I've got a Tek TDS-210 DSO that gave up on me last Sunday. I bought it on eBay for ~$700 2.5 years ago and it's worked great until Sunday. I was using it Saturday night and when I woke up Sunday and went to use it I get a blank display. The LCD backlight comes on but no display. I get a 5kHz wave from the probe comp connections according to my DMM.
So, is this common? Anyone heard of it or have any ideas of what might be wrong. Tek wants $575 to repair and there's just no way I can do that. I'm guessing the display has just given up the ghost on me but where to find a replacement?
I would do that either. Probably just a bad resistor or something very simple and they'll charge you 500$ to replace a 2c component. Its outrageous how companies gouge people now days and specially when they tend to do a piss pour job.
Did you open it up and check it out? Maybe you can probe inside a little and see where your signal cuts out? Try checking the net for others with similar issues and you might find the culprit but opening it up and looking at it and you might find out what happened.
You have never dealt with Tektronix, have you? Some of these scopes are near EOL, and are repaired by replacing modules, then the item is calibrated to NIST traceable standards. You are quick to condemn everyone, yet you don't know enough to do the work for yourself. The scope still sells for around $1000, it is a dual channel 60 MHz digital storage scope. How do you propose to find that "bad resistor or something very simple"? Do you have any idea of the costs involved in running a meteorology lab? Don't the employees deserve a living wage? Do you want to wait months, or years while they order parts, or do you prefer them to invest in an inventory that covers most of their needs? Grow up, and look at the real world.
As far as workmanship, Tektronix and HP (now Agilent) has set the world's standards in quality for decades.
Either put up, or shut up.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
Guessing is expensive. You need the manual, and do some troubleshooting. You can buy a junker on Ebay and take your chances, or check with other repair centers. I know Gerry Dorrin, the owner of MDS labs in Ft Walton Beach, Fl. but it has been over ten years since I visited his lab. When I did, I was impressed, and that isn't easy to do. That model is obsolete, so Tektronix will only support it, till they run out of spare modules.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
yeah right. How many times have you been proven wrong already? Anyways I'm sure a low level Tek techie and your afraid you my loose your bonus if it got out that they were overcharging.
I guess you really except me to believe that Tek is any different from the rest of the corporate scam artists.
Its amazing you are so guillible and ignorant.
Its funny how you say that they still sell them for aroudn 1000$ yet they want to charge 1/2x the price to "fix" it.
I guess when you go to the car repair shop and they tell you that it will cost you 2000$ to repair your 1980 toyota celica then you happily hand over the money with no questions? You didn't even have the balls to look under the hood to see whats wrong? When in fact all they did was clean the carburetor and change a spark plug. Not only that, they had some lacky with an education similar to yours do the job. He probably cross-threaded the spark-plugs so good luck next time.
Ok. How bout this. I'm sure the logic will escape you but here goes. Why are they quoting 1/2 the price of the unit when they have no idea what is wrong with it? Do they know something that everyone else doesn't? Are they going to charge the same price even if it only takes 5 mins to fix? Aren't these the guys that created the unit? If there really are so great then won't it only take them a few mins to diagnose the problem? If they work on by using spare parts for it then wouldn't they be happy to support the customer and to get rid of there junk? After all a happy customer is a happy customer. Hell, they built the fucker so they would be able to diagnost the thing pretty well even if it is difficult you would thing they would respect there customer base(someone brought the thing and it doesn't matter who if the wear on it was normative).
The fact of the matter is that all Tek is doing is gouging because they do not want to repair these products. They overprice it for those idiots(like you) that believe they really care about your wallet. They could charge 10k$ a minute and get some fish. By overcharging they keep the approximately the same profit without doing nearly as much work. They do this on purpose becuase they have better things to do than repair a bunch of there POS equipment. I guess you think they rather be repairing old used equipment where they probably make 300$/h instead of reparing the more advanced equipment where they can charge 1000$/h? Even though its probably 5x harder to harder repair the more advanced equipment. The prices are not proportional. They overcharge on the stuff they do not want to do but will do it if the price is right(and they get to set that price).
Anyways, I'm sure these basic laws of economics escapes your large brain. Actually, my only guess is that you own stock in Tek. What was there profit last quarter?
I do have the service manual, but unfortunately the details are pretty slim for this scope. They claim that they only do module level repair on it. I checked all the test points for the power supply and they all seem legit. I couldn't check the backlight voltage cause my DMM doesn't go that high, but the backlight lights so I think it's alright :) Unfortunately after that in the manual they just say to start swapping modules. If I had another scope I might be able to probe some of the display lines and decide if the display or mainboard is dead, but no extra scope.
I've got a Tek TDS-210 DSO that gave up on me last Sunday. I bought it on eBay for ~$700 2.5 years ago and it's worked great until Sunday. I was using it Saturday night and when I woke up Sunday and went to use it I get a blank display. The LCD backlight comes on but no display. I get a 5kHz wave from the probe comp connections according to my DMM.
So, is this common? Anyone heard of it or have any ideas of what might be wrong. Tek wants $575 to repair and there's just no way I can do that. I'm guessing the display has just given up the ghost on me but where to find a replacement?
Thanks, Jason
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Hmm, no where do I see that the quote was for the display. Could you please point this out to me? Maybe the exact line number from the bottom of will work.
I guess you choose to ignore the fact that you posted. Fortunately for us usenet keeps track of these things
** Not true.
It appears that the OP asked Tek for a quote over the phone for a new display module to be installed.
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Appears huh? Appears why? Because your an idiot and believe it to be true
yet the OP never said it explicitly(irrespective of wether its the case or
not). Anyways, your a dumbass as everyone knows by how you respond to
people. I don\'t know what happened to you as a kid but seriously you have
some issues. Every post you make has some inane smart ass comment. I know
your anus must still hurt from that time with the priest but get over it.
Bonus? WTF are you talking about? I have never worked for Tek, or HP, but I have used their test and broadcast equipment for over 30 years.
"Except"? No, and i don't EXPECT anything but loser shit from you, so I'm never disappointed. Its up to you to prove your allegations about Tek, HP and me, and you can't do it. Tektronix isn't in business to support hobbyist, so if you can't afford their quailty, its your loss. They are one of a VERY few companies that sold equipment to NASA and the US military without modifications. If you had ANY brains, you would realize what this says about their quality.
Keep slinging mud, crybaby. You're still pissed because you had your head shoved in the toilet for multiple swirlies the last time you tried to show yourself on this newsgroup.
I said it was obsolete, but still available for around $1000. I did not say Tektronix was selling it for that price.
More loser bullshit. The only repairs I have ever let anyone do were to mount tires on split rims on my stepvan. Now that i'm 100% disabled, I have had to have the oil changed one time when I was so sick that I couldn't hold onto the tools. WTF would I spend lots of money to keep a
87 Ford pickup truck running, moron?
More loser shit. i have rebuilt engines, done body work and customized a 66 GTO. Tune ups are easy, as long as i can lean against the body to work. Otherwise, its someone else's problem, because i can't stand without a cane or walker.
My education? I built TV stations, and communications equipment for NASA. Ever hear if the ISS?
He probably cross-threaded the
There you go, projecting your faults onto others again. :(
Admitting it is the first step to your getting help.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
They know the average cost to repair, and have established a minimum price. That means that you are willing to spend the money, or look for new equipment. If you are a defense contractor, some products have a list of approved test equipment that MUST be used, or the equipment will not be accepted by the customer. Sometimes it is cheaper to have obsolete equipment repaired, than got through the process of having changes approved in NATO designs. We had to put up with some really old crap on the PRC77 manpack radio at Cincinnati Electronics, till they got the list updated. Tests that took hours, could be done in minutes. We spent $35,000 for a new piece of equipment, but it was paid for in less than six months because we could ship more radios per month.
Either you can afford real test equipment, or you can't. Just like a body shop has a thick manual that tells the estimated time it takes for each damaged part to be replaced and painted. then they multiply the number by their rate, and add the retail prices of the parts.
More of your idiocy. I have never had to ship anything to Tektronix. We had our own in house Metrology lab at Microdyne. The equipment in my home shop was repaired on my bench. Then i would have its calibration tested, if needed.
They could charge 10k$
Repair is a separate division in most large companies, so if they don't have something to work on, they can't justify their operation, and they are shut down.
you have absolutely no idea what the hell you are blathering about. Look at the prices of new test equipment, and what it will cost a company when they can't use it. I had over $1,000,000 worth of test equipment on my benches at MicroDyne. I turned down another 250,000 worth, because I didn't need it very often, and simple gave that 1% of the work to to another bench that was set up for the job.
Basic laws? You do know not one damn thing about the laws of economy for a real electronics business. You probably think that the $500 worth of soldering irons and the $6,000 stereo microscope (That I needed because of my failing eyesight) were overpriced, as well.
How the hell would I know, and why would I care? I don't hold any stock in any company and unfortunately, I now live on a VA disability pension after 40+ years of electronics work in every area except medical equipment.
I did my first repairs on Tektronix RM529s while in the US Army in the early '70s while working for AFRTS/AFRN/AFN. I was awarded the broadcast engineer MOS by the US ARMY as a civilian acquired skill while in basic training. By achieving this, I tested out of a three year electronics course.
Keep showing us your vast ignorance, some people here enjoy laughing at your stupid comments.
--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.
Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida
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