Has anyone here built a 'scope cart?

[Johnboy]

For users of relatively light and compact modern DSO's, this might seem like an odd question.

I've got an older analog Tek 454A. it's heavy, unwieldy, and takes up a lot of bench space, despite its claim to being a "portable" in the old days. It sure would be nice to be able to wheel it forward when I need it and direct it back into its corner when I don't. On the other hand, I'm no purist and don't need an officially-sanctioned product to place it on. I'm just curious if anyone has found a more obvious solution to this sort of problem with gear in general, or better yet, a shortcut. I've owned many poorly balanced pieces of rack gear in my day. Yes, I know an office chair would work. Yet I have a feeling that at least several people here may have already come up with a more (or less) elegant solution. Care to share?

[Rerouter]

Tek used to sell purpose built carts for there scopes and test gear, I have one for my 465 which had fittings for fitting 2 x 3 wide 500 series modules on it,

[MarkF]

I bought a cart for my MIG welder some time ago that might fit the bill.
Something like this.

   

[tkamiya]

I use Industrial Utility Cart with wheels; rather heavy duty one.  Put a 1/4" plywood cut to size so grid/mesh does not catch feet.  I think it was originally made for restaurant industry.

[med6753]

Yes. I built it specifically for a Tek 7603N but it can accommodate other scopes such as this 465B. It could even hold a Tek 500 series but it would be a stretch. It's all wood construction internally braced for strength.




   

[BurningTantalum]

I use a hospital bed 'meals trolley/tray' that I found at the local dump. The height is adjustable so that it will pass over the bench if needed.
I also have a 'pantograph' type monitor arm that clamps onto a bench - also from the dump and I suspect also from the local hospital when it closed. Really heavy duty and a long reach and swivel.
BT

[ferdieCX]

In the early 80s, a friend of mine let built a "carbon copy" of a Tek cart for his employer's 475A.
They used a picture in the Tek catalog as a model.
In the USA, it is probably cheaper today to look for a 2d hand original cart than to pay for the necessary metal work.

[Emo]

Made one myself to host the old instruments. Prevents a lot of heavy lifting and saves a lot of space

[Johnny10]

If you are in the US you can probably look on Craigslist for actual Tek scope carts. The are so inexpensive you can buy them for less than building one.
I have three I don't think I paid more than $20 for any of them.

[Johnny10]

EMO great job on your cart build!

[nctnico]

I've built this trolley from Ikea shelving, a few bits of aluminium and 4 wheels. Besides storing boxes I also use it to move heavy equipment around. Currently it has a big DC load on top.

[Johnboy]

Wow, thanks to everyone for the advice and ideas! Especial thanks to MarkF, med6753, Emo, and nctnico for posting pics of their solutions (and apologies to mods for the bandwidth, but I feel as though this is a constructive use of it, pun fully intended)!

You've all given me a lot to think about. It's true that there are very likely plenty of old Tek carts floating around in a spiral toward landfills/scrapyards here in the States, and I'll look into that option (although the shipping required may make it a little less than optimal; I don't exactly live in Silicon Valley, this is farm country). It did occur to me that "Hey, since most of the tech schools have switched to DSO's and PC-based solutions, I wonder if those institutions might have a scope cart or two repurposed as a bookshelf or something that I could helpfully switch out?" Yes, I'll be making a few phone calls tomorrow, methinks.

Awesome builds, guys. I'm really impressed with the spirit of innovation, improvisation, and resourcefulness I see around here on a daily basis.

[GreyWoolfe]

Here is 1 more.  My $12 cart.  All wood was leftovers from other projects--free.  I spent the money on casters.  This actually did support a Tek 7K series. I sold that scope.  Now it holds a Tek 2465 and a HeathKit IG-4505, my probes, BNC cables and both of my Ryobi fast chargers.  I am planning a new one with better storage capabilities.  I have to break down some more pallets and bring the wood to my son who can clean them up and plane them for me to equal thickness to build the shelves.  Then another $12 for casters.  Maybe I can sell the old cart for $25 and make a dollar  .  I don't count my labor as this is fun stuff.

[G0HZU]

I've got three of these trolleys here from RS components and they seem OK. I bought two of them and the other was a surplus freebie from work when we moved to a new building.

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/trolleys-carts/2255971/

They aren't cheap to buy these days but they are very easy to move around and can handle several large pieces of test gear. However, I wouldn't recommend putting anything really heavy on the top shelf despite the 120kg overall rating. I think I paid £120 each for mine.

I did also make a cheap but sturdy wooden stand for my 50kg HP8566B spectrum analyser but it doesn't have castors on it. However, I designed it such that one of the RS trolleys can park snugly inside it and it is exactly the same height as my workbench. It's strong enough to easily cope with another (Tek) analyser on top of the HP8566B.

[GreyWoolfe]

I've got three of these trolleys here from RS components and they seem OK. I bought two of them and the other was a surplus freebie from work when we moved to a new building.

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/trolleys-carts/2255971/

They aren't cheap to buy these days but they are very easy to move around and can handle several large pieces of test gear. However, I wouldn't recommend putting anything really heavy on the top shelf despite the 120kg overall rating. I think I paid £120 each for mine.

I did also make a cheap but sturdy wooden stand for my 50kg HP8566B spectrum analyser but it doesn't have castors on it. However, I designed it such that one of the RS trolleys can park snugly inside it and it is exactly the same height as my workbench. It's strong enough to easily cope with another (Tek) analyser on top of the HP8566B.

What little I googled, they are all over $200 USD here.  At the medical practice where Mrs GreyWoolfe works, they use these.  I would love to have a couple of them but for the price.  I hope that somehow they break a caster and pitch it and she tells me about it so I can dumpster dive and fix it. 

[SeanB]

If I need a scope cart I have a small supermarket shopping trolley, the type you use at the mini mart style shops. Small, has nice wheels and is pretty robust, I have loaded it with nearly a quarter ton moving stuff ( tiles get less heavy when you stack up the trolley rather than walking tile by tile), and currently it is holding both a small set of tools and the scope, plus assorted leads. You buy them from shelving and shop furnishing suppliers, plus you often get them on auction from closed shops.

[JDubU]

How about something like this?

https://www.amazon.com/TRINITY-EcoStorage-3-Tier-Chrome-Cart/dp/B008ALBHWQ

[mtdoc]

I always thought one of these inexpensive HF welding carts would make a good scope cart.  Only $32 with the ubiquitous HF 20% off coupons.   The dimensions look like a 454A would fit nicely.

[chris_leyson]

I rescued an abandoned super market trolly, hacksawed the basket off and plonked a TEK 546 on top, didn't quite look like a TEK scope cart but it worked. Bought the 546 from Chiltmead Electronics and then lugged it back home on public transport, absolute madness. Good scope though 

[cvanc]

For users of relatively light and compact modern DSO's, this might seem like an odd question.

I've got an older analog Tek 454A. it's heavy, unwieldy, and takes up a lot of bench space, despite its claim to being a "portable" in the old days. It sure would be nice to be able to wheel it forward when I need it and direct it back into its corner when I don't. On the other hand, I'm no purist and don't need an officially-sanctioned product to place it on. I'm just curious if anyone has found a more obvious solution to this sort of problem with gear in general, or better yet, a shortcut. I've owned many poorly balanced pieces of rack gear in my day. Yes, I know an office chair would work. Yet I have a feeling that at least several people here may have already come up with a more (or less) elegant solution. Care to share?

What city are you in?  I've got a Tek cart you can have but you gotta come pick it up.  I'm in Chicago.

[Johnboy]

What city are you in?  I've got a Tek cart you can have but you gotta come pick it up.  I'm in Chicago.

PM sent!

[TERRA Operative]

I've been thinking about getting something like one of these and adding some extra bracing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ELB3I5M/

Add the optional rack ears to gear where available and rack shelving for smaller equipment.

I got some audio analyzers, video sig gens, analogue scopes and stuff that are too deep for my shelves so I've been thinking of a cart for a little while too.

[Old Printer]

This is a pix of the late Jim Williams lab that was posted on Hackaday. His scope is mounted on a cart from Tektronix called a Scopemobile. Tek made a number of different models to support different scopes.

[TheNewLab]

GreyWoolfe, love the white food containers!

I tried out building a wall shelf unit and loaded 32 of those containers to store parts. I like the lids because I am always clumsy, drawers I spill. the only drawback was after a few drops they would begin to break apart. I finally bought some flat trays with latching lids, and changing over to some Sugar Bowl brownie bite bins for the odd still (the sugar bowl containers are a different type of plastic.
 

[TheNewLab]

er uh,
regarding building a scope cart, or any type of test equipment cart. try going onto YouTube and punch in the search engine. phrases like. "DIY equipment cart" or "indoor HD tool cart"
You will find some many great ideas from building your own to taking one of the flimsy Ikea units and putting in some oversize "L" brackets in various places. so the unit can support 100+ lbs. or kilos?