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Buying an oscilloscope?

B

Boris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Can anyone direct me where can I buy a cheap (and still usable) oscilloscope
in the US? I need it for home electronics (hobby) and think about spending a
few hundred dollars on a reasonably good scope.
Thank you!
 
E

Eugen T

Jan 1, 1970
0
Try ebay - there are many many good used scopes at reasonable prices out
there, especially in the US.
 
D

DaveC

Jan 1, 1970
0
Can anyone direct me where can I buy a cheap (and still usable) oscilloscope
in the US? I need it for home electronics (hobby) and think about spending a
few hundred dollars on a reasonably good scope.
Thank you!

Search e-Bay for some good used Tektronix scopes. Be sure it's not an old
tube-type, but other than that, you should be able to find one for a good
price.

Search auctions that have ended for a Tek scope, and if it hasn't sold, make
the seller an offer, privately. Sometimes you can get a good deal that way.

Good luck,
 
B

Boris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dave, what do you mean by "not an old tube-type"? I wouldn't even hope for a
low-priced used LCD one. Or should I?
Thanks for the e-Bay tip!
Boris


DaveC:
"Be sure it's not an old tube-type, but other than that, you should be able
to find one for a good
price."
 
S

Sofie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Boris:
I think what Dave C meant in his reply post was to stay away from an
older CRT scope that uses vacuum tube circuitry..... stay at least with
solid state circuitry with the CRT display.
Lots of good values out there particularly for the Tek 465 , 475, 453,
454, and similar vintage scopes built in the mid 70's and early 80's......
all of these will be solid state with a CRT display. Depending on
condition and how badly the seller wants to get rid of it you can purchase
them for a few hundred dollars plus or minus. EBay is a good place to
start.
 
J

Jim Yanik

Jan 1, 1970
0
Dave, what do you mean by "not an old tube-type"? I wouldn't even hope
for a low-priced used LCD one. Or should I?
Thanks for the e-Bay tip!
Boris


DaveC:
"Be sure it's not an old tube-type, but other than that, you should be
able to find one for a good
price."

I'd look for a working TEK 2213,2215(60Mhz)
2235,2236,465(100Mhz)
475(200Mhz)
T922(15Mhz)
T932,T935,442(35Mhz).

(all portables)

The last 4 are more low-end,"budget" scopes than the others.
 
J

Joe

Jan 1, 1970
0
Pages of scopes on Ebay.

Dont know what you need but I have 2 spares
A Hickock Model 515 at $75

B&K dual trace portable with a brand new 7AH gel battery, case, charger at
$125
Both are around 5-15 Mhz bandwidth, solid state.

I also have an NLS 1.7 inch cigar box size battery operated and a Tek 465B
someplace
I have a digital SLR can take pix


-Joe
 
A

Asimov

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Boris" bravely wrote to "All" (30 Jun 04 13:15:08)
--- on the heady topic of ""old tube-type""

Bo> From: "Boris" <[email protected]>

Bo> Dave, what do you mean by "not an old tube-type"? I wouldn't even hope
Bo> for a low-priced used LCD one. Or should I?
Bo> Thanks for the e-Bay tip!
Bo> Boris


Bo> DaveC:
Bo> "Be sure it's not an old tube-type, but other than that, you should be
Bo> able to find one for a good
Bo> price."

The problem with tube-type scopes is that they take about 30 minutes
to reach the operating temperature so as to achieve calibration specs.
Also their long term stability is rather primitive in comparison to
solid state scopes because tubes get weak as they age more quickly.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... Of course it's grounded! ...watch, ...YEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!
 
E

Eugen T

Jan 1, 1970
0
I got awesome deal on HP 1725A 300MHz scope last year on ebay. Really happy
I didn't go up in price for more pricy 100MHz Tek scopes even though I
wanted Tek at that time.
 
B

Boris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hey Eugen,
could you please quote the price you paid (incl. S&H) for the HP 1725A
300MHz. Condition? I am still trying to figure out what is a "good deal"
when buying an used scope...
Thanks,
Boris


Eugen T:
I got awesome deal on HP 1725A 300MHz scope last year on ebay. Really happy
I didn't go up in price for more pricy 100MHz Tek scopes even though I
wanted Tek at that time.
 
B

Boris

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hey Joe,
Could you please describe a little bit more on the portable NLS scope. This
really sounds like something that would do the job for me - I am using the
scope for hobby electronics and repairs and am spece-concerned. I guess it
with an LCD. Can you provide some link on the web (what is the brand)? Any
close alternatives on the market?
Thanks,
Boris
 
E

Eugen T

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hi Boris,
I was trying to find something in Canada, so it took me some time to find
this scope. I don't remember exact price, but I paid close to $400CDN ($300+
US) after shipping. Scope came without probes, but 100MHz-rated probes are
pretty cheap; on the other hand, I paid ~$30-40US for 300MHz rated probe.
 
J

Jim Yanik

Jan 1, 1970
0
I got awesome deal on HP 1725A 300MHz scope last year on ebay. Really
happy I didn't go up in price for more pricy 100MHz Tek scopes even
though I wanted Tek at that time.


I'd look for a working TEK 2213,2215(60Mhz)
2235,2236,465(100Mhz)
475(200Mhz)
T922(15Mhz)
T932,T935,442(35Mhz).

(all portables)

The last 4 are more low-end,"budget" scopes than the others.

I haven't worked on HP or other brand scopes since 1974 (USAF PMEL),so I
can't/won't comment on their suitability.
 
J

Jim Yanik

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hey Joe,
Could you please describe a little bit more on the portable NLS scope.
This really sounds like something that would do the job for me - I am
using the scope for hobby electronics and repairs and am
spece-concerned. I guess it with an LCD. Can you provide some link on
the web (what is the brand)? Any close alternatives on the market?
Thanks,
Boris

I believe this NLS scope had a very small display(CRT,not LCD),and you
really want something with a larger display,perhaps 4-5 inches diagonal.
Something where you can SEE the waveform and actually make measurements off
the graticule.
For low cost and simple operation,get a TEK T922(15 Mhz) or T932/35 (35
Mhz).
 
K

Kevin Carney

Jan 1, 1970
0
1725's gave us trouble with the time base switches, vert & horizontal and
triggering mode switches. He should have bought a Tek. Our cal lab never
had a tech with an HP analog scope on his bench. This is not to disparage
HP because they make incredible equipment too. Tek just had them beat on
analog scopes. HP wooped Tek on digital scopes in the beggining (1983 or
so).

--
change .combo to .com for correct email

***************************************************
"We ought always to know precisely why a given job
is done in a particular way, and why it is done at
all, and why it can't be done more efficiently,
if it must be done at all."-- T.J.Watson

***************************************************

 
T

Tom Del Rosso

Jan 1, 1970
0
Boris said:
Can anyone direct me where can I buy a cheap (and still usable) oscilloscope
in the US? I need it for home electronics (hobby) and think about spending a
few hundred dollars on a reasonably good scope.
Thank you!

Ebay, but before you bid on anything you should just watch the auctions
for at least a few weeks, so you know what the trends are in terms of
what's available, in what condition, and for how much.

A lot of auctions on ebay end at much too high a price because the
bidders were newbies. It doesn't matter if you have previously won ebay
auctions in other categories. Whenever you look to bid on something in
a category that you haven't bid on before, you become a newbie again.
 
T

Tom Del Rosso

Jan 1, 1970
0
Boris said:
Hey Eugen,
could you please quote the price you paid (incl. S&H) for the HP 1725A
300MHz. Condition? I am still trying to figure out what is a "good deal"
when buying an used scope...

The only way to learn that is to watch the auctions. When you see one
that looks interesting, click on "Add to watch list", then go to your
"My ebay" page and see all the auctions you put on your list. Most
auctions last a week, varying from 5 to 10 days. Keep searching for new
ones and adding them to the list, and watch them for a few weeks or a
month to see what sold and for how much. Then you will know how to bid
without over-bidding.
 
G

Gobzo

Jan 1, 1970
0
Boris:

Try a local technology colledge. They may change programs from time to
time and sell out outdated equipment.

Gobzo
 
H

H. R. Bob Hofmann

Jan 1, 1970
0
Kevin Carney said:
1725's gave us trouble with the time base switches, vert & horizontal and
triggering mode switches. He should have bought a Tek. Our cal lab never
had a tech with an HP analog scope on his bench. This is not to disparage
HP because they make incredible equipment too. Tek just had them beat on
analog scopes. HP wooped Tek on digital scopes in the beggining (1983 or
so).

--
change .combo to .com for correct email

***************************************************
"We ought always to know precisely why a given job
is done in a particular way, and why it is done at
all, and why it can't be done more efficiently,
if it must be done at all."-- T.J.Watson

***************************************************


It's funny. I've used Tek and HP equipment ever since the late 1950's
and Tek never did learn how to make a really good usable spectrum
analyzer, and HP never learned how to make a good user-friendly scope.
Something in their corprate culture, the water differences between
Portland and California, or the phase of the moon when stuff was
designed.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann
 
H

H. R. Bob Hofmann

Jan 1, 1970
0
Kevin Carney said:
1725's gave us trouble with the time base switches, vert & horizontal and
triggering mode switches. He should have bought a Tek. Our cal lab never
had a tech with an HP analog scope on his bench. This is not to disparage
HP because they make incredible equipment too. Tek just had them beat on
analog scopes. HP wooped Tek on digital scopes in the beggining (1983 or
so).

--
change .combo to .com for correct email

***************************************************
"We ought always to know precisely why a given job
is done in a particular way, and why it is done at
all, and why it can't be done more efficiently,
if it must be done at all."-- T.J.Watson

***************************************************


It's funny. I've used Tek and HP equipment ever since the late 1950's
and Tek never did learn how to make a really good usable spectrum
analyzer, and HP never learned how to make a good user-friendly scope.
Something in their corprate culture, the water differences between
Portland and California, or the phase of the moon when stuff was
designed.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann
 
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