Bought a Tektronix 7903 (7904) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: MakuseruSukotto
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 02:44:10 am
content: So I haven't bought it YET, but I'll be picking it up tomorrow.The 7903 is the rackmount version of the 7904 apparently.It has four modules with it, 7A26, 7B92A, and two 7A19's.This will be my first scope and I primarily do work on relatively small audio circuits.How will this work as a first scope and is there anything not so obvious about scope use I should know?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 07:18:25 am
content: EEVblog #279 - How NOT To Blow Up Your Oscilloscope!Alan's Youtube channel (highly recommended)XYZs of using a scopemight be a good read.This is one complex (and fancy) scope, so it will probably take you a while to get the hang of it.Not sure if anyone ever wrote a tutorial for the Tek 7000 series.

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 12:44:32 pm
content: I'd buy a weight lifting belt before you pick it up.

author: MakuseruSukotto
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 05:12:03 pm
content: Quote from: KJDS on September 20, 2013, 12:44:32 pmI figure I'd just use the scope as weights, that way I can diagnose while I deadlift. Or something like that.Quote from: alm on September 20, 2013, 07:18:25 amI watched the how not to blow up your scope. I'd never seen that pdf though, thanks for that!It comes with a CD with all the manuals on it, so I'll definitely give all those a read.It looks more complex than the older scopes I'm use to seeing, I've used a few Tek's before, but the one I had stopped working.But I figure for $50 I couldn't go wrong with this one.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 05:33:55 pm
content: $50 is a steal for a 500MHz+ scope, and it's got a nice set of plugins that match the abilities of the mainframe. The Tek 7903/4 is definitely one of the best analog scopes ever made. Not the simplest or smallest, though.

author: mazurov
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2013, 06:11:16 pm
content: From my experience, 7000 is easier to work with than other scopes, especially fixing and modding since the mainframe has so much empty space. Also, 7904 (non-a) doesn't have a fan so it is quiet. I don't feel they are harder to operate comparing with, for example, 475A.But - owning a 7000 can become an addiction, hoarding mainframes and plugins.

author: geraldjhg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 08:56:03 pm
content: i hope it was real cheaphere is a manualhttp://bama.edebris.com/manuals/tek/7904but it is biggood scope if it worksfor fun buy a 7d20 adaptor

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 09:21:36 pm
content: The mainframe itself is pretty simple, but the plugins can be amazing.I just picked up an S4 head for my 7s11 plugin for less than $50 which will turn a 7000 scope into a sampling scope with a bandwidth of 14.5GHz. Pretty hard to beatThere are a lot of resources available. Here's a quick view of the 7000 plugins.http://www.kahrs.us/~mark/testeq/7000.htmlThe only downside is they do take up bench space. Have fun with it.

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 14, 2013, 10:35:59 pm
content: Quote from: mazurov on September 20, 2013, 06:11:16 pmI think that 7903s do have a fan.Also, when you combine the 7903 with a 7B92A, it does get a little complex. It all makes sense, but it's good to have the manuals.

author: Rigby
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 15, 2013, 04:45:02 pm
content: I have a 7633 and I love it. It is heavy, it is beautiful.