Opinions on brands of OLD scopes

[Stonent]

I've decided that trying to save up for a full DSO right now is going to take longer than I'm willing to wait but if I can dump a small amount into an analog scope it might get me moving along faster.

Here's some brands I've been seeing on the cheapest ranges (Less than 150, or better, less than 100):

BK Precision - Most of these scopes look very very vintage, sometimes with round screens.
LG / EZ Digital - These look fairly nice for the price, and don't look too old.
Philips - Look a little more vintage but attractively so.
Tek - Seeing a lot of older ones, but the name seems to add to the price
Hitachi - These look pretty nice
HP/Agilent - Again like the Tek, the name adds to the price a bit, but I am highly interested in the digital HP scopes that use a phosphor CRT.

Let me know if you know of some other good brands to look for or brands to stay away from.

Now up front I'm going to say I'm going to skip on any scope that has banana plugs.

[nctnico]

I'm missing Iwatsu. They are pretty decent and not very common. For some models you can find complete service manuals on the internet.

[don.r]

Kikusui if you can find one. The Tek ones are a little more money but parts can be easier to find as they are more common and are fairly reliable. Many of the 80s scopes contain unobtainium hybrid chips that, if blown, will be difficult to source replacements for.

[Stonent]

Kikusui if you can find one. The Tek ones are a little more money but parts can be easier to find as they are more common and are fairly reliable. Many of the 80s scopes contain unobtainium hybrid chips that, if blown, will be difficult to source replacements for.

Yeah I'm getting a bit irritated at the Tek stuff because there's so many parts and manuals that people are trying to hock in the Oscilloscope section. Some guy looks like he emptied out some office because he's selling any kind of piece of paper on it with a Tek logo including calibration sheets, most of which have someone's name hand written on them.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Trio did some nice mid-range analogue scopes.
Older HP digital scopes (pre 546xxx series) are pretty rubbish & best avoided.

[don.r]

If you add -manual to your search it eliminates all the manuals.

[c4757p]

BK Precision - Most of these scopes look very very vintage, sometimes with round screens.

I've seen some pretty new-looking (OK, 70s and 80s) BKs.

LG / EZ Digital - These look fairly nice for the price, and don't look too old.

I've used (and repaired) a couple of these. Well built and quite usable, if not very impressive. Add GoldStar to the list, they're LG. I'd easily recommend them if you're looking for something 50 MHz or less. Pretty much all off-the-shelf parts, too, so easy to fix.

Tek - Seeing a lot of older ones, but the name seems to add to the price

I see LGs and BKs selling for the same price as Teks all the time, and vice versa. I guess it just depends on the model. Some of the "newer" ones are quite impressive and worth the increased price.

I'd agree that the HP/Agilent name appears to add to the price, though, which is rather confusing seeing how my experience with older HP scopes is generally that they just suck.

Now up front I'm going to say I'm going to skip on any scope that has banana plugs.

s/scope/toy/

[rstoer]

The Hitachi's are nice. Also don't overlook Hameg (Made in Germany) and Instek. There are lots of reasonably priced analog scopes on eBay from those manufacturers.

[Stonent]

If you add -manual to your search it eliminates all the manuals.

Well yes and no.  I have been doing it and it does somewhat help but people seem to be doing the best they can to remove any reference to paper or manual in the description to keep their crap in the list.

[c4757p]

I keep looking for Hamegs and rarely see them.

[Stonent]

Trio did some nice mid-range analogue scopes.
Older HP digital scopes (pre 546xxx series) are pretty rubbish & best avoided.

Now I did want to thank you for helping in my decision... even if you didn't know you were doing it.

I've been going through all your videos and I know I had heard Dave talk about intensity graded displays and CRO-like screen but it wasn't until I saw your Agilent scope and saw you using it that it clicked with me why it was so important.

Seeing the dark and bright spots and when you glanced at the display at one point and said "This looks like composite video" because you saw the patterns of brightness in the condensed wave form. So I'm thinking that keeping an older CRO around would be a good idea if I get a DSO because I'll likely end up with a cheaper one that doesn't have that ability.

[david77]

The Hitachi scopes seem to be quite nice & reliable. I've got the V-550B and it just keeps on working, it also does everything a similar Tek scope could do. The badge isn't as desireable as others so they seem to go cheaper in the used market.
Construction-wise it is nothing to write home about. Inside is a mess of wires as it can often be found in Japanese gear.

Philips scopes are nice and the lower end types like PM321x seem to be built from mostly standard components, manuals are available for many of them. So in theory should always be repairable. I have a PM3212 here that pretty much works perfectly after some repairs. Nice bonus: It's totally main isolated.

Hameg scopes were pretty popular in Europe in th 70ies and 80ies, especially their HM20x models. They're built like tanks and only contain standard parts. There are even storage scopes available in this series. In comparison they are usually much more basic than other brands scopes.

The Tek scopes are very desirable because they were always feature laden performance monsters. That makes for a higher price, of course. One day I want to have a 7000 series mainframe...

[Stonent]

I think I've seen a few of the Hitachi v-222 scopes out there for not too bad a price.

[SLJ]

I've used a Tek 465 for some time now.  Solid state, easy to repair, no oddball ICs.  Usually around $150 for a decent working scope.  I looked around and found mine with a built in DMM (DM44 option) for $125 US.  Lots of them around.

[grenert]

In general, since you live in the USA, I think it would be insane to go with anything other than Tektronix, because there are just so many of those old scopes around.  The 2235 and 465 are nice scopes that should be pretty easy to find.  Maybe you can get lucky and find a 2465.  If you live in a decent-sized city, you should be able to buy via craigslist, so you can check it out first, and not worry about shipping damage.  I agree that your options are more limited if you have to buy via eBay.

[marshallh]

I've got a nice Tek 464 (same as 464 but with storage options) looking for a home. I just haven't found the right box to ship it yet. I have pics around here somewhere.

[Stonent]

I've got a nice Tek 464 (same as 464 but with storage options) looking for a home. I just haven't found the right box to ship it yet. I have pics around here somewhere.

Oh?

[rsjsouza]

I have a Kenwood CS4025 and it is a great scope; probably not as featured or known as the other brands, but back when I bought it their reputation was quite good. Some very good service manuals are available online as well, which eases the fear of buying something used.

[EEVblog]

Kikusui made some excellent scopes, peaking at around the COS6100M I think.

[EEVblog]

Kikusui 4CH 100MHz with readout $125
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kikusui-COM-7100A-Oscilloscope-100MHz-/121135792137?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item1c34418009

Good value philips:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Philips-Fluke-PM-3070-100MHz-Oscilloscope-/290913705284?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item43bbcedd44

[EEVblog]

From our friends in Israel, a unique fixer-upper-a opportunity:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEKTRONIX-2245A-OSCILLOSCOPE-100MHz-/181095227734?hash=item2a2a1de156
 

[Stonent]

From our friends in Israel, a unique fixer-upper-a opportunity:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEKTRONIX-2245A-OSCILLOSCOPE-100MHz-/181095227734?hash=item2a2a1de156
 

Owned by little old lady who only used it on Sundays, slight scratch on the glass.

[ivan747]

Is it only me or Tek scopes are highly overpriced compared to others like Hitachi? ( specially the 465)

[Radio Tech]

Is it only me or Tek scopes are highly overpriced compared to others like Hitachi? ( specially the 465)

I dont think so.
I bought 2 Tektronix 2235 scopes for under 20 bucks each. One would say luck, I dont beleive in luck. It's just being in the right flea market at the right time.

[c4757p]

From our friends in Israel, a unique fixer-upper-a opportunity:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TEKTRONIX-2245A-OSCILLOSCOPE-100MHz-/181095227734?hash=item2a2a1de156
 

You do occasionally see Tek CRTs going for a reasonable price. The inside seems OK, nobody's salvaged any boards or anything. Don't know if I'd try to sell a CRT-less scope for $215, though, unless it was a lot better than a 2245A...

Is it only me or Tek scopes are highly overpriced compared to others like Hitachi? ( specially the 465)

The prices fluctuate. They seem to be running a bit high lately, but give it time.