TDS360 -- any good?

I wouldn't trade a TDS360 for a 2465B for audio work. If you're thinking of adding a digital scope, fine, but don't toss out your fine 2465B. As for waveform photos, do what Jim Williams always did and still does for his fine up-to- date Linear Technology application notes, as well as some datsheet figures, use an analog scope and a camera!

With a good digital camera, a macro lens, and a framing setup, you can get screen shots that are superior to most any digital scope. With that said, personally I wimp out and use various digital scopes for screen shots, even if they are imperfect. :-)

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 Thanks,
    - Win

No, I'm not yet out of my mind to trade 2465B for anything else, it stays no matter what. I'm thinking of buying TDS360 in addition to it for occasional screen capture or may be some one-shots... That's why I don't wanna buy any new digital scope, I wanna buy a decent unexpensive one. But I don't wanna buy a total crap either that's why I'm asking...

Yeah, if I were writing application notes for LT I would've had such a setup in my office. If not those several Windose LeCroys we do have...

This is all for my hobby that is mostly tube audio stuff. And I have my reasons to suspect that my wife would call those guys with long-sleeved shirts (which usualy weared with skeeves tied at one's back) handy if I start fitting a camera to my scope :))

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Hello Sergey,

Just tell her we all do that. Luckily my wife still remembers the days when scopes, medical gear and all that had Polaroid cameras on hinges. Now that would be truly retro (and expensive because of the film).

Regards, Joerg

"Sergey Kubushin"

** How silly.

A regular 35mm film camera can be used as a scope camera provided you have a lens fitted ( or close up rings) that will allow the scope's screen to fill the frame. A 50mm or 100 mm macro lens is perfect - since the in-focus field is a flat plane.

All you need is the camera mounted on tripod, lined up square on the scope with a cable release for the shutter - use some 400 ASA colour film and have the room lights very dim. The lens should be set wide open ( F 2.8 or F4) to allow even single shot events to be captured.

The local fast processing lab will have your photos ready in a hour or so.

........ Phil

Yep, that's not rocket science. But there is one big BUT -- why bother? I AM old-fashioned too, I do believe in matches and kerosene and do not believe in electricity, I do listen to vinyl records that I have several thousands, I do watch LDs that I still have almost a thousand, but I'm not THAT old-fashioned :))

I do NOT make oscilloscope photos for living, I'm just a unix kernel developer doing tube audio stuff for mere fun of of it... And man, I DO know how to talk to all those funny GPIB toys from Linux... So I'd better buy a digital scope instead of 35-mm camera, tripod, fitted lens etc. And I would probably feel much better pushing a button in Linux than making all those awkward moves and pushups around the scope with a camera... And the best part of it is that a screenshot would go right in my occasional article I need it for without a need to pull my lower part outta a chair, bring it to a lab and then scan the photos...

Just FYI: I DO know what camera is. And I did own not just a cheap 35-mm toy but a genuine Hasselblad. And I did NOT ask anybody for a "How to make a photo of an oscilloscope screen for dummies", I asked if Tektronix TDS360 is any good or crap...

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"Sergey Kubushin

** You will get a top quality, *real* screen image.

Not the grainy, dotty abortion that comes from a typical DSO.

** What you really are is a old fashioned, arrogant pig.

** Shame it will have no detail, look fake and crappy. ** But you have neve done scope screen shots like I have.

Plus the info is on a public forum for ALL to see.

Not just ONE arrogant, mad Ruskie asshole.

** Fuck off.

** Been answered in other posts.

Try reading them, and cut out the SMARTARSE CRAP !

....... Phil

Thank you, your highness, for a such rare possibility to learn something from such a source of eternal wisdom... To avoid being called ungrateful and to compensate for such a share of eternal wisdom, please listen to my fairy tale...

Once upon a time Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend Dr. Watson decided to take a ride in a hot air ballon. Everything looked quiet and peaceful but as soon as they went high in the air they got trapped in a mighty tornado. Several days they were tugged and tossed so when the ordeal ended they were completely lost. They didn't know what to do but suddenly Dr. Watson spotted a shepherd with a herd of ship below them.

"Sir, where are we?" he asked the shepherd.

"You're in the hot air ballon basket" replied the shepherd.

"Congratulations, Watson, we are in Russia" said Sherlock Holmes.

"How did you know this, Holmes?" asked astonished Watson.

"Elementary, Watson" replied Holmes. "The man is mathematician."

"How did you know that?"

"Only mathematician could give such absolutely precise and absolutely useless answer" replied Holmes.

"But how do you know we're in Russia?" asked Dr. Watson

"Elementary, Watson. Where else do mathematicians work as shepherds?"...

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The TDS360 is AFAIR a 200 MHz, !GS/S dual channel.

This is one of the older digital oscilloscopes from Tek, memory depth is 1k . So if you can get the scope cheap and in a working condition, for audio work has mor e than enough bandwith to work.

One more word about the features: The screen looks bigger, but becaue Tek display the menu informatin there too, you will have the same 8x10 cm display area for your measurement.

But you will easily get used to this, because having inforation (automatic signal RMs maeasuremnet, etc - AFAIR there are more than 20 automated maesuremnts build in) is often hlepful.

The update rate is a litte bit lazy, so you notice the typical "delay" between taking a measurement and seeign the results, typicla for most older digital scopes.

And the usual remarks that jim and I give: The TDS360 is out of Tek service, uses special parts, so repair if necessary can be a problem (can, but must not, your mielage may vary).. Etc.

Well, there are a lot of posting here in the board, so do a little bit google.

And if you can arrange to test the TDS360 before you buy it: Do so, and take a few days to see if you like it before you finally decide.

I am happy with my TDS340A and 380, both they work reliable and sturdy AFAIK. I replaced the original fans with low noise fans (from Sytem Pabst), but not because of failure. Only because of feeling more comfortable. But I like my Tek 2445 and 2465B too. It is a matter of taste if you go for digital scoeps when you have experience with anlogue ones. But in your case, for taking documentation: go for the digital, it can ease this part of the work a lot. Don't forget to make shure your computer can import the data. If it cannot: Winfrieds proposal may be a good idea too.

hth, Andreas

"Sergey Kubushin"

** Hey - Sergei, my friend !!

As the Russian philosopher, Ivor Pistoff, remarked about Soviet life:

" There are the sheep f****rs and the sheep farmers,

it is not hard to tell one from the other,

but the poor sheep eventually cop it in the end from both. "

...... Phil

You could try to find a DSO with an XY output. I have a Tek 2230 (very old) with an XY output. I've made an interface which converts the analog XY signals to a data stream over RS232. It is slow, but it beats most screen captures. When printing a clean signal, I can see the steps from the 2230's D/A converter.

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Thank you for the information. Yes, it looks like I can get this bugger really cheap and it seems to work. I keep my 2465B that I'm quite happy with. If it were able to send a screen copy over GPIB I wouldn't even bother with DSO, but...

As of Tek support -- I'm buying it for my home hobby lab so I simply can't afford the latest and greatest stuff that is still supported. And I definitely can't keep up with them ending their support for a stuff that was latest and greatest just a year ago...

As for the computer -- that's what I do for living so if the thing can output in ANY format, no matter how obscure or weird, that's fine with me, I'll manage to do anything I want with it...

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Relax, man... Size DOES matter, but the sheer size is not the only gentleman's virtue, you can still shine in some other area...

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At a previous job we had a TDS420. It had a serial port on the back. It didn't take long for us to figure out that you could connect this to a PC, and capture the screen from the scope with hyperterminal.

I just set the scope to print to the serial port in HPGL mode, and it would spit out an HPGL file as a real vector based drawing, not a bad looking screen bitmap. If you needed to, you could probably figure out how to strip the actual sample points right out of the HPGL plotting coordinates. Or you can just import the data into anything that understands HPGL.

OK, thanks for the information. HPGL is fine, no problems whatsoever...

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You might want to check if the scope you are considering has the serial port. I belive it was optional.

[skipped]

Yes, sure.

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Sergey Kubushin wrote in news:e3ntj9$f5v$ snipped-for-privacy@emma.aioe.org:

Except that the TDS 360 went obsolete a long time ago,-at least- 7 years ago,if not more.You can find out exactly when at

for LTPS(long term product support) The 360 was one of the FIRST of the TDS series.

FYI,TEK obsoletes their equipment 6 years(usually) from the last time it was sold in the catalog. (reduced from 9 yrs originally)

There are exceptions with ONE year support periods,IIRC.

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Well Sergey,

if the computer theme is some thing you really are living for, I a mshure a lot of us here (who contribute to this newsgroup) would enjoy very much if you can present a coded result later: If it is ok to you to but your piece of code for a useful programm to a website or so of yours, I am shure a lot of Tek users would be thankful.

I am shure many of us are in the same situation that we use older equipment for economic reasons. And with a little bit of programming, most of the instruments of the late 80s/middle 90s kann be used better.

So I would be happy if you can coem back later to this thread, and leave a note where some hlepful programms for the Tek TDS can be found.

Needs *not* to be super-dupa fancy coding. Just some nice nifty short programm(s), to ease the every day work.

TIA, Andreas

Good point: Yep, it was an option to the TDS3xx series.

AFAIR it's called option 14: consists of a 4 outputs: printer port, with a power outlet (9 V for HP thermo or inkjet type), a IEEE488 port and a VGA/EGA video port.

If it has a label attached "Opt. 14" on the rear and you can see the 4 output connectors, than your scope has what you need.

The floppy (3.5 ") was standard, located on the frontside.

hth, andreas