Should I buy this defective 2467b?

[m.m.m]

Hello everybody,

I just found a Tektronix 2467B 400MHz oscilloscope for around $330, the seller describes it: "The CRT works but doesn't show the signal, doesn't seem to be a serious problem and should be repairable".

Should I buy it? How are the chances of it being repairable? Any idea of how much would it cost to repair?

here's a photo


Thanks 

[Johnny10]

I would think that is a bit expensive.

[m.m.m]

I asked the seller for further details, says "it's been used in the ICT co., no idea what's wrong, and the only problem is with the vertical control circuit."

I would think that is a bit expensive.

There's still a bit room for bargaining, maybe like down to $285.

[oldway]

Repairing a faulty analog oscilloscope is not that simply....

1) you will need another working oscilloscope to repair this one.
2) the 2467 is one of the most sophisticated of the portable Tektronix oscilloscopes....It is a very good oscilloscope but a very complicated also.
3) this oscilloscope use a lot of hybrid devices hard to fine.

If you have no experience in analog oscilloscope repair, don't buy a defective oscilloscope.
Buy a working one.

[tsman]

"it's been used in the ICT co., no idea what's wrong, and the only problem is with the vertical control circuit."

Does the seller handle any other test equipment? Or is this a complete wild shot in the dark guess from somebody who doesn't use scopes normally? I'm usually dubious about any repair hints from eBay sellers.

The big question is do you have the necessary equipment/time to test and diagnose this scope? You may get lucky and it is a very simple problem to find + fix but if you're unlucky then you're going to be hunting for a Tek ASIC or a replacement board.

[BravoV]

If this will be your 1st scope, then don't.

Who knows the trouble with vertical control caused by one of the hybrids chip, if that is the case, then you're screwed.

Those hybrid chip are hard to find, even its available, probably will be quite expensive, we talking may be 2 or even 3 digits dollars sometimes.

Hell, even you can get the hybrid chip cheaply, once replaced, you will have to re-calibrate it, which I doubt you're capable of, cmiiw.

[oldway]

Do you really need a 400Mhz oscilloscope ?
Do not forgot you will have to buy also 500 Mhz expensive probes.....

Buying a 100 Mhz oscilloscope, everything is quite more cheaper.

To pay 300 bucks for a faulty analog oscilloscope if you do not really need a 400 Mhz bandwith and when there are cheap digital oscilloscopes to buy seems not a good idea.

NB: another thing you must know: the greatest difference between 2467 and 2465 is that the 2467 has a special mesh crt with higher writing speed....
This crt is more sensitive to phosphor burning.

[m.m.m]

Does the seller handle any other test equipment? Or is this a complete wild shot in the dark guess from somebody who doesn't use scopes normally? I'm usually dubious about any repair hints from eBay sellers.

The big question is do you have the necessary equipment/time to test and diagnose this scope? You may get lucky and it is a very simple problem to find + fix but if you're unlucky then you're going to be hunting for a Tek ASIC or a replacement board.

Yes, he does sell some other scopes, signal generators, power meters, etc.

And for the test equipment I only have a DS1054z scope.

Do you really need a 400Mhz oscilloscope ?

Not now, I don't need a 400MHz scope at the moment but I would need in the future, I also thought it would be cool to have a 400MHz scope for 300 bucks if I could repair it 


I also asked the seller if he has tore down the scope and he seems to be refusing to answer, so probably he realizes it's one of those hybrid chips that you mentioned.

Thanks for saving my money 

[tsman]

I also asked the buyer if he has tore down the scope and he seems to be refusing to answer, so probably he realizes it's one of those hybrid chips that you mentioned.

That is a massive red flag. This scope may be made up of dead parts from other units or as you said, they know precisely what the fault is and it is expensive to fix. The missing trace could be hiding multiple problems which you won't find out until much later.

[joseph nicholas]

Tek scopes are very delicate and unpredicitable.  Notice on alot of them you need to use an aux fan when the scope is out of the case.  This should be a dead give away hint on just how , ah shall we say, non hardy these things are.  You should also be aware that in my experence the people who design these scopes at Tektronix do not assemble them themselves.  You will find such interesting things like some one has assembled the fame with a impact driver and not a torque wrench. 

[Fsck]

330? Hell no. You should get a functioning one at that price.

[m.m.m]

330? Hell no. You should get a functioning one at that price.

Really? Where?! 

[jmelson]

Hello everybody,

I just found a Tektronix 2467B 400MHz oscilloscope for around $330, the seller describes it: "The CRT works but doesn't show the signal, doesn't seem to be a serious problem and should be repairable".

Should I buy it? How are the chances of it being repairable? Any idea of how much would it cost to repair?

here's a photo

This is a microchannel plate scope.  Unless you actually NEED the microchannel plate, avoid these scopes!
If you really need to see single shot events at low rep rate, get a digital scope, 1000X better.
But, for general test work, the 2465 series is basically the same scope, but no microchannel  plate, but a bigger screen.
The microchannel plate has very annoying protective circuitry that blanks the screen all the time.
It does give an amazingly bright trace even at low rep rates, but then the 2465 also does a VERY good job in this regard.

Without knowing what is wrong, it is impossible to say how hard it will be to fix.  But, do know that all these 24xx series units use totally unobtanium Triquint chips that have a finite lifetime.  When they go out, the scope can only be repaired by stealing the chip out of a donor.

Jon

[james_s]

That sounds like a very high price. I've seen numerous working TDS500 series scopes go for less than that, and for an analog scope? I don't think I'd pay more than $200 for a working one unless there was something really special about it. Broken? No way, there's a probably 50% chance the fault is something that renders it not economical to repair. Whenever a seller says something is an easy fix, my thought is "well then fix it" and then I'd consider the price.

[Fsck]

330? Hell no. You should get a functioning one at that price.

Really? Where?! 

Oh, I didn't notice you're from Iran.
I got my 2465 for 250$ USD from ebay years ago, but it was within Canada.

[m.m.m]

Oh, I didn't notice you're from Iran.
I got my 2465 for 250$ USD from ebay years ago, but it was within Canada.

Uh... ebay just banned my account even though my address was not Iran, I still wonder why would they 
I think I'll just stick with my DS1054z for now 

[tecman]

Just a few comments.  I bought the same model on ebay 18 mos ago for $349.  Fully working, only missing 1 plastic foot.  I replaced the battery and re-capped it for under $ 50 and added a heatsink to U800.  The price you indicated is high for a non-working unit.  As for the other comments, Tek scopes are generally not finicky or unreliable.  In general they tend to be very robust and last decades.  The 246X series is well known as a workhorse and still very desirable to many people.  The "7" models with the microchannel CRT ane no less reliable or troublesome than the "5" series scopes.  Also the hybrids are quire robust and reliable.  They do offer a higher writing speed as compared to a standard CRT, so if you don't need that capability it is still not a negative to buy one.  It still functions as a normal scope.  The other comment about buying a digital scope if you need to capture high speed single shot events is bogus, unless you are willing to spend a few thousand for a very high sample rate digital.

For a first scope, the 246X family is a great scope to have.  But as others have said, wait for a better price.  Normally you can find a 2465/A/B working for about the same price range.

Paul

[martinr33]

I used to use a 2467B. When they were new, they were fantastic machines. I used it to find odd glitches in memory circuits. Logic analysers could (or could not) tell me something was wrong - the 2467B could show me exactly what it was.

 It is a very likeable scope, failures notwithstanding. But I would say, go for a working one. Masterig analog triggering for digital circuits is a fun skill to develop.