Sony/Tektronix 326 'Scope Thrift Store Find - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 07:21:43 pm
content: I came across this Sony/Tektronix 326 'scope at the local thrift store yesterday. A thing of beauty it definitely was not.Only the front panel was so dirty. The connectors on the side were clean and corrosion free.It was last calibrated in 1988!It uses double banana plugs for its power supply. Very handy, but of course I had no way to test it in the store.But the price was right. Who could pass this beauty up for $15?After a few minutes of tinkering, I had a trace on the screen! It even seems to be reasonably calibrated. The trace is sharply focused, and there's a good range on the brightness control. Sweet.With a little cleaning, it's almost presentable!

author: david77
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 07:37:24 pm
content: Nice find, congratulations. Where was that poor thing stored? In a pigsty?

author: Jon Chandler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 08:10:05 pm
content: It was almost like the beginnings of moss growing on it. I didn't hold high hopes but the connectors were clean and there was no sign of moisture in the battery compartment when I pulled the batteries out so I figured it was worth a shot.I had almost concluded it was dead when I powered it up. I could see it was drawing current but the trace was off the screen and/or not triggering. Fortunately, I kept playing with it for a few minutes until I got a trace on the screen.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 08:15:55 pm
content: Thanks for sharing and congratulations, that is really a nice price.About cleaning, I'm curious how Tekfan feels when seeing those dirty knobs & panel.

author: wkb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 10:03:19 pm
content: Neat find! Congrats!

author: tekfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 10:38:16 pm
content: QuoteAre you sure the trace is normally this fat. I've got a Tek 1502 TDR with a similar size CRT and the trace is so sharp you can hide it behind the graticule lines.There is probably an astigmatism trimpot inside which should also be adjusted to get the sharpest trace possible.If the trace rotation isn't working check the trimpot. In Tek scopes it is usually connected to +15V and -15V and the wiper selects the voltage between those two extremes. One end of the trace rotate coil around the CRT is connecter to ground and the other to the trimpot wiper terminal. If the pot is good and you get a varying voltage on the coil then check the coil if it is open circuit.A very nice little 10MHz dual channel scope. It even has a 300ns delay line built in and 1mV vertical sensitivity. Now that's not something you would normally find in a scope of this size. But afterall this is Tektronix.

author: Spawn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2012, 11:12:31 pm
content: Nice catch there, I love to see old equipment getting back to live.Have fun with it and take good care of it.

author: ModemHead
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 25, 2012, 02:28:13 am
content: That's a great find! Amazing that it still works. Don't forget to post some pics when you take it apaaaaaaaahhhhhht!

author: TheOscilloscope
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 25, 2012, 05:26:45 am
content: I need to start going to more thrift stores again.