I stumbled across a $40 oscilloscope for sale. Presumably it was only driven on Sundays by a sweet little old lady and also it functions… probably it even functions correctly. (How would I know?) Right now it’s hooked up to a TV and is happily making groovy waveforms to the soundtrack of Kung Fu Panda. I have no idea if $40 is a good price but the guy wouldn’t go any lower. He didn’t know what to do with it either. It’s at a music store that’s going out of business. Soooo many dials and knobs…
It. Looks. So. Cool. Pointless, but cool.
Nothing says “mad scientist” like an oscilloscope but I have no earthly idea what I would do with one. Help me out folks. If anyone can come up with an excuse why I need to buy it, tell me. Or, if they’re a dime a dozen and $40 is way too much and they’re not fun to own, I’d like to know that too. Anyone anyone, Bueller?
Buy it, I have 2 of them, one from the 1950’s that barely goes to 2 mhz and a more modern one from the 1980’s that is good to 20 MHZ. Both are antiques now in that most stuff works in the Gigahertz range, but come in handy for troubleshooting AM and FM radios, ham gear and it looks cool on the bench. What more do you want? Now if it is an Tektronix that is rated in the Gigahertz range, snap it up, those can be used in the modern world.
Details, please? Saying “an oscilloscope” is kinda like saying “a car”. Not that I could give you usable advice on either.
What make and model? Probes included? If it’s multi (i.e., two) channel, do they both work? Is it destroyer grey or olive drab and the size of a loaf of bread? If so, it’s probably an old mil spec scope that will run on darn near any kind of input power- an advantage when yer grid down and trying to adjust the Doppler signal compensator on yer De-zombiefier.
For comparing phases ‘twixt signals or looking for a spike that’s tripping your whatchmacallit, a scope is the only tool for the job. Plus, the display can look like something from a bad sci-fi show if you know what you’re doing and hook it up to get a Lissajous pattern.
I usta hafta tweak the {redacted} circuit on a {redacted} system to compensate for the fact that the F-14s were doing Mach {something- a lot} and warping our {redacted} due to Doppler shift. Cool stuff. Long, long ago…
I have no idea what any of that means. But now I REALLY want it. I’ll see if I can find out a make & model. It was heavy as shit but didn’t look military. I’m guessing closer to 1980’s than 1950’s. I wish I’d written down the name. Tek something or other? I’ll see if I can get a photo.
Tektronics. The Mercedes of Oscilloscopes. Ones that are questionable – as in do they actually work – were about 50 bucks on the government liquidators website a few years back.
If you want to sell it I would say try HAM radio websites or Maker spaces, or similar websites.
If you need one, you can’t get buy without it. But they are fairly specialized.
tektronix? great brand..nicolet is another. screw it, buy it. it was fated.
What Edward said- if it’s a Tek, grab it. We had one the size of a foot locker with a power supply of like size. Both pieces weighed about seventeen gazillion pounds. New stuff is lightweight and digital and totally lacking in 1950’s sciency geewhiz factor. At the very least, you’ll have a $40 paperweight that looks ubercool. I am so jealous…
It’s a volt-meter you can read like a graph. Useful for any situation where you want to see what exactly is happening and that stupid digital VOM just tells you every second or so what it thinks the average might be, and the analog one with the needle looks like a lone windshield wiper in a hurricane. These things are great for things like sensors and sending units, detecting voltage drops at the panel or other circuits when you’re playing with AC, they look fantastic hooked up to an amp, and they’re the only way to properly test ethernet lines. Eventually you’re going to make one into a guitar tuner. Everybody does who has an oscilloscope and a guitar, and you’re halfway there.
All that potential and you’re quibbling over 40 bucks?
I can imagine it set up in your workshop and a thingy making a weird weeooh noise in the background. You could welcome visitors with, “Come in, Mr. Bond”.
Chances are that if it says Tektronix on it, it’s worth buying. There’s a handful of Japanese brands that are worth getting. Kikusui, Iwatsu. Maybe more.
If it’s Eico, run away. Heathkit – probably not worth it.
HP made lots of great test equipment, but in the age range that will get you a $40 scope, Teks were better. Probably still are.
$40 oscilloscopes could be really good test equipment that someone got and has no idea what it’s worth, and they could be really worthwhile.
If you want to know about buying one to troubleshoot electronics you need to know more. If you want to put one on the loudspeaker and marvel at the patterns, pretty much anything will do.
Tektronics are the silver standard; right behind HP.
$40 is a steal if it does anything at all.
A scope is a great trouble shooting tool at component level. It’s on my wish list for the ham radio shack kit. But, kids, wife, and taxes are a priority most weeks.
The response range and such matter. But aren’t critical for a ham chasing down strange behavior in a circuit.
An oscilloscope displays how some electrical signal is changing over time. With two or more channels you can even see how two (or more) electrical signals change compared to each other. People who design or repair electronics find great use of this. Now, $40 for one that works, almost no matter what make and model, is an excellent deal, even if you don’t have any particular electrical signals in mind, that you want to look at.
And if nothing else, you can put a couple of leads on it and claim it’s a lie detector. In case you ever have need for anything like that…
}:-]
Buy that fucker. B-U-Y I-T N-O-W! Any good electrician would buy it from you for double that.
My landlord is a union electrician. I doubt he can spell oscilloscope. What would an electrician do with such a beast of an instrument? And yes, I’d love to have a Tek scope!
Robert
I was an electrician in a former life. Not union.
For most jobs a Wiggins or Voltmeter is sufficient.
For specialized work, like positive bonding in computer circuits a scope became be very helpful in trouble shooting. I recently ran into this problem in a house wired with CAT 5 cable for internet and phone. The borrowed 2 channel scope helped me identify that 60Hz current was riding on the neutral. Knowing the issue allowed me to track down the bonding fault.
I’m more on the “the wavy line looks bitchin’ cool” level of understanding.
Cool. Scopes rule. ONEAC makes (made?) a kinda brute-force 60Hz filter; plug it into the wall and plug yer 2-channel Tek into it. I had it for work and decided to look at my home’s wiring. WOW! Big-time AM envelope from the local radio station riding on the high side of my wiring. I quickly decided the smart (i.e. lazy) thing to do was to ignore it.
Oh man. My house’s wiring is a mishmash… I hate to think what I’d see if I looked too hard. It’s probably crapping all over my wifi. Also I have an overhead powerline exactly where I want to put my shortwave radio and it’s driving me nuts.
What everybody else said. Plus I believe you should be able to hook it up to an audio out. May find out why ABBA effects bears the way it does…..
It’s not wavelengths and form… its hook and pre-existing bullshit. I’ve got the universal theory of pre-existing bullshit all worked out. I wonder if I can hook an oscilloscope to a coffee maker… just ’cause.
Yes. You can hook it to an electric coffee maker. I wouldn’t try to hook it to the one you use on the wood stove 🤣😂
Electric and overcomplex versus manual and labor heavy. The two shall never meet.
I’m with the others – a Tek oscilloscope is worth more than $40 if it turns on, and possibly for parts even if it doesn’t. Other good brands are similar. I’ve got a Tek I was given by a neighbor after her husband died; the one I have goes for over $300 on eBay.