XYZ of Oscilloscopes

[instruite]

Covers all about oscilloscopes

https://www.tek.com/Measurement/cgi...rement/App_Notes/XYZs/&FrameSet=oscilloscopes

 

[lord loh.]

I went to buy a CRO. got frightened by the price. Rs 50k for the starting scope from tektronics. The best one they told me about was a 70 GHz scope which cost Rs 70,00,000/- and probes cost another Rs 7000k.

They were happy that a student was intrested in scopes and gave me a hard copy of XYZ of oscilloscopes and ABC of probes.

So still looking out for an oscilloscope.

 

[Dean Huster]

Tek's low-end DSOs (around 60MHz bandwidth with a 2GS/s sampling speed) should be selling for around $1200 US. The TDS220 with those specs originally sold for $850 US in 1997.

Quit looking at the new stuff and get a good bargain on lab scopes at a service scope price, with better quality, better specs and a cheaper price than what you can buy new from China, Korea or Japan.

Here's the ebay link for test equipment: **broken link removed**

Dean

 

[zevon8]

There are some great bargains on EBay for scopes if you do a little research and find a good seller. I bought a AN/USM-488 Tektronix 2235 for $150US with current calibration and all the manuals. It is an older "service" scope but suits my purposes well.

 

[lord loh.]

Wow! I did not know one could get CROs so cheap. I have never purchased over the internet. Can I be sure that a $150 scope shall be satisfactory and wont incure me another $50 to service? Can I be absolutely sure that people are not cheated by sending substandard equipments...


sorry.... I have no experience buying over the internet.

 

[zevon8]

You never know when buying over the interent, or EBay, for that matter. I have been fortunate I guess, always ended up with a good deal. I have bought the scope, scope leads, a Fluke meter and some other assorted smaller gear, all from EBay, and always from high rated sellers.

I have no idea where you would be able to buy from locally, but I live in a large city that has several used equipment dealers. Most of them have alot of nice used gear, some calibrated, some not, but always at a fraction of what new equipment costs. The stuff in the dealers here cost about 3 to 5 times what you can get it for on EBay, but it's still cheaper than new, and you get to deal in person.

You can always try the telephone book for used equipment dealers, or repair/ calibration shops, they should know where you could get used equipment.

It probably does you no good, given your location, but here is a link to give you an idea of the sort of gear that is available on the used but calibrated market:

https://www.sphere.bc.ca/test/index.html

I have never done business with these people, but they seem to have a nice selection.

 

[awright]

Oscilloscope purchase

It is possible to get tremendous bargains or get completely screwed buying on ebay. I've done both many times.

Some measures you can take to increase your protection are:

Be very cautious about buying from the very many sellers who say, "I are tu dumb to know what I am selling so I don't know if it wurks. No returns!" One seller actually told me that he didn't have an (IEC) power cord, so he could not tell me if the equipment would power up! Be very cautious of this kind of deal because a seller would have to be incredibly dumb to not turn an item on to see what it can do before selling it and may well know that the item is unrepairable junk, but is hiding behind feigned ignorance. Before I learned this I received a piece of equipment that looked like it had been under a haystack for a decade before being sold.

ALWAYS ask if you can have a return privilege for items DOA (Dead On Arrival) or not as described, and deal with those who are willing to stand behind what they are offering. You will always have to pay shipping both ways, but the main purpose of getting a return privilege is to be sure you are dealing with an honorable person.

Despite the above, if you get a really good price, it can sometimes be worthwhile to gamble on an item, recognizing that it may be a complete loss.

Don't get your heart set on buying a specific item and end up bidding too high. And don't buy on a deadline. Another one will come up, maybe at a much better price, sooner or later. I've been watching a bunch of excellent quality optical devices being sold over a number of months, all exactly identical. Winning bids range from about $45 to $560.

Always ask what the shipping cost will be before bidding, particularly on larger items. Many sellers consider shipping to be another profit center.

Be careful, and have fun.

awright