Lets be practical a moment, shall we?
She Whom Must be Obeyed/Honored has cut my new gear space allocation to near zero.. I thus must go the home-made sampling route rather then buying big boxen that take up gear space.. She also does not understand taking risks on Ebay, but will allow new construction as she can sit with me while I solder... And she is handy with a wrench. No, I'm not THAT whipped, but she does have a point about my owning more then enough gear now.. Especially since she'd like to see my car fit into the other side of the garage, rather then see it piled with more gear....
As I work on sampling phase detectors for 10 and 24 Ghz ham radio, having a 1.5 Ghz scope is more then enough to view my sampling gate signals. Unlike the naysayers who think "free running" scopes are an abomination, I know the limitations, but really enjoy using the sampling method. MY friend has a pile of Tek sampling gear, but his is an hour and a half away.. Not to mention his "SWMBO", who is an engineer, wants him to spend more time on their family, and I don't blame her.. So I'd like my own sampler, and I know how to use it...
Damn, If I could have found the ideal mate, the conversation would have been like this: "Honey, I think we need a new Oscilloscope... I'd like to get a 1 Ghz scope.." No Dear Heart, One Ghz is far too slow, would it not be more economical to just get the 2 Ghz now, Because next year you'll need to upgrade anyway. Besides, I have a 20% off coupon for Lecroy."
Instead I'm dating a Librarian...
So lets not derail this with discussions of Tek and HP's past glory, which contain un-obtainium custom parts from when they had their own fabs...
Some day, some of you will be in EXACTLY the same place I am now... Enjoy it while your young and single and can blow a whole paycheck on a cool toy... And marry wisely, find a supportive one who can/will tolerate and encourage your need for hardware and hording parts...
I'm still trying to explain to Her why I own a full size milling machine... Thank God for a guy from church who agreed to host it in his warehouse...
Steve