Looking for first oscilloscope

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,714
Here are the scopes I cut my teeth on, in chronological order:

TEKTRONIX 422
Good general purpose student/lab 15MHz scope in the 1960's. Small, compact, heavy, portable, operates on battery pack if needed, built like a tank.

TEKTRONIX 454
Good general purpose lab tech 150MHz scope, on a scope dolly for portability

hp 1703A
35Mhz analog storage scope. My workhorse in the 70s-80s. Wouldn't let anyone take this away. On a scope dolly for portability. Absolutely essential for low repetition and one-shot events.

TEKTRONIX 2213, 2215, 2225
Basic general purpose student/lab 50MHz analog scope.

TEKTRONIX TDS220
100MHz digital scope. Very compact, lightweight, portable.
This is currently my main workhorse.
(Now replaced by the TDS1000 series DSO).
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
If I can get a good deal on the 465B, I just may pick it up. Leaves some questions for the 7854...is this even worth considering, mainly for it's bulk?

I think whatever I do I will end up with both an analog and digital scope but going for the analog first. Other than higher bandwidth that I likely will not use anytime soon over what the 465 offers, what is the consensus on the 7854?

I may be able to get a decent price on it.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,285
If I can get a good deal on the 465B, I just may pick it up. Leaves some questions for the 7854...is this even worth considering, mainly for it's bulk?

I think whatever I do I will end up with both an analog and digital scope but going for the analog first. Other than higher bandwidth that I likely will not use anytime soon over what the 465 offers, what is the consensus on the 7854?

I may be able to get a decent price on it.
If you have room for it (12" x 14" x 25", 45 lbs.) and don't mind its power consumption (which I think may be high) then the 7854 should work for you. Note: Make sure it has the required plug-ins with it.

But my preference for an analog scope would be a smaller unit such as the 465.
 

vk6zgo

Joined Jul 21, 2012
677
I'm actually in the market for my first scope as well. From what I've heard, if you had to have only one, a digital scope would be best. There are few occasions when an analog scope is wanted over a digital one, but usually digital is best.

You may find this video interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh9FNRpta9s

Analog scopes are fairly cheap to get on Ebay it seems, so depending on your needs you may want to eventually invest in one.

A similar scope to the one I will likely get: http://www.saelig.com/PSBEB100/PSBEB100005.htm
I'm looking at a slightly more expensive version (to get greater sampling rate and bandwidth) but you get a good bit of power for the price. Just look at this OTHER scope from the same site: http://www.saelig.com/PSBEB100/PSBEB100009.htm it's only $100 or so cheaper and it's specs don't even come CLOSE. 100Mhz vs 500Mhz, 100 MS/s vs 500 MS/s, literally 5 TIMES better for only 100 bucks more.*

However, I'm speaking as one who's been looking to buy for months, not as an experienced user, so keep that in mind.
*I think you either have a typo here,or you have misread the Specs.
The better one is a 60MHz 'scope,& the other one is a 25MHz unit.
The sample rate is 5 times higher on the "better" one,the bandwidth just 2.4 times greater!
Remember,also that the sample rate quoted is the maximum,& it may reduce radically at longer time/div settings.
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
What do you recommend for a set of probes for the 465B? Seems there are some 1X, 10X, etc. I figure general purpose with possibly a probe for tighter areas. There are alot out there that are model-specific and not sure about compatibility.
 

Austin Clark

Joined Dec 28, 2011
412
*I think you either have a typo here,or you have misread the Specs.
The better one is a 60MHz 'scope,& the other one is a 25MHz unit.
The sample rate is 5 times higher on the "better" one,the bandwidth just 2.4 times greater!
Remember,also that the sample rate quoted is the maximum,& it may reduce radically at longer time/div settings.
Ah, yes, my bad. I was a bit rushed when I posted that, sorry. Thanks for the correction! Yes, the bandwidth is only 2.4 times greater, but my suggestion still stands. At that range a little extra cash goes a long way because more of the cash is going to performance parts rather than construction costs and such, and as another person mentioned earlier, it's better to have it and not need it that to need it and not have it.
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
I appreciate the help and the push towards the 465. I ended up winning a bid on the bay and while it was a few more $$ than I planned ($160) it's not too bad, also the seller is 10 min from my house so no shipping charges. :)

The scope does not come with probes but again, not paying shipping somewhat helps in that respect. I may have a good deal on some probes but will find out in a few days.

Will post some pics when I pick it up but looks like a clean unit.
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
Picked up the scope tonight, has a few minor blemishes, however an area of concern is the CH2 BNC. Didn't realize it was loose until I arrived home, pulled the case and it looks like a quick solder job and were in business.

Seller was cool to the respect if anything is wrong we can discuss options. Looks like it was just twisted loose after years of usage and pulled the diode off on one end.

Really not sure if anything was affected but it has sharp traces and seems to adjust fine. Has anyone repaired one of these BNC connections on a scope similiar to this?
 

osx-addict

Joined Feb 9, 2012
122
Cool! There are a lot of excellent quality used scopes out there! I've got one I inherited from my father as none of my other siblings are the least bit interested in electronics! This new-to-me scope is an older Tektronics scope -- don't recall model info but probably from the 80's -- it's about 1.5-2' long and is dual channel.. Came with probes,etc.. No manual though.. Seems to work fine! My father for a number of years had I believe an old HP scope that was HUGE -- something close to 3' long, tube based (vacuum tubes), about 18" high and was probably over 75LB in weight! A behemoth.. Unfortunately I don't know what happened to it.. It sat in a closet up in Oregon for many years much to the dismay of my mother!
 

bountyhunter

Joined Sep 7, 2009
2,512
I appreciate the help and the push towards the 465. I ended up winning a bid on the bay and while it was a few more $$ than I planned ($160) it's not too bad, also the seller is 10 min from my house so no shipping charges. :)

The scope does not come with probes but again, not paying shipping somewhat helps in that respect. I may have a good deal on some probes but will find out in a few days.

Will post some pics when I pick it up but looks like a clean unit.
Ebay has some very good "HP clone" probe sets for low price.
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
Ebay has some very good "HP clone" probe sets for low price.
I found a pair of Tek 6105's for $50, very good condition.

I snoozed on a lot of 6 P6130's from the same seller as the scope, some were still unused. Lost track of time and they went for $40.....:mad:
 

Thread Starter

Dyl71

Joined Aug 5, 2012
14
I was able to re-solder the BNC leads, talk about a tight area. With the scope on and no probes attached, there is a wave pattern and i'm curious if this a pre-programmed pattern.
 
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