Products > Test Equipment
Tektronix 491 Spectrum Analyser
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Psi:
Hey, does anyone have experience with the tektronix 491 10mhz-40ghz spectrum analyser ?

Does it fall into the category of old but very good or just old ?

I'm looking for something that can do the 5.8ghz band for testing/comparing antennas/transmitters and may have the opportunity to get one.
Not sure how much they want yet.

What do you think a working 491 is worth?
Hydrawerk:
It is 1960's technology... http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/tektronix_spectrum_analyzer_491.html
G0HZU:
How much is the 491? If it is ultra cheap and you just want to do very crude signal testing across a test site then it might be good enough...

Otherwise my advice is going to be quite harsh in that I suggest you forget that this analyser even exists. I don't mean to be disrespectful to the team that designed it maybe 50 years ago but the user interface looks seriously weird to me and it suggests that the performance and versatility will be extremely limited.

If I wanted to buy a bargain basement 6GHz spectrum analyser for doing extremely simple testing of aerials/signals across a test site then I'd probably look at a 22GHz HP8559A or a big old HP141 based analyser from HP with a suitable plug in for 6GHz. The 141 mainframes look a bit old and hideous with a fairly murky CRT but the 141 is going to be streets ahead of that 491 in terms of usability. But I guess you have to find one for sale.

All of these ancient analysers are going to be a bit flakey when used and they could have worn out or intermittent controls and switches.

But maybe you can live with this for the type of testing you are doing?


Psi:
Fair points, i will keep looking
G0HZU:
I did also download the specs for the 491 and it only has a 40dB log range on the display. There were loads of other limitations with it and odd aspects of its design compared to a conventional analyser.

Perhaps its only redeeming feature in 2014 (in terms of purchase) is that you might be able to sell it on to a collector if it is in good condition and you can get it for a very, very low price. Otherwise it really is one to forget :)

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