WTT: Tektronix Scopes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Anson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 06:10:54 pm
content: Ok I think I did really good on Craigslist. I got two Tekronix oscilloscopes for free yes free. But there's a problem neither work yet.One is a 454 which turns on but has no trace and the other sadly is a 465 in pieces. My hope and my offer is that I would like someone to take both of these fix one and calibrate it and send it back and keep the other as payment,. I will pay for shipping both ways. I am disabled and on a fixed income so this is a very large investment for me and well over my budget but my wife has kindly allowed me to use her budget as well so that I may hopefully have an oscilloscope. If no one likes this idea I am open to other offers for the two scopes as I am not likely to be able to repair either one myself. On a side note the previous owner said the 465 would require a new capacitor the one which was already removed. It is a large can electrolytic but doing research it can easily be replaced with a common type $5 cap. I do not have a camera for photo's. The 465 is assembled except for the front face knobs and the trigger side bnc connectors. but it appears all the boards have been previously removed and all soldered on wires are disconnected.

author: AlphZeta
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 07:29:27 pm
content: Hi Anson,Both of these scopes are well documented and the service manuals are readily available (http://www.ko4bb.com/manuals/index.php?dir=Tektronix/Tektronix_-_465_Oscilloscope/Tektronix-465_Service_Manual,http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/tek/454/). So your best bet is try finding someone locally who might be able to fix for you.It probably doesn't make any economical sense for you to pay shipping them back and forth for someone to fix. These are heavy scopes and the shipping cost could add up easily and there is no guarantee that it can be fixed easily. But having someone there could at least give him/her an idea what the problem is and how easy/difficult it is to fix the issues. Sometimes the problem is actually quite simple (as you suggested), but I have been in many situations where a seemingly easy problem turned out to be much more complicated.What you could do is, in my opinion, to try sell these "as parts" on eBay and use the proceed to buy something that is known to be in working order. Good luck!

author: Anson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 07:52:01 pm
content: I have downloaded the manual for the 465. I could possible reassemble most of it. However the area where the power transformer and its dozen or so wires all connect is difficult to see and reach and I am not sure I would be able to reconnect them correctly. And I know if I made one mistake. The 454 seems to be a crt high voltage issue or a bad crt either one I cannot fix. i don't have the tools to work with high voltage not to mention I have a bad habit of getting electrocuted whenever my fat fingers get near AC or high voltage.I will look into the ebay idea. Do you think it would be possible to get enough to buy a working one? Seems all the good working ones are near in price to a new rigol.

author: AlphZeta
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 07:57:52 pm
content: QuoteThere are plenty of decent used ones in working conditions on eBay for under $100. Depending on what you plan to do with the scopes you have many choices.

author: Anson
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 09:21:09 pm
content: Any suggestions on brand or model? I see mostly Tektronix and have heard many good things. I am a beginner but I have already found myself being referred to by friends and family for fixing things. So I would be using it for diagnostics once I learn to use it. I am also planning on making a synthesizer for my daughter I hear its useful to have an oscilloscope for testing the wave forms generated and filter out noise.

author: megahz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2013, 09:25:15 pm
content: Maybe ask any local electronics lab, they might fix it. I've been to the one near my house and the guy is pretty nice, I plan to maybe spend my summer there helping around