New Tek TBS1000 Scopes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:16:49 pm
content: Tek stun the market with a new low cost scope:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/tektronix-introduces-entry-level-tbs1000-140000532.htmlhttp://www.tek.com/basic-oscilloscopes/tbs1000Dave.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:22:03 pm
content: why is that looks like a chinese shit? controls layout everything

author: mickpah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:32:38 pm
content: The product manager for that has a long sparking career ahead. NOT....

author: tesla500
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:38:05 pm
content: TBS series... that must stand for Total Bull S**tMFW reading the specs and prices:

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:44:01 pm
content: "Most Affordable Tektronix Oscilloscope Series Delivers Unprecedented Value"2.5k sample memory ... Wake me up when 2012 comesand ... 100 MHz for 1100$ WOOHOO! Brilliant. Let me go to a Tektronix store and ask if they offer anything with"unprecedented value"

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:48:40 pm
content: This is what you get when a company's hive mind thinks it is beneath them to compete in a particular market section, but the bosses say they have to, because the marketing guys say they have to.$520 list price for a 25 MHz entry level, hobbyist oscilloscope? I don't think so.Students? Well, the misguided ones who only know oscilloscopes from their uni's lab and they all happen to be Teks.Educators? Maybe, and Tek seems to target them with accompanying "education resources" and will likely give them a discount. The five year warranty might also be tempting for educators.Professionals? If they have a bean counting boss.

author: Nermash
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:49:10 pm
content: I really hope that Tektronix has something good up their sleeve to show off soon, and that this crapola is just bridging the gap...

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 08:52:40 pm
content: April 1 is a long way off!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 09:50:19 pm
content: Someone in Tektronix is going to get fired over these scopes. For Tek's sake I hope its vapourware. Nobody with a right mind would buy such a scope. I really don't understand that nobody at Tektronix sees that they have been missing out on the low end market since the TDS1000 series.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 10:32:53 pm
content: Maybe for $320 that would be a good deal. No way Tek.Rigol is going to come ringing your doorbell and personally hand your ass to you in a box.They're letting us down. No one wants to see Tek get run over by a Chinese company, (well unless you're Chinese or hate America or Tek), but if Rigol is making the better product, they win.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 11:26:45 pm
content: I can't even bother looking at the price, I'm so stunned by how crappy it looks. That control panel looks overly sparse and prototype-y. It looks weird, kind of like the two-channel versions of four-channel Agilent scopes that look like they're missing something where the other channels would be - except it's not missing anything and it still has that look.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 30, 2012, 11:36:11 pm
content: Great, so essentially another rehash of the TDS 200/1000/B series. The TDS 1000 series added FFT as standard, a frequency counter and some other minor features. The TDS 1000B added USB connectivity. The TBS1000 appears to add a color LCD. All use the same short (analog shift register based) memory. Tektronix should really stop adding irrelevant features to old technology (how long do they think they can sell nineties-era sampling technology?) and come up with some substantial improvements. A DPO2000 series scope for well under $1000, for example.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 12:03:20 am
content: Me thinks Dave watches the stock market closely.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 12:08:19 am
content: Notice it is $520 for 25MHz. Leaves thinking what's so special about Tek's general purpose scopes.

author: casinada
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:00:28 am
content: http://www.tek.com/oscilloscope/mso2000-dpo2000The MSO2000/DPO2000 are the ones competing against the Rigol and Agilent 2000 series scopes. The 1000 seriesSomebody in marketing has to be fired

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:09:35 am
content: Quote from: T4P on November 30, 2012, 08:44:01 pmFor almost the same price you can get the baseline 70MHz Agilent 2000X series!Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:12:37 am
content: Quote from: ivan747 on December 01, 2012, 12:03:20 amNah, that just came up first on Google for the press release.Dave.

author: casinada
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:14:06 am
content: There must be a market for the branded name scopes in the bottom end:http://www.home.agilent.com/en/pc-1562658/oscilloscope?pm=SC&nid=-34250.0&cc=US&lc=eng

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:33:30 am
content: Quote from: casinada on December 01, 2012, 01:14:06 amYeah, Tek will sell a few to several gullible markets, enough to make it worthwhile.Doesn't make it any less hilarious thoughDave.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:48:16 am
content: Blasphemy! A 1052E for $800? You're shittin me.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 01:59:45 am
content: Quote from: FenderBender on December 01, 2012, 01:48:16 amThat's what I paid for mine 4 years ago!Was a bargain at the time.The 1052E has twice the bandwidth of the Tek, and 400 times the memory!Dave.

author: casinada
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 05:41:32 am
content: http://www.tek.com/datasheet/oscilloscope/tps2000-digital-storage-oscilloscopesThis one goes only for $2990 and you can Hot swap batteries. I wonder how it stuck up against the Owon SDS8102 for $599

author: Shuggsy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 07:23:56 am
content: So glad I purchased my Rigol 1052E (and subsequently firmware modded to 1102E, thanks guys on the EEVBlog forum!). Same performance for 1/2 (or better!) the price? Good luck selling to anyone that's not a giant Tek fan...

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 09:52:58 am
content: As Tek seems to have abandoned any new development and are just rehashing obsolete designs, maybe they'd be better off going for the serious retro market and re-introducing this model - hell if I had the space I'd buy one!

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 10:17:38 am
content: But... It comes with two channels!Alexander.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 11:31:28 am
content: Quote from: casinada on December 01, 2012, 05:41:32 amDoes the SDS8102 have fully isolated channels? Can you safely clip the ground leads of the channels to signals a few hundred volts above ground? Can you clip them to circuits at different potentials? The only competition in this field I'm aware of is the Fluke ScopeMeter series, and you're not going to like the prices any better.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 01, 2012, 11:40:15 am
content: The TPS2000 series is a whole other beast with isolated channels. Tek has a patent on the technology they used.

author: The Electrician
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2012, 04:02:03 am
content: Quote from: alm on December 01, 2012, 11:31:28 amHere's some not well known competition--not cheap either. However, not only are there isolated channels, but the vertical resolution is 12 bits:http://www.aemc.com/products/html/moreinfo.asp?id=1816&dbname=productsI've wanted to get my hands on one of these for a few minutes ever since I saw the web page.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2012, 04:15:32 am
content: It looks like a new "My First Scope". Goes along with the Hakko FX-888 "My First Soldering Iron" look. Guess it's a trend.

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2012, 05:46:18 am
content: The FX-888 has a pretty nice design. It's not stackable but I don't find a need to stack it. The soldering iron lead is too short to have it on a shelf stacked with other things anyway.This scope seems lacking things in the front panel, it is plain and gray. At leas Rigol has some colors and other things going in the DS1052E.I guess you call them "My first set of tools" because they both look like toys in design, one of them colorful and the other too simple to be an "adult's scope".

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 02, 2012, 06:21:38 am
content: Quote from: SLJ on December 02, 2012, 04:15:32 amThe trend even has a name, gamification. Everything needs to look like a game (colors, simplifications, etc.) and work like a game (points/scores, achievement badges). It is said to improve engagement by taking advantage of human's predisposition to engage in gaming.It is something for the Facebook generation who think the whole world is just a game and get extremely annoyed when you expect some serious work from them.Although the idea is of course not new.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2012, 04:43:56 am
content: The new digital Tek scopes has been disappointing since day one. They don't get it at all, there's no geeky guy in the design department??? Or is he asleep. The Chinese has been leading the budget DSO for quite a whie now. And when they announce new product, they do it through electronics media network and not end up in a finance news section. This is clearly a fail for a company wishing to increase stock value the product is going to be a flop anyway.The schools kept buying Tek scope because they kept the layout the same they are either too lazy to update their learning material or the lecturer is incompetent to do so.tapatalk

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2012, 05:06:49 am
content: Quote from: nukie on December 03, 2012, 04:43:56 amIf Tek doesn't get their heads out of where the sun don't shine soon, they're screwed.

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2012, 08:22:28 am
content: Quote from: nukie on December 03, 2012, 04:43:56 amWell, Tek is proudly(?) blogging about their engineers going to sales dept. Go figure...(and who knows, maybe it was a swap and someone from sales went to design dept.)

author: mickpah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2012, 10:08:39 am
content: ahhh glory days for tek REhttps://twitter.com/mightyohm/status/275527981613588480.going, going ......

author: quarros
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 03, 2012, 07:12:17 pm
content: Quote from: mickpah on December 03, 2012, 10:08:39 amStunningly beautifulThanks!

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 01:26:45 am
content: Ugh I love old stuff and I was born in 1994...too bad.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 01:35:27 am
content: Quoteexactly my thoughts... Overpriced tripe. probably a rehash from some old crap they had laying around. and it still has the crappy 320x240 qvga display. Come on guys... wake up and look at your new chinese overlords. They are gone to beat the shit out of you ...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 03:08:30 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on December 04, 2012, 01:35:27 amDanaher don't care. They will run a lean tight ship and milk every last dollar of profit from every existing product line until the division (or company) dies.Dave.

author: zaoka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 04:28:24 am
content: There are still a lot of people paying for the name so TEK would survive

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 04:30:37 am
content: I bet every new tek scopes =

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 04:31:24 am
content: 320 x 240??On like at 6-7" display?My free cellphone has a 2.4" display with the SAME resolution.Yikes.Well better start buying stock in HP/Agilent...

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 05:44:44 pm
content: Quote from: zaoka on December 04, 2012, 04:28:24 amWe shouldn't forget that Tektronix also make high-end scopes (and other equipment) which the Chinese don't provide. If you look for a 4 channel >300MHz scope the offerings get thin and the prices high.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 06:54:38 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on December 04, 2012, 05:44:44 pmhttp://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds4000/ds4054/Not a problem.http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds6000/ds6104/That? Certainly not a problem finding one either

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 10:51:14 pm
content: tek and agilent should leave the low end to other makers.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 11:18:48 pm
content: Quote from: zaoka on December 04, 2012, 04:28:24 am..but a name won't last forever if it isn't backed up by good products, especially when people are increasing looking for good value. How long will people go on paying twice the price for an inferior product just because of the name?

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 04, 2012, 11:25:26 pm
content: Very true. You can only live off your name for so long before people realize "Oh wow these products suck. Or oh wow, I can get the same thing for half the price."

author: unistudent101
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 12, 2012, 08:41:32 am
content: Just my luck as a student of Adelaide university, I hear that they have just ordered a large quantity for thier labs. What fun I'm going to have with this state of the art equipment! This is the best oscilloscopes that they could provide for my final year project! No doubt they got this at some rock bottom price to haha

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 12, 2012, 08:46:38 am
content: Quote from: unistudent101 on December 12, 2012, 08:41:32 amYep, they would have practically given them away.Do they have any old scopes you can score?Dave.

author: Nermash
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2012, 08:51:39 am
content: QuoteWhen you sell something heavily overpriced there is always room for a good discount and nice commission for the purchasing manager:)

author: Herman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2012, 01:26:53 am
content: I didn't find the difference between TBS1000 and TDS1000.It's so experience,three times price of Chinese same specification oscilloscope.I rather buy a siglent’s SDS1000 or others Chinese oscilloscope.

author: nukie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 14, 2012, 01:33:21 am
content: You don't have to call them 'Chinese' oscilloscope because most of them are made there. We should call them 'better budget scope'.

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2013, 06:21:27 pm
content: TBS1000 is not bad.It is a retro scope! It is just very similar to TDS220 introduced in 1996... TBS1000 series might be good for schools, especially in lessons where students meet a digital scope for the first time... It might be a long lasting oscilloscope... Useful at school!But TBS1000 isnotfor serious hobbyists... What I miss the most is the delayed time base. There is no such thing as on the picture. Picture taken from some Atten scope manual.

author: obsoletepower
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 03:38:43 pm
content: WELL! Someone's confident in their brandThey must be if they put these entry-level scopes out on the market for these "entry-level" prices which are nothing to send a telegram home about..... Do they seriously think people are going to throw their wallets at them? I think so! Man, I sure hope that beginners do their research and not fall into the brand trap and just assume they are getting good value for money going with Tek at the low end. I fully support Dave's claim in getting a Rigol 1052E and hacking it into an 1102E.Get a darn clue, Tektronix!

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 04:27:57 pm
content: Quote from: obsoletepower on February 10, 2013, 03:38:43 pmAs others and I wrote, they are targeting the education market, those to dumb to know better, those having tax payer's money to spend so giving a rat's arse, those hoping to get good service with the instruments and those working on the basis of "nobody was ever fired fired for buying Tektronix".Will they manage to find enough of those to make a buck? Well, the Danaher business system should tell them in time. And if the numbers aren't great Danaher has no qualms to chop a few heads off. Let's just hope it will be a few brain dead MBA heads - they anyhow won't miss their heads much.

author: smashedProton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2013, 07:44:42 pm
content: I personally feel nothing wrong with buying Rigol test equipment. They are active innovators that deliver a second rate product for low prices. Their customer service is amazing too! When my scope fell off the bench.A knob snapped off, they took it and even recal'd it for me! kudos rigolI wouldnt choose to buy from a fat cat american company just because they are american. What happened to the TEK MSO scopes? That looked pretty awesome

author: obsoletepower
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 01:24:46 am
content: Quote from: SLJ on December 02, 2012, 04:15:32 amDon't you be putting down the Hakko FX-888 stationWhy does everything have to have that BOOOOORING industrial look? We're no longer engineers dead-set on functionality alone, we now demand that functionality wrapped up in a pretty package %-BBelieve it or not, my decision making process regarding investing into my bench equipment involves looks too, and not as a low priority.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 01:38:02 am
content: The Hakko FX-888 isadorable. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 02:12:56 am
content: Quote from: c4757p on February 11, 2013, 01:38:02 amI agree.First time I saw it it was a bit of a shock, but after seeing one in person, you kinda fall in love with the minimal yet funky look.They hired a big name professional artist to design it and he even signed his name on it. I think it shows.Dave.

author: FenderBender
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 02:50:23 am
content: Actually it's not as goofy in person as I expected it to be. I was expecting something like thisBut it turned out looking more "professional" than I anticipated.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2013, 03:21:07 am
content: It's still goofy looking. And now that they've taken the knob away there's two reasons not to buy it.

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2013, 08:10:19 pm
content: Well, the Tektronix guys think that their TBS1000 is better than other similar scopes of the same class... They made competitive fact sheets. Try reading them just for fun... What do you think? IMHO the TBS1000 has a better ADC chip and longer 5 year warranty... And that is all... Then TBS1000 has many disadvantages... Anyway, the TDS220 was a good scope... but in year 1996.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2013, 08:44:42 pm
content: Quote from: Hydrawerk on February 16, 2013, 08:10:19 pmA minor little point they missed on the Rigol comparison :TBS 1062 £547 DS1052E £225TBS1102 £726 DS1102E £273Tek are really getting desperate.RIP.

author: branadic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 16, 2013, 09:25:57 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on December 04, 2012, 03:08:30 amThis is exactly what the LeCroy field staff told me. Danaher is not investing into Tek. Reverse to that LeCroy benefited from consolidation with Teledyne and their knowledge in GaAs and microwave technologies.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 16, 2013, 08:44:42 pmThe Rigol comparison is just wrong. It says the Rigol can only save 8K data points. They clearly don't want to know about the 1Meg long memory in the Rigol.Apparently, one of the big "advantages" of the Tek scopes is that they come in slower more expensive models. You get the option to pay much more for much less - yippee!It says the Rigol has no Autorange button. I wonder what the "Auto" button on the Rigol does then?Rigol menus can be three deep, whereas the Tek menus ar only two deep - so what? If the depth of menu's is such a problem, why didn't Tek have menus that are only one level deep? Or zero deep - if they had no menus at all, they would be the best DSO on the market according to their logic.No mention at all of Rigol's 1GByte/S sampling with one channel!The Rigol has no probe check function. So what - there is the standard probe test/calibrate pin.Very, very sad.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 10:56:58 am
content: It's easy enough to make fun of the TBS 1000 marketing as is, without resorting to ridiculous arguments.Quote from: amspire on February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 amThey list 500 MS/s for all channels in that same table. The Rigol can't do 500 MS/s in dual channel mode with 1 M of memory. This is a weakness in its specs, and you can count on competitive comparisons to exploit it. That's how these things work. They're not wrong, just incomplete.Quote from: amspire on February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 amThey also list a 150 MHz model that the DS1000E series can't match.Quote from: amspire on February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 amAutoset != autorange. Tek has both. Autorange will leave other settings alone and will continuously adjust the horizontal/vertical scale. Not terribly important, but could come in handy for some measurements that require both hands on the probe/DUT.Quote from: amspire on February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 amThis is a ridiculous argument, especially for an engineer. A larger screen is better, so scopes should incorporate a 30" TFT? Lighter is better, so the device should be lighter than air?Quote from: amspire on February 17, 2013, 12:42:50 amLike I said, a weakness in its specs that competitors will exploit. They don't list sample rates for single channel operation.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 11:15:03 am
content: It's pretty trivial to whip up a competitive fact sheet by finding really minor stuff your unit has that the competitor does not.Conveniently leave out a few big things were you get your arse kicked, and other features that the competitor does not, and you have an impressive number of green ticks.The customer has to weed through the waffle.Notice they won't bother comparing with a similar priced Rigol 2000, because that would be beyond embarrassing.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 11:18:44 am
content: Quote from: branadic on February 16, 2013, 09:25:57 pmI'm sure there is some investment still happening, but what level that is, and what that allows them to bring to market, is in great doubt.Can we expect some badge engineering next?Dave.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 12:03:05 pm
content: At least that would bring them in line with Agilent and Lecroy.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 06:32:11 pm
content: they were simply idiots to sell any share to the danaher corp

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 07:07:06 pm
content: Danaher just sold Apex to Bain Capital (remember Mitt Romney). Bain now owns Apex which owns Weller. Lets hope Bain does not decide to shut it down, break up Apex, and sell the Weller name off to China. I'd hate to eventually have China be the only source for soldering tools.

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 07:41:09 pm
content: Spain is already the only source for soldering tools... JBCI am only half kidding.

author: M. András
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2013, 10:32:47 pm
content: Quote from: SLJ on February 17, 2013, 07:07:06 pmhaha another "hit" for german quality. i wonder why did they kept the high prices for tools which are simple as far the stations go not speaking of the tips/irons themselves