADC sample acquisition
  • DAC output for signal generator
  • Button/input GPIO mapping
  • Clock and power initialization

Community Channels

  • EEVblog Forums: Most active discussion of budget scope internals, firmware patching, hardware teardowns
  • ThunderScope Discord: Most active open-source oscilloscope community (also covers ngscopeclient)
  • Hackaday: Occasional coverage of scope hacking projects
  • No dedicated Discord/Matrix exists for FNIRSI, OWON, or Hantek firmware hacking

Key References