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mhennessy · 24th Jan 2022, 5:45 pm

Philips made a lot of nice 'scopes.

The PM3267 has traditional knobs and buttons, but not the crispest CRT.

Later ones had the pushbutton+LCD interface, but really sharp CRTs.

Later still moved from brown to white cases, and there was a move to buttons+rotary encoders, with the on-screen text replacing the LCD. Some of these were badged Fluke. Some models were 4 channel, some went to 200MHz, and some were "CombiScopes". I have a PM3380A, which is a 2 channel, 100MHz analogue/digital unit, and love it. The worst thing I can find to complain about it is the slightly noisy fan.

I also have a PM3295, which is a 350MHz beast. There was a later A model that went to 400MHz. Obviously aimed at the Tek 2465 models. Personally, I prefer the Philips. It has a nicer user interface (buttons with status LEDs built in and little backlit LCD displays above the rotaries, so you don't have to rely on the on-screen text) and a much sharper CRT (21kV acceleration voltage!).

I have the use of many Tek 'scopes at work, including some quite posh ones, like the 2465B, but I genuinely prefer the Philips equivalents. I've never had a custom part fail in a Philips before, but we've had several Tek modules go bad over the years.

Philips use similar inline filters to Tek, so expect them to let go in the usual way. I wouldn't ignore one that's done its work though - I don't imagine the deposits left behind are very nice (happy for someone to set me straight on that - I wasn't great at chemistry!).

I've spent over a decade - on and off - trying to restore a HP1740A. Still not quite there. A donor machine helped a lot, but I keep running out of enthusiasm to finish it. The trouble is, once done, it will be bigger than my other 'scopes, and no more capable. I agree that it's much easier to work on than the Tek equivalent, and being fanless is an important benefit. In fact, that's why my "daily driver" is still - after 30+ years - a Telequipment DM63. If I need more bandwidth, I'll use the PM3295. If I need storage, I'll use the Rigol DS1054 (which is now 100MHz, though quite a bit more in practice if you measure it). But the added bandwidth comes with all sorts of complications if you want to use probes, as alluded to above...

24th Jan 2022, 5:45 pm	#15
mhennessy Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Evesham, Worcestershire, UK. Posts: 4,244	Re: Best 100MHz analogue oscilloscope? Philips made a lot of nice 'scopes. The PM3267 has traditional knobs and buttons, but not the crispest CRT. Later ones had the pushbutton+LCD interface, but really sharp CRTs. Later still moved from brown to white cases, and there was a move to buttons+rotary encoders, with the on-screen text replacing the LCD. Some of these were badged Fluke. Some models were 4 channel, some went to 200MHz, and some were "CombiScopes". I have a PM3380A, which is a 2 channel, 100MHz analogue/digital unit, and love it. The worst thing I can find to complain about it is the slightly noisy fan. I also have a PM3295, which is a 350MHz beast. There was a later A model that went to 400MHz. Obviously aimed at the Tek 2465 models. Personally, I prefer the Philips. It has a nicer user interface (buttons with status LEDs built in and little backlit LCD displays above the rotaries, so you don't have to rely on the on-screen text) and a much sharper CRT (21kV acceleration voltage!). I have the use of many Tek 'scopes at work, including some quite posh ones, like the 2465B, but I genuinely prefer the Philips equivalents. I've never had a custom part fail in a Philips before, but we've had several Tek modules go bad over the years. Philips use similar inline filters to Tek, so expect them to let go in the usual way. I wouldn't ignore one that's done its work though - I don't imagine the deposits left behind are very nice (happy for someone to set me straight on that - I wasn't great at chemistry!). I've spent over a decade - on and off - trying to restore a HP1740A. Still not quite there. A donor machine helped a lot, but I keep running out of enthusiasm to finish it. The trouble is, once done, it will be bigger than my other 'scopes, and no more capable. I agree that it's much easier to work on than the Tek equivalent, and being fanless is an important benefit. In fact, that's why my "daily driver" is still - after 30+ years - a Telequipment DM63. If I need more bandwidth, I'll use the PM3295. If I need storage, I'll use the Rigol DS1054 (which is now 100MHz, though quite a bit more in practice if you measure it). But the added bandwidth comes with all sorts of complications if you want to use probes, as alluded to above...