Too bad! Keep in mind that there's a WORLD of difference between 465's.
There's a reall, Really, REALLY big difference in the trigger circuit between
the old 465 and 465A, (the latter supposedly exist, but I've never seen one) and
the '465B and later. Apparently, the TEK folks decided there was no point in
putting the more sensitive, accurate, and costly trigger circuit in 'scopes that
competed with HP models that weren't as sensitive and accurate, yet sold about
as well, so they switched to a cheaper circuit that was "just about as good as"
the HP models that were competitive with the 465B. These were most often used
for working on TV/studio equipment, and the increased of their use in that arena
motivated some feature changes that apparently warranted the compromise in the
triggering seinsitivity and accuracy. The 'B' version still triggers as well as
the comparable HP types.
Since this was a HamFest, I'd say you may not have lost as much as you may
think. (This is my opinion, based on my limited and very disappointing
experience with HamFests, which I no longer patronize, so ... consider at your
own risk.) The 465 is probably the most popular solid state instrument of its
type that TEK ever produced. If you include the wide use of the military
version, it's probably also the most widely used throughout the industry. It
was not the fastest or most sensitive version in its series, but, at 100 MHz
bandwidth, and with 5 mV sensitivity, it was sensitive enough for most analog
work and fast enough for even veru fast digital circuitry up through the
mid-80's.
If someone at a HamFest wanted only $50 for a '465, it's likely there were
problems not apparent to the casual onlooker. These would probably be quite
fixable, but most folks don't want a "fixer-upper," they want an instrument
they can use. I've seen lots of these things sell for over $400 within the last
couple or three years. I'm suspicious any time such a bargain appears in an
environment where purportedly knowledgable people shop. If there are no
cosmetic flaws that justify the reduced price, it would certainly give me pause.
That's not to say you can't find a bargain, but I think it's a little much to
hope to find a typically >$250 (regardless of condition so long as it's not
dead) instrument, probably the most popular of its kind, for under $100, in a
marketplace frequented by those who'd covet such a thing.
I, BTW, would happily buy (locally) a 455/465/475 external case, so long as the
handle and support components are intact. My '465 has had the handle removed
since back in the '80's, as my then 15-month-old son, with an inadvertent kick,
pushed the instrument out of my car from his car-seat, fracturing one of the
plastic parts. I've used it on the bench, and have my '475A on the scope cart.
It wasn't crucial at the time, but I now want the thing to work as a portable
again ... <sigh> ... and I'm tired of being pissed at my now 21-year-old son.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Linder" <dlinder_at_uiuc.edu>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:55 AM
Subject: Re: Tek 465 as a hobby scope?
> On Mon, 27 Aug 2001, Bill Pechter wrote:
>
> > That's a great field service scope and was the standard at DEC.
> > I'd have killed for one at 3 to 4 times the price.
>
> Alas - I lost out on it. The Fates decided it should not be so.
>
> For the future, what are some good scopes (sort of in the Tek 465
> quality/feature range)?
>
> This results from me not taking money to a HAMfest - trying to curb my
> spending, since i never find anything great - until the scope that I lost
> out on.
>
> Ah well...
>
> - Dan
>
>
> Dan Linder / dlinder _at_ uiuc.edu
> Graduate Student, College of Engineering, Dept. of Computer Science
> - Dept. of Computer Science Teaching Assistant
> - DRES Computer Accessibility Researcher
>
>
Received on Mon Aug 27 2001 - 15:08:20 BST