Which old analog Tek scope? 2225, 2236, 2465A/B, or? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2011, 08:14:08 am
content: Hello all!I'm planning on buying an analog oscilloscope. I already have an Agilent MSO-X 2014A, great scope, but sometimes I feel like/need using a good old analog scope. And for looking at signals in XY (e.g. vector graphics), nothing beats an analog scope.The Tektronix scopes that I currently find most interesting are:2225: Seems small and simple to repair as there are no cursors or other option. 500uV/div can come handy.- Difficult to find in Japan, only one found so far. It has some problems with noise from power supply and controls.2236: Seems like a cool scope, with DMM and counter.- Also difficult to find. On the one I found the DMM seems to work but no information on the scope function itself..2465A/B: State of the art! High bandwidth. As someone in another thread said, probably the best analog scope ever made.- There are plenty, today there are 5 on sale. Here I have two optionsI: Buy a refurbished one with free repair warranty, with GPIB and Counter options, and one probe. Cost is about $600.II: Buy 3~4 for totally $100 and make one that's working. (probably the most fun option but as I'm living in Japan, space for gear is very limited.. and the wife might get upset by all that "junk")Anyone have any advise on these scopes? I would like to know where I can get the service manuals and spare parts.Thanks!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 11, 2011, 08:17:26 am
content: I guess it all depends on how much you are willing to spend.The 2645 is of course the ducks guts, if you don't mind spending the money, and have the bench space, go for it.There are other brands to consider as well, but I'm not sure what is popular in Japan?Dave.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2011, 02:28:20 pm
content: I like Teks but seeing you are in Japan,why not look at an Iwatsu analog from around the mid 1980s.We had one of these, (can't remember the model number) at the TV Transmitter site where I worked,& it was excellent,definitely up to Tektronix/HP standards.VK6ZGO

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2011, 03:28:20 am
content: Here in Japan Tek is quite popular. I have seen quite many Iwatsu as well (they still make analog scopes, having one going up to 1GHz using a CCD displaying the CRT trace on a LCD!)If going for an old scope it's important to know I can repair it. So service manual and spare parts (or many of intended model available to use as spares), and forum/groups on internet are important. And I'm little behind in my Japanese studies()so English information is a must.Currently I think I will try to find a 2236. 2465 is probably too big for my "bench" anyway. And I'll keep an eye out for other scopes as well.Thanks!

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2011, 04:15:21 am
content: Actually old Jap's analog scope from 80s or early 90s are known to be high quality made and very reliable, and their crt tube are the best built in the world at that era, almost unbeatable by their competitors outside Japan.If I were you, I'd hunt down for old Jap's scope there rather than Tek's scope.

author: appsman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2011, 05:54:46 am
content: If you want a great analog portable, I suggest none of the above and get a 454A. It's 150MHz, and built more robustly than the 2000 series scopes and you can get them for nothing (like $100 or less). With the 2000 series and after, Tek used something called an "expansion mesh" to make the screen bigger without making the tube longer. The result is a screen that cannot give as sharp a line as the prior scopes. Also, the 454A was all transistor, and hence fixable. The later scopes used hybrid modules in several places. If one of those modules dies, you are finished. Also, the 454A manual explains the circuits in great detail, so you actually have a chance of repairing a problem. The later scopes don't have the same manual detail. --- my 2 cents.

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2011, 12:52:58 am
content: Thanks all for helping me widen my search!I have now started looking at old Iwatsu scopes. SS-5710/5711/5712 seems good, using only standard parts it seems. And there are many of them available.I haven't found any Tek 454A here but I'll keep an eye open for it. And 2236, can't get it out of my head..

author: tekfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2011, 01:14:30 pm
content: Quote from: elCap on October 13, 2011, 12:52:58 amYes the 2236 is a really useful scope. I use it all the time for field repair because I don't have to bring a separate oscilloscope, counter and multimeter with me.I believe that there is also an option with a ultra stable time base for the counter which is also very nice. It's also a reciprocal counter which makes it also good for measuring low frequency signals.The voltmeter can be coupled directly to the CH1 input and can measure DC and AC (true RMS).

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2011, 03:55:27 pm
content: I've used an Iwatsu SS5711 for many years and can heartily recommend it. I bought the first one new in around 1985 and it's still going strong (after a couple of repairs!) I bought a second one off ebay a while back for home use.