Author Topic: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?  (Read 85882 times)

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Offline nbrittonTopic starter

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Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« on: October 29, 2015, 08:14:24 pm »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?
 

Offline PA0PBZ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2015, 08:15:30 pm »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE
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Offline Ian.M

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #2 on: October 29, 2015, 08:16:45 pm »
Because they can't ebay their used Siglent?
 
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Offline nctnico

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #3 on: October 29, 2015, 08:23:13 pm »
I limit myself to having two oscilloscopes!
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline rx8pilot

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #4 on: October 29, 2015, 08:25:34 pm »
Because I could not afford 21.
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Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2015, 08:28:28 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 08:30:12 pm by SLJ »
 
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Offline MadTux

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2015, 08:29:30 pm »
Because I have no space for thirty
 

Offline retrolefty

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2015, 08:31:51 pm »
Haven't you heard, one that dies with the most toys wins.  :-+
 

Offline dr.diesel

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2015, 08:38:52 pm »
T&M is just like boobs, more bigger better.

Offline ErikTheNorwegian

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2015, 08:40:38 pm »
Because there is a balance in life.   20 scopes and one woman...
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 08:44:02 pm by ErikTheNorwegian »
/Erik
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Online tautech

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2015, 08:41:23 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
WOW, that is seriously cool.  :-+

Does it work?
Shit, stuff like that MUST be preserved.
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Offline dadler

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #11 on: October 29, 2015, 08:42:08 pm »
I keep upgrading, different features/specs, toys are fun?
 

Offline zapta

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #12 on: October 29, 2015, 08:43:22 pm »
Because you need 1 oscilloscope for every 10 DMMs.
 
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Offline alsetalokin4017

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2015, 08:45:38 pm »
You can't be too rich, or too thin, or have too many oscilloscopes.    :P


I'm poor, I only have seven. Five working here in my lab, one here but non-working, and one working but in storage in a far-away place.
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Offline KJDS

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2015, 08:48:03 pm »
I think I have less than ten working scopes.

I daren't count multimeters, but probably 200

Offline mrpackethead

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #15 on: October 29, 2015, 08:49:05 pm »
if i had more,  I'd need to upgrade my power supply into the building.



You can't be too rich, or too thin, or have too many oscilloscopes.    :P


I'm poor, I only have seven. Five working here in my lab, one here but non-working, and one working but in storage in a far-away place.
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Offline PA0PBZ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #16 on: October 29, 2015, 08:49:37 pm »
I think I have less than ten working scopes.

I daren't count multimeters, but probably 200

I think I have more scopes than multimeters, I guess I'm odd  :-//
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Offline rdl

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #17 on: October 29, 2015, 09:15:26 pm »
I only have five, but one has been broken for years and two are USB types.
 

Online John_ITIC

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #18 on: October 29, 2015, 09:18:49 pm »
Personally, I have five scopes, ranging from 500 MHz to some 50 GHz. When busy doing projects, older scopes are mostly gathering dust and are not worth enough to be bothered sold off. Also, one might need an extra for some unknown future reason. However, I just bought a new 13 GHz Agilent Infiniuum so I will sell my older 6 GHz 54855A Infiniuum since too valuable as dust collector.

I suppose one collects things one doesn't need when one has more money than time (to sell).
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Offline mrpackethead

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #19 on: October 29, 2015, 09:25:31 pm »
Personally, I have five scopes, ranging from 500 MHz to some 50 GHz. When busy doing projects, older scopes are mostly gathering dust and are not worth enough to be bothered sold off. Also, one might need an extra for some unknown future reason. However, I just bought a new 13 GHz Agilent Infiniuum so I will sell my older 6 GHz 54855A Infiniuum since too valuable as dust collector.

I suppose one collects things one doesn't need when one has more money than time (to sell).

Whozzo.. can i ask what you use a 50Ghz Scope for, and how many gold bars you needed to pay for it?
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Offline SL4P

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #20 on: October 29, 2015, 09:26:41 pm »
No luck with women?
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Offline mrpackethead

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #21 on: October 29, 2015, 09:36:06 pm »
No luck with women?

Like. I have as many scopes as i have wifes.
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Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #22 on: October 29, 2015, 09:38:13 pm »
I don't.  Yet.  But I'm working on correcting that hole in my test equipment collection...

-Pat
If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 

Offline JacquesBBB

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #23 on: October 29, 2015, 09:41:43 pm »
I have only 9. Gave one recently. Bought only one (rigol 1054z) all the others one were either given to me (1) or i found them in the dumpster and fix them, or still have to fix them.

Its quite rewarding to fix a scope that comes from a dumpster.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 09:44:33 pm by JacquesBBB »
 

Offline Deathwish

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #24 on: October 29, 2015, 10:00:35 pm »
Because as in Peter Pan with fairies every time you say siglent another oscilloscope dies.
Electrons are typically male, always looking for any hole to get into.
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Offline nanofrog

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #25 on: October 29, 2015, 10:27:28 pm »
Currently I only have 2, but my lab's always open to future adoptions.  >:D

Because as in Peter Pan with fairies every time you say siglent another oscilloscope dies.
Brilliant!  :-DD

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Online Vgkid

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #26 on: October 29, 2015, 10:27:47 pm »
Just one scope, and 6 (make that 3 currently fully function multimeters).
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Offline Deathwish

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #27 on: October 29, 2015, 10:30:18 pm »
Currently I only have 2, but my lab's always open to future adoptions.  >:D

Because as in Peter Pan with fairies every time you say siglent another oscilloscope dies.
Brilliant!  :-DD

I may have to steal borrow this for a signature.  :P

feel free.
Electrons are typically male, always looking for any hole to get into.
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Offline VK5RC

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #28 on: October 29, 2015, 10:51:24 pm »
I feel inadequate,  I only have 2, I will tell myself,  I must do better. 
@DeathWish, great Riglent comment!
Whoah! Watch where that landed we might need it later.
 

Offline GreyWoolfe

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #29 on: October 29, 2015, 10:55:23 pm »
I feel inadequate,  I only have 2, I will tell myself,  I must do better. 
@DeathWish, great Riglent comment!

2 here plus a hollow state Tektronics 535A as a conversation piece.  I am secure enough in my manhood to only have 2. ;D
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Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #30 on: October 29, 2015, 11:00:18 pm »
Only have 3 and one of them is a handheld one. Use to have quite a few of them, decided to sell most the others that I don't need, or I repaired over the years as no point in sitting around collecting dust and rather it go to someone that has a use for it. Actually to come think about it, make that 4 if you count the USB PC based one as a oscilloscope.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2015, 11:04:46 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Online free_electron

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #31 on: October 29, 2015, 11:05:44 pm »
mm let's see

mso7104
54831a
54831a ( yes two )
54832d
54645d
54622a
54622d

not quite 20

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Offline mrpackethead

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #32 on: October 29, 2015, 11:24:54 pm »
abc123 ( figment of my imagination )
mso8890-1 ( very rare model )
kammakooza 30  ( you get them on alibaba )
thingy-17  ( top secrect )
Rigol 8710  ( pre-release )
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Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #33 on: October 29, 2015, 11:27:19 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
WOW, that is seriously cool.  :-+

Does it work?
Shit, stuff like that MUST be preserved.

Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #34 on: October 29, 2015, 11:35:27 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
WOW, that is seriously cool.  :-+

Does it work?
Shit, stuff like that MUST be preserved.

Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.
2 WOW's SLJ.  :-+  8)
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Online John_ITIC

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #35 on: October 29, 2015, 11:39:14 pm »
Personally, I have five scopes, ranging from 500 MHz to some 50 GHz. When busy doing projects, older scopes are mostly gathering dust and are not worth enough to be bothered sold off. Also, one might need an extra for some unknown future reason. However, I just bought a new 13 GHz Agilent Infiniuum so I will sell my older 6 GHz 54855A Infiniuum since too valuable as dust collector.

I suppose one collects things one doesn't need when one has more money than time (to sell).

Whozzo.. can i ask what you use a 50Ghz Scope for, and how many gold bars you needed to pay for it?

Well, it is an equivalent time oscilloscopes so has an analog bandwidth of 50 GHz; however, only samples with 200 Ksamples/s!
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Oscilloscopes-/104247/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=11801B&_sop=15

However, the SD-50 (50 GHz) sampling heads are hard to find; the SD-24 TDR sampling heads (20 Ghz) are much easier to find and will turn the unit into a 17.5 ps differential TDR: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Test-Equipment-/4676/i.html?_sop=15&_from=R40&_nkw=SD-24&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

Edit: The 50 Ghz sampling heads are actually called SD-32 and *are* available on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Test-Equipment-/4676/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=tektronix+SD-32&_sop=15
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 12:25:33 am by John_ITIC »
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Offline helius

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #36 on: October 30, 2015, 12:06:13 am »
I only have 3 oscilloscopes (2 analog, 1 digital), and 4 multimeters, which is adequate for my needs. But getting into more specialized projects takes specialized tools. The scopes range in age from 1971 to 1991, and still work. I think I spent a total of $175 for them.
 

Online joeqsmith

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #37 on: October 30, 2015, 12:10:17 am »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?

I guess start young, stick with it and die old.    I did give away the first scope I ever bought brand new last summer to a guy just getting started.   

Offline tec5c

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #38 on: October 30, 2015, 12:21:40 am »
Because they can't ebay their used Siglent?

 :-+ :-DD
 

Offline crispy_tofu

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #39 on: October 30, 2015, 12:24:26 am »
LOL, I wish   :-\
 

Offline Macbeth

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #40 on: October 30, 2015, 12:25:06 am »
Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.
Haha. That looks much classier than the Advance E2 that we used back in college (late 80's early 90's).



Art Deco styling vs World War 2 styling I think.

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56666


As for scopes. I have a Hantek MSO5102D (with the 200MHz bw hack), and an old 20MHz boat anchor Kenwood CS1025.
 

Offline xrunner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #41 on: October 30, 2015, 12:25:19 am »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?

BECAUSE I LIKE IT!  :clap:  :-BROKE  :popcorn:
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Offline tec5c

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #42 on: October 30, 2015, 12:28:13 am »
Not sure how many I speak for here, however, it's not as though we go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars buying scopes. Sometimes you come across a scope that is destined for the dumpster/a bargin on eBay/faulty scope from friend/colleague etc

Much like how you accumulate components and such over time, you also accumulate test gear.

 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #43 on: October 30, 2015, 12:30:23 am »
I don't know; define so many?

Lets see...
My Tek-466, my main squeeze.
My Tek-321 It's portable.....
My Navy surplus scope in the garge.... Use to be my main Squeeze. it is also 100MHZ BW.
There is this B&K sitting on the floor that is good to 5MHZ (on a good dry day when the line voltage is high).
There are two Tek-475s in the garage waiting for me to make one working one....

Oh if you count them as scopes there are the two Heathkit SB-620 pan adapters.
The scope on my IFR doesn't count even though it is a fairly capable scope....
Sue AF6LJ
 

Online Electro Fan

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #44 on: October 30, 2015, 12:45:11 am »
Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.
Haha. That looks much classier than the Advance E2 that we used back in college (late 80's early 90's).



Art Deco styling vs World War 2 styling I think.

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56666


As for scopes. I have a Hantek MSO5102D (with the 200MHz bw hack), and an old 20MHz boat anchor Kenwood CS1025.

Similar meter designs
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 12:46:46 am by Electro Fan »
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #45 on: October 30, 2015, 12:47:48 am »
I love the old gear, it has class, the design of much of that stuff was easy on the eyes.  :-+
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Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #46 on: October 30, 2015, 01:08:29 am »
Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.
Haha. That looks much classier than the Advance E2 that we used back in college (late 80's early 90's).



Art Deco styling vs World War 2 styling I think.

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56666


As for scopes. I have a Hantek MSO5102D (with the 200MHz bw hack), and an old 20MHz boat anchor Kenwood CS1025.

Similar meter designs

Wow I have that same advance signal generator that I restored to working order a while ago. I love old gear. 
 

Offline fivefish

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #47 on: October 30, 2015, 01:21:01 am »
 I bought the Rigol 1054Z to help me fix my Tek 2445A, when it develop weird problems on Channel A (readings wrong by several factor sometimes)....   Now the 2445A is fixed, and I have an extra Rigol. Between these 2 scopes, I have (8) available channels.

I really do like the one-shot capture and digital readouts of the digital scope.
 

Offline xrunner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #48 on: October 30, 2015, 01:38:35 am »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE

Well, if you go back far enough in time - there were no oscilloscopes. If you then go forward in time, at some point there was the first oscilloscope. So, how did they fix the first oscilloscope without another oscilloscope :-//
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Online BravoV

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #49 on: October 30, 2015, 01:40:20 am »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE

Well, if you go back far enough in time - there were no oscilloscopes. If you then go forward in time, at some point there was the first oscilloscope. So, how did they fix the first oscilloscope without another oscilloscope :-//

Build the 2nd one.  :P

Offline xrunner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #50 on: October 30, 2015, 01:42:02 am »
Build the 2nd one.  :P

Yea - like really fast before the first one breaks.  :-DD
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Offline dadler

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #51 on: October 30, 2015, 01:50:12 am »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE

Well, if you go back far enough in time - there were no oscilloscopes. If you then go forward in time, at some point there was the first oscilloscope. So, how did they fix the first oscilloscope without another oscilloscope :-//

Same way they wrote the first assembler/compiler ...
 

Offline John Coloccia

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #52 on: October 30, 2015, 02:05:36 am »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?

Because we can't afford two rooms full of test equipment.

Seriously, what am I going to get for an old scope once it's old enough that I have to upgrade, especially now that you can get so much scope so cheaply? I'd rather just dedicate it to some sort of test station, or something like that.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 02:07:45 am by John Coloccia »
 

Offline miguelvp

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #53 on: October 30, 2015, 02:13:11 am »
I have 4 scopes, well 6 if you count the diligent analog discovery and an FPGA based BeScope, but those two need a PC to work, the other 4 are stand alone.
 

Offline -jeffB

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #54 on: October 30, 2015, 02:17:49 am »
When I was a kid, I desperately longed for an oscilloscope. But I had little money, and didn't know where or how to find cheap used ones, so longing was all I could do, with the intensity that only kids can muster.

As an adult, I got a well-paying job, and I could afford to indulge my childhood longings. Repeatedly.
 

Offline c4757p

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #55 on: October 30, 2015, 02:36:31 am »
I'm just too lazy to get rid of my old crap. Still have to post my TDS-380 for sale before I can buy myself a new scope... ::)
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Offline MadTux

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #56 on: October 30, 2015, 03:02:07 am »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE

Well, if you go back far enough in time - there were no oscilloscopes. If you then go forward in time, at some point there was the first oscilloscope. So, how did they fix the first oscilloscope without another oscilloscope :-//

Was probably more like a gradual process back then. Someone invented variable frequency audio saw tooth generator. You could use a speaker and ears to debug it. Then someone hooked it to the horizontal deflection plates of an electrostatic CRT and put unknown/test signals on vertical plates of that CRT. Adjust saw tooth freq to harmonic/subharmonic of test signal and you had stable display. First simple, untriggered scope was born. Simple to build and easy to repair, but quite useless in today's world. But better than a voltmeter for fast signals

Then they invented scope trigger, trigger holdoff, alternate/chopped sweep, second time base, calibrated timebase, variable gain amplifiers, increased bandwidth, CRT readout..... and you got the late analog beasts that are quite impossible to repair without second working scope, if the fault is somewhere deep inside.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 03:08:41 am by MadTux »
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #57 on: October 30, 2015, 03:45:57 am »
What if you need to fix your scope?  :-BROKE

Well, if you go back far enough in time - there were no oscilloscopes. If you then go forward in time, at some point there was the first oscilloscope. So, how did they fix the first oscilloscope without another oscilloscope :-//

Is this like needing a tube checker to check a tube in your tube checker; so you can check a tube??
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline Mr.B

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #58 on: October 30, 2015, 03:59:57 am »
Is this like needing a tube checker to check a tube in your tube checker; so you can check a tube??

Try saying that 10 times out loud and fast...   :-DD
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Offline bills

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #59 on: October 30, 2015, 04:42:26 am »
I feel inadequate I only have 5 scopes But I am going to buy another one.  rigol 1045 from tequiptment for $375.00 shipped.
The only problem is that I have not used any of the other scopes for years, still I feel the need for something new.
I will give away one or two of the old ones to make room.( yes I can be considered a nut case )
bill
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Online Electro Fan

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #60 on: October 30, 2015, 04:52:36 am »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?

Because we can't afford two rooms full of test equipment.

LOL
 

Offline TiN

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #61 on: October 30, 2015, 05:01:30 am »
Only one here, but it's 4G one  >:D
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Offline bills

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #62 on: October 30, 2015, 05:03:19 am »
Are electronicists hoarders, or is there another reason why everyone seems to have a room full of test equipment?

Because we can't afford two rooms full of test equipment.

LOL
Be glad that you do not have more room, I do and I have stuff I have not seen in years I was looking for something yesterday and found things that I had no idea that I had or where I got them from :palm: All I can say is my kids have a lot work to do when I die. I have decided to start giving away some of it , But where to start ?
Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
 

Offline vk6zgo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #63 on: October 30, 2015, 05:06:37 am »
I have just three:-

A BWD511 that cost me $A225 secondhand back in 1989 or so.
It doesn't work-----legacy of trying to find a triggering fault without another 'scope.("divide & conquer" technique using a DMM didn't work!)

A little 10MHz "Digitech" single channel thingy that I bought to fix the BWD----cost me $A135 from Jaycar.
I did find the BWD's problem with it,but other stuff had been disturbed,so I never finished fixing  that instrument.

The Digitech "croaked" too,but I fixed it with a DMM & a sharp eye

Last but not least,a Tektronix 7613 with 7B53A and two vertical plugins for $A135 at a Hamfest.
Woo-ee! 4 channels!!

All "goers" except the BWD,but I might have another go at it.

I saw a Hantek 6022BE on "Gumtree" & thought of buying it to make up the number to four,& also so I could point at it & go into peals of insane laughter ----but perhaps not!

I only have one functional laptop at the moment,so would be stealing this one every time I wanted to fire up the Hantek.
 

Offline rs20

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #64 on: October 30, 2015, 05:13:23 am »
I have a Rigol DS2000 (2 channel, 200 MHz) series and a old Tek 754C (4 channel, 500 MHz). Between them, I more-or-less have:
-- 4 channels
-- 500 MHz
-- Serial protocol decoding
-- VGA output
-- USB output
-- Network output
-- Lots of waveforms per second
-- etc etc

Now I challenge you to find a single scope that gives me the same functionality for less cost than the two scopes I have!
 

Offline nbrittonTopic starter

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #65 on: October 30, 2015, 05:59:08 am »
I have a Rigol DS2000 (2 channel, 200 MHz) series and a old Tek 754C (4 channel, 500 MHz). Between them, I more-or-less have:
-- 4 channels
-- 500 MHz
-- Serial protocol decoding
-- VGA output
-- USB output
-- Network output
-- Lots of waveforms per second
-- etc etc

Now I challenge you to find a single scope that gives me the same functionality for less cost than the two scopes I have!

A hacked Rigol MSO4014, currently on sale at tequimptment.net for $2594. Has everything you said plus:

-- 16 channel logic analyzer
-- 4GSa/s
-- 140 Mpts
 

Offline Neganur

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #66 on: October 30, 2015, 06:03:07 am »
It's actually something that has annoyed me in the past when I wanted to buy a Tektronix 7104. There are folks who sit on 3-4 of them and only ever fire one up to look at the trace and shut it down immediately because they're afraid to wear the screen out. The market is swept clean by collectors, and those who would use the scope as their main instrument are unable to get one. If you happen to ask if you could buy one of the extras you get replies like "it's not a scope meant for every day use" implying that for some reason you're not worthy of using it.

I guess those with many older tek scopes are very often people who repair/restore them and/or used to do so in their professional life. I also think that modern scopes are powerful in so many ways that you simply don't need more than one good one at home (unless for some reason you need the # of channels maybe?). But given the opportunity, why not pick up another when it's cheap. You can always sell it again when you're tire of looking at it :)
 

Offline Smokey

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #67 on: October 30, 2015, 06:32:52 am »
What a funny topic.  I laughed at first..  Then i counted scopes.
 9 counting usb daqs. 
When is that test equipment support group meeting again?
 
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Offline bills

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #68 on: October 30, 2015, 07:52:48 am »
We ( I was going to say He who has the most stuff wins) that have the most stuff wins.
but there seems to be women that has more stuff than me.  |O :-//
Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #69 on: October 30, 2015, 08:12:35 am »
I only have four (now).
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #70 on: October 30, 2015, 09:50:07 am »
Well, I have only four scopes. The oldest one (and probably the most treasured) is the Sony-Tektronix 305DMM portable, battery powered 5MHz dual-channel scope. I've bought it over 25 years ago and paid the price of a small car for it (about a year of my salary at the time). It is still on active duty on my bench paired with the Amber 3501 audio analyser.

I also have Tektronix 2465BCT which is my main scope, Agilent DSO3062A for times when I need a digital one (not often, though it may see more use when I'll measure LF noise on my voltage references) and Tektronix 2213A (got it for free at work about 10 years ago, with completely blown input stages in both channels, repaired it and now it is a spare scope in the lab, not getting much use.

Do I need sixteen more scopes? Not really, as I have a collection of over two hundred cassette decks, which takes some space already  :o.

Cheers

Alex
 

Offline lowimpedance

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #71 on: October 30, 2015, 10:04:54 am »
I have a collection of over two hundred cassette decks, which takes some space already  :o.

Cheers

Alex
Cassette decks !! ,  you collect them or is there another reason ?. A photo of the storage room would be interesting then followed by the other two storage rooms of tapes.  :D
The odd multimeter or 2 or 3 or 4...or........can't remember !.
 

Online Psi

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #72 on: October 30, 2015, 10:23:25 am »
Because..

Oscilloscopes Start Creeping Into Living Locations, Owners Start Craving Oscilloscope Positions Everywhere

And the recursion of an acronym that contains itself twice drives us all mad.

OSCILLOSCOPE
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 10:24:56 am by Psi »
Greek letter 'Psi' (not Pounds per Square Inch)
 

Offline tec5c

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #73 on: October 30, 2015, 10:24:15 am »
To conclude the OP's statement... they don't.
 

Offline Ivan7enych

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #74 on: October 30, 2015, 10:24:32 am »
10 years ago, when my old the only one analog oscilloscope has died, I felt myself like a blind man... That's why I bought a second one. Then I repaierd it (zener diode in power supply died), then gave to my fiend...

Now I have 3 scopes -
rigol mso2072a (use it most of the time),
old Tek TDS744a (hacked to 784a) - used sometimes for high frequency,
and usb velleman PSU1000 scope - use it very rarely to do some repair in my car.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 10:26:29 am by Ivan7enych »
 

Offline mrpackethead

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty elephants.
« Reply #75 on: October 30, 2015, 10:29:06 am »

I have more than 20 elephants in my house.  Along with a varieyt of other stuffed toys that the grandies love.
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Offline coppice

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty elephants.
« Reply #76 on: October 30, 2015, 10:32:12 am »

I have more than 20 elephants in my house.  Along with a varieyt of other stuffed toys that the grandies love.
We have just two carved elephants in our house, but from my days in telephony I still have a lot of trunks.  ;)
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #77 on: October 30, 2015, 10:35:30 am »
I have a collection of over two hundred cassette decks, which takes some space already  :o.

Cheers

Alex
Cassette decks !! ,  you collect them or is there another reason ?. A photo of the storage room would be interesting then followed by the other two storage rooms of tapes.  :D

I collect and restore cassette decks - it is sort of a hobby, I suppose. I've moved house three months ago and most of my collection is still in boxes. And it is somewhat off-topic here (though I have build a special set-up for making alignment cassette tapes which should be OK to discuss in the Test Equipment section - perhaps I'll do a post on that subject  8) ).

Cheers

Alex
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #78 on: October 30, 2015, 10:47:43 am »
I have a collection of over two hundred cassette decks, which takes some space already  :o.

Cheers

Alex
Cassette decks !! ,  you collect them or is there another reason ?. A photo of the storage room would be interesting then followed by the other two storage rooms of tapes.  :D

I collect and restore cassette decks - it is sort of a hobby, I suppose. I've moved house three months ago and most of my collection is still in boxes. And it is somewhat off-topic here (though I have build a special set-up for making alignment cassette tapes which should be OK to discuss in the Test Equipment section - perhaps I'll do a post on that subject  8) ).

Cheers

Alex
I don't suppose you know what might cause unreliable operation of the buttons on a Pioneer CTF-900?

Is there an oscilloscope with that number too  ::) ?! It is a complete off-topic, please PM me and I'll reply with some suggestions.

Cheers

Alex
 

Offline madires

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #79 on: October 30, 2015, 11:24:28 am »
I'm happy with just two scopes, a modern CRO (HM1508-2, got analog and DSO mode) and a DS1054Z. There are much more important things in live than having 20+ scopes to brag about.
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #80 on: October 30, 2015, 11:28:36 am »
I collect and restore cassette decks - it is sort of a hobby, I suppose. I've moved house three months ago and most of my collection is still in boxes. And it is somewhat off-topic here (though I have build a special set-up for making alignment cassette tapes which should be OK to discuss in the Test Equipment section - perhaps I'll do a post on that subject  8) ).
Cheers
Alex

I use to collect antique radios but every time I brought a really cool one home to restore my wife would keep it in the living room so I switched to antique test equipment which I have more of an interest in since it's what I used at work.  Fortunately she doesn't want that stuff in the house.  Then a couple years ago I started collecting vintage soldering irons. So if you think you're a little crazy collecting cassettes, don't worry, there's always someone a little further out there.

Offline con-f-use

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #81 on: October 30, 2015, 12:16:26 pm »
Quote
If you got tantalum problems I feel bad for you son,
I got 99 os'copes but a tek ain't one.
 

Offline Wuerstchenhund

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #82 on: October 30, 2015, 12:30:48 pm »


[...]



Funny, the first thing that came to mind when I saw the picture was Bioshock.  ;)

Really cool devices!
 

Offline Groucho2005

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #83 on: October 30, 2015, 12:42:57 pm »
I heard that when you utter the word 'OSCILLOSCOPE' backwards 3 times in a row, a large sum of money will be withdrawn from you bank account without your knowledge and a mysterious package shall be delivered to your house the next day.

EPOCSOLLICSO...EPOCSOLLICSO...EPOCSOLLICSO
 

Offline GNU_Ninja

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #84 on: October 30, 2015, 12:51:21 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.

That is a seriously cool scope  8) and I just love Chicken Head knobs on test equipment  :-+
 

Offline dr.diesel

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #85 on: October 30, 2015, 12:57:53 pm »

That is a seriously cool scope

Yeah,  :-+, I keep staring at that pict as well.  Would love to see a video of that in action.

Offline tszaboo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #86 on: October 30, 2015, 01:54:50 pm »
I dont. Then again, all the stuff I really care about in my life would fit into a cabin size bag. If everything else would be thrown away and I have to continue my life somewhere else, so be it. I'm not a hoarder. People and information is what really matters, the rest is just stuff.
 

Offline swingbyte

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #87 on: October 30, 2015, 02:14:16 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
WOW, that is seriously cool.  :-+

Does it work?
Shit, stuff like that MUST be preserved.

Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.
Love art deco[emoji3]
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #88 on: October 30, 2015, 02:27:20 pm »
Well, I have only four scopes. The oldest one (and probably the most treasured) is the Sony-Tektronix 305DMM portable, battery powered 5MHz dual-channel scope. I've bought it over 25 years ago and paid the price of a small car for it (about a year of my salary at the time). It is still on active duty on my bench paired with the Amber 3501 audio analyser.

I also have Tektronix 2465BCT which is my main scope, Agilent DSO3062A for times when I need a digital one (not often, though it may see more use when I'll measure LF noise on my voltage references) and Tektronix 2213A (got it for free at work about 10 years ago, with completely blown input stages in both channels, repaired it and now it is a spare scope in the lab, not getting much use.

Do I need sixteen more scopes? Not really, as I have a collection of over two hundred cassette decks, which takes some space already  :o.

Cheers

Alex

I collect and restore cassette decks and now reel to reel decks

Here some picture of a Nakamichi Dragon I restored, consider to many as one of the best cassette deck made























A Nakamichi BX-300 another great deck






















« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 02:55:38 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #89 on: October 30, 2015, 02:53:47 pm »

I collect and restore cassette decks and now reel to reel decks

Here some picture of a Nakamichi Dragon I restored, consider to many as one of the best cassette deck made


Should we do a separate thread on that in the right section? I have plenty of pictures about cassette deck restoration and useful mods. The Dragon is OK, though not my favourite deck sound-wise, unless heavily modified  ;) .

Cheers

Alex
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #90 on: October 30, 2015, 03:07:33 pm »

I collect and restore cassette decks and now reel to reel decks

Here some picture of a Nakamichi Dragon I restored, consider to many as one of the best cassette deck made


Should we do a separate thread on that in the right section? I have plenty of pictures about cassette deck restoration and useful mods. The Dragon is OK, though not my favourite deck sound-wise, unless heavily modified  ;) .

Cheers

Alex

The main one I use is heavily upgraded electronic and EQ wise. My personal favorite is the ReVox,  or Tandberg, as built like tanks. 
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 03:22:37 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #91 on: October 30, 2015, 03:20:55 pm »
Last one as a teaser before it goes to different threads, as have 1000's of pictures of different decks.

This one is of a reel to reel deck. A TEAC X1000R








































 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #92 on: October 30, 2015, 03:50:49 pm »
Now to get back on topic

I have a GW Instek  GDS-3254 as my main DSO, it a great DSO as does three Input Impedance Selection: 50ohms, 75ohms, 1Mohms and with option does measurements of power quality, harmonics, ripple, inrush current and serial decode bought with options at a closeout deal of around $1500 for the 250mhz 4 channel 3254 version. Don't need a LA as I use a separate 32 channel LA. My analog scope which I have two one working that I finish restoring and one that still needs work, as need to replace pre-amp IC on the broken one both are a Tektronix 2465 which I use the working one quite a bit still, also my main scope, my PC base scope is OWON VDS3104, is actually a good PC based scope that isolated unlike most I tried that pretty worthless. Then my new handheld Siglent SHS1102 going to be using that on my lighting and custom controllers and power supply projects outside. Have to find a good HV probe for it, or make one.  I also have a new Navy surplus 2246 scope.

Had a Siglent ADS 1204cfl scope, but didn't really care for it, I like the GW Instek much better and is quicker for bigger projects, much better then the Rigol I tried, as found the Rigol to be two slow and freezes and lockup at random and the fact that I had to return the first one due to one channel wasn't working correctly, had to hit the case for channel 2 to work, plus on the GW Instek can pull up functions more easier on the new scope with one hand. 

So have 4 working and 1 broken one. So 5 total. Don't need 15 more, so 15 short of 20.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2015, 04:22:29 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline EV

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #93 on: October 30, 2015, 05:31:49 pm »
I have only 12 scopes. So I am short of 8.
 

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #94 on: October 30, 2015, 06:16:18 pm »
I have so many scopes, I better do not count them.

The first one was the most difficult one to get.
After that, they found me!
There are 3 kinds of people in this world, those who can count and those who can not.
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #95 on: October 30, 2015, 07:40:13 pm »
OldSchoolTechCorner....
Now I am Jealous. Being a past owner of a pair of Ampex 755s, I can honestly say I am green eyed with jealousy.
Okay enough on that subject.........
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Offline Joker2k999

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #96 on: October 30, 2015, 08:21:55 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.

Owow. I can imagine where everyone gathers during your house parties. is the 64' Camaro and Whiskey cured during the great depression on the tour as well.? lol!  Great piece.
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Offline electr_peter

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #97 on: October 30, 2015, 11:06:02 pm »
Because insurance only covers limited amount of items.
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #98 on: October 30, 2015, 11:12:58 pm »
Because insurance only covers limited amount of items.

 :-+ :-+ :-+ :-+
That is worth 50 Points
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Offline Alex Eisenhut

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #99 on: October 31, 2015, 12:20:23 am »
I have 20+ plugins for my Tek 547. Does that count as separate scopes?  :) Granted, there are a lot of repeats there. The most useful ones are:
1A4 4 trace
1A5 differential
1S1 1GHz sampler
1S2 3.9GHz sampler +TDR
1L5 50Hz-1MHz spectrum analyzer
1L20 10MHz-4.2GHz spectrum analyzer
1L30 10.5GHz spectrum analyzer

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Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #100 on: October 31, 2015, 03:09:05 am »
I'm pretty jealous of the number of scopes (and other test gears) you have. As a guy who lives in a f**ing third world country, hobbyist like me can hardly afford even cheap brands (as they say) like rigol or siglent. Just got lucky to know someone here on EEVblog who giveaway his dead scope at repaired it for me. And it's free.  See this:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/the-saga-of-my-first-oscilloscope/msg737694/#msg737694

I'm happy to own it. Guess I must endure the envy of not having adequate gear to learn from. Good for some of you who lives in first world countries where such gears can be easily acquired.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 03:14:21 am by elex_enthusiast »
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Offline Alex Eisenhut

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #101 on: October 31, 2015, 03:54:47 am »
Last one as a teaser before it goes to different threads, as have 1000's of pictures of different decks.

This one is of a reel to reel deck. A TEAC X1000R


Super awesome. Pioneer RT-909 and TEAC X-3 myself. Unfortunately Montreal is not the place to get local service/parts for them. They're both doorstops for now.
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Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #102 on: October 31, 2015, 04:07:46 am »
Last one as a teaser before it goes to different threads, as have 1000's of pictures of different decks.

This one is of a reel to reel deck. A TEAC X1000R


Super awesome. Pioneer RT-909 and TEAC X-3 myself. Unfortunately Montreal is not the place to get local service/parts for them. They're both doorstops for now.

I restore those and have parts available for them. The Pioneer RT-909 especially. Well worth getting restored, they are from a time when it wasn't all about cost cutting and profit margins. 
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #103 on: October 31, 2015, 04:39:22 am »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.
WOW, that is seriously cool.  :-+

Does it work?
Shit, stuff like that MUST be preserved.

Yes it does.  Here's the signal generator that goes with it:


Both are from around 1938/1939.

Amazing! The sig gen looks like the front of a classic Art Deco theater. I'm surprised the leather handles are in such good shape. :-+

BTW, I currently have only 2 'scopes (a CRO and a DSO). I guess I'm an order of magnitude below expectations. ;D
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 05:21:28 am by bitseeker »
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Offline med6753

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #104 on: October 31, 2015, 05:50:05 am »
I'm pretty jealous of the number of scopes (and other test gears) you have. As a guy who lives in a f**ing third world country, hobbyist like me can hardly afford even cheap brands (as they say) like rigol or siglent. Just got lucky to know someone here on EEVblog who giveaway his dead scope at repaired it for me. And it's free.  See this:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/the-saga-of-my-first-oscilloscope/msg737694/#msg737694

I'm happy to own it. Guess I must endure the envy of not having adequate gear to learn from. Good for some of you who lives in first world countries where such gears can be easily acquired.

Elex, I have the same B&K scope which I purchased new in 1991. It is a good basic scope and should give you good service. I have not had the problem with the +260V rail that was described in your link but there are 2 other items to watch out for especially since you live in a humid climate...

First, the resistors in the focus divider circuit are subject in high voltages and tend to go open which causes a thick trace and inability to focus. They are spec'ed at .5 watt but I replaced them with 1 watt.

2nd, the Ch1/Ch2 Volt/Div switch decks tend to get corroded contacts and will need to be cleaned every once in a while. Getting to the switches are difficult in that you must remove the upper circuit board. Then spray the contact cleaner under the shields or go through the trouble of unsoldering them from the lower board. But I have had good luck in just spraying the cleaner under the shields. 
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Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #105 on: October 31, 2015, 05:58:50 am »
Elex, I have the same B&K scope which I purchased new in 1991. It is a good basic scope and should give you good service. I have not had the problem with the +260V rail that was described in your link but there are 2 other items to watch out for especially since you live in a humid climate...

First, the resistors in the focus divider circuit are subject in high voltages and tend to go open which causes a thick trace and inability to focus. They are spec'ed at .5 watt but I replaced them with 1 watt.

2nd, the Ch1/Ch2 Volt/Div switch decks tend to get corroded contacts and will need to be cleaned every once in a while. Getting to the switches are difficult in that you must remove the upper circuit board. Then spray the contact cleaner under the shields or go through the trouble of unsoldering them from the lower board. But I have had good luck in just spraying the cleaner under the shields.

Thanks for the tips med. So far the scope is doing fine and yes humidity makes me worry that the scope may show defects in the future. I bookmarked this page in case something gone bad with the scope. :-+
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Offline TerraHertz

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #106 on: October 31, 2015, 08:05:04 am »
I'm pretty jealous of the number of scopes (and other test gears) you have.


Btw, how is the Tek 475 shipping coming along? Shouldn't it have arrived by now? I've been meaning to ask...

Then you'll have two. Well on your way to 20, just need to add a zero.   :)
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Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #107 on: October 31, 2015, 08:22:22 am »
Btw, how is the Tek 475 shipping coming along? Shouldn't it have arrived by now? I've been meaning to ask...

Then you'll have two. Well on your way to 20, just need to add a zero.   :)

Haha funny!! Well I'm not dreaming of having 20 or more scopes (that's too much overkill for my needs). Having two usable scopes will be adequate for self education. It doesn't matter if it's old or modern fancy ones. So lang as it is usable.  ;)
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Offline med6753

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #108 on: October 31, 2015, 12:53:03 pm »
Elex, I have the same B&K scope which I purchased new in 1991. It is a good basic scope and should give you good service. I have not had the problem with the +260V rail that was described in your link but there are 2 other items to watch out for especially since you live in a humid climate...

First, the resistors in the focus divider circuit are subject in high voltages and tend to go open which causes a thick trace and inability to focus. They are spec'ed at .5 watt but I replaced them with 1 watt.

2nd, the Ch1/Ch2 Volt/Div switch decks tend to get corroded contacts and will need to be cleaned every once in a while. Getting to the switches are difficult in that you must remove the upper circuit board. Then spray the contact cleaner under the shields or go through the trouble of unsoldering them from the lower board. But I have had good luck in just spraying the cleaner under the shields.

Thanks for the tips med. So far the scope is doing fine and yes humidity makes me worry that the scope may show defects in the future. I bookmarked this page in case something gone bad with the scope. :-+


You're welcome!  :-+  I should have included what resistors tend to go open in the focus circuit but I didn't have the schematic in front of me. They are:

R526 (1.5M)
R527 (1.5M)
R528 (2.2M)
R529 (1.0M)

Be careful when working in that area. There's -2KV floating around and it will bite you.  ;D
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Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #109 on: October 31, 2015, 02:27:15 pm »
You're welcome!  :-+  I should have included what resistors tend to go open in the focus circuit but I didn't have the schematic in front of me. They are:

R526 (1.5M)
R527 (1.5M)
R528 (2.2M)
R529 (1.0M)

Be careful when working in that area. There's -2KV floating around and it will bite you.  ;D

Copy that :-+.. Good thing I already had a copy of both the service and operator's manual for future refence.. :)
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Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #110 on: October 31, 2015, 02:59:45 pm »
This one's older than my Supreme scope I posted a picture of.  This RCA from 1936 is not as nice to look at but it's got a smaller one inch display.

Offline alank2

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #111 on: October 31, 2015, 03:51:32 pm »
I love looking at these old scopes - this thread should morph into show all your unique scopes!

I've got 3 of them, a DS4014, DS2072, and an analog BK 2120.  I finally got a signal gen and could generate some signals for the X-Y which look really beautiful on the analog screen, the digitals don't do X-Y the same justice.

You guys who have 20 scopes are lucky to have a place to store them all!  I'd have a hard time trying to find room for them!
 

Offline med6753

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #112 on: October 31, 2015, 05:36:13 pm »
I feel hopelessly inadequate.  :-// I only have 3. Top to bottom...

Siglent SDS 1052DL
B&K 2120
Tek 2465 DMS



Oh that's right. 4! Soundcard Oscilloscope on my tower PC. I don't feel so bad now.  :D

« Last Edit: July 20, 2017, 02:58:00 am by med6753 »
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Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #113 on: October 31, 2015, 05:47:50 pm »
Talking about weird scopes...
My first scope was made by Leybold / Germany and it just had ultra basic functionality.
It came from the grade school, where I had my first physics classes at age 13, I think.
Here is a picture that I found on the internet of the very same one I had.
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Offline Alex Eisenhut

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #114 on: October 31, 2015, 09:10:08 pm »
I'm not a hoarder. People and information is what really matters, the rest is just stuff.

Wisdom. Myself, I think I'm kind of a hoarding relaxation oscillator; I accumulate until I hit a threshold point and toss a lot out.

I need to work on that.  ^-^
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Offline Alex Eisenhut

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #115 on: October 31, 2015, 09:16:32 pm »
Last one as a teaser before it goes to different threads, as have 1000's of pictures of different decks.

This one is of a reel to reel deck. A TEAC X1000R


Super awesome. Pioneer RT-909 and TEAC X-3 myself. Unfortunately Montreal is not the place to get local service/parts for them. They're both doorstops for now.

I restore those and have parts available for them. The Pioneer RT-909 especially. Well worth getting restored, they are from a time when it wasn't all about cost cutting and profit margins.

Sadly I took mine to some local "guru" that lapped the heads and did all kinds of mechanical stuff to it. It sounds like crap and the dampers arms are messed up. He didn't even have the right screws to put the new pinch rollers on. It looks like crap.

New heads are unobtainable, and with the exchange rate it's a bad deal in any case.

Now if I could find a Technics RS-1500...
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Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #116 on: October 31, 2015, 09:39:00 pm »
Last one as a teaser before it goes to different threads, as have 1000's of pictures of different decks.

This one is of a reel to reel deck. A TEAC X1000R


Super awesome. Pioneer RT-909 and TEAC X-3 myself. Unfortunately Montreal is not the place to get local service/parts for them. They're both doorstops for now.

I restore those and have parts available for them. The Pioneer RT-909 especially. Well worth getting restored, they are from a time when it wasn't all about cost cutting and profit margins.

Sadly I took mine to some local "guru" that lapped the heads and did all kinds of mechanical stuff to it. It sounds like crap and the dampers arms are messed up. He didn't even have the right screws to put the new pinch rollers on. It looks like crap.

New heads are unobtainable, and with the exchange rate it's a bad deal in any case.

Now if I could find a Technics RS-1500...

I don't know why people try to lapped the heads on these, you can't, it only done by machine with deep gap heads on professional decks, not on customer grade decks, as gap is not deep and will cause roll off. It the same that go for people who try to realign the heads when they are worn and have a groove in them, all they are doing is edging and damaging the tape, if heads are worn uneven then best to replace them. I do have spare head block for the 909, as restore a few of them and resell them. So I keep parts from damaged machine from shipping, thanks to FedEx, USPS and UPS and the sellers that don't know how to pack them. 

I have a Technics RS-1500 that coming up for sale soon. I am working on changing the all capacitors as they gone leaky and high ESR and a IC on the servo Capstan drive as quartz lock wasn't working correctly on a Technics RS-1500. Heads and tape path in good shape, no noticeable wear. The only issue is long term is no spare parts for Technics as they made the stupid decision to scrap all the spare parts and reason you don't see parts for these machines. It a shame as one of the best built reel to reel decks. Already rebuilt the motors and replaced the brakes pads on the shoes on it.   
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 09:46:12 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #117 on: October 31, 2015, 09:43:28 pm »
I feel hopelessly inadequate.  :-// I only have 3. Top to bottom...

Siglent SDS 1052DL
B&K 2120
Tek 2465 DMS



Oh that's right. 4! Soundcard Oscilloscope on my tower PC. I don't feel so bad now.  :D



You sure not care about what others think, as long as you can get what you need to get done. Plus that Tektronix 2465 is a pretty top end analog scope, one of my favorites.
 

Offline TheSteve

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #118 on: October 31, 2015, 10:49:12 pm »
I only have one scope at the moment, a Rigol DS1054Z. Sold off my Tek THS720. Will get another Tek in the near future though. I seem to be collector other gear instead, such as spectrum analyzers.
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Offline KL27x

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #119 on: October 31, 2015, 10:55:51 pm »
Quote
I feel hopelessly inadequate.  :-// I only have 3. Top to bottom...
I've got two oscilloscopes, which I feel is more than enough. One of them is in storage. :-//
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #120 on: November 01, 2015, 01:10:29 am »
Having only one scope would make me nervous.
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Offline bills

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #121 on: November 01, 2015, 01:29:19 am »
AS I said I feel left out I have only 4 But I have 200 tube radios and a boat load of tube test equipment.
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Offline Excavatoree

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #122 on: November 01, 2015, 02:33:41 am »
Someone way back on page one or two mentioned tube testers - I have indeed used tube tester number 2 to test a tube in tester 1 to determine it was bad.

(Ok, who am I kidding, they are testers 4 or 5 or something like that)

Scopes, I have a few, but I only have two that are useful - an older Rigol and a Tek 7000 series.   I have a Tek 547 that does seem to work, and a few other tube scopes in various states from "shows a trace" to "completely dead."
 

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Offline FlyingHacker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #124 on: November 01, 2015, 04:34:18 am »
I had one of these:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/02/39/e0/0239e07d1101b1731bc0277bff2a735e.jpg

Very nice!

I love all this vintage stuff!

I have a Tek 2465, a Tek 2232 (analog scope and a DSO in one), a Tek T922, and an analog storage scope, the Tek 564, with some plugins. The 564 is my latest one, and I am still playing with getting it all dialed in. The analog storage tube is a really cool invention, and amazing for the 1950s.

I also have a Bell & Howell scope in a state of repair, and one of those eyes little kit DSOs, that was fun to put together.
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Offline smgvbest

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #125 on: November 01, 2015, 04:38:57 am »
I've got only 2
A MSO1174Z-S and a Tektronix 2467B
I love both of them and if I had the money for more I would get more but reality doesn't permit it.
Maybe I'll get luck with Keysights Drawing to win test equipment.   probably not.  I'm a hobbyist they probably reject my entry anyways
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Offline H-Man

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #126 on: November 01, 2015, 07:18:02 am »
I have zero oscilloscopes. I've been trying to get my hands on one, but so far nothing has appeared in my price range. As for the number of scopes I plan to limit myself to, to barrow a phrase used occasionally on a flashlight enthusiast forum: "The best solution for that is to not carry only one light. One is none, two is one, 3,4, or 5 will be so much fun"
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #127 on: November 01, 2015, 08:28:16 am »
I have a Technics RS-1500 that coming up for sale soon. I am working on changing the all capacitors as they gone leaky and high ESR and a IC on the servo Capstan drive as quartz lock wasn't working correctly on a Technics RS-1500. Heads and tape path in good shape, no noticeable wear. The only issue is long term is no spare parts for Technics as they made the stupid decision to scrap all the spare parts and reason you don't see parts for these machines. It a shame as one of the best built reel to reel decks. Already rebuilt the motors and replaced the brakes pads on the shoes on it.

Have a look at my website, there is a very simple circuit modification for some Technics decks, including the RS-1500 which considerably (about 30 times) reduces the distortion of the line output amplifier and improves the sound quality.

Cheers

Alex
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 08:33:37 am by Alex Nikitin »
 

Offline Macbeth

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #128 on: November 01, 2015, 09:16:40 am »
Have a look at my website, there is a very simple circuit modification for some Technics decks, including the RS-1500 which considerably (about 30 times) reduces the distortion of the line output amplifier and improves the sound quality.
Don't encourage OldSchool to go off and do other projects. He's procrastinating enough with the rusty old 3458A that some of us are eager to see brought back to life ;)
 

Offline Alex Nikitin

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #129 on: November 01, 2015, 09:53:49 am »
Have a look at my website, there is a very simple circuit modification for some Technics decks, including the RS-1500 which considerably (about 30 times) reduces the distortion of the line output amplifier and improves the sound quality.
Don't encourage OldSchool to go off and do other projects. He's procrastinating enough with the rusty old 3458A that some of us are eager to see brought back to life ;)

If there is a competition for the simplest electronics project this mod should have a chance of winning it - it requires to move one end of one resistor to a different point in the circuit , so it should not task OldSchool too much  ::) .

Cheers

Alex
 

Offline Berni

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #130 on: November 01, 2015, 11:29:57 am »
I only got two scopes, but they are decent ones (Agilent MSO6034A and DSO9204H).

I am what Dave would call a young whippersnapper. I haven't been exposed to the old school analog scopes a whole lot so i never really developed a love for it.(Sort of like kids these days have no appreciation for the NES and similar old consoles) As a result i never really jump at the opportunity of getting a famous model old scope for cheep. I do kinda want to have one analog scope just cause nothing says electronics engineering like a big heavy CRO. I just know that it would never really see much actual use so its a bit difficult to justify dropping a few 100 bucks on getting a good one.

To be fair it is useful to have more than one scope as often certain scopes have special advantages in some applications. Like you might not want to risk the sensitive analog front end in a expensive 10GHz scope for every day use, or you work on physically large precis of electronics where its an advantage to have a small light scope that you can bring to the work instead of bringing your work to the scope. Sometimes its nice to have a scope that boots in a few seconds for quickly checking something etc. But yeah realistically that means owning about 2 to 5 scopes for regular use, not exactly 20

« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 11:32:34 am by Berni »
 

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #131 on: November 01, 2015, 12:05:01 pm »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.
All old school Philips / Fluke Combiscopes, switchable between Analog / Digital.
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Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #132 on: November 01, 2015, 12:23:22 pm »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.
All old school Philips / Fluke Combiscopes, switchable between Analog / Digital.

Wow! :o.. What a stack of "Hexaplets''!!! :-+
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 12:24:54 pm by elex_enthusiast »
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Offline oldway

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #133 on: November 01, 2015, 01:38:07 pm »
It is time to take stock.  :-DD

Fully working condition:

Tektronix
01 x 465B
01 x 2235A

HP
01 x 1740A
01 x 1725A

Hameg
03 x HM605
01 x HM1005 (BBC M6004)
01 x HM1505

Philips
01 x PM3233 (phosphor long decay)
01 x PM3094

Not fully working.

Tektronix
01 x 2236

For spare.

HP
01 x 1740A
01 x 1715A
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #134 on: November 01, 2015, 03:20:53 pm »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.

Oh, sure.... if I had that much space I'd have more stuff...

(And that's only the "high voltage" bench?)
 

Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #135 on: November 01, 2015, 03:26:53 pm »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.

Oh, sure.... if I had that much space I'd have more stuff...

(And that's only the "high voltage" bench?)

If we all had more space..................



/Sue still holding out hope some rich man will come along and sweep her up off her feet and build her the Lab of her Dreams.





 :-DD :-DD :-DD
Like that is really going to happen.
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #136 on: November 01, 2015, 03:34:41 pm »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.

Oh, sure.... if I had that much space I'd have more stuff...

(And that's only the "high voltage" bench?)

Well, it is one of my high voltage benches, I have a second one for high voltage testing with a few more of the Fluke scopes.

And then the digital and high speed bench with newer Agilent and Tektronix scopes.
I have not counted in a while.
 
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Offline linux-works

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #137 on: November 01, 2015, 08:57:34 pm »
one scope not shown (rigol 4ch scope arrived after I took this photo)



some never get used, though.  I bought the b&k before I bought the rigol and hacked the rigol.  the b&k has essentially no hours of use on it and I paid quite a bit for it, too, sad to say.

the old analog b&k I bought new when I was a teen.  a 30mhz dual trace scope was very high end back in the early 80's (for non pros).

the 2 tek's I bought within the last few years.

I have a pocket lcd scope, too, and a tiny oled toy scope that was from a kit, but those are not worth showing.

Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #138 on: November 01, 2015, 09:12:19 pm »


One of my newer scopes.  A early 1950s Hickok service scope with a 3" display.

Notice they call it an "Oscillograph".
« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 09:15:00 pm by SLJ »
 

Offline dan3460

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #139 on: November 01, 2015, 10:06:00 pm »
For my wife I only have the 2 scopes on my bench, a digital and a Tektronix 2465. She can also see an old 1940 RCA, but she doesn't know what it is. I have another 8, all Tektronix, 3 of them I have fixed, working on one and 4 that are waiting to be fixed. I have bought many of this scopes on Craig List and they had to ride in the trunk of my car sometimes for weeks until I find the opportunity to bring them home. I know that I cannot win an argument "You have two scopes already, why do you need another one, bla, bla, bla" What do you say?; "Honey, I need this one to measure the backpressure of my farts".
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #140 on: November 01, 2015, 10:14:58 pm »
My 5 scopes

GW Instek GDS-3254. Great scope overall. My main scope. 1M ohms, 75 ohms , and 50 ohms input impedance for minimum loading effect. Did also get all the software options with it, as was a closeout deal.   

Tektronix 2246 Is new old stock and rebuilt with new capacitors

Tektronix 2465 Is rebuilt with new components, HV side repaired, low hour CRT installed, rear fan replaced and power supply rebuilt and fully calibrated. I have two. One in picture keeping and other one I may sell needs channel 2 pre-amp replaced and calibration. 

Siglent SHS1102 Just received a lot of people know the story on this one, but will come very handy on large lighting projects and controllers I built. Is a isolated channel scope. Plus will be used on my HV projects as well. Be new videos coming soon. 

OWON VDS3104 is a decent PC based scope, as most PC based scope are crap. This is one of the only one out of many I tried that I kept and didn't return. 
 











« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 10:28:54 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline med6753

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #141 on: November 02, 2015, 02:30:22 am »

You sure not care about what others think, as long as you can get what you need to get done. Plus that Tektronix 2465 is a pretty top end analog scope, one of my favorites.

Quote
I feel hopelessly inadequate.  :-// I only have 3. Top to bottom...
I've got two oscilloscopes, which I feel is more than enough. One of them is in storage. :-//

I guess my attempt at tongue and cheek sarcasm didn't come across too well. No envy here.  ;D For many years all I had was the B&K scope. I'm sure THAT would have caused some to stay awake at nights.  The Tek and Siglent are recent acquisitions.     
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Offline TerraHertz

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #142 on: November 02, 2015, 03:54:05 am »
On my high voltage bench I am using up to 6 scopes at once from time to time.
All old school Philips / Fluke Combiscopes, switchable between Analog / Digital.

I like how you have them labeled "Scope - 1" to "Scope - 4." In case you forget they are scopes?  ^-^

Added: Sigh. I counted mine. 23  I think, unless I missed some. Of which *most* don't work.
My workshop development arc still hasn't reached the 'recommission all the old gear' stage. Soon.

Frequent use:
HP 1743A  100MHz, on main desk.
Trio CS-2110 100MHz on other bench.

6 x Tek R7903 & 1 x R7603 are in good condition but haven't been powered on for years and will need babying and repairs. These are mostly in racks, one per rack with other gear.
1 x Tek 7104 (needs repair, had an unfortunate HV discharge accident due to me being stupid/clumsy.)
3 x HP 54120B  20GHz (2 working with sampling heads, 1 mainframe only for spares)
1 x HP 83480A Digital Communications Analyzer. (Its a scope really) 30GHz, optical + electrical. Works, but no plugins. Still looking for one or more cheap plugins for this. Didn't realize the plugins are also compatible with current model HP high end scopes, so the prices are always high.


'For the museum' (Means they look cool, but not much actual use. All these were free scores, could not resist.)
1 Tek R5030 dual beam. Works but needs new bulbs in readouts. Looking for suitable LEDs, not having much luck.)
1 x HP 1201B 100uV dual trace old scope.
1 x Tek 5103N D12 Dual Beam oscilloscope.  Nice scope, only 2MHz BW, but huge screen.
2 x Tek 5103N D13 Dual Beam Storage. Working, few minor problems.
1 x BWD 530A. Needs work, can't find manual.

Others
2 wrecks (Tek 464 & 475) picked up free for parts.
1 Tek R7633 storage. Was fine when bought but had a "packed by a moron" shipping injury and needs major rebuild of frame at minimum.

Didn't count video waveform monitors and XY displays.

Edit: 24. I forgot to count a Tek 465 on a trolley. Works, used now and then.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 02:46:24 pm by TerraHertz »
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Offline Tom45

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #143 on: November 02, 2015, 04:58:21 am »
This thread prompted me to take stock. I've never got rid of any scope.

My first scope: an Eico 460 I built from a kit in the late 50s. It was hot stuff with a bandwidth of DC to 4.5 MC (mega cycles, none of this Hertz nonsense).

Tek 2445
Tek 7704
Tek 7844
Tek 7854
Tek 7904
Tek R7903
Tek TDS210
Lots of Tek 7000 plugins

Owon (I needed a portable 100 MHz battery powered scope for a project)

Rigol DS1074Z

So I guess I'm pulling down the 20 scopes average with just 10 scopes.

I live about 40 miles from Tektronix headquarters and grew up in the classic Tek era. I've used various 500 series tube scopes in the past but never owned one.

Tom
 

Offline Cubdriver

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #144 on: November 02, 2015, 05:24:44 am »
This thread prompted me to take stock. I've never got rid of any scope.

My first scope: an Eico 460 I built from a kit in the late 50s. It was hot stuff with a bandwidth of DC to 4.5 MC (mega cycles, none of this Hertz nonsense).

Tek 2445
Tek 7704
Tek 7844
Tek 7854
Tek 7904
Tek R7903
Tek TDS210
Lots of Tek 7000 plugins

Owon (I needed a portable 100 MHz battery powered scope for a project)

Rigol DS1074Z

So I guess I'm pulling down the 20 scopes average with just 10 scopes.

I live about 40 miles from Tektronix headquarters and grew up in the classic Tek era. I've used various 500 series tube scopes in the past but never owned one.

Tom

Well, rectify the part in bold and that'll get you to eleven at least...   ;D

-Pat
If it jams, force it.  If it breaks, you needed a new one anyway...
 

Offline Gribo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #145 on: November 02, 2015, 07:09:34 am »
My wife buys shoes, I buy scopes..  :-+ Got a fluke Scopemeter 192B, and will get a decent DSO for my next project.
I am available for freelance work.
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #146 on: November 02, 2015, 07:13:08 am »
I know that I cannot win an argument "You have two scopes already, why do you need another one, bla, bla, bla" What do you say?

How many pairs of shoes does she own? How many have only been worn a couple of times...?

(Substitute [whatever] for shoes, I don't know what her vice is)
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 07:14:41 am by Fungus »
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #147 on: November 02, 2015, 08:20:45 am »
Tek
465B
2465B
2467B*
TDS2024B
MDO3054*

HP/Agilent/Keysight
54120B/54121A*
54622D
54642D
54831D*
MSO7104B*

Rigol
MSO1074Z-S*

Hantek
DSO1060B

Owon
HDS3102M-N

Plus a handful of other useless purchases (USB based or anything with Velleman in the name)

* Turned on at least once a week

Before joining EEVBlog, I had just the TDS2024B and some useless USB/Velleman "scopes", although I'd had a 2465B and a couple of other CROs before this.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 08:22:57 am by Howardlong »
 

Online BravoV

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #148 on: November 02, 2015, 08:24:31 am »
Before joining EEVBlog, I had just ....

Proven fact, its contagious ...  :palm:

Offline JacquesBBB

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #149 on: November 02, 2015, 09:56:54 am »
tek  468            (dumpster dive, repaired)
tek  TDS 460A   (gift)

Philips  PM3208 (dumpster dive, repaired)
Philips  PM3209 (dumpster dive, need  repair)
Philips  PM3335 (dumpster dive, need  repair)

HP 54601A        (dumpster dive, repaired + another one given away)

Rigol DS1054Z  (bought)
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 10:03:24 am by JacquesBBB »
 

Offline Macbeth

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #150 on: November 02, 2015, 10:53:18 am »
You know what, this thread has shown just how mentally ill some people are.

Take me for instance.

I only have 2 scopes. An old analog Kenwood CS-4025 20MHz totally basic boatanchor and a Hantek MSO5102D.

I keep wishing I had a Rigol DS1054Z instead, but that would mean selling the Hantek for peanuts and I don't fancy that, besides I will end up cursing myself when I need the 16 channel LA. But the Rigol has protocol decoding which the Hantek laughably doesn't, and it also has SCPI. Both things I could do with right now...

As for the analog scope, it's worthless and hasn't been used in years. But I have always wanted a decent analog storage scope with proper vector traced annunciators ever since I was blown away by them in my first job a couple of decades ago.

So I persevere with what I have. Like I said, this is a mental illness. I thank this thread for snapping me out of it.

There is nothing wrong with owning four or more scopes. I've procrastinated long enough. I will shortly be ordering the Rigol and will be on the lookout for another boatanchor for local pickup.  :-+  ;)
 

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #151 on: November 02, 2015, 03:07:12 pm »
Before joining EEVBlog, I had just ....

Proven fact, its contagious ...  :palm:
Very true!
I would not have bought two 7000 series Agilent scopes, if it would not have been for the eevblog forum and the content here of how to enable all options.
If Dave would have collected only a dollar for each sale that is resulted out of readings on eevblog, I think he might be rich already.
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Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #152 on: November 02, 2015, 05:16:54 pm »
:blah:...and may sell the GW Instek GDS3254, it been a good scope... :blah:

Nice to see someone else with a GWInstek scope, I say this because apparently it is a sacrilege crime to have chosen a GWInstek over a Rigol.
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #153 on: November 02, 2015, 05:46:29 pm »
:blah:...and may sell the GW Instek GDS3254, it been a good scope... :blah:

Nice to see someone else with a GWInstek scope, I say this because apparently it is a sacrilege crime to have chosen a GWInstek over a Rigol.

The GWInstek is much better then the Rigol hardware wise, not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy. I tried the Rigol for a while and didn't care for it for several reasons I won't get into as would require a whole another thread alone, not to mention it had lockup issues and broke where a channel started cutting out at random, but in all fairness did use it extensively for hours at a time and left it powered up, but still sure have not have broke in two weeks of time. The GWInstek 5GSa/s and High BW as i could get with low ppm and 50, 75 and 1M ohm selectable input impendence. You have to spend around 10k it seem to find one spec similar, as for me it not all about just having long memory. It would be nice, but will only sell the GWInstek and upgrade, if it actually a upgrade, otherwise just keep the GWIstek as have no issues with it. 

The next step up would be a keysight, or Lecroy, unless GWInstek comes out with something newer in the next couple of months that has long memory and same good features, not in a hurry, as has to have other features mention above to consider upgrading. The LA is not important as have a good separate 32 channel one with good memory and prefer a bigger screen. Plus scope sit on top of bench, so LA cable won't reach and you need short cables. So would have to move stuff around. Built in arbitrary signal generator would be nice, but has to have low THD and dual channels and doubt that any scope will have a good one built in.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 11:04:57 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline guido

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #154 on: November 02, 2015, 06:07:46 pm »
Same disease here...

Tek
TDS430A
2430A
2465
7704A   On a chart, just for the looks :)
7603   to run 7A22/7A13 diff amps
7623A   to run 7L5 SA
5115   to run 5L4N SA
Three and half 76xx boatanchors for spare parts (two are ~in running order)

Iwatsu SS7810 with home build calibration pod.

Most of the Teks needed repairs or at least replacement of the power supply caps and batteries.
Not all is working at the moment; the 7603/7623A are getting the supply caps replaced and the 5115 combo needs further work.

No modern scope; no need for one yet. E.g. I have several LAs, including a modern one for serial decoding.
And two old ones to repair old stuff :)

So i guess i'm half way there  :-DD
 

Offline rickv14623

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #155 on: November 02, 2015, 06:41:46 pm »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


Not sure what I'm doing with 150 tube testers though  :wtf:, again, I only use two of them.

One of the coolest things I have seen here. Thanks for sharing
 

Offline rsjsouza

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #156 on: November 02, 2015, 06:47:05 pm »
I only have 2 scopes. An old analog Kenwood CS-4025 20MHz totally basic boatanchor and a Hantek MSO5102D.
I thought I was the only one with a Kenwood CS-4025! I bought mine new in 1995.

It then took me 17 years to get my DS1102E, and only two years to get my DS4014. I sold my DS1102E and I now have the same as you: two oscilloscopes.

I have no space to store boat anchors, but I would really love to do that. But the eevblog gave me the itch to get many DMMs and the eventual old school calculator.
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Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #157 on: November 02, 2015, 06:55:55 pm »
The GWInstek is much better then the Rigol hardware wise, not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy

I bought a GW-Instek 2022E a couple of months ago and it is way better than my RIGOL DS1104Z, as far as hacking goes, everything is included standard with the GW2022E so there isn't any reason to hack.I noticed a couple of days ago GW-Instek have knocked 20% off their 'E' series model versions which have only been on the market for about 4 months. It appears as though GW-Instek are head to head with RIGOL's DS2000A scope series and vice versa.
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #158 on: November 02, 2015, 07:00:32 pm »
not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy.

That's not enough? $400 for a four channel, 100MHz DSO with plenty of memory+features isn't enough for them to be worthy of a bit of hype...?  :-//

« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 07:02:29 pm by Fungus »
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #159 on: November 02, 2015, 07:05:00 pm »
not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy.

That's not enough? $400 for a four channel, 100MHz DSO with plenty of memory+features isn't enough for them to be worthy of a bit of hype...?  :-//

I get that part as was unheard of for specs and feature for it price point before and know that the reason, just don't care for their midrange line up and the fact some consider it better then anything else, even scopes in a whole another class that is clearly better.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2015, 07:25:16 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline N2IXK

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #160 on: November 02, 2015, 07:23:41 pm »
20?  I thought I was doing OK at only 5 of them:

Tektronix 453--Oldest of the bunch. 50 MHz dual trace. Sharpest trace of any scope I have ever used. Freebie from dumpster.

Tektronix 7904--Lab grade 500 MHz analog monster with a good assortment of plugins.  Highest bandwidth scope in the lab. $15 at auction.

LeCroy 9310C--400Mhz dual channel DSO. Another freebie from a dumpster. Needed only minor repairs.

Rigol DS1052E--50Mhz dual channel DSO (unlocked to 100MHz). Only scope in the shop I actually bought new.

Fluke 124 "ScopeMeter"--40 MHz LCD portable scope/DMM.  $10 from hamfest w/dead battery pack.  Lives in toolbox in truck, used for field/automotive work.
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Offline Fungus

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #161 on: November 02, 2015, 07:24:39 pm »
not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy.

That's not enough? $400 for a four channel, 100MHz DSO with plenty of memory+features isn't enough for them to be worthy of a bit of hype...?  :-//

I get that part as was unheard of for specs and feature for it price point before and know that the reason, just don't care for their midrange line up

OK. I wasn't aware that anybody was "hyping" a scope other then the DS1054Z.
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #162 on: November 02, 2015, 07:31:12 pm »
not sure why the Rigol's are so hyped up, only advantage I see is price and they can be hacked easy.

That's not enough? $400 for a four channel, 100MHz DSO with plenty of memory+features isn't enough for them to be worthy of a bit of hype...?  :-//

I get that part as was unheard of for specs and feature for it price point before and know that the reason, just don't care for their midrange line up

OK. I wasn't aware that anybody was "hyping" a scope other then the DS1054Z.
Strangely enough I seen comments from some that compare that model to everything else and claiming it better.
 

Offline FlyingHacker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #163 on: November 03, 2015, 12:34:49 am »
For my wife I only have the 2 scopes on my bench, a digital and a Tektronix 2465. She can also see an old 1940 RCA, but she doesn't know what it is. I have another 8, all Tektronix, 3 of them I have fixed, working on one and 4 that are waiting to be fixed. I have bought many of this scopes on Craig List and they had to ride in the trunk of my car sometimes for weeks until I find the opportunity to bring them home. I know that I cannot win an argument "You have two scopes already, why do you need another one, bla, bla, bla" What do you say?; "Honey, I need this one to measure the backpressure of my farts".

Hahaha!

Been there!
--73
 

Offline 5ky

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #164 on: November 03, 2015, 12:52:35 am »
I could easily live with my 4 channel MSO, but can't get myself to get rid of my DS1102E as it was my first digital scope.
 

Offline Weistek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #165 on: November 03, 2015, 01:00:56 am »
For my wife I only have the 2 scopes on my bench, a digital and a Tektronix 2465. She can also see an old 1940 RCA, but she doesn't know what it is. I have another 8, all Tektronix, 3 of them I have fixed, working on one and 4 that are waiting to be fixed. I have bought many of this scopes on Craig List and they had to ride in the trunk of my car sometimes for weeks until I find the opportunity to bring them home. I know that I cannot win an argument "You have two scopes already, why do you need another one, bla, bla, bla" What do you say?; "Honey, I need this one to measure the backpressure of my farts".

Hahaha!

Been there!
I face the same battles as well. Except I get caught more often than not.. sitting at work a large package arrives at home and I get a text "wtf did you order now!.."

I currently have
TAS460 working great.
A 500 series (in pieces)
A rigal DS1054Z unlocked.
Had a "newer TDS 50Mhz scope but sold it to a friend.
And a TLA704 working with 7L4 and 7N3 modules, if you count that as a scope.

Not to mention the various monster psu's abundant benchtop multimeters, function generators etc...

Once you realize the older equipment ins built like a tank and still within decent calibration it's hard to pass them up.

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Offline Muxr

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #166 on: November 03, 2015, 01:42:28 am »
A scope is such a versatile instrument. You can never have enough of them. I have 3, and I can see myself eventually getting a 4th, if a right deal/spec combination comes along. Although there are a few tools that are of higher priority on the list currently (laser cutter for one).

I have a:

- Hameg HM 605: old analog, with a component tester that has come in handy a few times.

- HP 54610B: Highest bandwidth scope I own. Useful for high frequency repetitive signals, also I quite dig the simplicity of controls. It's my daily.

- Rigol DS 2072A (unlocked): Necessity for when I need to single shot store signals.
 

Offline Weistek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #167 on: November 03, 2015, 01:55:12 am »
Also as a side note I really want a tek 224 scope... would be great for my kids first scope. Just can't justify the $300 asking price on fleabay.

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Offline AF6LJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #168 on: November 03, 2015, 02:04:49 am »
Also as a side note I really want a tek 224 scope... would be great for my kids first scope. Just can't justify the $300 asking price on fleabay.

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That is a cute scope, :)
Sue AF6LJ
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #169 on: November 03, 2015, 12:31:44 pm »




Got a couple of these little 30 MHz 1970s Non-Linear Systems (NLS) portables in the collection also. Each is 6 1/4" x 2 5/8" x 8" deep.

Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #170 on: November 03, 2015, 01:19:15 pm »
Hmmmm...yummie.....tempting, my hand is hovering over my debit card.

http://uk.farnell.com/hameg/hmo2024/oscilloscope-4ch-200mhz-2gsps/dp/2408770 :)
« Last Edit: November 03, 2015, 01:22:54 pm by commie »
 

Offline dr.diesel

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #171 on: November 03, 2015, 02:56:33 pm »
Hmmmm...yummie.....tempting, my hand is hovering over my debit card.

http://uk.farnell.com/hameg/hmo2024/oscilloscope-4ch-200mhz-2gsps/dp/2408770 :)

I've been exceptionally happy with my Hameg gear, go for it.   :-+

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #172 on: November 03, 2015, 03:55:17 pm »
Got a couple of these little 30 MHz 1970s Non-Linear Systems (NLS) portables in the collection also. Each is 6 1/4" x 2 5/8" x 8" deep.

Those are really neat, Steve. I hadn't seen portables before. How usable are they given the mini screen?
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Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #173 on: November 03, 2015, 05:36:25 pm »
I've been exceptionally happy with my Hameg gear, go for it.   :-+

There is something funny going on at Farnell, the 2 channel is more expensive than the 4 channel scope, also the y amp controls are multiplexed between the 4 channels.My Rigol ds1104z does just that and I don't like it, I much prefer separate controls.

 

Offline pascal_sweden

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #174 on: November 03, 2015, 05:57:46 pm »
And the memory depth is only 2 Mpts for that Hameg. Not that impressive at all!
 

Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #175 on: November 03, 2015, 06:52:31 pm »
And the memory depth is only 2 Mpts for that Hameg. Not that impressive at all!

I was thinking HAMEG,4 trace, 200MHz £1.4k...thats impressive.
 

Offline MadTux

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #176 on: November 03, 2015, 07:15:46 pm »
Commie, before you buy new, there might be an interesting sale for you on mikrocontroller.net:
https://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/377639#new
Double bandwith/sample rate for less money. I have no connections to the seller and too little money, but if you're willing to spend 1600€, it might be for you. I'm sure that guy also understands english, if you ask him nicely.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2015, 07:18:15 pm by MadTux »
 

Offline dan3460

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #177 on: November 03, 2015, 07:42:38 pm »

I face the same battles as well. Except I get caught more often than not.. sitting at work a large package arrives at home and I get a text "wtf did you order now!.."



Now you did it >:(, I started laughing at your comment. Did not realized that the Wify was reading over my shoulder...   :palm: The inquisitor as summoned me... trying to get my stories right. HELP.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #178 on: November 03, 2015, 07:50:30 pm »
Sorry, I only deal well with circuits and computers.
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Offline commie

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #179 on: November 03, 2015, 08:03:39 pm »
I thought about this one but only 1Mohm Input Impedance and no separate controls for each channel.

Yeah, I thought that too, I elaborated on this very issue on an earlier post.
 

Offline Neganur

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #180 on: November 03, 2015, 08:04:45 pm »
And the memory depth is only 2 Mpts for that Hameg. Not that impressive at all!

it's a 200 MHz, 2 GSa/s scope.... why do you need more than the 2 Mpts? For what? Lately I think this is more a "pentium 5 is better than Pentium 4 because 5>4" thing.
But there's a good chance that I'm just ignorant and don't see the forest for the trees, so apologies if that's the case.

I think the 'new' HMO series was launched 06/2011 and cost 1150 EUR for the 70 MHz model back then (that's probably the price for the 2 channel...?)

To fill those 2 Mpts at the full 2GHz sample rate you're looking at some 100us/div. Above that and the scope has to lower the sample rate. But that's 2*10^9 samples in a 1.2 ms capture span. What are you trying to look at if the scope only has 200 MHz? Even at the highest setting (50s/div) it will sample with some 3.33 kSa/s to fill 2 Mpts (=600 seconds total span). I don't think you'll be looking at 200 MHz signals while in 50s/div, so what is the point?

I do get that the Rigol is cheap and has much more memory. But I really wonder if that makes such a huge difference while the overall capability of the Hameg (hardware fft, good MSO, low noise etc if you trust the advertisement) is of greater quality. In my eyes it comes down to the price and there's nothing to argue. But just to pick on the memory... I don't know, weak argument in my eyes.
 

Offline -jeffB

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #181 on: November 03, 2015, 08:46:08 pm »
Got a couple of these little 30 MHz 1970s Non-Linear Systems (NLS) portables in the collection also. Each is 6 1/4" x 2 5/8" x 8" deep.

Oh, man, I remember drooling over the ads for those that used to run in Popular Electronics back in the 1970s. Never had one, though.
 

Offline rsjsouza

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #182 on: November 03, 2015, 08:51:06 pm »
Hmmmm...yummie.....tempting, my hand is hovering over my debit card.

http://uk.farnell.com/hameg/hmo2024/oscilloscope-4ch-200mhz-2gsps/dp/2408770 :)

I've been exceptionally happy with my Hameg gear, go for it.   :-+
I must be getting old or dumb... Instead of "Hameg" I read "Hantek" and was dumbfounded by the lavish support demonstrated in this and the following posts...  :palm:
Vbe - vídeo blog eletrônico http://videos.vbeletronico.com

Oh, the "whys" of the datasheets... The information is there not to be an axiomatic truth, but instead each speck of data must be slowly inhaled while carefully performing a deep search inside oneself to find the true metaphysical sense...
 

Offline nbrittonTopic starter

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #183 on: November 03, 2015, 10:50:25 pm »
How much do all you reckon you've spent on oscilloscopes for personal use?
« Last Edit: November 03, 2015, 10:51:56 pm by nbritton »
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #184 on: November 03, 2015, 11:08:10 pm »
Got a couple of these little 30 MHz 1970s Non-Linear Systems (NLS) portables in the collection also. Each is 6 1/4" x 2 5/8" x 8" deep.

Those are really neat, Steve. I hadn't seen portables before. How usable are they given the mini screen?

I would use them for signal tracing in the field maybe but they are a little small for bench work.

Offline KJDS

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #185 on: November 03, 2015, 11:16:30 pm »
How much do all you reckon you've spent on oscilloscopes for personal use?

Very little, far far far less than VNA's and that's dwarfed by the amount I've spent on impractical cars.

Offline G0HZU

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #186 on: November 04, 2015, 12:09:27 am »
How much do all you reckon you've spent on oscilloscopes for personal use?

About £700 total spread across 30+ years on 4 scope purchases. Still got all 4 scopes and they still work!
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #187 on: November 04, 2015, 12:13:30 am »
How much do all you reckon you've spent on oscilloscopes for personal use?

I don't think many, if any buy them for personal use, as consider a tool for work, I could be wrong. As some of the nice vintage ones seen in this thread are quite nice and collectable. 
 

Offline G0HZU

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #188 on: November 04, 2015, 12:21:28 am »
My scopes are as follows:

Tek 585 100MHz scope bought when I was a student in the 1980s.
Solartron A100 30MHz  scope bought around 1990
Tek 465 bought in the mid 90s
Tek TDS2012 bought about 10 years ago?

I use the last two on a regular basis. The 585 and the A100 get switched on when I'm feeling nostalgic. (maybe once every few years?)
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #189 on: November 04, 2015, 02:05:58 am »
And the memory depth is only 2 Mpts for that Hameg. Not that impressive at all!

it's a 200 MHz, 2 GSa/s scope.... why do you need more than the 2 Mpts? For what? Lately I think this is more a "pentium 5 is better than Pentium 4 because 5>4" thing.
But there's a good chance that I'm just ignorant and don't see the forest for the trees, so apologies if that's the case.

I think the 'new' HMO series was launched 06/2011 and cost 1150 EUR for the 70 MHz model back then (that's probably the price for the 2 channel...?)

To fill those 2 Mpts at the full 2GHz sample rate you're looking at some 100us/div. Above that and the scope has to lower the sample rate. But that's 2*10^9 samples in a 1.2 ms capture span. What are you trying to look at if the scope only has 200 MHz? Even at the highest setting (50s/div) it will sample with some 3.33 kSa/s to fill 2 Mpts (=600 seconds total span). I don't think you'll be looking at 200 MHz signals while in 50s/div, so what is the point?

I do get that the Rigol is cheap and has much more memory. But I really wonder if that makes such a huge difference while the overall capability of the Hameg (hardware fft, good MSO, low noise etc if you trust the advertisement) is of greater quality. In my eyes it comes down to the price and there's nothing to argue. But just to pick on the memory... I don't know, weak argument in my eyes.

This is one topic I think deserves it own thread alone on long memory. I notice a few, especially those getting into DSO's don't understand long memory vs sample rate and ETC and other aspect of like hardware fft, good MSO, low noise and ETC.  Long memory is useless on a fast timebase without a high sample rate to pretty much fill it all. It only nessacry on hard to trigger on the phenomena, or if the scope has crappy triggering, long record length is great, as you don't have to setup triggers and grab data. But you also need fast sample rate. For example a 2.5kpoints scope would be a pain for analyzing slow signal with fast edges the edge will be under sampled and a 200MS/s scope would be a bad match for a 3.5ns single shot edge, undersampled, again.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 02:08:23 am by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline BradC

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #190 on: November 04, 2015, 02:50:19 am »
Wow. I've only got a Tek 2440 and a Philips PM97. Different scopes for different folks I guess. I suppose an old dual trace analogue would be nice, but it's at the bottom of a very long wish list.
 

Offline Rupunzell

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #191 on: November 04, 2015, 03:22:19 am »
The current O'scope fleet.

Four Tek 7104 (1Ghz real time micro channel plate CRT), three are use often, one of the three is a daily user. The fourth is a parts unit
All have been totally reliable for past decades of daily work

More Tek 7000 plug-ins than I'm willing to discuss.

Tek 7094A, works but sits.

Tek 7844, dual beam,

Tek 7834, storage. hardly used these days.

Pair of Tek 7603A.

TeK 2467B Portable, used only when a portable is needed.

Pair of Tek 485. Purchased on impulse at a local E- recycler.

Tek 547 (owned for decades now) with several plug ins. Currently 1A4 installed.

hp 1200A.

Beyond this, there have been many, many others that have cycled in and out of the labs over the decades.


Also owned a Tek 585 back in the late 1970's. This was one of the first Tek scopes owned among others.


Then there are probes (lots of probes)... adapters, and all those other widgets that can make all the difference.

O'scope is not the most commonly use instrument, depending on what is being worked on and measurements required.
One of these days I'll consider a DSO, LeCroy is down the street from work. Easy to stop in for a demo most any time and they keep sending me invites for their new product offerings, seminars and demos and ....


Bernice








 

Offline vk6zgo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #192 on: November 04, 2015, 04:08:50 am »
I've been watching a couple of TDS220s on eBay.com.au,as they are a nice looking DSO,although old & with poor memory depth.
Actually,they are a couple of Dave's ones--one OK,the other doesn't pass one of the startup tests.

I've been thinking that maybe I've been a bit harsh with my bashing of early DSOs,& it might be fun to play with one at my leisure.

I found this review -----actually of a TDS210,but they are pretty similar.
This bloke doesn't like them a lot--the clip is definitely NSFW!


I still like the look of 'em,though,even with the "leaky fountain pen" display!

I'm an Old Fart now,& I haven't really got the time before I "fall off the perch" to buy every Oscilloscope in the world,as that's just more junk for my wife to dispose of,so perhaps I should be selling,not buying!
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #193 on: November 04, 2015, 04:55:49 am »
I've been watching a couple of TDS220s on eBay.com.au,as they are a nice looking DSO,although old & with poor memory depth.
Actually,they are a couple of Dave's ones--one OK,the other doesn't pass one of the startup tests.

I've been thinking that maybe I've been a bit harsh with my bashing of early DSOs,& it might be fun to play with one at my leisure.

I found this review -----actually of a TDS210,but they are pretty similar.
This bloke doesn't like them a lot--the clip is definitely NSFW!


I still like the look of 'em,though,even with the "leaky fountain pen" display!

I'm an Old Fart now,& I haven't really got the time before I "fall off the perch" to buy every Oscilloscope in the world,as that's just more junk for my wife to dispose of,so perhaps I should be selling,not buying!

I hated using this model and pretty much collected dust while analog scope was used pretty much daily. Tektronix pretty much just milk it with this model and stop innovating and was overcharging for them. Then thankfully Rigol came around and changed the market for the good.
 

Offline dr.diesel

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #194 on: November 04, 2015, 05:58:58 am »
I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.


Offline Howardlong

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #195 on: November 04, 2015, 08:52:56 am »
I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Roughly the same but with colour, I've had a TDS2024B for nearly ten years, for six or so years it was my only scope, it is super reliable, I still have it although now I have other scopes. While it is a little painful to use now I've used other more feature laden scopes, as my first DSO it was simple to use coming from a CRO background and it did the job. It helped me make some successful products and make an unexpected but welcome change of career path in my late forties. As a result it has some sentimental value now.
 

Offline tec5c

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #196 on: November 04, 2015, 10:47:33 am »
I've been watching a couple of TDS220s on eBay.com.au...

Where in oz are you? I have a TDS220 that I never use and wouldn't mind selling it on if you were interested.
 

Offline xwarp

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #197 on: November 04, 2015, 11:18:07 am »
Tek 2246A
Tek TDS460A
Tek Type 422 x2. One is A/C only and the other is battery operated with an additional A/C supply as a spare.

 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #198 on: November 04, 2015, 05:45:10 pm »
I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Roughly the same but with colour, I've had a TDS2024B for nearly ten years, for six or so years it was my only scope, it is super reliable, I still have it although now I have other scopes. While it is a little painful to use now I've used other more feature laden scopes, as my first DSO it was simple to use coming from a CRO background and it did the job. It helped me make some successful products and make an unexpected but welcome change of career path in my late forties. As a result it has some sentimental value now.

Was the first DSO I learned on and purchased. So in a way do have a soft spot for it and did still manage to still get the job done and was reliable as it was simple, not much to go wrong, plus didn't have any fans. 

I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Don't care for Rigol scopes as had tried a couple and first one was defective after about a week, as channel started cutting out at random and second one kept locking up issues at random. One thing I do give them credit for is they changed the market and pretty much forced HP and Tektronix to start innovating again. 
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 05:57:47 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline Orange

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #199 on: November 04, 2015, 06:01:41 pm »
I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Roughly the same but with colour, I've had a TDS2024B for nearly ten years, for six or so years it was my only scope, it is super reliable, I still have it although now I have other scopes. While it is a little painful to use now I've used other more feature laden scopes, as my first DSO it was simple to use coming from a CRO background and it did the job. It helped me make some successful products and make an unexpected but welcome change of career path in my late forties. As a result it has some sentimental value now.

Was the first DSO I learned on and purchased. So in a way do have a soft spot for it. 

I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Don't care for Rigol scopes as had tried a couple and first one was defective after about a week, as channel started cutting out at random and second one kept locking up issues at random. One thing I do give them credit for is they changed the market and pretty much forced HP and Tektronix to start innovating again.
Not really, Tek has still scopes that have a whopping 10k points of storage  :palm:, and the Agilent scopes are expensive as always, and their memory is also very limited.
Innovation is not always using the latest technology, but also create better/cheaper products. This were both companies still fail.
 

Offline OldSchoolTechCorner

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #200 on: November 04, 2015, 06:37:28 pm »
I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Roughly the same but with colour, I've had a TDS2024B for nearly ten years, for six or so years it was my only scope, it is super reliable, I still have it although now I have other scopes. While it is a little painful to use now I've used other more feature laden scopes, as my first DSO it was simple to use coming from a CRO background and it did the job. It helped me make some successful products and make an unexpected but welcome change of career path in my late forties. As a result it has some sentimental value now.

Was the first DSO I learned on and purchased. So in a way do have a soft spot for it. 

I bought a new 210 back in the mid 90s, still use it to this day.  While I don't totally disagree with the above, it does have it's place, and has a couple advantages to any Rigol.  Mostly notably it's never once locked up, and it dead silent with no fan.

Don't care for Rigol scopes as had tried a couple and first one was defective after about a week, as channel started cutting out at random and second one kept locking up issues at random. One thing I do give them credit for is they changed the market and pretty much forced HP and Tektronix to start innovating again.
Not really, Tek has still scopes that have a whopping 10k points of storage  :palm:, and the Agilent scopes are expensive as always, and their memory is also very limited.
Innovation is not always using the latest technology, but also create better/cheaper products. This were both companies still fail.

Expensive as always is a understatement, Rigol DS1054Z is pretty much the best value for the buck, when it comes to budget scopes. That one thing both Agilent and Tektronix are both failing at, is coming out with a good budget scope. Good example is the Tektronix TDS2012C at $1430.80 and only 2.5k point Record Length on both Channels? The only decents model they currently have out cost 4k plus. They do have some good models, but only on the higher end of the market.

Not saying that HP and Tektronix has to be at the same $399 price point as Rigol, as do realize that they could be very well cutting corners and rushing stuff to the market to get at that price point and is from China, but come out with a decent refreshed model budget scope at around and no more then 1k price point. They seem to only be after the fat margin and rebadging stuff. 

Rigol I am no fan off as like I stated before, I think they after the quick buck. To me stuff is just rush out the door with bugs and all. I had alone myself had one defective scope and another that just kept on locking up.
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 07:37:13 pm by OldSchoolTechCorner »
 

Offline FlyingHacker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #201 on: November 04, 2015, 06:52:30 pm »
I've been watching a couple of TDS220s on eBay.com.au,as they are a nice looking DSO,although old & with poor memory depth.
Actually,they are a couple of Dave's ones--one OK,the other doesn't pass one of the startup tests.

I've been thinking that maybe I've been a bit harsh with my bashing of early DSOs,& it might be fun to play with one at my leisure.

I found this review -----actually of a TDS210,but they are pretty similar.
This bloke doesn't like them a lot--the clip is definitely NSFW!


I still like the look of 'em,though,even with the "leaky fountain pen" display!

I'm an Old Fart now,& I haven't really got the time before I "fall off the perch" to buy every Oscilloscope in the world,as that's just more junk for my wife to dispose of,so perhaps I should be selling,not buying!

My thought is to get at least one analog scope, one modern DSO, and perhaps a hybrid, like the Tek 2232, which I find myself using first most of the time (unless I need more channels). It is an analog scope and a DSO in one. Sure, it lacks all the little auto readouts and stuff, but it has a great CRT display, and can be used either in analog mode, or digital mode.
--73
 

Offline Weistek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #202 on: November 04, 2015, 09:56:52 pm »

I face the same battles as well. Except I get caught more often than not.. sitting at work a large package arrives at home and I get a text "wtf did you order now!.."



Now you did it >:(, I started laughing at your comment. Did not realized that the Wify was reading over my shoulder...   [emoji14]alm: The inquisitor as summoned me... trying to get my stories right. HELP.
Lol, it's like their shoe collection.. right? Ask her to justify all the shoes  (if in fact she has a collection of sorts.)

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Offline Weistek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #203 on: November 04, 2015, 10:01:04 pm »
Just picked up a hp 1660c, I know not really a scope and old as hell. But it came with everything disks, flying lead cables all 6 pods and 5 nano clips. And a few other things. The nano clips alone justify the purchase plus I can use the flying leads etc on my tla704. :)

I think my next scope will be a tek 2400 series. Also have a tek 1GHz 4 channel coming my way :) so that will make 6 or 7 scopes so far..

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Offline Howardlong

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #204 on: November 04, 2015, 11:26:42 pm »
I've been watching a couple of TDS220s on eBay.com.au,as they are a nice looking DSO,although old & with poor memory depth.
Actually,they are a couple of Dave's ones--one OK,the other doesn't pass one of the startup tests.

I've been thinking that maybe I've been a bit harsh with my bashing of early DSOs,& it might be fun to play with one at my leisure.

I found this review -----actually of a TDS210,but they are pretty similar.
This bloke doesn't like them a lot--the clip is definitely NSFW!


I still like the look of 'em,though,even with the "leaky fountain pen" display!

I'm an Old Fart now,& I haven't really got the time before I "fall off the perch" to buy every Oscilloscope in the world,as that's just more junk for my wife to dispose of,so perhaps I should be selling,not buying!

The aliasing thing is overplayed as a problem, it's a contrived test that would very rarely happen realistically. While occasionally you might encounter it, in practice it's rare, after all in almost all cases you should at least have some idea of the order of magnitude of the timing you're probing. You need to be aware of it, but I can't ever remember it being a problem.

The very fact you have single shot and pre trigger viewing makes this a better investment than a CRO of similar or even greater bandwidth. When I was having a clear out a few years back and had to decide between a 2465B and a TDS2024B, it was the 2465B that went. I have since moved into a bigger lab and made up for it though :-;
« Last Edit: November 04, 2015, 11:28:24 pm by Howardlong »
 

Offline G0HZU

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #205 on: November 05, 2015, 12:01:38 am »
Quote
When I was having a clear out a few years back and had to decide between a 2465B and a TDS2024B, it was the 2465B that went.

Yes, I still use my old TDS2012 as my daily scope. I also have a trusty old Tek 465 analogue scope. I don't think I'd like to choose between them as they are both very useful in their own way and I really do like the old Tek 465.

For basic everyday stuff the little TDS2012 is much nicer to use than any of the £££ modern scopes we have at work. Sure it has some serious performance limitations but as a basic scope it is easy to use and it is small, light and totally silent in operation. So for doing simple MCU related stuff it is great because you can move it around easily on the desk and also it produces no distracting or tiring fan noise. Having total silence in the room helps with concentration when debugging code etc.



 

Offline vk6zgo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #206 on: November 07, 2015, 02:35:07 am »
I notice Dave's working TDS220 is sailing along well in the eBay bidding.
The most recent was $297,so they still seem to have a loyal following---------a bit too rich for my blood! ;D

The dead one was withdrawn due to a "listing error".
Are you going to re-list it,Dave?
 

Offline crispy_tofu

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #207 on: November 07, 2015, 02:53:30 am »
I notice Dave's working TDS220 is sailing along well in the eBay bidding.
The most recent was $297,so they still seem to have a loyal following---------a bit too rich for my blood! ;D

The dead one was withdrawn due to a "listing error".
Are you going to re-list it,Dave?

I'm pretty sure Dave already re-listed it, there's one he's selling that says to read the description.  :-+
This one: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/272037200427
 

Offline vk6zgo

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #208 on: November 07, 2015, 03:39:22 am »
Yep! I found it after I posted!

I just went for my regular trawl through eBay.com.au.
You see some funny things there from time to time.
Like this bloke:-

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Atten-Single-Channel-10Mhz-Analog-Oscilloscope-and-Probe-/111653168791?


A  Digitech QC1920 clone at that price?

"Tell 'im he's dreaming!" ;D





 

Offline Martin.M

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #209 on: November 07, 2015, 08:28:50 am »
sorry I don`t know how many scopes I have exactly, there are some nice oldies (all are fully restorated and ready to work)

this little Tek invasion I have done in a radio museum for a small time, in my home is the space really small now..
the only problem is to use more the 3 of them in same time, that can blow out the fuse from the working room by overload  |O


greetings
Martin
« Last Edit: November 07, 2015, 08:33:17 am by Martin.M »
 

Offline crispy_tofu

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #210 on: November 07, 2015, 09:27:23 am »
Is that another one in the box? Are you alright?  :o  :popcorn:
 

Online tautech

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #211 on: November 07, 2015, 09:31:20 am »
Is that another one in the box? Are you alright?  :o  :popcorn:
You'd better check out Martin's Tek thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vintage-tek-restoration-pictures-by-martin/
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Offline crispy_tofu

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #212 on: November 07, 2015, 09:55:29 am »
I have no words.  :clap: :-+
 

Offline Smith

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #213 on: November 07, 2015, 10:24:03 am »
Damn, I only have 3 scopes, guess I have to save some more  ^-^

Let's face it, some of us have more scopes than we (can) use. Its like having a large car collection, but more affordable. Some have their strengths, or their cool or unique features.
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Offline miguelvp

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #214 on: November 07, 2015, 10:42:06 am »
So far I think only a couple reached the 20 scopes.
The median is about 3 or 4, not 20.

But I'm guessing, not going to tabulate it.

 

Offline Wuerstchenhund

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #215 on: November 07, 2015, 11:46:41 am »
Don't care for Rigol scopes as had tried a couple and first one was defective after about a week, as channel started cutting out at random and second one kept locking up issues at random. One thing I do give them credit for is they changed the market and pretty much forced HP and Tektronix to start innovating again.

I'm sorry but aside from sticking a poor spec Spectrum Analyzer in an entry level scope Tek hasn't really been innovative for a very long time. Which is no surprise considering it's part of the Danaher "family".

In terms of innovating in DSOs it's to a large part LeCroy who has been and still is pushing technology ahead, even more so than Keysight (HP doesn't do scopes or T&M for almost two decades now so there's no point calling them "HP"). Especially in the extreme high-end there's pretty much LeCroy and nothing else, not even Keysight.

Tek has been pretty much trailing LeCroy and Agilent/Keysight for the last 15 years or so. I wish this wasn't the case as more competition is always better for buyers, also Tek had some of the best analog scopes ever made. However Tek always seemed to struggle when the world moved to digital scopes, and they still do.

Not really, Tek has still scopes that have a whopping 10k points of storage  :palm:, and the Agilent scopes are expensive as always, and their memory is also very limited.
Innovation is not always using the latest technology, but also create better/cheaper products. This were both companies still fail.

Expensive as always is a understatement, Rigol DS1054Z is pretty much the best value for the buck, when it comes to budget scopes. That one thing both Agilent and Tektronix are both failing at, is coming out with a good budget scope.

I don't know, the Keysight DSOX2000 is still a pretty good entry level scope scope, and there's also Rohde & Schwarz with their Hameg R&S Value Instruments HMO Series which includes some really nice low-end scopes. And some of them aren't that much more expensive than a Rigol DS1054z.

Quote
Good example is the Tektronix TDS2012C at $1430.80 and only 2.5k point Record Length on both Channels? The only decents model they currently have out cost 4k plus. They do have some good models, but only on the higher end of the market.

Not really. Tek's higher end is pretty dire, too, aside from the DPO70kSX which has a nice form factor for ATEs (which on the other side makes it a poor bench scope). They're essentially milking their old DPO7k/70k scopes which were't great when they came out (sluggish UI, slow processing) and by now are now pretty dated in comparison.

Quote
Not saying that HP and Tektronix has to be at the same $399 price point as Rigol, as do realize that they could be very well cutting corners and rushing stuff to the market to get at that price point and is from China, but come out with a decent refreshed model budget scope at around and no more then 1k price point. They seem to only be after the fat margin and rebadging stuff. 

There's a certain price point where coming out with their own product just isn't worth it, so big brands like Keysight and LeCroy just re-badge cheap Chinese scopes and Tek essentially milks their stone-age entry level designs. Some got bitten (i.e. LeCroy with their crap WaveAce Siglent rebadges), others like Agilent/Keysight had more luck (because Rigol is still somewhat better at firmware than Siglent).

Quote
Rigol I am no fan off as like I stated before, I think they after the quick buck. To me stuff is just rush out the door with bugs and all. I had alone myself had one defective scope and another that just kept on locking up.

I'm not a fan of Rigol myself, but the fact remains that the DS1054z is incredible value for money, and despite its problems its still a very good beginner's scope.

However, the thing to remember however that we're no longer in the analog scopes era where Tek and HP were pretty much the only vendors worth considering. The market has changed a lot since then. Tek has been pretty much left behind technologically due to a long-term lack of innovation (which will be difficult to overcome). Keysight offers great scopes but especailly the larger models are regularly very expensive. LeCroy offers the most advanced scopes on the market (and for some stuff are the only game in town), however their low end (everything below the WaveSurfer 3000) is made of rebadges and pretty much sucks. Rohde & Schwarz offers some very nice and mostly decently priced entry level scopes under their 'Value Instruments' label (formerly 'Hameg') and some really good but really expensive upper mid-range and lower high-end scopes (RTM/RTE/RTO). Rigol offers the cheapest 4 channel scope on the market (DS1054z) which is a real bargain, however its larger scope models (DS4000/DS6000) pretty much suck. Siglent also offers some bottom-of-the-barrel scopes at low prices (although most of them are 2ch) but they have shown to be pretty much incompetent at writing firmware and tend to bring products to market which are full of bugs.

That means these days it's not enough to look at HP Agilent Keysight and Tek because that means you pretty much miss out on most of what's available out there.
« Last Edit: November 07, 2015, 12:43:28 pm by Wuerstchenhund »
 

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #216 on: November 07, 2015, 12:00:34 pm »
So far I think only a couple reached the 20 scopes.
The median is about 3 or 4, not 20.

But I'm guessing, not going to tabulate it.

I just counted my scopes for the first time.... and I barely make the 20...
But it took many years to get here...

15 scopes hooked up in the lab on different benches
7 used scopes stored away for future projects
2 brand new Hameg scopes not used in boxes
1 really old leader scope brand new in original box
4 Handheld Tek scopes, stored away in their case
1 Agilent USB and
1 Pico USB scope 
1 stupid (iPhone size) miniature scope
 
And most of them are used on a regular basis.
What can I say, I just love scopes
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Offline Martin.M

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #217 on: November 07, 2015, 12:19:49 pm »
I would like to see a handheld Tek scope in action,
bec I am interested to buy one for my collection.

greetings
Martin
 

Offline SLJ

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #218 on: November 07, 2015, 12:59:10 pm »
Just counted and I'm at 10.  Two I use, a Tek 465 and Rigol DS1074Z.  The other eight are the vintage and antique ones in my test equipment collection.

Offline HighVoltage

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #219 on: November 07, 2015, 01:10:11 pm »
I would like to see a handheld Tek scope in action,
bec I am interested to buy one for my collection.

greetings
Martin

I have to look for some action pictures
Here is my collection of my Tek Handhelds.
One of them is brand new, never turned on

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Offline Weistek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #220 on: November 07, 2015, 04:04:26 pm »
I want one...

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Offline Smith

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #221 on: November 07, 2015, 05:32:43 pm »
I have used a lot of scopes. I only really hated the LeCrap scope (can't remember the type, but it was quite expensive).

I used to love the Tek scopes, but nowadays you get less scope for more money. Tek has never been the same after the Danaher group ruined them. Old Teks have such a high degree of quality, they are as nice to use as they are to repair.

I have been quite pleased with the Hameg HMO. It lacks fast waveform updates, but everything else works like a charm.

I only used the 6104 from Rigol, but quality was far better than I and others expected. Everything was working so much better and faster than my 15k Tek DPO4104 (2,5 times as expensive).

Never really liked the (cheap as well as expensive) USB scopes in general.
Trying is the first step towards failure
 

Offline Muxr

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #222 on: January 29, 2016, 01:10:06 am »
I think I can now be classified as a junior scope collector as well. 5 scopes:

- Hameg 605 (that will need some repair soon, I think it's finally time for recapping).
- Rigol DS2072A
- HP 54610B
- R&S RTM 1054
- Tek 465B (also needs work).
 

Offline uncle_bob

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #223 on: January 29, 2016, 02:41:30 am »
ummm .... errrr .... was I supposed to *stop* at twenty ??? I mean, they were just *sitting there* .....

(Yes, for the record, I'm well over 20, along with numerous piles of other sorts of test gear )
« Last Edit: January 29, 2016, 12:43:55 pm by uncle_bob »
 

Offline billfernandez

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #224 on: January 29, 2016, 03:34:02 am »
I only have two that I use. The other five or six are for historical value. 
This one's my favorite:


That is super cool!
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #225 on: January 29, 2016, 04:06:34 am »
^ +1  That and the matching signal generator are works of art, not mere electronics.

I feel so inadequate after reading this thread, 1 scope and 2 multimeters (not counting the half dozen free HF ones I use on model railroad stuff).
I keep looking for a decent 20MHz or so Tek analog scope for a decent price, mostly just to have a quality analog scope.


 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #226 on: January 29, 2016, 04:13:36 am »
It's OK, rrinker. I only have two scopes, an analog and a digital, and the analog one needs work. So, effectively, I have one.

On the other hand, I have 11 multimeters at the moment. Oy! Gotta start a separate thread. :-DMM
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Offline rrinker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #227 on: January 29, 2016, 04:18:44 am »
 I suppose it is some consolation that I am considering purchasing another multimeter....
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #228 on: January 29, 2016, 04:23:06 am »
I only have seven.
 

Offline billfernandez

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #229 on: January 29, 2016, 04:35:38 am »
20 oscilloscopes?  Well you see I can't afford a really high end scope, so I figure that I can simulate one with a bunch of cheap scopes. 

I find that if I hook up my twenty 50MHz scopes in parallel that I can divide the incoming signal among them for an effective aggregate bandwidth of 1GHZ.  And since some of them are two-channel and some are four-channel scopes, if I hook them all in parallel I can get an aggregate bandwidth of more than 2.4GHz which is enough to troubleshoot WiFi routers and microwave ovens.

Or if I hook all the inputs in series I can either use them to handle higher input voltages, such as those generated by my Tesla coil, or get ultra-high resolution on very weak signals.  Why I can even peer into the nanovolt signal range to monitor the heartbeats of amoebas under my microscope.  Pretty cool!

Of course it's kind of awkward having a waveform split across all those displays, but sometimes you just gotta do with what you can afford.  Amirite?
« Last Edit: January 31, 2016, 03:42:00 pm by billfernandez »
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #230 on: January 29, 2016, 05:22:11 am »
Bill, you forgot to set them up in a grid for more visual real estate.
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Offline Berni

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #231 on: January 29, 2016, 10:24:13 am »
20 oscilloscopes?  Well you see I can't afford a really high end scope, so I figure that I can simulate one with a bunch of cheap scopes. 

I find that if I hook up my twenty 50MHz scopes in parallel that I can divide the incoming signal among them for an effective aggregate bandwidth of 1GHZ.  And since some of them are two-channel and some are four-channel scopes, if I hook them all in parallel I can get an aggregate bandwidth of more than 2.4GHz which is enough to troubleshoot WiFi routers and microwave ovens.

Or if I hook all the inputs in series I can either use them to handle higher input voltages, such as those generated by my Tesla coil, or get ultra-high resolution on very weak signals.  Why I can even peer into the nanovolt signal range to monitor the heartbeats of amoebas under my microscope.  Pretty cool!

Of course it's kind of awkward having a waveform split across all those displays, but sometimes you just gotta do with with you can afford.  Amirite?

 :-DD

But really that's pretty much how the 100GHz scope from LeCroy works. Its 4 really fast scopes put together, each one of them built from 4 interleaved ADCs that are in itself built from interleaved ADC blocks internally.
 

Offline Addicted2AnalogTek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #232 on: February 12, 2016, 12:02:19 am »
Well I don't quite have 20... yet.   I do have 9 Teks and also intend to add a Rigol DS1054Z within the next two weeks.  There's also a possibility that I will be getting my hands on a Tek 561A.

Inventory:
(1) Tek 454A
(2) Tek 465
(2) Tek 468
(3) Tek 485
(1) Tek 7613
 

Offline artag

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #233 on: February 12, 2016, 12:17:54 am »
I feel so inadequate after reading this thread, 1 scope and 2 multimeters (not counting the half dozen free HF ones I use on model railroad stuff).

Don't worry. Once you've got one, the next few come along to join them. Pretty soon you're wondering if you should stop (no, of course you shouldn't).

 

Offline uncle_bob

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #234 on: February 12, 2016, 12:28:02 am »
Well I don't quite have 20... yet.   I do have 9 Teks and also intend to add a Rigol DS1054Z within the next two weeks.  There's also a possibility that I will be getting my hands on a Tek 561A.

Inventory:
(1) Tek 454A
(2) Tek 465
(2) Tek 468
(3) Tek 485
(1) Tek 7613

Hi

I didn't realize we had to be able to *count* them all .... yikes ...

465's at least two
475's at least two
2465's more than four
2465A's more than four
2467B's at lest three working, about a dozen total.
7xxx series, had a dozen or so, sold them to a kid for next to nothing
probably another 5 or 10 that I'm unable to spot

Do we have to count the digital scopes as well? This is getting tiring ....

Bob (heading back to my beer)
 

Offline Addicted2AnalogTek

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #235 on: February 12, 2016, 01:27:54 am »
Cheezus, Bob!   Sell me a 2467B !! haha
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #236 on: February 12, 2016, 04:01:39 am »
 Me too!  haha out of the 9 non-working there has to be enough parts to get 2 or 3 working ones!

 :-DD
 

Offline CustomEngineerer

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #237 on: February 12, 2016, 04:07:59 am »
20 oscilloscopes?  Well you see I can't afford a really high end scope, so I figure that I can simulate one with a bunch of cheap scopes. 

I find that if I hook up my twenty 50MHz scopes in parallel that I can divide the incoming signal among them for an effective aggregate bandwidth of 1GHZ.  And since some of them are two-channel and some are four-channel scopes, if I hook them all in parallel I can get an aggregate bandwidth of more than 2.4GHz which is enough to troubleshoot WiFi routers and microwave ovens.

Or if I hook all the inputs in series I can either use them to handle higher input voltages, such as those generated by my Tesla coil, or get ultra-high resolution on very weak signals.  Why I can even peer into the nanovolt signal range to monitor the heartbeats of amoebas under my microscope.  Pretty cool!

Of course it's kind of awkward having a waveform split across all those displays, but sometimes you just gotta do with what you can afford.  Amirite?

Have you considered hooking them up anti-parallel?
 

Offline rrinker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #238 on: February 12, 2016, 04:23:23 am »
20 oscilloscopes?  Well you see I can't afford a really high end scope, so I figure that I can simulate one with a bunch of cheap scopes. 

I find that if I hook up my twenty 50MHz scopes in parallel that I can divide the incoming signal among them for an effective aggregate bandwidth of 1GHZ.  And since some of them are two-channel and some are four-channel scopes, if I hook them all in parallel I can get an aggregate bandwidth of more than 2.4GHz which is enough to troubleshoot WiFi routers and microwave ovens.

Or if I hook all the inputs in series I can either use them to handle higher input voltages, such as those generated by my Tesla coil, or get ultra-high resolution on very weak signals.  Why I can even peer into the nanovolt signal range to monitor the heartbeats of amoebas under my microscope.  Pretty cool!

Of course it's kind of awkward having a waveform split across all those displays, but sometimes you just gotta do with what you can afford.  Amirite?

Have you considered hooking them up anti-parallel?
That would just result in one giant flat line across all the displays as the waveforms all cancel each other out.
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #239 on: February 12, 2016, 04:47:18 am »
If I had 20 scopes I'd be very tempted to so something like this. 



And then I would would be drawn and quartered.
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #240 on: February 12, 2016, 04:52:24 am »
As a quick followup.

Anyone with 20 scopes, video camera, youtube account and enough room to do some oscilloscope dominoes? 
 
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Online tautech

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #241 on: February 12, 2016, 06:31:56 am »
As a quick followup.

Anyone with 20 scopes, video camera, youtube account and enough room to do some oscilloscope dominoes?
:--
That's just sick.  :scared:
Avid Rabid Hobbyist
Siglent Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SiglentVideo/videos
 

Offline pickle9000

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #242 on: February 12, 2016, 07:12:42 am »
As a quick followup.

Anyone with 20 scopes, video camera, youtube account and enough room to do some oscilloscope dominoes?
:--
That's just sick.  :scared:

In my defense, they would not be my oscilloscopes, so I can enjoy the event without risk. I can't ask Dave because it could be career ending.

It would work with multimeters (dominoes) but there is no real danger there.

Take a new Fluke DMM and and a new Rigol ds1054z drop off a roof. Set up a poll, the lowest count item get's to live. Will it be the Fluke or the Rigol? If it's a tie they both go.



 
 

Offline Berni

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #243 on: February 12, 2016, 07:30:01 am »

In my defense, they would not be my oscilloscopes, so I can enjoy the event without risk. I can't ask Dave because it could be career ending.

It would work with multimeters (dominoes) but there is no real danger there.

Take a new Fluke DMM and and a new Rigol ds1054z drop off a roof. Set up a poll, the lowest count item get's to live. Will it be the Fluke or the Rigol? If it's a tie they both go.

Then just drop the fluke since it would just bounce anyway.
 

Offline Keysight DanielBogdanoff

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #244 on: February 12, 2016, 06:50:52 pm »
As a quick followup.

Anyone with 20 scopes, video camera, youtube account and enough room to do some oscilloscope dominoes?

Don't tempt us.
 

Offline Keysight DanielBogdanoff

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #245 on: February 12, 2016, 06:52:15 pm »
And before you ask for one, register to win one at www.scopemonth.com 

If you win this, you won't need your other 19.
 

Offline uncle_bob

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #246 on: February 12, 2016, 11:25:20 pm »
And before you ask for one, register to win one at www.scopemonth.com 

If you win this, you won't need your other 19.

Hi

I registered. One can *never* have to many scopes !!!

Bob
 

Offline bills

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #247 on: February 12, 2016, 11:29:27 pm »
As I said it is because we can.
Never argue with idiots. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #248 on: February 13, 2016, 07:13:22 am »
And before you ask for one, register to win one at www.scopemonth.com 

If you win this, you won't need your other 19.

Hi

I registered. One can *never* have to many scopes !!!

Bob

Especially when one (this one) is nowhere near 20, yet.  ;D Also registered.

(Of course, Daniel, anytime you need more space, I'm happy to adopt a scope or three.)
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline elex_enthusiast

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #249 on: February 13, 2016, 10:37:53 am »
Don't tempt us.

WOW!!! :o Now there are more than just 20 counts.. :-+
Always learn how to break and fix things electronics!
 

Offline madires

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #250 on: February 13, 2016, 03:32:58 pm »
And before you ask for one, register to win one at www.scopemonth.com 

If you win this, you won't need your other 19.

I don't know what people have to do or provide to enter the sweepstake, but following from the official rules seems to be a little bit disturbing:
Quote
By entering, the entrant hereby assigns to Keysight all IP rights, including copyrights.
 

Offline bitseeker

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #251 on: February 13, 2016, 06:32:37 pm »
I don't know what people have to do or provide to enter the sweepstake, but following from the official rules seems to be a little bit disturbing:
Quote
By entering, the entrant hereby assigns to Keysight all IP rights, including copyrights.

(I am not a lawyer, but) taking the preceding text into context with that statement, this simply means that anything you provide to Keysight by entering can be freely used by them (e.g., for promotional purposes). Unfortunately, legalese is typically over the top in the way it's worded and sounds extremely overbearing and excessively overreaching.

So far, all I had to submit to enter was basic contact information including name, company name, and email address.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2016, 06:34:58 pm by bitseeker »
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline WackyGerman

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #252 on: February 13, 2016, 07:09:28 pm »
I don t have 20 scopes . My old Grundig GO15Z  :-BROKE last week so I only have my Fluke 123 left . But this has 20 knobs  :-DD
 

Offline Macbeth

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #253 on: March 10, 2016, 10:44:36 pm »
@Sebastian. Fuck that is seriously cringeworthy.  :palm:
 

Offline Helix70

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #254 on: March 11, 2016, 07:06:08 am »
Poor Sebastian, the winner of Scopemonth? Yeah, I will shed a tear.
 

Offline Smokey

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #255 on: March 11, 2016, 09:11:35 am »
Ok... Ok..  Lets make a deal.  Have them send it to me in the USA and I'll ship it to you for a significantly reduced amount :)
 

Offline Fred27

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #256 on: March 11, 2016, 09:47:58 am »

Keysight seems very arrogant to me. Let's see what they come up with next week.
Really? It seems to me that you're the one being arrogant. You entered and won a competition, depriving someone else of the opportunity to win. Keysight offered you a great prize and it sounds like they're trying to be as helpful as they can minimising winners' tax burden.

You realise that tax doesn't go to Keysight don't you? The German government want it. Not only have Keysight given away their product for free, but you expect them to pay to the German government on your behalf for the privilege.

I hope that next week they tell you to go poke it.
 

Offline macboy

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #257 on: March 11, 2016, 01:43:10 pm »
As a quick followup.

Anyone with 20 scopes, video camera, youtube account and enough room to do some oscilloscope dominoes?

Don't tempt us.
I like the sign on the pulse (step) generator.
 

Offline 1xrtt

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #258 on: March 11, 2016, 05:44:41 pm »
Yeah..., clicked the link, entered all my personal data, and then:
Quote
Thank you for your interest. This offer is not yet available in your country. Here are some links you’ll find interesting:

On a second thought, if I win, I would be crying even louder than Sebastian... :D
With this thing costing over 3K, it goes to a completely messy taxation schema and I would end up paying around 100% customs tax over the declared price and shipping, and possibly would need to hire an accountant to sort out the paperwork.

So, thank you, good guy Keysight, for not allowing us, poor third worlders, to get poorer!
 

Offline nctnico

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #259 on: March 11, 2016, 06:17:33 pm »

They got a marketing boss called Dave? I like the BBQ idea with a different scope though.
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline Howardlong

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Re: Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?
« Reply #260 on: March 11, 2016, 06:40:24 pm »
Yeah..., clicked the link, entered all my personal data, and then:
Quote
Thank you for your interest. This offer is not yet available in your country. Here are some links you’ll find interesting:

On a second thought, if I win, I would be crying even louder than Sebastian... :D
With this thing costing over 3K, it goes to a completely messy taxation schema and I would end up paying around 100% customs tax over the declared price and shipping, and possibly would need to hire an accountant to sort out the paperwork.

So, thank you, good guy Keysight, for not allowing us, poor third worlders, to get poorer!

I think you can thank your own government for that. With regret, Brazil is up there and beyond Russia for exporting to as far as I am concerned. I will no longer send items via my usual tracked route. The 100% tax is frequently refused by recipients and I risk having items returned by the shipping company at my expense.

You need to start looking at your own government's actions and those "tips" (cough) government employess frequently demand just to do their jobs, both of which are playing a key part in isolating your country, rather than immediately blaming everyone else.
 


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