03-11-2017, 02:16 PM
Following on from this thread I thought would be worth talking about scopes we have owned and/or used.
http://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/...0#pid71750
First scope I ever used was probably a tiny Telequipment (Serviscope minor?) at grammar school. We had a few other scopes including a Solartron(?) with an impressive 5MHz(?) BW. Also while I was at school a friend called Ian Loveday had what I think was an ancient Hartley 13A. I lost touch with him in the 1970s and the next I knew was that he was dead:
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/...an-loveday
Also in my teens I borrowed a Heathkit IO18-U that another friend had built. Horrible thing. There's a GZ34 in it so if one turns up it has some value.
First I owned was a Cossor 2000. True dual beam, about 5MHz BW, a ragbag of duff Rs and Cs. But it served me well in my late teens.
In my gap year at BBC Research labs I got used to nice scopes. Our standard instrument was a 50MHz HP with plugins. Going to uni was a comedown as the scopes were horrible by comparison.
I owned a big Marconi by then, can't remember the model, possibly 2000 or 2200. Their (failed) attempt to rival the Tek 545. It had interesting slide back measurement facilities. I debugged my Wireless World teletext decoder with that scope.
Then a Tek 585. The all out "sacrifice everything to speed" 85MHz job. Was meant to be 100MHz but Tek could never quite guarantee it. Mine was not the best of specimens. ISTR I bought it at a secondhand testgear sale at a place in the railway arches by Euston.
By then I was working for Michael Cox Electronics. We had Solartron OS3000 and Telequipment D83 (the big screen version of the D75). Both about 40-50MHz. I preferred the Solartrons and the manufacturer's rep sold me an ex-demo unit. This was my a faithful scope for a few years until the EHT blew up.
I'd started my own business in 1986 and soon realised that the OS3000 was running out of capability. So in 1988(?) I splashed out £2000 on a secondhand Tek 2465 from one of the testgear rental companies. What a revelation! 300MHz, cursors and everything working spot on. I still have it though it has some awkward intermittents.
The 2465 was replaced by a 2465B (400MHz and a few extra tricks) which is still my main scope. I think I paid £800 from Stewart of Reading. You'd have to prise that scope out my cold, dead hands
Also in the fleet are a Tek 2445A (l150MHz version of 2465), another Tek portable 100MHz (2245?). A grand old Tek 547 that just sits under my bench gathering dust. It used to be the scope I acquired for the Vintage Wireless Museum for mending standards converters. I don't really want it but it's too good to get rid of. It's also full of 6DJ8 (ECC88) that are worth a fair bit. A Tek digital TDS210 bought new. Only 60MHz and pretty crude but it was great for slowly repeating and one shot signals. A Tek 5110 low speed mainframe with high gain plugins. Occasionally useful when I want to look at microvolts. Newest is a Rigol 1054Z digital bought new for under £300. Hugely capable little box of tricks though I still prefer to use my 2465B.
http://golbornevintageradio.co.uk/forum/...0#pid71750
First scope I ever used was probably a tiny Telequipment (Serviscope minor?) at grammar school. We had a few other scopes including a Solartron(?) with an impressive 5MHz(?) BW. Also while I was at school a friend called Ian Loveday had what I think was an ancient Hartley 13A. I lost touch with him in the 1970s and the next I knew was that he was dead:
https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/...an-loveday
Also in my teens I borrowed a Heathkit IO18-U that another friend had built. Horrible thing. There's a GZ34 in it so if one turns up it has some value.
First I owned was a Cossor 2000. True dual beam, about 5MHz BW, a ragbag of duff Rs and Cs. But it served me well in my late teens.
In my gap year at BBC Research labs I got used to nice scopes. Our standard instrument was a 50MHz HP with plugins. Going to uni was a comedown as the scopes were horrible by comparison.
I owned a big Marconi by then, can't remember the model, possibly 2000 or 2200. Their (failed) attempt to rival the Tek 545. It had interesting slide back measurement facilities. I debugged my Wireless World teletext decoder with that scope.
Then a Tek 585. The all out "sacrifice everything to speed" 85MHz job. Was meant to be 100MHz but Tek could never quite guarantee it. Mine was not the best of specimens. ISTR I bought it at a secondhand testgear sale at a place in the railway arches by Euston.
By then I was working for Michael Cox Electronics. We had Solartron OS3000 and Telequipment D83 (the big screen version of the D75). Both about 40-50MHz. I preferred the Solartrons and the manufacturer's rep sold me an ex-demo unit. This was my a faithful scope for a few years until the EHT blew up.
I'd started my own business in 1986 and soon realised that the OS3000 was running out of capability. So in 1988(?) I splashed out £2000 on a secondhand Tek 2465 from one of the testgear rental companies. What a revelation! 300MHz, cursors and everything working spot on. I still have it though it has some awkward intermittents.
The 2465 was replaced by a 2465B (400MHz and a few extra tricks) which is still my main scope. I think I paid £800 from Stewart of Reading. You'd have to prise that scope out my cold, dead hands
Also in the fleet are a Tek 2445A (l150MHz version of 2465), another Tek portable 100MHz (2245?). A grand old Tek 547 that just sits under my bench gathering dust. It used to be the scope I acquired for the Vintage Wireless Museum for mending standards converters. I don't really want it but it's too good to get rid of. It's also full of 6DJ8 (ECC88) that are worth a fair bit. A Tek digital TDS210 bought new. Only 60MHz and pretty crude but it was great for slowly repeating and one shot signals. A Tek 5110 low speed mainframe with high gain plugins. Occasionally useful when I want to look at microvolts. Newest is a Rigol 1054Z digital bought new for under £300. Hugely capable little box of tricks though I still prefer to use my 2465B.
www.borinsky.co.uk Jeffrey Borinsky www.becg.tv
