Have a Tek Type 546 oscilloscope. Mailbag? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 07:38:12 pm
content: I have an old Tektronix Type 546 Oscilloscope that a friend gave me about 5 years ago. I attached a picture. Apparently the model is originally from 1964 (not sure when mine was assembled). It's definitely not in full working order, but I've used it for basic diagnostic work (it was actually my first oscilloscope). That said, it's not that useful for such purposes any more, so right now it's gathering dust in storage. I've been trying to decide what to do with it. Option A is for me to pass it on to another geek buddy of mine. He'll get a kick out of seeing the vacuum tubes inside like I did, but it'll ultimately end up in storage again. Option B is...Mailbag! Then, hopefully thousands of geeks can get a kick out of seeing the innardsOf course, the number one question immediately following was, "How do I get this thing from Virginia to Australia?" The trouble is, it weighs about 72-73 pounds. Shipping that is already an expensive proposition, and to add insult to injury, USPS has a hard limit of 70 pounds on international shipments. I could try shipping the removable input preamp module separately, or use the likes of FedEx or DHL, but I can't find any way to get it there for less than $500 USD, and potentially much more.I've been pondering this for a few days. I'd be willing to put $250 or even $300 toward getting it there, but no way can I do $500+. I thought about something like GoFundMe for the difference, but figured there would be little interest (but let me know if you disagree!). Alternatively, does anyone know of cheaper ways to ship something like this? Time isn't really a factor, of course, as long as it'll get there.Finally, would there even be enough interest to make this worth pursuing? I find the vacuum tubes particularly fascinating, but maybe that's just because it's a completely foreign technology to me. Let me know!P.S. If mailbag can't work out, does anyone have other ideas for what to do with it? Seems like a shame for it to just end up in another guy's attic again.

author: tatus1969
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 07:42:09 pm
content: design a vector graphics frontend and implement things like Pong, Asteroids, an analog clock

author: Henrik_V
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 07:58:53 pm
content: > Seems like a shame for it to just end up in another guy's attic again.Depends on the attichttp://www.wellenkino.de/I hope and I bet you find some tek collektors not too far away. Don't hand it to tube pickers!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 09:06:00 pm
content: Quote from: Henrik_V on December 11, 2016, 07:58:53 pm+1With regard to the linked attic, it belongs to member MartinM and yes there are other members in the US that would happily preserve the OP's "old girl".https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vintage-tek-restoration-pictures-by-martin/

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 09:36:36 pm
content: Quote from: Henrik_V on December 11, 2016, 07:58:53 pmQuote from: tautech on December 11, 2016, 09:06:00 pmI didn't even realize there were people who collected this stuff, although it makes complete sense. Definitely seems like a worthy home for it. Now, the question is, how to find someone... A quick Google search turns up some collections on the west coast, which is domestic at least, but about as far from Virginia as you can get. If anyone happens to know of a good home near the east coast, certainly let me knowAlthough, as long as it gets to a worthy home somewhere, I'd be happy.Thanks for the suggestion, it seems so obvious now.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 09:47:32 pm
content: Post a message on the Yahoo TekScopes group. I would be surprised if nobody is interested!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 09:49:09 pm
content: Be patient Dominick, just give it a day or so for members to spot this thread. You could add "Tek" to the thread title to get it noticed more.Good luck.

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 10:13:04 pm
content: Thanks for the suggestions. Such a helpful communityQuote from: tautech on December 11, 2016, 09:49:09 pmI'm going to make an educated guess that I can do that by changing the subject in this reply. That's what the help pages seemed to suggest. If that's not right, somebody can feel free to kindly correct me.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2016, 10:18:06 pm
content: Quote from: dominickpastore on December 11, 2016, 10:13:04 pmThat's one way to do it but it will only apply to that one post. If you Edit the OP anybody that just hits Reply (not Quote) will have the new Edited header as the subject matter.

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 08:11:30 pm
content: Where in VA are you located?

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 08:27:49 pm
content: Quote from: Vgkid on December 12, 2016, 08:11:30 pmI'm in Northern Virginia. Not too far from Fair Oaks, to be precise.

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 08:30:46 pm
content: Quote from: dominickpastore on December 12, 2016, 08:27:49 pmDangit, the opposite direction of me. Southeastern VA.

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 08:43:39 pm
content: Quote from: Vgkid on December 12, 2016, 08:30:46 pmI'll be in the Richmond area for the last two weeks of December, but that'd still be a bit of a hike for you, it sounds like.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 09:52:24 pm
content: For an old scope in that condition, just to collect, I would drive across the state. Unfortunately the drive is more like 10000km for me

author: dominickpastore
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 12, 2016, 11:26:19 pm
content: Just to clarify:a) I'm certainly willing to work something out shipping-wise to get it to a good home. Although, anything international won't be too easy, as we've seen (sorry, Lightages).b) I don't want to over-represent the condition of this scope. It'll display a waveform, but a lot of the controls seem flaky, if they work at all. And I think channel one is in the doesn't-work-at-all group (don't remember for sure though). A disclaimer though...I'm a CS guy by trade, not an EE. Meaning I only know the basics of oscilloscope operation, and this one is certainly different from the DSOs Dave features in his videos (where I learned most everything I know about scopes)

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2016, 07:09:59 am
content: The only oscilloscope better than a546is a 547 which is a 546 with alternating timebase capability to display unrelated signals. I have a 545A and 547.A restored 546 is a completely usable 50 MHz oscilloscope and it can function as a space heater or zombie crusher if needed. There are a lot of neat plug-ins which can be had inexpensively to provide capability way beyond what is normally affordable for an individual.