Favorite Tektronix Scope

Tek 465M (465B plus digital meter stuff) is my favorite of the ones in the shop. Next fave is a non-Tek: Phillips PM3055.

My favorite for LF analog work ( I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench

Yup. Does everything most need from a scope. But in the UK, they still fetch decent money.

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com:

What you want is the book "Winning with People;The First 40 Years of Tektronix",by Marshall M.Lee,published by Tektronix,10/86 There's no ISBN number,though.Maybe you can find a copy on Ebay.

It's a fantastic story about Tek from start to the late 1980's. Unfortunately,it does not cover the decline of Tek.

That is the new TEK.

You'll find them regularly on ebay btw.

I'd rather like a 2465 though. They do indeed fetch quite a fair price still.

Graham

I hope you're giving a hypothetical example, because if you really do need to "clean" a Tektronix scope switch, your scope may already be a lost cause. Time to move on.

This page is useful for figuring out what's for sale on ebay. It also has a link to the Tek 7000 Faq.

Well, you *could* earn consulting fees to train them...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In spite of having the number in common, the 465 and 465B are completely different scopes. Their performance specs are nearly identical but inside the box, their circuitry is completely different. The "B" is much easier to calibrate and uses soldered-in transistors instead of socketed ones, a great advantage especially when the scope gets old and sockets start to get cranky.

I wouldn't turn down a 465 if that was the only thing available, but all us calibration techs greatly preferred the 465B.

Hello Bill, you specifically say "465B (not the 465) was the best Tek ever made"

Can you elaborate a little bit more there Bill. As a Tekscope enthusiast, I am just interested to know what the improvements were to the 465B over the 465 to make it more highly sought after.

Regards, John Crighton Sydney

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

John is right. Tek scopes are not "easy" to work on, at least not the solid state ones.

My first day on the job as a 465 calibration tech I went home with a headache and almost called in the next day and quit. I had done TV repair for 20 years but had never seen such complicated, unfamiliar circuitry or construction. Fortunately I stuck it out and came to appreciate them for what they were: The best scopes in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If Tek scopes of that vintage have one Achilles heel, it's the tiny fork-shaped switch contacts used in many places throughout the unit..

Rarely do they need "cleaning", but rather the contact presssure needs to be increased slighty. If you know how to do it, it's a quick, easy fix, but if you don't you can easily destroy the contact.

Because the "fork" of the switch was designed to press against gold plating, they made the contact pressure as light as possible to prolong the life of the relatively soft gold. In some cases, it is just too light and erratic operation is the result.

Here's how to do it right: With a small screwdriver, gently push against the "U" of the fork, just a tiny amount. The idea is you want to bend the fork down WITHOUT bending the spring it is attached to. Under no circumstances try to bend the spring or you will almost certainly destroy it. Bend only the little gold fork, and bend it only a very small amount. Done right, it works every time.

Hello Ken, I also have a Tek 454. I bought that model because I read on groups like this that it is "easy" to work on. I must respectively disagree with you.

My 454 is "not easy" to work on and yet I see people saying that it is. I am just wondering if you are repeating what you have read on the internet supporting a Myth that the 454 is easy to work on or speaking from practical experience.

I would like to clean the switch wafers of the main timebase switch. My 454 is put together like an onion. How do I "easily" gain access to this switch, which is buried in the heart of the onion?

Slip the covers off your instrument, yes that is very easy, a matter of seconds. Now have a look and tell me how to clean the timebase switch? How many hours would it take to remove the soldered wiring off the boards so that they can be removed to gain access to the switch and then solder the wires back with nice factory quality solder joints, not with quick blob soldering with insulation peeling back off the wires. Quality work only.

Several minutes work would be easy if there was connectors on the boards but not in this scope. When we talk about "hours" we are in a different category......pain in the butt/difficult.

How long would it take you, Ken, to clean the switch from woa to go? Scope back up and working?

How long would it take you to remove the fan, fan wiring tag strips and fan mounting brackets? How do you get your screw driver on the screws holding the brackets when there are modules covering them up? Just have a quick look then come back and tell me if you still reckon this scope is easy to work on, in the inner sanctums.

Regards, John Crighton Sydney

Actually this raises the next question that I was going to ask...."What is the easiest Tek scope to work on?"

As I have mentioned before I tend to favor the 5000/7000 line because of the flexibility but my options are open for the next purchase.

I have mentioned that the newer used Tek scopes I have looked into did not seem to have repairability designed into them. I have also heard of more than a few horror stories of parts being unobtainable.

TMT

"Yeah, the 7000's make great boat anchors too ;) "

Actually the size has never bothered me.

If you look at the footprint a 7000 series scope takes and then compare it to the space taken up by a supposely "portable" Tek scope, there is little difference.

Also since my scope rarely leaves my test bench, the weight difference (which is small) does not matter.

What does matter is dependability, reliability and cost....all factors that the newer Tek scopes seem to fail at.

TMT

Yeah, the 7000's make great boat anchors too ;)

Well, it's easy compared to other solid state portable Tek scopes. Its main advantage is far fewer impossible to find custom parts like all the later solid state scopes. Andy Cuffe

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com

When you start getting powerup timebase errors, which you will, call me.

I'm still mad at Walter for a dirty trick he pulled about 20 years ago. I built an ff&f equivalent of his 4208 Camac 1 ns TDC module, at a customer's request. So he cut his price in half the next time he bid, specifically to kill me. The customer, bless his heart, disqualified LeCroy on "technical grounds."

John