In the market for a scope. Don't need the best, just one that works and is reliable as to it's indications. Is the Tektronix brand a good unit? I have seen a few HP units ....they are pricy. Suggestions from the BTDT crowd?
In the market for a scope. Don't need the best, just one that works and is reliable as to it's indications. Is the Tektronix brand a good unit? I have seen a few HP units ....they are pricy. Suggestions from the BTDT crowd?
You are the only one that can make your dreams come true....and the only one that can stop them...A.M. Dietrich
I've seen a few tektronix 'scopes on E-bay... Decent prices, and the sellers ended up with good feedback, so something must have been right.
I have an old Dynascan myself. Paid like 90 bucks for it on E-bay. Been working fine for about 5 years now...
Used and surplus is the way to go on these things, IMO.
Adam
Tektronix are very good. I used them in the Navy and also in college. I bought an old Tektronix 7603 (100 Mhz) for $50 from Craigslist. It's old and big but it is an excellent scope. Make sure you get one that can plot X&Y instead of only X vs time.
The newer digital scopes that can capture and freeze a pulse are really nice. Mine doesn't do that stuff.
The two I learned about when after a scope were the Tektronix 265 B, and the Hewlett Packard/Agilent 1740A. I saw both first hand (The Tektronix was actually the A version, but they're not much different.)
They are both apparently easier to maintain than a lot of others, they're both dual trace 200 MHz types. I think the Agilent scope is by far the better, the plastics are less prone to getting brittle with age, the switches worked better, the backlight is based on CRT wash and not little filament lamps unevnly lighting a graticule, and it runs cooler and doesn't need a fan, so it's silent and there's nothing to suck crud in to make it vulnerable to humidity which can cause serious bother in dust where high voltages and sensitive circuits co-exist. The display quality was far sharper too, and the layout less cramped. The case is slightly bigger, but not by much. The leads don't get in the way of the controls, which are higher quality than on the Tek. I could go on, but I think you get the picture. That Agilent is a way underrated scope. It's often compared with a Tek 265, but it's a good bit better than that. It might cost you £20 more than a secondhand Tek 265B, but get one if you can.
Edit: As Gary said, make sure you get that full X/Y scan input. Both the 265 and the 1740A do this. More, they both do BLANKING, or ANALOG MOD. They have a Z input which controls beam intensity. The Agilent manages this better than the 265 too. Better access to a BNC socket on the rear. When I was looking for a scope, I was advised to get the fastest I could afford, as even with slow waves you will want to see fast transients and overshoots clearly. This is especialy true when tuning scanners.
Last edited by The_Doctor; 06-27-2007 at 08:42.
I've got a Beckman Industrial that I've had 15 years and aside from having to clean the rotary switches still works great. Tektronix is the standard where I work tho..
I have two tektronix 453's (1 working 1 not.) I only have them because I got them both for a £10! I was thinking of selling them on...
"An instant without duration"
www.grahamthorne.co.uk
Do you? Better *cough* check with tha pappy.....
have i said too much
I have a Tek TDS210 old tech now but a beltin and portable piece of kit I used to use Tek when I worked for a living - I love their scopes. Prior to the TDS I had an old 15mhz philips which was a good old banger. Get as fast as you can afford and try and get dual trace - makes life so much easier.
Rob
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I have several 'scopes but the best one is a tek 465B, rugged, 100MHz, dual channel and at least small enough to be "luggable" if not "portable"
"An instant without duration"
www.grahamthorne.co.uk
I have a tektronix TDS 220
pending
Last edited by Lasernerd; 12-09-2008 at 08:58.