500MHz P6500 probes on ebay ??

[MathWizard]

I went ahead and ordered 2 of these for $40US/each, they were on my wishlist for my 500MHz scope, and I forget to check for others. I think the brandname is LI HUA
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/331108244508?_skw=p6500+500MHz&itmmeta=01KNGKBWB1D15CDE0BW9DDNSE6&hash=item4d1796dc1c:g:MZ0AAOxyyF5RSrql&itmprp=enc%3AAQALAAAA8GfYFPkwiKCW4ZNSs2u11xAlY1oLX4RLNgj7MYsnpY4HP8ZSSJju%2FI2XwVj9%2Fmm1Q%2Fy3ZtkWX2QDMx6VcYxeghaBBiDMRrB03bo36uYkZiLNKfmIQsuBSpWNIJV%2BZ8gBZx9tAxeAVLjUm8lsbbPRhXlWNQZsdGusWcG3suWxxCr%2FwA%2B0tDPrMQEZZTLaAOD5eDDKYQWHp%2BeVH4zMsMPCa0XLqNqPNg7%2FKpvKb%2BKstaKDHA%2FdQl5dLaUDwmHv2o%2Fh40fX0mTQDzTMycw6FmqkYG4WEzw0JXFdSOT6GO%2Bx11FCqTDunkmWV%2BWWJwgJHKb8ag%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9TFr5OsZw


Anyone tried any of these P6500 probes, I guess clones of old Tektronix or something.

https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=p6500+500MHz&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_sop=15

[Martin72]

Hi,
Just type “P6500” into the forum search and take a look at the results.

[mawyatt]

Take a look at how these cheap P6500 probes behave. Get some decent probes for your 500MHz DSO, not these

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/oscilloscope-probes-41026/msg579768/#msg579768

Best

[BillyO]

A few years back I got a pair of these:


They are a copy of the Tek P6139A and they work pretty well.  Not quite as good a real Tek P6139A, but almost as good.  They are 9pF vs. 8pF for the real Tek probes.  Here's the kicker though, when I got min they were $70 each.  Now they are about $160, if you can find them.

If you are okay with used probes, you can put together real Tek P6139A sets off ebay for about $125 to $150 in pretty stellar shape.  You may have to buy some items separately, as I did with one, or you might get lucky and find a complete set, as I did for another.

The top picture is the no-name P6139, the bottom picture is a Tek P6139A.

[0xdeadbeef]

As a rule of thumb: if a probe has a "x1/x10" switch, it's usually not great...

[Martin72]

He decided to remove the link after all....
The price listed there was simply ridiculous—way too high.
A 1:10 ratio is more typical of the cheapest transducers, and there are virtually no accessories included and no readout function.
And all that for that price...

[BillyO]

He decided to remove the link after all....

Because they were not the correct probes.  I can no longer find the ones I bought, but am still looking...

They (the ones I got) perform very well, and considering a Tek P6139B will set you back nearly $1300, $160 does not seem too bad for nearly identical performance.

Okay, I found them.  They are marked "Currently unavailable."  So you can see why I deleted the other link.  It pointed to something totally different.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08P3N9VYG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

[BillyO]

In looking I found these:
https://www.amazon.ca/Goupchn-Oscilloscope-P6500B-Precision-Accessory/dp/B09F9C74DL

10x only, small thin probe body, readout, and a decent set of accessories.

I wonder how good they really are?  Or are these the same P6500 that was in that thread that Mike linked to?

[temperance]

I wouldn't trust those at all.

I find most probes too large, like those delivered with R&S RTB2 scopes. PMK has some interesting probes if you want small probes.

https://www.pmk.de/en/products/pml_high_z_tastkoepfe

They used to have those at RS and Farnell. But this is no longer the case.

[MathWizard]

Baawwwhhh I should have known, I'm sure I asked about probes before too. I do sort of remember now about avoiding 1x:10x probes for high BW. But IDK, if they are sold as 500MHz, then that's what I expect. I'm forgetting looking up a bunch of expensive passive and active probes over the last few years, and even starting to make some Lo-Z probes, and looking at the DIY 2GHz probes on here.

I made a BJT reverse avalanche pulser on a breadboard, I think I was getting down into the nano-seconds of pulse length, that probably has the fastest edges and shortest period of anything I have. I've been meaning to make a copper-clad version maybe with some SMD parts too I'm too lazy or cheap to learn SMD PCB's, and then order a PCB, someday.

Then there's my SDG2140X, and I have real 200MHz probes that Tautech says are good out to maybe 300-400MHz. I have the unlocked 500MHz of the SDS2204X+.

If they do worse than my 70/100/200MHz probes, I should be able to file a claim on ebay or paypal, and get a refund. They've already shipped. But over all I could still use more probes, even if they are only 70MHz.

At least I only ordered 2 of them.

[tautech]

..............
Then there's my SDG2140X, and I have real 200MHz probes that Tautech says are good out to maybe 300-400MHz. I have the unlocked 500MHz of the SDS2204X+.

Only based on the great work of member performa01:





https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1104x-e-in-depth-review/msg1434665/#msg1434665

[BillyO]

I wouldn't trust those at all.

Trust them?  No, I guess I wouldn't trust them.  They are cheap enough though that I might buy one and test it for myself.

In that thread that mawyatt posted back a few posts a person got one of these and after some tweaking of the high and low compensation adjustments, got some impressive results.

The ones you linked to are nice, but at nearly $400 a pop, are not exactly chump change.

I'm happy with my Tek P6139A and the no-name copies of the P6139A.  They are both good probes and I got all 4 for about $400.

[tautech]

For Siglent OEM probes SP2035A are about best bang for buck but just 350 MHz rated.
https://siglentna.com/product/sp2035a-auto-sense-350-mhz-oscilloscope-probes/

If it must be 500 MHz SP5050A for not a lot more....
https://siglentna.com/product/sp5050a/

Then if you need to know which probes come with which Siglent models this PDF lists them all:
https://siglentna.com/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2025/10/Oscilloscopes-standard-probes-and-other-accessories.pdf

[KungFuJosh]

I still prefer ProbeMaster 4905-1RA probes. I've never bw tested them; maybe I should. 🤔 ...what's a good setup for that? Similar to FFT test for scope?

[temperance]

The ones I posted should be around €150...200. The price you found is probably for a pack of two from Pico Tech sold on Farnell.

[BillyO]

Maybe in your neck of the woods, but here in North America PMK want a lot more for them.

https://pmkamerica.com/products/855-711-a01?srsltid=AfmBOopsAbvi7leaGoRgJEfW96bzq-mBuSc1qsqoIflXv_4rQC9OOF5C

To me, that's $550 CAD (plus taxes and shipping).  A set of 4 would cost as much as a decent scope.  Plus they don't seem to come with many accessories.

Maybe the accessories are just not listed.

Edit: No, they don't come with accessories.  They are all priced separately.

https://pmkamerica.com/collections/pml-probe-accessories

[KungFuJosh]

PMK here is $395 for the PML 711A-RO which is 500MHz, 400V:  https://pmkamerica.com/products/855-711-a01

Accessories available listed here: https://pmkamerica.com/collections/pml-probe-accessories
What's included is not clear, and it seems you have to choose a package. I dunno tho.

ProbeMaster's 5905-1RA is 500MHz, 600V, and comes with accessories for $214: https://probemaster.com/5905-1ra-oscilloscope-probe-kit-500-mhz-10x/

[MathWizard]

So there's a cheaper option, the SP5050A 500 MHz Oscilloscope probe, at $125US, so that's a lot less than some of the other's. I would have bought these before. Is there any catch or downside vs say the $400 ones mentioned, what's the difference ?

I really really don't need anything new, big and expensive for a while. So yeah I'll save up and get a few of those SP5050A, and then only use them when really needed, and keep them in a box so they'll last.

I made a JFET active probe that worked ok out to some dozens of MHz, but yeah it needs to be made SMD, with my good parts, and maybe then it would work ok past 100MHz.

[BillyO]

Is there any catch or downside vs say the $400 ones mentioned, what's the difference ?

Yeah, you'll be faced with deciding what you're going to do with all the money you save.

Siglent probes are excellent probes.  I would have bought them if I had had the cash at the time.

(Why do I always spell 'the' as 'teh'!  It's so f'n annoying!!)

[MathWizard]

I have some Micsig HV diff probes, 1kV iirc and maybe 200kHz BW, they are ok for me so far. But I just saw some 18kV scope probes on Amazon, they are expensive, but not big brand name. Now I don't need them, but any thoughts on these, someone on here probably reviewed them already. I wonder if high voltage JoeSmith ? has tested these.

https://www.amazon.ca/PINTECH-Oscilloscope-Probe-P6028A-Voltage/dp/B07Y1JVWNZ/ref=sr_1_20?crid=3P4RQ53N55W7J&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BRHpKC0HEDlsNPEWsVceD0J-OVbVbUJuATFNJWuT4NWxUsLq1FwrJnODHGe0MrezLOBqP2J6ZD9dGMSfieQWd_QTbSWrIlCxgzZcI4ZTIqeD4NXgYWa7mRb0Ixk9udjG5QRN-5tg5DxXv5u1zmE-rB0U-lLBfxoK6UtXLGvfdx96aL2jSUgezk2VIZc2iXEN_LzTS_ftbYrcd6yHoyNhRN3GktoBjORUu7T-NVykA2arOdnc8nwUngHuSTi4VyraHqoQ7iNpVF_pmSsKl8JsTCjn-7JQoQ-oV_BtiFa3wRk.INwEzPfEmRqpXT_rpJbP3mOoK2iacibENGZr-93_0lU&dib_tag=se&keywords=siglent%2B500mhz%2Bprobe&qid=1775528937&sprefix=siglent%2B500mhz%2Bprobe%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-20&th=1

I'd test them on a few of those $20 scopes, and then derate them some before I'd go probing CRT's, but it would be cool. It's nice to see such things getting down to the hobby level.


PINTECH High Voltage Probe for Oscilloscope, 28kV Max DC, 15kV Max AC, 75MHz, 1000:1 Attenuation Rate, Oscope Probe with BNC Connector, P6028
$1k yankee bucks

[tautech]

So there's a cheaper option, the SP5050A 500 MHz Oscilloscope probe, at $125US, so that's a lot less than some of the other's. I would have bought these before. Is there any catch or downside vs say the $400 ones mentioned, what's the difference ?

I really really don't need anything new, big and expensive for a while. So yeah I'll save up and get a few of those SP5050A, and then only use them when really needed, and keep them in a box so they'll last.

SDS2504X Plus offers just two 500 MHz rated channels and when more channels are activated all channels are BW downrated to 350 Mhz so needing four SP5050A is questionable.

Getting two SP2035A for daily drivers and two SP5050A for when BW demands it will save you a few $.

[tautech]

.............
PINTECH High Voltage Probe for Oscilloscope, 28kV Max DC, 15kV Max AC, 75MHz, 1000:1 Attenuation Rate, Oscope Probe with BNC Connector, P6028
$1k yankee bucks

Yeah and what on earth in common electronics would you need a 28kV probe for ? 

8kV is where we top out at but these are still pretty big 1000x probes.
Instead you might get more use, safety and protection for a scope with 100x probes that we do sell a few of.
Look here:
https://www.pintek.com.tw/productClassify/landersound-tail2/index/17071

[BillyO]

Yeah and what on earth in common electronics would you need a 28kV probe for ? 

HV on color CRTs.  I don't know if that's his use, but that is a use case.

[David Hess]

I do not see any transient response adjustments which are necessary for a 500 MHz probe to work with multiple oscilloscopes, so they are junk.

I have some TEXAS 350 MHz probes from Ebay which work great, and they make 500 MHz probes.  You may need a calibration source to adjust them property to a specific model of oscilloscope.

http://www.hktexas.hk/en/pro_1_readout.html

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335400494860

[tautech]

I do not see any transient response adjustments which are necessary for a 500 MHz probe to work with multiple oscilloscopes, so they are junk.

I have some TEXAS 350 MHz probes from Ebay which work great, and they make 500 MHz probes.  You may need a calibration source to adjust them property to a specific model of oscilloscope.

Yes they are normally plugged and not obviously visible however all Siglent 500 MHz probes do provide for HF adjustment.
You can see the plugged adjustment holes in this listing when you hover a mouse pointer over the image:
https://siglentna.com/product/sp5050a/