Ebay 2$ scope sig gen and power supply

[gaijin]

Not mine but maybe there is someone local who could use them.
eBay auction: #281276579536
Local Pickup only Forest Park, Illinois

Can't beat 2$ for a scope sig gen and two power supply.

Philips PM3214 25 MHz Oscilloscope
Wavetek 135 Signal Generator
Lambda LP-521-FM Power Supply
Lambda LUT-6-5122 Power Supply
Includes heavy duty cart, two probes, and misc cables.

[Rigby]

nabbed it. thank you for the heads-up.

[KJDS]

That's a great purchase.

[JTGrime]

Hi all haven't replied due to a bereavement I really appreciate everyone's input and advice, I was thinking I spend £250-£300 on a mid/late 90's/00's DSO/MSO 500Mhz-1Ghz oscilloscope, but I wouldn't mind a board like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Agilent-HP-54722A-Oscilloscope-Plug-in-Module-8-GSa-s/251379234376?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D74%26meid%3D5274666111860572498%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D1048%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D221312876712%26

to rack mount in a workstation I'm building.

P.s not bothered by the case etc as I wouldn't mind reforming with carbon fibre and airbrushing (got all this gear).

[Monkeh]

Hi all haven't replied due to a bereavement I really appreciate everyone's input and advice, I was thinking I spend £250-£300 on a mid/late 90's/00's DSO/MSO 500Mhz-1Ghz oscilloscope, but I wouldn't mind a board like this

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Agilent-HP-54722A-Oscilloscope-Plug-in-Module-8-GSa-s/251379234376?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D74%26meid%3D5274666111860572498%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D1048%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D221312876712%26

to rack mount in a workstation I'm building.

P.s not bothered by the case etc as I wouldn't mind reforming with carbon fibre and airbrushing (got all this gear).

You can't just plug that into a PC, whack together some badly written software, and have a working scope. Sorry.

[JTGrime]

I didn't think it would be that simple, but that's the fun of a projects right, I mean I'm not looking for plug and play I'm looking for under-valued power which I'm required to learn the in's and out's of it's arsehole (which is always a good thing right?) to maintain myself and pimp it up over time.

[Rigby]

Hey man, go for it.  You may find it difficult without a working example. 

The data through those two DSub ports is going to be fast and difficult to capture effectively, most likely, and then you'll have to reverse the data protocol.  And that's if it's digital; if it's analog then you need to find some fast ADCs to create some data you can use.

I'm sure it's possible, and I don't know your skill level.  It'll be an epic hack if you can make it happen.  If you know FPGAs well then this might be a simple thing, I don't know.

[TerraHertz]

nabbed it. thank you for the heads-up.

Wow, that's an epic score. More items than dollars even. And the cart. Wow.

I sense there's a sad story with the seller. Kind of him in any case.

[Rigby]

I picked it up Saturday.  They seemed like happy, healthy people to me.  The guy knew what everything was and what it was all for, he just didn't want it any more.  I have it stuck in my mind that this was his stuff from college and that he doesn't really want to hang on to it anymore.

[gaijin]

I would suggest checking if the PM3214 has a rifa filter cap across the AC input on the power supply and replacing it.
Had a PM3262 with a rifa that let out a bunch of acrid smoke, took a couple days to get rid of the smell.

Going to order the rest of the parts to repair the 3262 later today.
It had a diode short in the psu, a rifa cap go up in smoke, bad switch contact in the CH 2 attenuator, and the cascade was starting to fail.

[Rigby]

I would suggest checking if the PM3214 has a rifa filter cap across the AC input on the power supply and replacing it.
Had a PM3262 with a rifa that let out a bunch of acrid smoke, took a couple days to get rid of the smell.

Going to order the rest of the parts to repair the 3262 later today.
It had a diode short in the psu, a rifa cap go up in smoke, bad switch contact in the CH 2 attenuator, and the cascade was starting to fail.

I will check, thank you.  The guy did take a picture with the scope working for the auction so if it was failed, I think it would have popped/smoked/kerploded then, though it never hurts to be cautious, does it.

Probably going to fix this up and give it to my eldest daughter.  She's very keen on electronics.  A 15-yo girl who is glued to her phone most of the time desiring to learn about engineering is absolutely fascinating to me, and I intend to nurture that curiosity as much as she'll allow.

[gaijin]

Sounds like the equipment couldn't of found a better home.

On rifa caps I used this scope for about 3 years before the cap decided to release it's smoke seems like they go bad at random times.

[free_electron]

I didn't think it would be that simple, but that's the fun of a projects right, I mean I'm not looking for plug and play I'm looking for under-valued power which I'm required to learn the in's and out's of it's arsehole (which is always a good thing right?) to maintain myself and pimp it up over time.

You don't stand a chance getting that to work.
first of all there are no schematics.
Second, this is a plugin module for a DCA. There is additional hardware in the DCA. without that hardware this module does exactly nothing. The actual A/D convertor is in the DCA. so is the trigger system. These modules only contain the dithered sampler.

It's not like there is data flowing out of those connectors... Take a good look at that module. you will see that there are coax connectors on the back... no, those are NOt screw holes.  they are coax connectors !

[mrflibble]

I didn't think it would be that simple, but that's the fun of a projects right, I mean I'm not looking for plug and play I'm looking for under-valued power which I'm required to learn the in's and out's of it's arsehole (which is always a good thing right?) to maintain myself and pimp it up over time.

You don't stand a chance getting that to work.

He stands a good chance to get it to work as intended by the manufacturer. Only too bad that the module itself is pretty useless. As you say, you still need the mainframe that contains the actual ADCs. This module just conditions the input and interleaves it over the 4 ADCs that are in the mainframe.

Incidentally, do you know where to get one of those for less than those insane prices? I got my scope with 2 plugins for less than that. Crazy people. 

[Stonent]

I picked it up Saturday.  They seemed like happy, healthy people to me.  The guy knew what everything was and what it was all for, he just didn't want it any more.  I have it stuck in my mind that this was his stuff from college and that he doesn't really want to hang on to it anymore.

I suspect there's a woman involved...

[EEVblog]

and you can't pick up an analog scope for $50 

[TerraHertz]

Some time ago I happened to get for free a full set of manuals for the HP 83480A/54750A scope. Those scopes and modules can be found on ebay for prices I could _sometimes_ afford (but not at the moment.)
Someday...

Incidentally, does anyone know what the actual difference is between the 83480A and the 54750A?
Seems from the catalog the only difference is software, and the 54570A + software kit (83480K) has the same capabilities as the 83480A.


The idea of someone buying a plugin for these, and thinking they are going to hack it to make anything workable... shudder.

[Bored@Work]

and you can't pick up an analog scope for $50 

Of course not. Offer these people $50 and you are stuck with $48 of change.

[Rigby]

and you can't pick up an analog scope for $50 

I've never understood why people argue with you about that.  There are regularly scopes available for <$50 if you are patient, and I think knowing that patience is required is what makes folks think they aren't available. 
Sub $50 scopes aren't hanging off of trees for anyone to pick at any time, but anyone who wants one will find one given time and a bit of looking.  I got help from the person who started this thread, so thank you for that.