Huge Tektronix oscilloscope collection for sale

[volvo_nut_v70]

This is impressive..

https://victoria.craigslist.org/ele/d/duncan-vintage-tektronix-collection/7322935080.html

[james_s]

That's certainly neat, although it's going to take someone in a very unique position to be able to take all that stuff and have somewhere to put it. It would be fun to play around with some of those old scopes though.

[Stray Electron]

  I wonder how much he's going to actually want for it?  I think the $1234 shown is just a place holder. with over 200 instruments that's only about $6 each.  The tube flippers could make a fortune stripping this stuff for the tubes alone.

[rvalente]

Tek should buy these back and make a museum

[james_s]

  I wonder how much he's going to actually want for it?  I think the $1234 shown is just a place holder. with over 200 instruments that's only about $6 each.  The tube flippers could make a fortune stripping this stuff for the tubes alone.

Keeping them away from tube flippers is going to be the big challenge. The biggest cost of having a collection like this is the cost of the space to store it and I don't think there are very many people out there who have an interest in owning a large collection of very old oscilloscopes. The value of most of them is lower on the open market than the value of some of the tubes they contain so they will probably have to be sold at a very low price to just the right person with some strings attached. Realistically I suspect the collection will end up being split up though. Out of all the people out there who have an interest in owning any of these scopes, only a very small percentage of those would be able to take the whole collection. Maybe somebody who lives out in flyover country where land is cheap and it doesn't take a million dollar building to house them.

[gslick]

Tek should buy these back and make a museum

https://vintagetek.org/
https://vintagetek.org/home-2/

[Stray Electron]

  I could see a Hollywood prop supplier buying the whole lot and renting them out for filming movies and TV shows.

[coromonadalix]

Neat indeed,  clean and well organized too

[bdunham7]

Best of luck unloading that as a lot.  The 511AD, 512 and 519 are interesting historically, but the rest look like old scopes and specialty equipment that would take years to find buyers for.  If I had a retail business, I might have a working 535A as a display (in the winter) but I'd not want to pay big bucks for it.  There are a few items I didn't recognize, but the majority is stuff that is roaming around if you look, not ultra-rare historical artifacts.  At least it is neat and clean, but if they aren't going to itemize and allow shopping I won't be showing up with a box truck and a suitcase full of cash.

[H713]

I'm glad that the person selling them seems to care where they end up. The endless parting out of vintage, historical equipment for valuable tubes / modules makes me incredibly sad. I know there's a financial incentive to do it, but I don't understand how people can tear apart this kind of thing without feeling sick to their stomach. The moment you open a 500 series scope up, the sheer amount of time and craftsmanship are obvious and impossible to ignore. The same goes for the old Neve / API / Trident mixing consoles of the 1970s. I just don't think I'd have the heart to destroy something like that, even with a big financial incentive.

[duckduck]

That's certainly neat, although it's going to take someone in a very unique position to be able to take all that stuff and have somewhere to put it.

Has someone messaged Mr. Carlson (of Mr. Carlson's Lab) yet?

[james_s]

Unless Mr Carlson has a lot more lab space than is shown in his videos, I don't think he'd be able to take a lot like that. He already gets the award for one of the most tightly packed but still usable labs I've seen.

[boffin]

This is impressive..

https://victoria.craigslist.org/ele/d/duncan-vintage-tektronix-collection/7322935080.html

More impressive is that it's in Duncan of all places.

[schmitt trigger]

Properly packaging all this delicate plus very heavy stuff, and shipping them hundreds if not thousands of miles, will cost several times what one actually paid for the collection.

And as others have mentioned, once you receive them, they cannot simply be stored in a barn.

Although the price of the collection itself is *very attractive*, the total ownership cost will be significant.

[bdunham7]

Although the price of the collection itself is *very attractive*, the total ownership cost will be significant.

The "$1234" is not the price, just a placeholder number.  My experience tells me that you could likely talk to this guy for a week and still not get 'the price'. 

[nctnico]

This is impressive..

https://victoria.craigslist.org/ele/d/duncan-vintage-tektronix-collection/7322935080.html

More impressive is that it's in Duncan of all places.

It is not uncommon to find nice collections in small towns. Somewhere tucked away in a small town in Germany's Black Forrest you can find this museum: www.fahrzeugmuseum-marxzell.de/

[tooki]

This is impressive..

https://victoria.craigslist.org/ele/d/duncan-vintage-tektronix-collection/7322935080.html

More impressive is that it's in Duncan of all places.

It is not uncommon to find nice collections in small towns. Somewhere tucked away in a small town in Germany's Black Forrest you can find this museum: www.fahrzeugmuseum-marxzell.de/

I think it’s practically a requirement for such collections to be in small towns, because the real estate prices in cities pretty much rules out housing them there. :/

[james_s]

The "$1234" is not the price, just a placeholder number.  My experience tells me that you could likely talk to this guy for a week and still not get 'the price'.

In that case it will probably just sit forever. The commitment required just to take the entire lot is probably more than the most desirable pieces are worth to most people. I've seen this sort of thing before, someone with a huge collection of something wanting to sell it as a lot with unrealistic expectations on the price. The reality is that most collectors already have a collection and are going to want a few specific pieces they don't yet have. It is then a huge chore to sort through the rest of the items and find buyers for everything else. Almost nobody wants a complete turnkey collection, and if it was something I was interested in, if they won't give me a price I'm not going to waste my time talking to someone for a week.

[dzseki]

Almost nobody wants a complete turnkey collection, and if it was something I was interested in, if they won't give me a price I'm not going to waste my time talking to someone for a week.

And the other day the owner of such collection hit by a truck, then the family  tries to sell the *valuable* collection at inflated prices for years, then after years without takers the whole goes to a landfill...

[Old Printer]

The guy must be a bachelor.

[Howardlong]

The guy must be a bachelor.

...and have a large walk in wardrobe.

[james_s]

And the other day the owner of such collection hit by a truck, then the family  tries to sell the *valuable* collection at inflated prices for years, then after years without takers the whole goes to a landfill...

That's why I try to make sure my family knows of my more valuable possessions so at least they can set those aside so they don't get dumped if something happens. Also my wishes that my things end up in the hands of people who will use and enjoy them as I have over profit.

[BrokenYugo]

Although the price of the collection itself is *very attractive*, the total ownership cost will be significant.

The "$1234" is not the price, just a placeholder number.  My experience tells me that you could likely talk to this guy for a week and still not get 'the price'.

Yeah, I think of it as a form of hoarding, they'll probably never let go. I've seen it before with other stuff. These sort of people generally act like they're willing to cut a deal (especially if somebody or government is on their ass about it) until you start trying to negotiate the good stuff down to a reasonable price.

[bdunham7]

That's why I try to make sure my family knows of my more valuable possessions so at least they can set those aside so they don't get dumped if something happens. Also my wishes that my things end up in the hands of people who will use and enjoy them as I have over profit.

Originally I thought about inquiring about the 519 as a separate sale (world's first 1GHz scope AFAIK ) but now I think I'm more motivated to fire up my eBay selling account again and clean my garage. 

[H713]

My guess is that the seller is looking for the "right" buyer, and isn't overly concerned about when that right buyer comes along.

I suspect the reason they are selling it the way they are is to avoid every 500 series scope in the collection being parted out so the tubes can be sold on eBay.