Banned
Joined 2002
How to get a scope for free :
Offer to help your widowed neighbor with an electrical problem in her basement. Notice the 'scope' sitting in the corner of said basement - you know, the tek 465b complete with meter, 10 probes, 2 temp probes and an operator manual. You say: Hey, you got a nice tek there!
Woman hands you the scope before it goes in the dumpster.
This happened to me last week - really.
Offer to help your widowed neighbor with an electrical problem in her basement. Notice the 'scope' sitting in the corner of said basement - you know, the tek 465b complete with meter, 10 probes, 2 temp probes and an operator manual. You say: Hey, you got a nice tek there!
Woman hands you the scope before it goes in the dumpster.
This happened to me last week - really.
Hi mpmarino,
See, being a nice guy has it's rewards.
Hi Jason,
Hi Magura,
-Chris
See, being a nice guy has it's rewards.
Hi Jason,
No. Better than nothing, but almost worth that much due to a lack of detail.
Hi Magura,
It is an Advance OS 255, 15 MHz. Strangely, I like the old beastie. I also have some old Heathkit and Stark models I am trying to restore. I think I have the Heathkit working now (10-102). I started with an old military Stark. Good for about 500 KHz I think. Way back when I sold it for $100 to a friend. He got a good deal actually. Believe it or not, it was stolen out of his car before he had a chance to use it.
-Chris
Banned
Joined 2002
Hi Jason,
My thought is to look on Ebay for a Canadian seller with good feedback. One fella lucked into a 100 MHz Hitachi with cursors for $20 (not Ebay). I saw it last week. Deals like that can happen some times.
A new 20 MHz 'scope would be more than good for any work you are likely to do. They have horizontal rates of 0.5uS these days on 20 MHz 'scopes. Amazing.
Some electronic jobbers will have those new inexpensive 'scopes. Just keep your eye's and ears open. Take your time.
-Chris
My thought is to look on Ebay for a Canadian seller with good feedback. One fella lucked into a 100 MHz Hitachi with cursors for $20 (not Ebay). I saw it last week. Deals like that can happen some times.
A new 20 MHz 'scope would be more than good for any work you are likely to do. They have horizontal rates of 0.5uS these days on 20 MHz 'scopes. Amazing.
Some electronic jobbers will have those new inexpensive 'scopes. Just keep your eye's and ears open. Take your time.
-Chris
Hi Chris! I guess that I got lucky. A relative who is big in electronics import business gave me this as a present, brand new. I was totally without a meter since the Metex died, so I went to buy a cheap crap spare one until I get the Fluke, and he handed me the one in the URL. Do you know anything about it? Is it decent? Has a calibration seal even, for what it is worth.
Well a long while ago I bought a Fluke but as luck would have it
I got a dud. Returned it to the factory and they returned it still
not fixed. Well I still have my defective meter and found out what was wrong. It seems the ic chip needs to be resoldered but I
am not up to this task. Any chance of geting FREE factory service
on a 25 year old meter?
I got a dud. Returned it to the factory and they returned it still
not fixed. Well I still have my defective meter and found out what was wrong. It seems the ic chip needs to be resoldered but I
am not up to this task. Any chance of geting FREE factory service
on a 25 year old meter?
Hi Salas,
Cool! It looks like a good meter. I'm not familiar with the brand but it does look to be very useful. 50,000 count is excellent. The only questions would be the attenuator accuracy and frequency response.
Definitely a keeper and much better than you had. Enjoy! Some time later, a Fluke just for basic accuracy. You can check you calibration with the Fluke later on. Either that or save up for a great bench meter like an HP. The meter you have now is better than what most people have, so there is no knocking it.
-Chris
Cool! It looks like a good meter. I'm not familiar with the brand but it does look to be very useful. 50,000 count is excellent. The only questions would be the attenuator accuracy and frequency response.
Definitely a keeper and much better than you had. Enjoy! Some time later, a Fluke just for basic accuracy. You can check you calibration with the Fluke later on. Either that or save up for a great bench meter like an HP. The meter you have now is better than what most people have, so there is no knocking it.
-Chris
Banned
Joined 2002
Chris, Jason;
Please allow me to go a bit off topic again (though scopes have been discussed quite a bit in this thread. Would this scope seem reasonable? (ebay id# 200132339024). Kikusui 100mHz. One would have to find probes and manuals, but price is OK. I'm a bit worried about the look of the traces (and the area around the traces)--does it look like screen 'burn in' or is it just a manner of how it was photographed? I need a scope and am tempted (there are 6 of them for sale).
Jason, if you want a known good scope, checked out and calibrated, look at Sphere's web site---they have a few nice ones currently listed (a Kelowna seller with a good reputation). Bit more money though, but should be good pieces.
http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/tek1.html
Steve.
Please allow me to go a bit off topic again (though scopes have been discussed quite a bit in this thread. Would this scope seem reasonable? (ebay id# 200132339024). Kikusui 100mHz. One would have to find probes and manuals, but price is OK. I'm a bit worried about the look of the traces (and the area around the traces)--does it look like screen 'burn in' or is it just a manner of how it was photographed? I need a scope and am tempted (there are 6 of them for sale).
Jason, if you want a known good scope, checked out and calibrated, look at Sphere's web site---they have a few nice ones currently listed (a Kelowna seller with a good reputation). Bit more money though, but should be good pieces.
http://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/tek1.html
Steve.
Hi Magura,
Yep. It uses those new fangled "transistors". No heater in them to tell if they're on!
Hi Steve,
The traces seem to be okay. The ding dong cranked the intensity up to take the picture. Can't go wrong for $75 and it's a good brand. Your probes are worth that much - each. This would be good for you too Jason.
-Chris
Yep. It uses those new fangled "transistors". No heater in them to tell if they're on!
Hi Steve,
The traces seem to be okay. The ding dong cranked the intensity up to take the picture. Can't go wrong for $75 and it's a good brand. Your probes are worth that much - each. This would be good for you too Jason.
I should hope so! He buys from Ebay and those prices are much higher. I can see for units needing repair but I'll bet he just flips most of them.
-Chris
mpmarino said:How to get a scope for free :
Offer to help your widowed neighbor with an electrical problem in her basement. Notice the 'scope' sitting in the corner of said basement - you know, the tek 465b complete with meter, 10 probes, 2 temp probes and an operator manual. You say: Hey, you got a nice tek there!
Woman hands you the scope before it goes in the dumpster.
This happened to me last week - really.
did I told ya that ya're my idol?
lcky bstrd!!
Banned
Joined 2002
Zen Mod said:
did I told ya that ya're my idol?
lcky bstrd!!
At least somebody , besides my kids, likes me
I have had one of those Kikisuchopsuey scopes on my bench for the past 2 years. Nice scope- It really works well. This particular one was thrown against a concrete wall by the US coast guard in an attempt to destroy it. The destruction failed. I have been 'storing' it for a friend. We call it the storage scope.
I recommend it...
For those interested in fluke calibration. In Australia they cost about $80 to $90 to get calibrated. 1 hour labour minimum charge from a calibration lab to check it and print out a report that says it complied with manufacturers specs. Fluke meters have a calibration mode and only take about 5 minutes to do the actual cal. You hold a certain button while switching them on. Apply 2.00 volts, step up/down with some buttons, maybe do something similar for current, done. It's been a while since I did one, I remember it was shockingly quick.
In Australia if you don't need a cert I'm sure you could arrange to get it done on a slow Friday afternoon if you brought it in with a chilled carton of beer. Best to wrap the carton of beer in a plastic bag so its not too obvious and call beforehand to check it's OK and what brand of beer is the workshop favourite. Of course having worked in such a place I can assure you it never happens as long as the Boss gets to drink some of the beer.
Have a look at the accuracy of a fluke hand held, they aren't that great. only 2% usually. Not big deal if you are only using one meter all of the time, but worth remembering if you have 2 meters on the bench and are changing between them.
There are some hacks for the earlier ones, like the 75, 77 and 79. they are the same meter with extra buttons, yes you can add the buttons to the lower models to get features like peak hold.
never ever use the locking probes, the ones with the little thumb screw to expand the banana plug and lock it in, those wreck the sockets in no time.
Always use the correct fuse for your current ranges, they are expensive but cheaper than your meter (or your life)
I have a fancy 5 digit HP meter (0.01% true RMS to 100kHz) but I've never had access to the gear to calibrate it properly. A brilliant meter, but not able to be used to it's full potential because it takes 2 hours and some seriously exotic gear to calibrate the damn thing. So I should have bought a Fluke of the same price range with less accuracy but more features (like a bar graph).
I suggest spending a lot on a very good meter (fluke 187 or similar) for measuring with a cheap CRO just for looking at the shapes of waveforms.
A good meter you keep for life, it's not like a screwdriver or an electric drill. A second hand Fluke is a better buy than a brand new no-name meter.
In Australia if you don't need a cert I'm sure you could arrange to get it done on a slow Friday afternoon if you brought it in with a chilled carton of beer. Best to wrap the carton of beer in a plastic bag so its not too obvious and call beforehand to check it's OK and what brand of beer is the workshop favourite. Of course having worked in such a place I can assure you it never happens as long as the Boss gets to drink some of the beer.
Have a look at the accuracy of a fluke hand held, they aren't that great. only 2% usually. Not big deal if you are only using one meter all of the time, but worth remembering if you have 2 meters on the bench and are changing between them.
There are some hacks for the earlier ones, like the 75, 77 and 79. they are the same meter with extra buttons, yes you can add the buttons to the lower models to get features like peak hold.
never ever use the locking probes, the ones with the little thumb screw to expand the banana plug and lock it in, those wreck the sockets in no time.
Always use the correct fuse for your current ranges, they are expensive but cheaper than your meter (or your life)
I have a fancy 5 digit HP meter (0.01% true RMS to 100kHz) but I've never had access to the gear to calibrate it properly. A brilliant meter, but not able to be used to it's full potential because it takes 2 hours and some seriously exotic gear to calibrate the damn thing. So I should have bought a Fluke of the same price range with less accuracy but more features (like a bar graph).
I suggest spending a lot on a very good meter (fluke 187 or similar) for measuring with a cheap CRO just for looking at the shapes of waveforms.
A good meter you keep for life, it's not like a screwdriver or an electric drill. A second hand Fluke is a better buy than a brand new no-name meter.
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