aioscilloscope / Features / NovaOS, the operating system

NovaOS, the operating system

A current, maintained Linux in place of the scope's 2016 Android, with the scope's own software rebuilt on it.

Core video

NovaOS starting on our scope, timed

What it does

Rigol's DHO800, DHO900 and MHO900 ship Android 7.1, a 2016 release, on Linux 4.4, which kernel.org stopped updating in February 2022. NovaOS replaces it with Linux 6.12 LTS, supported until December 2028, and its own acquisition engine and screen: no Android.

Updates are signed and install over the network or from a USB stick; a release that fails to start rolls back to the last one by itself. There is no open debug port, SSH stays off unless you turn it on (keys only), and the web pages use HTTPS. On our MHO934 with the scope running, NovaOS uses about 257 MiB of RAM, where Rigol's firmware uses 535 to 542 MiB.

Choose the edition: Yocto, small and fast, what NovaOS is measured on; or Debian 13, to install your own software with apt. NovaOS reads the scope's factory calibration and never writes it, and Rigol's firmware stays installed beside it, one tap away.

How to use it

  1. Install from a USB stick or over the network: the download page has the steps.
  2. Utility > Software: check for and install updates, and Switch to Debian 13 or Switch to Yocto.
  3. System: Restart into stock firmware goes back to Rigol's.

On Rigol's firmware

DHO800: Android 7.1 on Linux 4.4 · DHO900: Android 7.1 on Linux 4.4 · MHO900: Android 7.1 on Linux 4.4.

Where it stands

The first public release, for the DHO800, DHO900 and MHO900, opens after a legal review; the date will be announced on the download page.

Part of NovaOS for every owner. Core and add-ons.