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Favorite Tektronix Scope

T

Too_Many_Tools

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT
 
S

Steven Swift

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.
What Tektronix scope do you prefer?
I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

TMT

I use the new Tek DPO scopes for most work, but keep 7904 (500MHz) with
high speed plug-ins and samplers for the times I need analog.

You can get 7k scopes for almost nothing. The DPOs will cost a bunch.

Steve.
 
S

Scott Dorsey

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

The 7000 series is hard to beat. It's stable, it's not that hard to
work on, and there are plenty of useful plug-ins available at reasonable
prices.

That said, I still have a 545 on my bench at work. The calibration contract
just went over to a new company and the new cal guys aren't really sure what
to make of it....
--scott
 
P

Pooh Bear

Jan 1, 1970
0
Scott said:
The 7000 series is hard to beat. It's stable, it's not that hard to
work on, and there are plenty of useful plug-ins available at reasonable
prices.

That said, I still have a 545 on my bench at work. The calibration contract
just went over to a new company and the new cal guys aren't really sure what
to make of it....

Goodness. I had to get rid of a couple of 545s years ago ( no room to keep them
).

My current scope at home is a 465. Basic but nice.

Graham
 
I

Ignoramus32654

Jan 1, 1970
0
I am very happy wuth my 2445A. I still have the 475, which is like a
Kalashnikov of oscilloscopes -- very simple and sturdy and has high
voltage ability. I will sell the 475 though, two scopes is too much.

i

I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT


--
 
J

James F. Mayer

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT
I like the TEK2465, Personally I don't think that it can be beat for
an analog scope.
 
B

Bill Turner

Jan 1, 1970
0
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:

I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Depends on what you want to use it for.

If you want an older, inexpensive, general purpose 100 Mhz scope, I
think the 465B (not the 465) was the best Tek ever made. They sold for
about $2500 back in the '70s and were worth every penny.

Ok, I'm a bit prejudiced because I worked on the production line for
both models for three years, testing and calibrating. In that time I
did about 2000 of them.

They have been out of production for more than 20 years now, but a
good one can still be had. Shop around. Tek built them to last.

73, Bill W6WRT

p.s. Actual quote from a Tektronix customer: "I gave my purchasing
people instructions that they can buy any kind of scope they want, as
long as they are blue and come from Beaverton, Oregon."
 
D

Dino Papas

Jan 1, 1970
0
I finally sold off my great Tek 475 and picked up a Tek 2440 -- nice to
be able to "save" the display and then be able to make measurements on
the signal at your leisure. Especially nice when looking at the slew
rate of the slower op-amps.

Dino KL0S/4
 
K

Ken Scharf

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT
Do you prefer Analog or Digital? Do you have room for an old tube
mainframe scope, or prefer a "portable"?

I have a Tek 454 that I got at a company auction years back where
I used to work (paid $150 for it). The 453,453A,454, 454A series
are easy to work on, and parts are available from many sources
(the nuvistor tubes in the front end and the tunnel diodes in
the sweep circuits can be a bit hard to find, but are available).
The 485 is a look a like that is all solid state with higher BW
but many do not consider it as good a scope design. I would not
turn one away if it were cheap enough though, when working they
do a good job.

The 453,454,485 scopes have a good CRT that will give years of
service. I've been told that the 465-475 series (larger tube)
will suffer from CRT burn-out eventually, the 453-454-485 scopes
rarely need a new crt. (The company where I got the scope from
had bought spare parts to keep all their scopes going, they NEVER
replaced a 453-454 crt but used up all their 465-475 crt spares).
 
P

Paul Burridge

Jan 1, 1970
0
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

Tek 475.
I have fancier scopes that do fancy stuff, but the 475 is an all-time
*classic* par excellence. I love it so much I also use it as a
decorative centrepiece for the dining room table.
 
J

john jardine

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT
Until last month I'd treasured my Tek 7633. Cost the eqiv' of only $60, yet
gave 5 years continuous, unremitting, troublefree service. Lovely bit of
kit. Looked right, felt right and offered a vast, soul pleasing array of
buttons and knobs.
Switched on with the fan purring away, I knew that I was at one with the
world.
Sadly, the display character generator started to fail. Even bought a
service manual and had a poke about. Joy was not to be, a Tek chip was
giving up the ghost. I knew then it's life was drawing to an honourable
close and another Tek scope would have to be sought.
I'd previously fancied the more modern Tek 2445, so downloaded a service
manual.
Shock-horror!, perusal of the circuitry revealed that there is nothing in
them other than a few special Tek chips.
Ended up buying a 100MHz Hitachi scope (equiv of $160). It does much more
than my old Tek, having benefit of modern uP aided cursors and measurements
etc. It's also smaller, lighter and repairable.
I love using it but I can't help feeling there's something missing that's
really crucial. Something that raises an instrument from the status of
'nice' to that of 'beloved'. (probably the Tek fan :).
Obviously I need to get out more.
regards
john
 
john said:
I'd previously fancied the more modern Tek 2445, so downloaded a service
manual.
Shock-horror!, perusal of the circuitry revealed that there is nothing in
them other than a few special Tek chips.

I've got a 2445, which I've had for about six years. It was the first
equipment purchase made when I started a new job; it was purchased
reconditioned from Tucker. I inherited the scope when that employer
went bankrupt. I enjoy it very much, but need storage... I have a
TDS210 (same provenance) which is pretty good, but I lust after the HP
scope I have at work, which has two analog channels and 16 digital
channels, and LOADS of memory... *sigh*. So many projects, so little
time and money :)
 
J

John-Del

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?


I have used a 7603 for about 15 years for general troubleshooting, and
it's my favorite scope. It's rock solid, and bright and sharp. I
haven't been able to find a horiz plug-in with TV sync, but the trigger
is so good I can get it to lock on video anyway. Only problems are the
huge Mallory capacitors in the power supply that will open without
warning. Replace all of these and you'll have no trouble at all.

John
 
J

James Sweet

Jan 1, 1970
0
Too_Many_Tools said:
I need to replace an oscilloscope that has gone to the Great Test Bench
in the sky.

What Tektronix scope do you prefer?

I have always like the 7000 series...would you recommend these or
another series?

Thanks

TMT


I love my 465B, depends on what you need in a scope though.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
I use the new Tek DPO scopes for most work, but keep 7904 (500MHz) with
high speed plug-ins and samplers for the times I need analog.

You can get 7k scopes for almost nothing. The DPOs will cost a bunch.

Steve.

7104 is an even nicer analog scope, with its phenomenal writing rate.

A used 11801 or 11802 and a sampling head will get you a 12 or 20 GHz
dual-trace digital scope for under $2K, a *much* nicer sampling system
than the 7000-series stuff.

My everyday scope is a TDS2012, which is great for most things. You
can take beautiful photos of the color screen for engr notes, manuals,
or test procedures.

Great plugin: 7A22 (or 1A7A, for the 547) which has switchable
bandwidth and differential input down to 10 uV/cm.

John
 
M

Mike Andrews

Jan 1, 1970
0
In rec.radio.amateur.homebrew Pooh Bear said:
Scott Dorsey wrote:
Goodness. I had to get rid of a couple of 545s years ago ( no room to keep them
).
My current scope at home is a 465. Basic but nice.

Tek 465M (465B plus digital meter stuff) is my favorite of the ones
in the shop. Next fave is a non-Tek: Phillips PM3055.
 
A

Arthur Harrison

Jan 1, 1970
0
My favorite for LF analog work (<200MHz) is the is the Tek TAS485 They
stopped making this, along with all their analog scopes, which is a cryin'
shame, since digital really isn't good for everything.

-Art
 
D

Dave Plowman (News)

Jan 1, 1970
0
If you want an older, inexpensive, general purpose 100 Mhz scope, I
think the 465B (not the 465) was the best Tek ever made. They sold for
about $2500 back in the '70s and were worth every penny.

Yup. Does everything most need from a scope. But in the UK, they still
fetch decent money.
 
T

Too_Many_Tools

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks for the replies so far...they are appreciated.

One feature of the 7000 series that I have appreciated is the plugin
capability.

Spectrum analyzer, semiconductor tester, differential amps, etc. all
add to its flexibility.

Does anyone have a history of the 7000 series?

Another issue I have seen with the older scopes is at least one can
usually repair them....with parts from another parts scope. The newer
scopes are reaching the point of throw away status with no parts
available and if by chance they are, the price prevents a reasonable
repair.

TMT
 
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