For Sale: Tektronix RSA6114A High Performance 9kHz - 14GHz Real-Time SA

[Hugoneus]

The instrument passes all self-tests and is in great condition.
This unit is loaded with many options:

OPT 02: Frequency mask trigger / 1GB memory extension
OPT 05: Signal output package: 500MHz IF, digital IQ output (LVDS)
OPT 21: General purpose modulation
OPT 110: 110MHz Capture BW
OPT 200: DPX Density Measurement capability
OPT 09: Enhanced Real Time

The screen connectors and buttons are in great condition and defect free.

[mgberry]

What price are you asking?

Matt

[rx8pilot]

Wishing I had the option to buy this one. I may be looking for a round of financing to catch up on all the gear I need, if that happens soon enough - this is on the list.

[Jwalling]

What price are you asking?

Matt

It's on Ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-RSA6114A-High-Performance-9kHz-14GHz-Real-Time-Spectrum-Analyzer-/252859606902?hash=item3adf9b6776:g:BQAAAOSw3utY7a9q

[rx8pilot]

Curious if there is a tracking generator option for this model.

[Hugoneus]

Curious if there is a tracking generator option for this model.

As far as I know, I don't think so.

I'd hate to list it for so much lower price than other listed items on eBay, specially because it is more equipped. But I want to use the funds to get more stuff to make repair videos.

[james_s]

I can't comment on the price of this particular instrument but careful using the price of others listed on ebay as a reference. There are several Tek TDS 300 series scopes listed on ebay for >$1,000. Someone would have to be on drugs to pay anywhere near that for a TDS300, I've never seen one sell for more than $160 in actual bids.

Also I think it's generally frowned on to use the forum as a personal advertising service for one's ebay listings. Generally speaking if you want to sell something here it's preferable to list it here with a price.

[rachaelp]

To be fair, he didn't advertise his eBay listing, he just posted up that he had this for sale.  Somebody else posted the link to the eBay item so I don't think he's breached any forum etiquette......

[Hugoneus]

I can't comment on the price of this particular instrument but careful using the price of others listed on ebay as a reference. There are several Tek TDS 300 series scopes listed on ebay for >$1,000. Someone would have to be on drugs to pay anywhere near that for a TDS300, I've never seen one sell for more than $160 in actual bids.

Also I think it's generally frowned on to use the forum as a personal advertising service for one's ebay listings. Generally speaking if you want to sell something here it's preferable to list it here with a price.

I didn't post a link to any eBay listing. I didn't even mention that the unit was on eBay.

Furthermore, if you can find one for cheaper show it to me.

[ruairi]

I can't comment on the price of this particular instrument but careful using the price of others listed on ebay as a reference. There are several Tek TDS 300 series scopes listed on ebay for >$1,000. Someone would have to be on drugs to pay anywhere near that for a TDS300, I've never seen one sell for more than $160 in actual bids.

Also I think it's generally frowned on to use the forum as a personal advertising service for one's ebay listings. Generally speaking if you want to sell something here it's preferable to list it here with a price.

James,

I'd suggest doing a little research on who Shahriar is and what he gives back to the community, your comments are misguided on several levels.

Shahriar - I learn so much from your videos, thank you!  Off to Patreon to do my bit.

Cheers
Ruairi

[Zucca]

James,

I'd suggest doing a little research on who Shahriar is and what he gives back to the community, your comments are misguided on several levels.

Shahriar - I learn so much from your videos, thank you!  Off to Patreon to do my bit.

Cheers
Ruairi

This! Thanks God there are people like you and Shahriar!

[vtp]

RSA6114A is a nice box although they could be a bit more reliable. Couple of years ago I bought one with company money for about $3k (with same options as your unit) though it has since been serviced and calibrated by Tek.

A word of warning for the prospective buyer though: the 110 MHz real time bandwidth is something that gets boring after a while and appetite for more becomes irresistible. So a couple of months ago a N9030B-B5X arrived. That was over $140k box...

[rx8pilot]

RSA6114A is a nice box although they could be a bit more reliable. Couple of years ago I bought one with company money for about $3k (with same options as your unit) though it has since been serviced and calibrated by Tek.

A word of warning for the prospective buyer though: the 110 MHz real time bandwidth is something that gets boring after a while and appetite for more becomes irresistible. So a couple of months ago a N9030B-B5X arrived. That was over $140k box...

It seems that a bargain used box is not a fair candidate for reliability assessments.

[Hugoneus]

...
A word of warning for the prospective buyer though: the 110 MHz real time bandwidth is something that gets boring after a while and appetite for more becomes irresistible. So a couple of months ago a N9030B-B5X arrived. That was over $140k box...

So what you are saying is that a $140K instrument will offer more than a $10K instrument? 

[rx8pilot]

So what you are saying is that a $140K instrument will offer more than a $10K instrument? 

 

It will offer much bigger payments each month for sure.

[G0HZU]

Wishing I had the option to buy this one. I may be looking for a round of financing to catch up on all the gear I need, if that happens soon enough - this is on the list.

It's a powerful instrument, we have one of these in our lab at work.

Assuming I've grabbed the relevant info from the ebay pictures it is probably about 11 years old. The price looks really low and I'm amazed it hasn't sold already (because of the options it has) but I can offer some experience wrt Tek RTSAs.

They aren't that nice/intuitive to use. The user interface is best described as odd and clunky and some common things are buried in sub menus. Also, our RSA6114 hasn't been reliable and when it goes away for repair Tek seem to keep it a long time.

Despite the high performance (in terms of real time bandwidth and RF performance) the RSA6114 isn't a popular choice at work. Most users prefer the UI of the smaller and older RSA3408A model although it only has 36MHz RTBW. The RSA6114 spends a lot of time unused or at Tek being repaired. I think the last time it was repaired it took several months before we saw it again.

The other thing to note is that Tek have a fairly aggressive support policy on stuff like this. If you buy it from new and keep it for several years beyond the initial warranty period the yearly support and cal costs get quite high. Several thousand dollars per year?

If you drop out of this system and hope for the best the MINIMUM cost of an 'on demand' repair for this instrument (from Tek) is about $15k. That's $15k minimum cost for any repair. We were quoted a similar sum to repair an old Tek RSA3408A. More than the used price on ebay and this is just the starting price for the repair.

It's a great piece of kit best aimed at a company who are looking/hoping to save on the (alternative) costs of renting the same instrument for several months. i.e. a costing gamble with a huge bonus if it stays reliable for a year or more. Like I said, I'm amazed it hasn't sold already at that price.

[rx8pilot]

Curious if it is the same general failures or a more broad failure potential?
Are the failures exacerbated by users not understanding a limitation, maybe something that can be worked around to improve reliability?

Sent from my horrible mobile....

[G0HZU]

Curious if it is the same general failures or a more broad failure potential?

I don't know about common failure modes but there's sufficient info in the ebay pictures to access info about the one advertised here. Eg you can find who the original owner was, how old it is, when it last was under warranty, when its service contract ran out and the latest RMA report details. I think it was bought new in Oct 2006 according to the info I found.

It's a very powerful instrument but best suited to buyers who have a genuine need for what it can do and who can afford to take the hit if it goes faulty BER. Or maybe they can afford $6k per year for the top support contract that covers calibration and all repairs for that year. Any future (out of contract) repair work by Tek isn't a realistic option because of the $15k std repair fee. This fee is the official repair+calibration fee for this model at this age if it isn't covered under a service contract. Of course, you might be able to repair it yourself but (exotic) spares for these aren't going to be plentiful on ebay etc.

[TK]

To be fair, he didn't advertise his eBay listing, he just posted up that he had this for sale.  Somebody else posted the link to the eBay item so I don't think he's breached any forum etiquette......

IMHO, it is OK to sometimes breach the forum etiquette and offer an item that you think can be valuable or helpful to others... like vintage equipment or parts that are difficult to obtain.

Or if you contribute so much knowledge with the community like Shahriar  .  He made me buy some gear that I never dreamed of buying, fixed and sold them back for around the same money, but learned a TON in the process.  I kept some of the gear and the prices are going up, so it can also be a good retirement saving   

[Hugoneus]

To be fair, he didn't advertise his eBay listing, he just posted up that he had this for sale.  Somebody else posted the link to the eBay item so I don't think he's breached any forum etiquette......

IMHO, it is OK to sometimes breach the forum etiquette and offer an item that you think can be valuable or helpful to others... like vintage equipment or parts that are difficult to obtain.

Or if you contribute so much knowledge with the community like Shahriar  .  He made me buy some gear that I never dreamed of buying, fixed and sold them back for around the same money, but learned a TON in the process.  I kept some of the gear and the prices are going up, so it can also be a good retirement saving   

Thanks!

[Harb]

No shipping outside the US........

[Hugoneus]

This unit is available now at reduced price.