Why does everyone have twenty oscilliscopes?

[elex_enthusiast]

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.

[Alex Eisenhut]

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.

[OldSchoolTechCorner]

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. 

[bitseeker]

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  , 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.

[med6753]

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. 

[elex_enthusiast]

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.

[TerraHertz]

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.   

[elex_enthusiast]

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. 
 

[med6753]

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. 

[elex_enthusiast]

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. 

Copy that .. Good thing I already had a copy of both the service and operator's manual for future refence..

[SLJ]

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.

[alank2]

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!

[med6753]

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. 

[HighVoltage]

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.

[Alex Eisenhut]

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. 

[Alex Eisenhut]

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...

[OldSchoolTechCorner]

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.   

[OldSchoolTechCorner]

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. 

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.

[TheSteve]

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.

[KL27x]

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.

[AF6LJ]

Having only one scope would make me nervous.

[bills]

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.

[Excavatoree]

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."

[vk6zgo]

I had one of these:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/02/39/e0/0239e07d1101b1731bc0277bff2a735e.jpg

[FlyingHacker]

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.