Vintage Scopes

From: William Donzelli <aw288_at_osfn.org>
Date: Sat Oct 12 22:17:00 2002

> In 1972? I got a military surplus Tektronix scope. I think that the model
> number was 512.

The oldest Tek I ever owned was a real oddball called a 514AD. I sold it
to a Tek collector. It was clearly an mid or early 50s type.

Regarding military scopes - BE CAREFUL. First, a new hamfest find may
look like a Tektronix, but it actally may be a Lavoie. These scope SUCK
in a big way - unstable, unreliable copies. The best way to make
sure of the make is to see if it actually says "Tektronix" on it or if it
has Tek's manuafacturers code (a five digit number or four letter
contractor code I do not have handy). I think Hickock made some bad
copies as well.

Also, many scopes made for the military (most are AN/USM-somethings) look
like civilian models, but often have something deleted from the design.
Most of the time this is not a big deal, but if you have a choice of the
military or the civilian models, ditch the one in uniform.

William Donzelli
aw288_at_osfn.org
Received on Sat Oct 12 2002 - 22:17:00 BST