Getting a scope again after decade. Fill gaps im my research of the $300 range?

[SureSh0t]

Very sad to be here having had a Tek 7904 loaded with plugins about a decade ago before my dad forced me to sell it to pay rent/make room.

I know nothing about the latest Chinese products so maybe y'all can fill me in on what's good?

So I just want to be able to work with most solid state outside RF. I'm pretty much a DMM+scope+generator+supply guy. 400-500Mhz bandwidth is enough for me, I like having 1Gs/s and 2mV/div or better sensitivity for those finicky components and finding noise without spending on an analyzer. I'm open to Tek or HP but I know Tek will usually be the way to go. I prefer digital storage but it's not a requirement I guess.

Right now my shortlist looks like:
TDS500 series (stretch)
2246 or 2465
TDS400 series
HP54520

Not all tof them are ideal but good enough. Let me know what else I should look for, especially Hantek/Sigilent/Rigol as I only know some decent DMM and generators by them.

[tggzzz]

Ignore the sample/sec spec - that's marketing wank that generates more heat than light.

2465A and 2465B have battery backed RAM that causes problems, plus electrolytic capacitors that puke over the ADC.
2465 doesn't have battery backed RAM and electrolytic caps puking over the ADC, but has the trad Tek squirrel cage fan with its fragile collett.
All three have RIFAs (must replace) and it is best to replace the main PSU electrolytic.
All very well documented elsewhere.

Isn't the HP54xxx series the one with the PSU caps that puke and damage the PCB?

Don't forget the Tek 485, which has a real 50ohm input unlike the others. Several 15V tants on a 13V rail need replacing.

Don't forget the cost of the probes relevant to the type of measurements you will be making.

[SureSh0t]

Thank you for those component insights! That's why I'm here!

Don't forget the Tek 485, which has a real 50ohm input unlike the others. Several 15V tants on a 13V rail need replacing.

That era of Tek really was special wasn't it? I get why they're still around. The 485 is a good candidate.

[SureSh0t]

Plan to be using pretty standard 10x probes max nothing too fancy.

Right now I just have a stack of discrete audio to repair.

[wasedadoc]

Very sad to be here having had a Tek 7904 loaded with plugins about a decade ago before my dad forced me to sell it to pay rent/make room.

You should have sold your dad and kept the scope. 

[nctnico]

Very sad to be here having had a Tek 7904 loaded with plugins about a decade ago before my dad forced me to sell it to pay rent/make room.

I know nothing about the latest Chinese products so maybe y'all can fill me in on what's good?

So I just want to be able to work with most solid state outside RF. I'm pretty much a DMM+scope+generator+supply guy. 400-500Mhz bandwidth is enough for me, I like having 1Gs/s and 2mV/div or better sensitivity for those finicky components and finding noise without spending on an analyzer. I'm open to Tek or HP but I know Tek will usually be the way to go. I prefer digital storage but it's not a requirement I guess.

Right now my shortlist looks like:
TDS500 series (stretch)
2246 or 2465
TDS400 series
HP54520

The 400/500MHz requirement together with a $300 budget makes that you are in old boat anchor territory. If you can do some repairs and do research then good deals can be had where it comes to the Tektronix TDS500 or TDS700 series but keep in mind that these are getting super old. I have bought these within your budget limit but some did require quite  a bit of work to get back to working order. I have noticed that sometimes I forget that I'm getting older and that equipment ages with me. So what I recall being great equipment is close to junk nowadays. IOW: Buying old test equipment is like buying a classis car. Be prepared to do maintenance on it in order to keep it working.

If you can live with 50MHz bandwidth then the GW Instek GDS-1054B is the cheapest option (in the US) to get a decent digital storage oscilloscope. The GDS1054B can be unlocked to around 100MHz with a simple key generator (which runs in your webbrowser as a javascript).

[Martin72]

Let me know what else I should look for, especially Hantek/Sigilent/Rigol as I only know some decent DMM and generators by them.

Forget Hantek...
Also Peaktech, Owon, Uni-T...
GwInstek I don´t know, but we (work) have several generators and a milli-ohm meter from them, it´s good quality for the money so I couldn´t imagine that their scopes would be crap.
For 300 bucks you wouldn´t get something from Rigol or Siglent, you´ll have to add say 200bucks but then you would get superb scopes from them(for the money).
But be aware you won´t reach a bandwith of 500Mhz, not new, not for this money, not from GWInstek, Siglent or Rigol.
If the 500Mhz are more important to you than "modern" features you could have a look at used old lecroy DSOs.
Waverunner LT364 for example.
But it's like nico said, the old scopes need more attention at regular intervals.

[tautech]

For 300 bucks you wouldn´t get something from Rigol or Siglent, you´ll have to add say 200bucks but then you would get superb scopes from them(for the money).

Closest you might get new is 200 MHz 2ch SDS1202X-E while retailing for $ 379 they are often found a good bit cheaper on Amazon....and with a quick look it seems the 100 MHz 4ch SDS1104X-U is currently on special at just $ 332 which is a good price.
https://www.amazon.com/Siglent-Technologies-SDS1104X-U-Phosphor-Oscilloscopes/dp/B08PD3WKCZ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=252VQVZQ26SRP&keywords=siglent%2Bsds1202x-e&qid=1683581465&sprefix=siglent%2Caps%2C325&sr=8-9&th=1

[bdunham7]

Right now I just have a stack of discrete audio to repair.

Then why the 500MHz BW requirement?

Approximately where are you?  If you are going to shop boat anchors, your location matters a lot.  If you want a CRO, something like a Tek 2235A or 2445/A/B would typically be good.  The Tek 485 is getting really old and the TDS500 and TDS400 series are pretty undesirable IMO.  The condition of a specific unit is probably more important than the exact model, so look for a 'nice' one of whatever mode. 

If you want to join the modern era for a few bucks more, I find the Siglent SDS1104X-E adequate and quite handy for audio amplifer and RF work.

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

I bought an Agilent 54810 converted to 54820 from some one for $ 400This is 500 MHz scope.
With probes and keyboard and mouse.And with the HD converted to SSD, apparently the HD is a weak point.

Maybe consider that model.

[SureSh0t]

Very sad to be here having had a Tek 7904 loaded with plugins about a decade ago before my dad forced me to sell it to pay rent/make room.

You should have sold your dad and kept the scope. 

I wish dude. 

[Fungus]

I know nothing about the latest Chinese products so maybe y'all can fill me in on what's good?

So I just want to be able to work with most solid state outside RF. I'm pretty much a DMM+scope+generator+supply guy. 400-500Mhz bandwidth is enough for me, I like having 1Gs/s and 2mV/div or better sensitivity for those finicky components and finding noise without spending on an analyzer.

Let me know what else I should look for, especially Hantek/Sigilent/Rigol as I only know some decent DMM and generators by them.

Chinese DSOs are good but you won't get 500MHz bandwidth for $300. Do you need it for audio work though?

Siglent 1202X-E might be the best match for you as it has good sensitivity and a decent FFT. FFTs can reveal things that are hard to see with plain "low noise". It's slightly outside your budget though.

Rigols are cheaper than Siglents but their FFTs are more limited and sensitivity is only average. Not the best brand for "audio" guys.

Don't get a Hantek.

One to consider that's inside your budget is the GW-Instek GDS-1102B. It's only 100Mhz but it does well on the other things.

https://www.tequipment.net/Instek/GDS-1102B/Digital-Oscilloscopes/

[jonpaul]

We bought old analog scopes at Ham Fleas and street sales

For basic audio and digital work a 10..20 MHz 2 ch is fine.

We paid EU 5 for a Hameg (Germany/France) HM103 single ch 10 MHz and EU 25 for a Hameg HM203 two channel 20 MHz.

Both worked fine, still in use.

The TEK are the best old classics, but 1970s..1990s like 485, 465, 475 will have weak CRTs and HV (mult/transformers) and can be hard to service. Best of the epoch was 465B, 475B.

The 2465/7 are the last CRT scopes from TEK, see the very long 2465 teardown thred here and tekscopes, tekscopes2 on Groups .io.

Have fun,

Jon

[SureSh0t]

Right now I just have a stack of discrete audio to repair.

Then why the 500MHz BW requirement?

Approximately where are you?  If you are going to shop boat anchors, your location matters a lot.  If you want a CRO, something like a Tek 2235A or 2445/A/B would typically be good.  The Tek 485 is getting really old and the TDS500 and TDS400 series are pretty undesirable IMO.  The condition of a specific unit is probably more important than the exact model, so look for a 'nice' one of whatever mode. 

If you want to join the modern era for a few bucks more, I find the Siglent SDS1104X-E adequate and quite handy for audio amplifer and RF work.

I live within the Rust Belt in a state with a lot of universities so there's plenty of equipment floating around. Most of what I look for can be picked up locally.

I don't mind doing some maintenance. I like fixing things, especially when they would have been dumped or sat unused. The original 400s for example, while they're so old, they're so well documented I'd be surprised if I couldn't fix one. Call me a masochist maybe but I enjoy it.

Then why the 500MHz BW requirement?

I eventually would like to work on more advanced equipment. I don't need an SA but it would be cool to fix one. Or other scopes, meters etc.

I admit I just like boat anchors.  I started out on a 500 series and the 7904 and I loved those things.

I bought an Agilent 54810 converted to 54820 from some one for $ 400This is 500 MHz scope.
With probes and keyboard and mouse.And with the HD converted to SSD, apparently the HD is a weak point.

Maybe consider that model.

Sounds like a crazy deal. No idea how I'll find that on my own. 

[bdunham7]

I admit I just like boat anchors.

OK then, there it is...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134427523380

[SureSh0t]

I literally would if it weren't in California