Anyone care to comment please?

[camallison]

I have been given the opportunity to purchase an analogue scope of this type:

http://www.surplus-electronics.co.uk/ind.../6358/7424

The price I am being asked is below that in the attached link.

Do you think it is a good spec for tinkering with radios and aligning them?

Colin

[Aerodyne]

Radios, Colin? You could align a spacecraft and plot its course to Saturn with that piece of gear. Lovely stuff but not essential for radio servicing, so its down to whether you want it because of what it is. Personally I've managed since 1980 with a small single-beam scope and never found a problem that it couldn't help me sort out - TV and radio.
But don't let me put you off. You could buy it and find it indispensable, so what do I know (not a lot, mostly).
Tony

[camallison]

Thanks Tony - most of my life I have worked on embedded systems and so this looked OK to me for that, but was unsure about radio work.

It is surplus at a college where I work (voluntary) with youngsters on Arduino-based stuff, and I have the chance to buy it.

Colin

[tiv48]

A 20meg scope would do for vintage radio and tv work
but the scope in the link is an excellent bit of kit and if you can afford it I would go for it.
Rob T

[Yorkie]

I'd recommend as simple a scope as you can get for your needs, because the fewer the facilities and the less the complexity, the less likelihood of faults occurring, and the better the chance of being able to sort it yourself.

That's why I favour Hameg (Now part of the Rhodes and Schwartz Group). They're nicely made, not too bulky, are generally reliable and well regarded. I've got a Hameg 203-7, which is widely available as in its day it was the biggest selling scope in Europe, used in service Depts, schools, colleges, universities and so forth. 20 MHz analogue, dual trace, with a built-in component tester and calibrator. (Mine gives a good trace up to 30 MHz).

I got one on e-bay for under £70.00 which was like new, but sadly was damaged in transit so had to go back for a refund. The second one I 'won' on e-bay was only sixty miles away so I collected it, and took some leads and a waveform generator with me to check that it was working and to avoid damage in transit. A good job I did as it wasn't working when I tested it! The guy who was selling it was non-technical, so had just assumed that because it 'lit up' it worked. He was profusely apologetic, and said 'keep it for nothing'. I couldn't do that so I gave him a tenner and said if I got it working, I'd send him some more money. I did get it working, so sent him another £35.00 as I recall. (I posted info about the repairs on the forum).

Hameg manuals are excellent and free to download from their website, though you need both the English manual and also the German/Spanish or whatever, the latter of which has the PCB layout and component overlay, but for some reason, the English language manuals don't. (There are also Hameg manuals on the forum to download).

Something like a Hameg 203-7 on e-bay in excellent condition and good working order should cost no more than £75.00. They're commonplace, so often crop up.

Personally, I avoid like the plague equipment which is more complex than my needs, which means that Tek and the like are strictly out of bounds. Too much of that stuff uses long since obsolete custom chips. Much of it is heavy and bulky, and frankly, from what I've read in some posts elsewhere, in the hands of the inexperienced, they often can't even be sure if it's working right, and they don't know how to use it or set the controls, so don't know if it's malfunctioning. (Why would a hobbyist want a 100 MHz digital storage scope apart from 'pride of ownership'?)

Scopes don't travel well, so if at all possible, best to buy on a 'test and collect' basis.

Just a few ramblings, which I hope might help a bit.

Best of luck in your quest.

[Eddystonepete]

Hi Colin, nice piece of kit. My first thought was, can you get a service manual for it. Answer is yes, for free too!. Had a look at it and it seems to use transistors and fets so should be repairable if needed. Sure its a bit overkill for radios etc. but I use a 60mhz Kikusui , superb scope with almost hands off triggering. I suppose a Tektronix would be better only because of the info available online. If you (or any other member) wants a free Hitachi 20hmz 2 beam, I,ve got one for free, collection from Renfrew (courtesy of Trevor).

Peter

[camallison]

Thanks all for the speedy responses. To date, I have been using a DSO Nano (the size of a smartphone) with the following spec:

DSO Nano DSO201 Pocket-Sized Digital Oscilloscope Technical Specifications
Display 2.8" 320×240 Colour TFT LCD 65K colour
Analog Bandwidth 0 - 1MHz
Maximum Sample Rate 1Msps 12Bits
Sample Memory Depth 4096
Point Horizontal Sensitivity 1uS/Div~10S/Div (1-2-5 Step)
Horizontal Position Adjustable with Indicator Vertical Sensitivity 10mV/Div~10V/Div (with ×1 Probe) 0.5V/Div~100V/Div (with ×10 Probe)
Vertical Position Adjustable with Indicator
Input Impedance 500KΩ
Max Input Voltage 80Vpp (by ×1 Probe)
Coupling DC Trigger Modes Auto, Normal, Single, None and Scan
Test Signal Built-in 10Hz~1MHz (1-2-5 Step)
Waveform Storage SD Card
PC Connection via USB as SD Card Reader
Upgrade by Bootloader via USB Power
Supply 3.7V Chargeable Lithium Battery/USB

It has been OK for comparative sampling, but not for absolute measurements.

Colin

[Refugee]

It should not take you too long to work out how to switch off all the extra features you don't need.

[Aerodyne]

I'll second David's endorsement of Hameg. My little scope has functioned for more than 40 years and the only fault in that time was the failure of a 5V regulator, an easy repair. But then I've always preferred simplicity of operation on the basis that (a) there's less to learn and (b) less to go wrong! That, though, is me and not you so, whatever your final decision is, Colin, I'm sure it will be the right one for you.
Tony

[Steve_P]

It's a nice scope that. But nice does not mean you need. Unless you are a test equipment collector or are working on the stuff that needs a scope like that, then really it is a waste of money.

I'm not saying don't buy it, as I probably would!, but think about what you are using it for.

I have a 1970's Telequipment and it does me fine for all the domestic stuff I do. Double Beam as well, for £20.

I have used something similar to that on TV Transmitters at the BBC. But that has a lot of things that you don't need and it could even throw you off track when you have to find a fault. One setting wrong and you head up the wrong path. I've done it!

Cheers,

Steve P.