Check out my new toy (free)...

[WhinyLittleRunt]

This will certainly come in handy I think!





One of my co-workers remembered me saying I needed a scope (probably two years ago) and yesterday, he walked into my office and dropped this monster next to me. He got it for free at a hospital he contracts at- they were going to throw it away and he intercepted it and said he knew someone who would like it

So far it seems to work from just poking around, but I need to get a set of probes for it. I used a paper clip and alligator clip to make a temp probe just to see if it reacts to stuff and it seems to. Now I just have to figure out how to actually use it for real I'm sure it will come in handy for reel-to-reel adjustments.

 

[purerad]

Cool! I have the exact same scope! bought it off ebay old gov surplus, it hadn't been checked in years but a tech i knew checked it and it was still in spec. There is a yahoo group for techtronix. Also check on probes.......i have some cheap ones i use but from what i remember if you need it super accurate you need certain probes for different models. Also there was two models of this scope, early ones that used mini tubes that can go bad(nothing wrong with the scope just be aware) and a later all solid state one. Enjoy! they're a good rugged scope that should last you for years!

 

[briank]

Congrats on the score, hope it works ok! I just have the cheap $15-from-ebay probe set and they work fine for what I do (probing tape machine and console). Only thing I've found is to be gentle with the clip tips and be sure not to accidentally flip the 1x/10x switches.

 

[purerad]

on the probes i was just mentioning that if you do need accurate readings for something they can be a little off with the cheap probes, but cheap probes will work probably 90-95 percent of the time just fine specially for audio work.

 

[stevieb]

Probes? Are we talking alien abduction, here?

 

[briank]

Probes? Are we talking alien abduction, here?

Nooo, don't be silly. We're talking about these:

 

[WhinyLittleRunt]

So do you think the cheaper set of probes will be fine for doing analog synth calibration, tape machine BS, etc? That's primarily what I'd need it for...

Pretty sure this is the solid state version; I had a look around inside and didn't see any tubes (unless they're covered up good).

 

[purerad]

here are some resources..........
Tektronix 453 Oscilloscope
Bill's Tektronix 454 Info Page
and manual, i had to pay for mine several years ago, i have the digital one and a real one
http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/tek/453
there's tons of info on them.
cheaper probes should be fine for most adjustments etc...........just making you aware they can make a difference in some situations
they're not regular tubes, they're nuvistors........only on the input channels, not something to worry about, again something to be aware of. hope that helps................