29-07-2015, 06:37 PM
As a newcomer to this forum I'd firstly like to say hello to everyone!
This post, which will be uncharacteristically long, is inspired by Refugee's restoration of a 7603.
My introduction to Tek scopes goes back some years to when I bought a 453 Mod 127C (TV trigger). I was young and
naïve, and it was some years before I learnt that the minimum number of 'scopes anyone should own is three: a second to fix the one which goes wrong, and a third to act as the reference for fault-finding.
Unfortunately, the 453 comes in a number of variants: additionally, after a short time in production, Tek revised the design and replaced the Nuvistors with FETs. There's also the 454 "Turbo" version spec'ed to 150MHz, and in the early 70's the 453 and 454 "A" versions appeared with several tweaks and a slightly larger CRT.
These oscilloscopes were designed and built during a "golden era" when Tek were still gold-plating the pcb's, specifying components for water immersion, and the instruments for operation up to 55 C ambient. The trace is one of the sharpest you'll ever see, and they will trigger on a signal of only 0.2 divisions p-p. All built on a die-cast "I" frame chassis. A design classic.
In 1970, a 453 would have set you back about $2000, i.e. close to the annual starting salary for a graduate engineer.
This post, which will be uncharacteristically long, is inspired by Refugee's restoration of a 7603.
My introduction to Tek scopes goes back some years to when I bought a 453 Mod 127C (TV trigger). I was young and
naïve, and it was some years before I learnt that the minimum number of 'scopes anyone should own is three: a second to fix the one which goes wrong, and a third to act as the reference for fault-finding.
Unfortunately, the 453 comes in a number of variants: additionally, after a short time in production, Tek revised the design and replaced the Nuvistors with FETs. There's also the 454 "Turbo" version spec'ed to 150MHz, and in the early 70's the 453 and 454 "A" versions appeared with several tweaks and a slightly larger CRT.
These oscilloscopes were designed and built during a "golden era" when Tek were still gold-plating the pcb's, specifying components for water immersion, and the instruments for operation up to 55 C ambient. The trace is one of the sharpest you'll ever see, and they will trigger on a signal of only 0.2 divisions p-p. All built on a die-cast "I" frame chassis. A design classic.
In 1970, a 453 would have set you back about $2000, i.e. close to the annual starting salary for a graduate engineer.
Radio Museum collection: Here
