Tektronix 7104 or 7904A

[med6753]

If you're only interested in being an “appliance operator” then the 7000 series isn't for you. Think about it, many of them are approaching a half century old. They WILL require repair at some point. Even if you spend stupid money for a completely restored unit there's no guarantee.

But if you are willing to invest some troubleshooting time, and cash, they are an excellent choice.  I picked up my 7904 with a 7A26, 7A24, and two 7B80's for $100. Of course the PSU was in tick mode. One bad tantalum on the -17V bulk line and it was up and running. But I decided to re-cap the entire linear section of the PSU. Then turn my attention to the noisy attenuator switch decks on the vertical plug-in's. After that was done it was fully functional and only required a few tweaks.

For a few months. The PSU was back in tick mode. This time it was the HV kicking out the supply. Long story short it tuned out the CRT itself developed a leakage path to ground. Only solution was replacement of the CRT. $75 plus shipping from Ebay and back in business. This was a very atypical fail but it just gives you an indication of what can go wrong with these old beasts.   

[Kidon]

If you're only interested in being an “appliance operator” then the 7000 series isn't for you. Think about it, many of them are approaching a half century old. They WILL require repair at some point. Even if you spend stupid money for a completely restored unit there's no guarantee.

But if you are willing to invest some troubleshooting time, and cash, they are an excellent choice.  I picked up my 7904 with a 7A26, 7A24, and two 7B80's for $100. Of course the PSU was in tick mode. One bad tantalum on the -17V bulk line and it was up and running. But I decided to re-cap the entire linear section of the PSU. Then turn my attention to the noisy attenuator switch decks on the vertical plug-in's. After that was done it was fully functional and only required a few tweaks.

For a few months. The PSU was back in tick mode. This time it was the HV kicking out the supply. Long story short it tuned out the CRT itself developed a leakage path to ground. Only solution was replacement of the CRT. $75 plus shipping from Ebay and back in business. This was a very atypical fail but it just gives you an indication of what can go wrong with these old beasts.

I own a 7623, and I’ve had some others a while back.
Thanks for the advice though.