Favorite Tektronix Scope

Scopes are cheap, however space is not, at least not here.

I've got two scopes, a 465B and an ancient but beautiful condition 531A. I'd get rid of the 531A but I need to find a good home for it, it's in great shape and works perfectly.

I will second this line of thought. I have worked on both, and the 465's, and 475's are way easier to work on than the 453/454. The 465M is modular, and was designed to be serviced by military module swapping automatons.

And even easier still is the 2445, and 2465. The parts problem is a nuisance, but the scopes are wide open, and put together with the serviceman in mind. Not to mention the fact that there is no scope, of any vintage, that is nicer to use than a 2465.

-Chuck

OBTW, on my bench, you will find a 585A, 475, 2465, 7633/7D20..., and a 326.

I use deoxIt and progold (now DeoxIT GOLD) now since a friend of mine received it in an Agilent test equipment at work. I figure if it is spec'ed in there it must be the best. They have an interesting site, with lots of information and ways of using their products. I have a treo 650 which was not charging and communicating - a few wipes with Progold, oops deoxIT gold and everything is working perfectly now.

Emissions compliance testing.

What plug-ins?

When one of your scopes breaks. How will you fix it, without a second scope?

--scott

--
"C\'est un Nagra.  C\'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Yes indeed that's is very good purpose if for a spectrum analyser

A long time ago I purchased (in the UK) a spectrum probe useful between LF and 90 MHz meant for EMC testing in conjunction with a (if you wish as low as 1 MHz) oscilloscope. I find it a very useful instrument for homebrewing HF equipment ,although it is of course not a complete spectrum analyser .

Frank KN6WH / GM0CSZ

Yep. A 2445 lets me do very nice things, like built in "caliper" kind of thing, triggering on selected signal, blah blah. It is a great all around scope for a dude like me.

i

I worked on an old Nicolet The switches were terrible, most all of them. I spent weeks trying to clean all the switches, mostly the rotary ones. I had to use all my toughest cleaners. The hardest part was getting into the partly sealed switches. I used my best cleaners, alcohol, Contaclean, Alcohol-Cramolin, Bufffrog cleaner. Over and over. I didn't use Deoxit, because I ran out. Cramolin is no longer sold as Cramolin. Its called Contaclean by the Cramolin Co. a German company. Available from InOne, Farnell.

If you part with that 475, then sooner or later you'll be very, very, very sorry.

--

"What is now proved was once only imagin\'d" - William Blake

I changed my mind. I will not sell my 475.

Now... I have little interest in homemade radio or audio stuff. So far my little forays into electronics centered around power electronics. Given that... Is there any possible reason to keep a spectrum analyzer?

i

"Now in my mid 50's, I am reminded of something my father said. He had

always said, that ever since 1957 , he wanted a Cadillac. In the later years of his life, hefinally got his wish - he bought a 1957 Cadillac.

For years I have been collecting and restoring the iconic untouchables of my early days in Engineering. Scopes are like boats, you can never have too many. But they are useful. My particular weakness has been the HP

141T family of Spectrum Analyzers. What was 20K + then, is now cheap. Winter nights are spent re-Cap-ing, calibrating, and restoring these remnants of the last great Analog Spectrum Analyzer.

Like restoring the automobiles of one's youth, these are tangible links to our own past. Any good tool, kept in working condition is valuable. To see these Cadillacs of the past brought back to their former glory is reward enough.

As John said so well, Oh what a feeling!

Blakely

Blakely LaCroix Minneapolis, Minnesota. USA "

Well said.

TMT

The 7603 is very nice. I use them for the spectrum analyser plug-ins as the bigger CRT helps. But for normal trouble shooting, I much prefer the

7704A as the basic scope. The same plugins work, but you get a bit more bandwidth-- up to 200MHz and the fourth slot lets you do some interesting things with delaying timebases.

For smaller units, I prefer the 475. Nice and solid.

To complement the Tek 3052B digital scopes, I use 7904 with high speed plugins (like 7A19 and 7B92). The 7904 is the stand for the 3052B.

I use SC502 and SC504 in the TM500 racks when I want to watch something on the bench without taking up space.

Steve

--
Steven D. Swift, novatech@eskimo.com, http://www.novatech-instr.com
NOVATECH INSTRUMENTS, INC.      P.O. Box 55997
206.301.8986, fax 206.363.4367  Seattle, Washington 98155 USA

Does anyone remember the "Jetronics" knockoffs of the Tektronix 'scopes?

When I was going to Army radar school in 1966 / 67, We used a Jetronics

545A (I think that's right).

The Jet was fine for school. Triggered sweep and good to at least 30 Mhz. Before I was drafted, all I had at home was a Simpson "Handiscope". Rated to 100 Khz, but would see a 262 kc. IF signal.

It's comforting to know that once I was assigned permanent duty at an Army missile site, all we used were Tektronix and Hickok 'scopes.

John

Now in my mid 50's, I am reminded of something my father said. He had always said, that ever since 1957 , he wanted a Cadillac. In the later years of his life, hefinally got his wish - he bought a 1957 Cadillac.

For years I have been collecting and restoring the iconic untouchables of my early days in Engineering. Scopes are like boats, you can never have too many. But they are useful. My particular weakness has been the HP

141T family of Spectrum Analyzers. What was 20K + then, is now cheap. Winter nights are spent re-Cap-ing, calibrating, and restoring these remnants of the last great Analog Spectrum Analyzer.

Like restoring the automobiles of one's youth, these are tangible links to our own past. Any good tool, kept in working condition is valuable. To see these Cadillacs of the past brought back to their former glory is reward enough.

As John said so well, Oh what a feeling!

Blakely

Blakely LaCroix Minneapolis, Minnesota. USA

1. As others have said, when you need to fix your other scope. My 465 just took a dump a couple weeks ago. Used the 475 to troubleshoot it. One of the HV ceramic caps has excess leakage :( At least it's a replaceable part.
2. It's also nice to have a spare when the other scope goes down.

1. Sometimes you just need two scopes to do the job, especially when your project is divided up between two racks of equipment.

2. Sometimes you need multiple scopes because your events are asynchronous.

1. Some scopes are better at doing certain tasks like those nifty microchannel plate intensified scopes.

2. Sometimes you have multiple projects going and it's nice not having to disassemble your test setup.

1. You may have a 7000 mainframe, but need a portable scope like the

465.

1. It's also nice to have a modern digital scope for slow events, math functions, and documentation. But, keep those analog scopes around as they convey more information about the signal at a glance than any digital scope I've used.

You also mentioned something about spectrum analyzers. Extremely handy for certain types of work. Depending on the anlyzer, they are great for characterizing filters, amplifiers, noise in low-level amplifiers, EMI issues, unwanted oscillations, impedance, and a host of other things.

--
Mark

Hi Blakely

I would like to correspond with you on some problems with a 141T.

My email is snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net.

Thanks Gary K4FMX

Hi

Caig has DeOxit in 5% and 100% formula, the 5% works most of the time. You can get it in standard aerosol (hazmat ship fee ups) or the pump can D5P (no hazmat fees)

has it in stock

DeOxit is standard issue for Xerox service staff, our service lady told me about it, she is also a amateur radio operator like me.