Buying and shipping a Tek 576 in 2022

[David Aurora]

Is it a completely shit idea?

First things first because I can already see the replies- no, neither an octopus tester nor a $30 Ebay curve tracer kit can do what I need. What I need is what a 576 does. I need to test and characterise stuff at high voltages/reasonably high power, and out of all the old curve tracers around seems to be the best fit for my needs/budget.

But with that said- I've got to pay Australia tax to get one, and risk what shipping could do to something that hasn't been manufactured for decades (they don't seem to pop up around these parts), so if there's a better option I'm all ears.

As far as I can tell, there is nothing in SMU land that can give me the same voltage/current capabilities anywhere near the same price (god I'd love to be wrong about this though). There are some reasonably priced curve tracers on Alibaba that get sort of almost nearly close, but there's zero info out there about them so it seems like a total crapshoot. There are a few kit/DIY things around the web that would probably work OK, or I could design something, but I'm really not after a project to endlessly tinker with here, just a functional tool. I also prefer standalone tools that just work to things that need to run on some godawful shit like Windows, although the ability to save/recall curves would not suck.

I don't necessarily need the absolute limits of it, even 800V/100mA would be plenty.

So yeah, assuming one was reasonably packed and shipped from the US to Australia do we hold high hopes for it arriving intact? Or does anyone have any better suggestion for similar functionality these days?

[Jay_Diddy_B]

Hi,

I have a couple of the Tektronix 576 curve tracers. I have one that I use and the other is a spare. I was lucky in that I bought them locally so no shipping was required.

I was just watching this video on YouTube. The guy seems very knowledgeable on these instruments. It give you an idea of the work that is required if you get a bad one.
There are a couple of bad things that may be unfixable:

The HV transformer that generates the CRT voltages
The CRT itself

Link:


Regards,
Jay_Diddy_B

[Shock]

If it's properly packed and sent with the right freight company/carrier it should be fine. If you use a carrier with poor logistics it will be freighted on a tour of the US before arriving, which I think adds significant risk.

I own one as well, I've often wondered how many are actually in Australia because I've only ever seen one other years back.

Adjusted for inflation they would be US $17,000 instruments today. That would be AU $23,000 before any additional local markup.

[David Aurora]

Hi,

I have a couple of the Tektronix 576 curve tracers. I have one that I use and the other is a spare. I was lucky in that I bought them locally so no shipping was required.

I was just watching this video on YouTube. The guy seems very knowledgeable on these instruments. It give you an idea of the work that is required if you get a bad one.
There are a couple of bad things that may be unfixable:

The HV transformer that generates the CRT voltages
The CRT itself

Link:

Yeah I found that guys vids after picking up some 7000 series stuff, super informative! I've heard the same from a few sources about those issues being showstoppers, so that's my big fear with shipping. Anyone know how secure the transformers are inside? Are they prone to breaking/bending mounts?

[David Aurora]

If it's properly packed and sent with the right freight company/carrier it should be fine. If you use a carrier with poor logistics it will be freighted on a tour of the US before arriving, which I think adds significant risk.

I own one as well, I've often wondered how many are actually in Australia because I've only ever seen one other years back.

Adjusted for inflation they would be US $17,000 instruments today. That would be AU $23,000 before any additional local markup.

Good chance I'll need to use a freight forwarding service, so multiple carriers have a good chance of increasing my risk 

Yeah, for what they do they're a steal if you can get one in your hands and working. But jeez, it's an expensive boat anchor if it's DOA

[Shock]

It's a time vs expense thing. If it's DOA probably not the end of the world, but a broken crt on the other hand would be quite painful. Luckily it doesn't need the fixture adapters and the test fixture is diy friendly, the adapters in my opinion haven't aged well.

[floobydust]

You must have it packed using expanding packing foam, like Instapak Quick RT.
It swells up and completely covers the vitals like knobs, as well as moulding to the curves.
No amount of bubble wrap or packing peanuts it going to work.

[Messtechniker]

  Fly over and package it yourself. Would certainly
cut the risk somewhat - at a price of course.

[Shock]

Floobs I'd try to avoid putting anything up against the controls and just get foam around the edges of the front face so there is a bit of an air gap. It's about 50kg so I assume there is something appropriately rated. As the top is angled down at the back it prevents it from shifting too far forward onto the controls, so in this case nothing is better than something.

But yes foam packing is good. Peanuts, bubble wrap and styrofoam sheets if not done right will likely displace, compress or break up under the weight. You also need to reinforce the box.

[floobydust]

I ship heavy gear using the expanding packing foam on the front panel, with no troubles. Actually it's on all sides.
If the box takes a blow on the side with the front panel, something has to cush and transfer the force. Or the momentum gets transferred at weak corners, like the styrofoam cubes usually used for packing equipment.

But this Tek seems extremely heavy, in another league. A wood box/pallet is suggested by this guy: https://www.jacmusic.com/Tube-testers/TEK-576/Tek-576-1-General-Part.html
"net weight 32kg/70.5lbs, shipping weight 48.5kg/107lbs." Huge difference there. Due to packing materials?
At that weight it's gonna be shipped ground and banged around in a truck.

[alm]

At that weight it's gonna be shipped ground and banged around in a truck.

Would you pack lighter so it would be shipped by air? Actually, I'm pretty sure FedEx etc have no problem shipping boxes of this weight by air, since I've received packages that were heavier via FedEx Economy International, but of course you'll pay for it.

I think double boxing and/or a crate would be your best, with several inches of foam-in-place on all sides. I've had things heavier than that shipped in a single, sturdy box with styrofoam / bubblewrap via UPS ground, and then FedEx to Europe from a freight forwarder, without damage. The freight forwarder easily paid for itself for me with the discount in FedEx rates they get (I think I paid about $200 for 70 lbs/32 kg via FedEx economy from the US to EU). These were somewhat smaller and less fragile than curve tracers though: calibrators, so many analog circuits, transformers, glass displays and buttons, but no CRT or knobs with long shafts.

[jonpaul]

check similar 577 be sure to get correct test fixtures and adapters

In case AU has ham radio Fleas that is,the best way to fin vintage test equipment

Shipping is risky and costly and the carrier insurance will,always denying a claim eg broken CRT as " insuffisant packing"

Jon

[strawberry]

ship CRT tube separate in special packaging (double/triple cardboard box filled with bubble material)

[David Aurora]

ship CRT tube separate in special packaging (double/triple cardboard box filled with bubble material)

This would be great, but not all sellers are going to be capable of doing that properly (and I'd rather they didn't just give it a go and screw things up worse, haha)

[Brumby]

ship CRT tube separate in special packaging (double/triple cardboard box filled with bubble material)

An idealistic thought.

This would be great, but not all sellers are going to be capable of doing that properly (and I'd rather they didn't just give it a go and screw things up worse, haha)

A rational response.

I wouldn't want the added risk of disassembly by a person of unknown capabilities, either.


I'd like to ask: "Isn't there one available in Australia?" .... but I already know the response.

[David Aurora]

Verdict- it was a shit idea.

Arrived with a smashed CRT.

Probably because despite detailed discussions about fragility of the CRT and whatnot, the guy put it in a wooden crate with NOTHING on the top or bottom to absorb shock. Just a single wrap of bubble wrap around the sides and straight into a wooden crate.

Fuck my life.

[alm]

What a waste. Clearly the seller had no idea how to pack.

I believe people have digitized the signals so they can be transferred to a computer. Would that be an option to salvage this?

[David Aurora]

What a waste. Clearly the seller had no idea how to pack.

I believe people have digitized the signals so they can be transferred to a computer. Would that be an option to salvage this?

If the seller wanted to give it to me for free at this point, perhaps. But given that I bought one with a working screen and through stupidity (and against my warnings) it was damaged in transit, I couldn't accept the hours I would have to put into making that work on top of what I paid for it. Like I wasn't trying to buy a restoration project, I was trying to buy a tool to use 

[strawberry]

shit, I failed it, bad insufficient comment/suggestion 

[David Aurora]

shit, I failed it, bad insufficient comment/suggestion 

Haha, nah, your advice is great, but asking people whose skill level you don't know to disassemble a curve tracer and play with the CRT sounds just as sketchy as the way this was packed!

[Trader]

Check these pictures, I guess this one is very rare and complete.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3274114906208602/

[Fungus]

Check these pictures, I guess this one is very rare and complete.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3274114906208602/

Nice!

[Shock]

To get that many adapters/fittings at once rare, but they are also asking $2,400 US. Shipping it from Brazil is problematic. As for completeness, there's a bunch of options for it.

The adapters aren't that great in my opinion, they didn't age well. Easier to use a pcb with zif or tube socket setup (whatever your testing).

[Johnny10]

I have shipped about 5 of these over the years and I found that extra heavy duty boxes from Home Depot and one of those egg crate foam bedding covers works great to protect these things in transit.

I wrap the 576 in the egg crate foam material and slide it into box making sure there is no movement.

I roll it around on the floor to decide whether it will make it through a drop from conveyor.

No problems yet.

These heavy monsters are literally dropped many times during shipping no matter who you ship with.

I've received a 575 curve tracer in a large box with peanuts, Come on!

[David Aurora]

For those playing at home:

The seller started out saying "I'm going to make this right. You want a curve tracer, I don't want this thing back, there are tonnes of these in my area so I'll find you a CRT and get you up and running. Give me 2 or 3 days to get back to you".

Then he actually tried to find a CRT.

First he asked for another week, then a few days later he snapped and asked Ebay for the unit back (without discussing it with me) and insisted I should pay shipping both ways too.

I laughed, Ebay laughed, and now I'm waiting on my refund to clear.