Tektronix 465 vs 465B vs 465M - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Kozmyk
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2011, 10:51:44 pm
content: I think I may have smartarsed myself in the foot.I fancied a Tektronix 456.I've long lusted after one of those vernier delay knobby things since my days at Sony back in the 70s.I managed to convince myself that the 465M was the better one to get so I've bought one.On further reading while I was trying to track down a service manual, I've read that the 465B might be the better unit and the 465M is more closely related to the 455.Example:http://www.diybanter.com/electronics-repair/219090-tektronix-465m-vs-465-a.htmlamongst others.What do the EEVbloggers and/or their leader think?

author: w2aew
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2011, 02:45:32 am
content: If I recall correctly - the 465M was the militarized version of the 465 (non-B). The 465B added a trigger-view vertical mode, and a couple of other minor enhancements. All were great scopes, you can't really go wrong with any of them. Even though I have several newer analog Tek scopes now, I'll still never part with my 465B that I've had for 25 years.

author: Kozmyk
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2011, 12:25:06 pm
content: Quote from: w2aew on August 19, 2011, 02:45:32 amThat's what I thought too but looking at the Service Manuals I got from TekWiki and BAMA the circuits and part numbers correlate for 465M and 455. (a lot of them at least. I haven't compared them 100%)The quoted BWs are the main differences that I can see.There's 1 switch and 1 light difference on the front panel.Very closely related.It's not the end of the world.As you say they're all good scopes, I was just hoping that I'd chosen the best of them.I'm sure I'll have fun with it when it gets here. CA to Wales, could be some time ...

author: tekfan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2011, 05:13:25 pm
content: Quote from: w2aew on August 19, 2011, 02:45:32 amAll of the scopes have trig view. The only difference is that the 465 and 465M only have a mixed dual time base. The 465B has an alternating dual time base which basically displays another ''zoomed'' trace in addition to the main one.You really can't go wrong with any one of them but I myself would rather have the 465B.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 19, 2011, 05:14:52 pm
content: The 465M is not related to the 465, the name was just chosen so the military thought they were buying something similar to the popular 465. I believe is was indeed based on the 455.

author: Conrad Hoffman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2011, 03:55:09 am
content: Any of 'em are good, but IMO the B is the one to have. One thing to remember is that these are very elderly solid state scopes and they packed a lot of parts in a small case. They suffer from stiff knobs, broken couplers and a variety of circuit ills that can be tough to find and fix. The older "boat anchor" scopes are actually much easier to work on if you can stand the heat and the size, and the newer (still ancient) moduler 5000 and 7000 series are really better bench scopes because of the various plug-ins. OTOH, the 465 still offers a combination of portability, sharp trace and bandwidth that's very appealing.