Best 100MHz analogue oscilloscope?

[Joe_Lorenz]

Hello Martin,

Tek 585A: #1249 is greeting #15, please see attached photo.

Honestly speaking, I would not recommend a 585A for everyday use now. I still admire the very bright and clearly displayed picture but there are so many rare, sensible and expensive components that can and will become defective sooner or later. I'd rather prefer to keep it on the shelf for occasional use only.
As Stan Griffiths has mentioned: "The man who has a Tek "5s" scope in use will inevitably own a second one to be able to service the main scope"!

So, for everyday use, I'd rather opt for the suggested HP 1740 or any similar one, said it has got a good pedigree.

[GMB]

Originally Posted by Joe_Lorenz

"The man who has a Tek "5s" scope in use will inevitably own a second one to be able to service the main scope"

That is somewhat true. For fixing the 585A I had their other sub-miniature offering, the 549 storage scope. The badwidth always seemed better than the quoted figure but not so high as the 585A. But I never actually needed a scope to fix the 585A as it hardly ever broke and only with "typical" faults like main electrolytic problems and one valve did blow its heater.

[knobtwiddler]

Originally Posted by 6AL5W-Martin

I like to say the best 100MHz scope is a 200MHz scope (or faster),
this means also the both probes. So your unit works at 100MHz not at the end of the street

Tek 475 will do that, or one of the old 7704 frames with 7A26

greetings
Martin

I write this while next to an R7704. It's probably my favourite scope, but the fan is incredibly noisy! (not sure if the non-R is as noisy?). The R variant is also famed for being difficult to service, so I am hoping mine doesn't give up the ghost!

I also second the Hameg suggestion - they just keep on going. I would also check out Trio / Kenwood - they tend to be supremely reliable, and have a sharp trace.

[chriswood1900]

I like the Tek 22XX series scopes relatively easy to fix apart from the PSU, very light and use very few custom parts. I currently use a 2235 and also a Hitachi V1065A both 100Mhz but the Hitachi uses a lot of push buttons whereas the Tek is very conventional rotary controls. I have had many scopes in the past and have found the Japanese built ones to be the most reliable.
For the 2225 see here for info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GR_6QH3uZk

[6AL5W-Martin]

Originally Posted by The Philpott

-No need for a fan heater in Martin's workshop..

you know triple nickel ?
here are two of them, beside a 551

[Pamphonica]

Originally Posted by chriswood1900

I like the Tek 22XX series scopes relatively easy to fix apart from the PSU, very light and use very few custom parts. I currently use a 2235 and also a Hitachi V1065A both 100Mhz but the Hitachi uses a lot of push buttons whereas the Tek is very conventional rotary controls. I have had many scopes in the past and have found the Japanese built ones to be the most reliable.
For the 2225 see here for info https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GR_6QH3uZk

I have fixed quite a few 22xx series Tek scopes presenting as dead. The psu is fragile - it is a two-stage switchmode. In the ones I fixed, the first stage produces 42V and the clever stuff in the second stage produces the various operating voltages from 42V. So the solution to a burned out first stage is to put in a cheap (£7!) Chinese 42V switchmode psu from Ebay. One of those ones that is plastic-cased, like an external laptop supply. Job done, without finding or fault-finding proprietary switching transformers or FETs.
-Jeremy

[loulou31]

Hi,

For me 465 is one of the best oscilloscope for me.
This is my oscilloscope that I use by default, when memory is nor required ( 95% of the time).
I have also a 22xx series but psu is failed and no time to repair it for the moment.
I have bought a HP1740 for lowprice, but not tested for the moment.

The problem with Tek scope is that they use custom components... still possible to buy at high price! I dont know the situation with HP or Philips?

Jean-Louis

[dave cox]

Tektronix 7603 with 7A18 (for ~75MHz) or 7A26 (for ~100MHz) amplifiers - if you can find one at a LOW price. And you have the room! They made this model for 20+ years so there are a few around. Its also the slowest of the series so prices are not as bad as the others. Avoid the 7A13 diff-amplifiers.

The tubes do not have a super sharp trace but it does have a large screen. Yes, they are absolutely packed with custom silicon but nothing with particular reliability issues. I think the channel switches can be destroyed by hot-plugging (so don't!) and I've had a single failure in a V-out IC. But there are dipped tants on board Not the easiest things to repair, the amplifier / timebase modules can be a disassembly challenge and the 'backplane' is tricky to get at. The PSU is modular, and linear, though it doesn't exactly fall out by itself There is usually a fan, but its not shifting a lot of air.

dc

[Keith956]

Another vote for the Tek 465B; I first came across 465's in the early 70's when they were the bee's knees but it wasn't till 20 years later that I was able to afford a secondhand one!

The only repairs I have done is replace the rear feet/cable tidies which disintegrated a few years ago, fortunately there is a guy on ebay in the US that supplies very good replacements. Some say they are a pig to service, but at least it's possible, and spares are available, unlike the digital scope I also have which if it fails will probably be irrepairable.

[G0HZU_JMR]

Originally Posted by 6AL5W-Martin

I like to say the best 100MHz scope is a 200MHz scope (or faster)
greetings
Martin

Or could it be just 35MHz? Forgive me for being mischievous but I spotted an image in the news today where Angela Merkel visited Max Planck to look at their quantum research work.

On the equipment racks I spotted several of what appear to be new 35MHz Hameg 303-6 analogue scopes. These were connected up as part of a monitoring system.

https://pasquans.eu/german-chancello...visit-the-mpq/

In the background there appears to be a digital scope in use as well.

[knobtwiddler]

Hameg oscilloscopes, endorsed by knobtwiddler and Angela Merkel. It doesn't get any better than that

The Tek 7603, with its lovely big screen, has a lower acceleration voltage than the smaller 7000 scopes such as 7904 / 7854 etc. Consequently, they have sharper traces. I got a 7623 off a member here and it's razor sharp and generally a good workhorse (it's not as sharp as my baby Kenwood - nowt is as sharp as that).

Attenuator switches can be an issue with Tek 7000s. They might need a clean.

[6AL5W-Martin]

hey jeremy,

you have to understand they use this 303 scopes bc. the old Tek from them is now part of my collection.

[PJL]

My favourite is my 454A but it is getting a little long in the tooth and currently only 1 channel works. It is has a very bright and sharp trace and is capable of single shot traces at very high speeds. The triggers (when working!) are also remarkably stable. This is another that needs a 2nd scope to keep it going.

[mole42uk]

Thank you all for your recommendations, each of which I studied and made comparisons. I bought a Tektronix 2465 which improves on my specification - it's a 300MHz oscilloscope. Why this one? Because it was less than £200, it's four-channel, 10kg lightweight, and I've been quite fond of my Tektronix TAS220 which is a cheap Tek....

[rambo1152]

Originally Posted by 6AL5W-Martin

here is the 15th of Heerenveen

I'll see your 15th of Heerenveen,
and raise you my 7th of Guernsey!