Quick Scope Question

G

Garrett Mace

Guest
I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a lot of Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250 range. I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a 465 before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be decent, though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks
 
Garrett Mace wrote:
I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a lot of Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250 range. I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a 465 before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be decent, though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I understand that they are very goo, and that you should expect at
least 10 years of service.
 
I have had a few 465s, and continue to repair orphans when they land on my
doorstep.

They are a decent unit. The biggest single trouble I have is that most, if
not all, of the semiconductors are in sockets, and after 30 years the
corrosion routine sets in. Usually just a wiggle will fix it up. There are
also a few proprietary Tektronix ICs, but I have never had trouble with
those. I also have trouble with noise in the the trimpots and attenuator
switches, which are just little jumpers on the PC board. These can usually
be cleaned by flooding them with Freeze Mist, which I like because it leaves
no residue.

Units are fairly east to service, not too many layers deep. I don't mind
using one. If the CRT is good, they should hang on for quite a while.

(Shameless commercial plug) If you are perchance in New England, I have an
orphaned 465 that needs a little TLC. Has an occasional problem with the
delaying sweep, and a vertical aberration that can more than likely be
adjusted out. Noisy CH1 attenuator on some ranges. Will eventually finish it
up, but I really don't need it. Will consider reasonable offers or trade for
a pair of decent 100X probes.

"Robert Baer" <robertbaer@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4024A698.5A9AD2D2@earthlink.net...
Garrett Mace wrote:

I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a lot of
Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250 range.
I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a 465
before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be decent,
though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding
durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to
operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks

I understand that they are very goo, and that you should expect at
least 10 years of service.
Click to expand...
 
well i have a 464 and its aprox 70 Mhz scope as far as i know.
i think the 465 is a 100 mhz
the 485 i have is a 300 Mhz.
etc.
depending on what your doing its ok..


Garrett Mace wrote:

I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a lot of Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250 range. I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a 465 before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be decent, though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Jamie <jamie_5_not_valid_after_5_Please@charter.net> wrote in
news:102aa9qk1ls6081@corp.supernews.com:

well i have a 464 and its aprox 70 Mhz scope as far as i know.
i think the 465 is a 100 mhz
the 485 i have is a 300 Mhz.
etc.
depending on what your doing its ok..
Click to expand...
464 should be a 100Mhz bandwidth(at -3db point) in non-storage mode.
You need calibration of the vertical amp and attenuators.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik-at-kua.net
 
BFoelsch wrote:
I have had a few 465s, and continue to repair orphans when they land on my
doorstep.

They are a decent unit. The biggest single trouble I have is that most, if
not all, of the semiconductors are in sockets, and after 30 years the
corrosion routine sets in. Usually just a wiggle will fix it up. There are
also a few proprietary Tektronix ICs, but I have never had trouble with
those. I also have trouble with noise in the the trimpots and attenuator
switches, which are just little jumpers on the PC board. These can usually
be cleaned by flooding them with Freeze Mist, which I like because it leaves
no residue.

Units are fairly east to service, not too many layers deep. I don't mind
using one. If the CRT is good, they should hang on for quite a while.

(Shameless commercial plug) If you are perchance in New England, I have an
orphaned 465 that needs a little TLC. Has an occasional problem with the
delaying sweep, and a vertical aberration that can more than likely be
adjusted out. Noisy CH1 attenuator on some ranges. Will eventually finish it
up, but I really don't need it. Will consider reasonable offers or trade for
a pair of decent 100X probes.

"Robert Baer" <robertbaer@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4024A698.5A9AD2D2@earthlink.net...
Garrett Mace wrote:

I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a lot of
Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250 range.
I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a 465
before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be decent,
though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding
durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to
operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks

I understand that they are very goo, and that you should expect at
least 10 years of service.
Click to expand...
Actually, those sockets should not corrode, because they were gold
plated.
 
Robert Baer <robertbaer@earthlink.net> wrote in
news:4025F92C.CC9BF4F6@earthlink.net:

BFoelsch wrote:

I have had a few 465s, and continue to repair orphans when they land
on my doorstep.

They are a decent unit. The biggest single trouble I have is that
most, if not all, of the semiconductors are in sockets, and after 30
years the corrosion routine sets in. Usually just a wiggle will fix
it up. There are also a few proprietary Tektronix ICs, but I have
never had trouble with those. I also have trouble with noise in the
the trimpots and attenuator switches, which are just little jumpers
on the PC board. These can usually be cleaned by flooding them with
Freeze Mist, which I like because it leaves no residue.

Units are fairly east to service, not too many layers deep. I don't
mind using one. If the CRT is good, they should hang on for quite a
while.

(Shameless commercial plug) If you are perchance in New England, I
have an orphaned 465 that needs a little TLC. Has an occasional
problem with the delaying sweep, and a vertical aberration that can
more than likely be adjusted out. Noisy CH1 attenuator on some
ranges. Will eventually finish it up, but I really don't need it.
Will consider reasonable offers or trade for a pair of decent 100X
probes.

"Robert Baer" <robertbaer@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:4024A698.5A9AD2D2@earthlink.net...
Garrett Mace wrote:

I need to pick up an oscilloscope on the cheap, and I notice a
lot of
Tek
465's have been going through eBay recently, in the $150 to $250
range.
I am
used to newer scopes, so I haven't had the opportunity to use a
465
before,
though I have a hazy "feeling" that they were supposed to be
decent,
though
somewhat dated.

I'd appreciate any comments for or against this scope, regarding
durabilty,
usability, trace quality, and how much longer I can expect one to
operate in
this stage of its life. 100Mhz is enough for my uses.

Thanks

I understand that they are very goo, and that you should expect
at
least 10 years of service.

Actually, those sockets should not corrode, because they were gold
plated.
Click to expand...
The IC pins that got stuck into them were not gold-plated,though.I've seen
IC pins turn black with corrosion.Some TEK products had service notes about
replacing all the IC DIP sockets because of IM problems.
For a 1410 mainframe and all 6 of it's modules(video test generator),that
was a major PITA.That's 20-plus PCBs loaded with DIP sockets.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik-at-kua.net
 
Just wanted to say thanks to those who responded to my earlier question. I
decided to pick up a Tektronix 465B, which arrived today. Works well, is in
perfect shape, came with accessory bag, original manual + four probes, some
probe accessories, replacement screen cover and fuses, even the original
customer questionairre. All for only $100 + $25 shipping on a Buy It Now
auction.

It was pretty funny, the day before I won this one, I was watching a scope
auction for a Tek with two probes. Normally when you get a bunch of bidders
who know what they're doing, they'll wait until the last couple minutes and
then throw in a bid. They might or might not get it, all part of the game.
Well...there was one bidder who kept jumping in and placing bids, fighting
to stay on top. A couple other people got all riled up too. The price kept
going up and up, to $270 not including shipping, and it looked like this guy
had won. I was out of it when the auction passed 200, but watched for what I
knew would happen.... After about a dozen bids by this individual, no one
else was bidding anymore. It got down to ten seconds...then...CRACK! sniped
in the last three seconds. I've seen it before but it was just funny,
because he'd gotten all competitive and was probably sitting there gloating
how he "showed" all of us.

I have found that on eBay...no matter how good a deal seems...there will
ALWAYS be a better deal coming down the pipe. Typically when I look for
something, I spend two weeks checking around and losing auctions. But if
you're patient, you'll find a great deal. I once lost a bid for a $40 power
supply, then a day later got one three times better for $15. Same deal on
12VDC inverters, got four of those for $5 each once.

Anyway, it looks like the scope could use a twitch to the right on trace
rotation, so again thanks for the advice, this looks like it'll be a good
scope for home.
 
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