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Old 17th Nov 2018, 2:08 pm   #1
MrBungle
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Default Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

I was going to write a large rant about how unreliable Tektronix kit is, but I'll leave it there, under the pile of dead bodies I have to deal with.

I have been offered an Advance OS3000 for a tenner which is in reasonable condition and apparently works. Are these likely to give me much grief or not? I actually want to spend my time using my scope not fixing them at the moment
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Old 17th Nov 2018, 3:20 pm   #2
trh01uk
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Are they any good?

Quick answer - definitely not. Very unreliable - from my professional experience of buying them new and using them day in day out in a R&D lab in the 1980s.

They have some nice facilities of course. Not much use if they don't work though!

Richard
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Old 17th Nov 2018, 3:31 pm   #3
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

In that case I shall run a mile .

Thanks for your insights
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Old 17th Nov 2018, 9:42 pm   #4
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Strange, my go-to 'scope for the past 30+ years has been an ex-BT OS3000 which has never let me down. I even have a spare one which I've never taken the covers off.

I'm in the process of replacing it with a Gould 4074 DSO after which the 3000 will be redundant.
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Old 17th Nov 2018, 10:12 pm   #5
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Same as Richard above, I bought a second hand OS3000 from Stewart of Reading when I was a teenager in the '80's. It served me well throughout my days of TV & video repair and then security/ Timelapse VCR servicing.
It is still serving me well in it's role of vintage TV repairs. I dare not think how many hours it's been on for just displaying a line! Traces are still bright and sharp- way better than my mate's Hameg!

You really cant go wrong for a tenner!

Cheers
Nick
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Old 18th Nov 2018, 8:34 am   #6
MrBungle
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Yeah I went for it anyway. Figured it was worth a punt. Will pick it up next week. Fortunately only up the road.

I’ve got a couple of Tek scopes which have failed on me in the last week and typically the second of which actually lost the timebase while I was trying to fix the vertical amp on the first one with it. Thus needing another one.

I had 7 scopes a while back but managed to cut the collection down. Perhaps that was unwise.
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Old 18th Nov 2018, 4:28 pm   #7
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Well problem solved. I managed to procure a working Tek scope today and another dead one
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Old 18th Nov 2018, 6:56 pm   #8
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

Advance 3000 and other scopes.
I suppose we have all had good and bad experience of scopes. The Advance one is on a single board. No reason why it should be worse, but it is always more difficult to find your way about when servicing when everything is crammed on one board.
I also have a Telequipment D67 - a single board, and I am struggling to find my way around. Even with the full manual.
The Telequipment plug in varieties: D31, D43, D63, D83 seem more accessible.

My HP1707 is easier to work on, and it seems pretty reliable. The HP1740 and 1741 I have must have been Friday afternoon versions. The HP140 & HP180 and variants are delightfully versatile, and when working a real joy, good tube, easy to use, but 1968 vintage, and showing it.

But my favourite is the unpopular SE Labs (EMI) SM111 (or SM113). Separate panels for each function. All swing out. Delightfully easy to service. And in the way of such things, it never seems to go wrong.
And of the valved ones, the Solartron CT436 keeps going, my other standby to the SM111.

When all the others, HP, Tektronix, Telequipment, Advance, Cossor, Solartron, Philips are sulking, that SM111 keeps going.
I regret to say I seem to have somehow acquired an example of almost every scope, apart from the Tek valved ones - too heavy.
After a time working well, they had tended to collect under the bench awaiting some love and attention. Unlike Mr Bungle, I have not plucked up courage to pass them on. wme_bill
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Old 18th Nov 2018, 7:06 pm   #9
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Default Re: Gould / Advance OS3000 scopes - are they any good?

I certainly don’t have the courage to pass them on but Mrs Bungle is very persuasive, usually when the hall “is full of junk again”

I would have about 30 scopes otherwise!
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