Cleaning face panel of tektronics scope??

[Ario]

Hi there,


I received a tectonics 2230 oscilloscope as a present from one of my senior co-workers. It is 100% operational after replaceing a blown rifa suppression capacitor.  I also cleaned the inside properly, since the scope has not really been used since like 1993.

I would like to also clean the plastic face a bit, but I am not sure which chemicals I would be able to use without damaging the plastic or its prints?

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I did try some isopropanol alcohol on a small patch, but it does not work very good to actually clean the plastic.

Regards 

[David Hess]

Water with a little bit of dish soap is a good place to start.  If something more aggressive is required, then a plastic safe solvent like naphtha (lighter fluid) is good.

Be careful cleaning the knob skirts where they are marked.  The markings are delicate.

[Ario]

Hi David

Thank you. I will start tommorow, and post the results. Excited

By the way the scope does not have the GPIB/RS232 comms card. Would you know where I could look for one?
The other option is to make a pcb board myself to add RS232 functionality.

Regards!

[nctnico]

I'd stay away from (petrol based) solvents. These are very likely to wipe out the lettering and/or damage the plastic surface (been there, done that). What works well is stuff that is sold as 'Simple green' in the US and 'St Marc' in Europe. This is a strong de-greaser but doesn't attack plastics. The typical use of St Marc is to clean surfaces before applying paint. Most of the dirt on test equipment is grease & dirt from fingers.

[David Hess]

By the way the scope does not have the GPIB/RS232 comms card. Would you know where I could look for one?
The other option is to make a pcb board myself to add RS232 functionality.

The cards show up on Ebay periodically.  I do not remember if it is the 2230 or 2232 or both, but some of the cards also include more memory for waveform storage.

[Ario]

Hi David,

Thank you I will have a look on eBay.!

[Ario]

Hi Ntcnico,

I will have a look thanks, I have not yet started. Would have to find a local product thougth, since the south african rand is quite weak at the moment, to import a product is going to cost to much. If I can find the right product I will rathere wait a bit untill I do!

[TERRA Operative]

DON'T USE ANYTHING STRONGER THAN DISH SOAP AND WATER ON THE BLACK LETTERING ON THE TRANSPARENT PART OF THE DIALS!! It's really delicate! 

It'll clean the numbers right off! Ask me how I know...... 



For the actual plastics, case parts, knobs, and faceplate etc, I wash with standard dish soap and water with a small soft brush, then once it's dry, I'll go over with isopropyl alcohol to get anything the soap couldn't clean off.

Sometimes I'll stick non-painted/screen-printed plastics and faceplates in the dishwasher when the wife isn't looking.