Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Scope - Instek Model GOS-620 info wanted

alenz@... wrote:

> --- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., afogassa@y... wrote:
> > Just to let you all know, I was searching the net for a
> oscilloscope
> > and found one at radio shack web site on sale for $250.00. it's a
> > 20mhz dual trace and bla bla bla...
>
> Anyone familiar with this scope? I've been wanting to get one
> for hobby use. Several months ago, this was brought up and it
> seemed that a used Tec 465 was considered a good buy. The ones
> on E-bay, last time I checked, were about in this same price
> range, but less manual and probes, etc. Also 20 or 30 years
> old and sold 'as is'.

Well, the Tek gear was some of the best made equipment ever.
Yes, there is a risk with the older gear, but the cheap new stuff may
actually be less reliable. How long is the warranty on that new
unit? Do you have to send it to Taiwan for repair? You might want
to skim the eBay listings, but only buy from a commercial outfit that
will replace the unit if it is DOA. I have been using a Tek 475 at
work for several years, and it is still going strong. I think we paid
$475 for it (200 MHz bandwidth, I think).

As for the probes, the cheapie probes that come with the low budget
scopes last about 2 weeks! I have a set of Tek probes that are 20 years
old, still working fine!

> I suspect the Tetronix is/was king of the
> hill, but with my experience, I wouldn't know the difference(g).
> Unless someone has a better sugestion, might just get this one,
> even tho I don't know beans about it.
> Thanks, Al Lenz
>
> PS My only prior experience with a scope is with a Dumont 304
> that I picked up at a garage sale for $25 about 40 years ago.
> It was obsolete even then. Sucker has 18 tubes and a sweep
> range from 2 cps to 30 kc. (Quoting the operating manual).
> (Those were the days when R/C gear was either scratch built
> or later kit-built.) It was OK for adjusting servo pulse width,
> setting frame rates and general troubleshooting.
> Only problem, it took 30 min to warm up and weighs 50 or
> 60 lb. And you had to be quick, the trace would drift off screen
> after a few minutes. So you see, it wouldn't take a top of the
> line model to be a really big upgrade for me :-).

GAG! I got rid of my copy (LaVoie) of a Tek 545 years ago. It worked
better than yours (about 2 generations newer) but it weighed over 100 Lbs
and had *** 50 TUBES *** in it!

> Query: Anyone know why the old Dumont has "CATHODE-RAY OSCILLOGRAPH"
> stenciled on the front, rather than "oscilloscope"?

The word "Oscilloscope" had not yet been coined!

Jon