Tektronix 2230 vs 2232?

[Novanoid]

Hello! I've been looking into oscilloscopes for a while and was wondering whether the Tektronix 2230 is a decent first oscilloscope because I have a budget of roughly $150USD. I have also stumbled across the Tektronix 2232 which is slightly more expensive, but I don't really know what the difference is between the two models. I can pick the 2230 up for about $169 with probes or the 2232 for $185 without probes. Both are untested but in cosmetically good condition, but have 30 day returns. Is it worth the price difference? The same seller is also selling a Tektronix 2430 for about the same price as the 2230. I don't know which one is worth the money. Any ideas/advice would be appreciated. Sorry if this is in the wrong place, as this is one of my first posts.

[nctnico]

Probes are cheap nowadays and you will be better off with new ones anyway. IIRC the 2232 has a higher samplerate so that would be better than the 2230. Still you might want to consider saving some more and get a new entry level DSO instead of getting a very old piece of gear which could break down any moment. I used to own a 2230 myself but I sold it over a decade ago because it was getting too old for my taste.

[Novanoid]

Do you think the Tektronix 2430 would be better for the price then? I can get it for $4 more than the 2230.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Definitely the better choice! A DSO with a sample rate far below the bandwith is not of much use except for repetitive signals, which you could see on an analogue scope as well and for signals far below it's bandwith.

While the 2430 is not considered current technology, it will introduce you nicely to the concepts of working with a DSO. It offers a lot of measurement functions and will get things done within its parameter range.

[alm]

I am not sure about that. While the 223x series have a much slower sampling rate, they at least can function as a normal analog scope. No such fall back on the 2430.

[Neomys Sapiens]

Ok, I did not consider this. factually, I remembered it only when reading your post.

[nctnico]

Also look at the memory depth. IIRC the 2230/2232 are one of the few of these old beast which have 4kpts and that does come in handy.

[Novanoid]

I have sent the guy an offer of $100 for the tek 2230, since it is untested. At least the seller accepts returns. Hopefully he accepts it.

[David Hess]

I have all three of these oscilloscopes and use them regularly so if you have a specific question, I can answer it.

The 2232 has lots of minor improvements over the 2230 but in most respects except for sample rate, they perform the same.  The 2430 is a completely different beast.  The most important aspect of all of these DSOs and the reason they are the oldest DSOs that I usually recommend is that they support peak detection.  Of the three, the 2232 is the easiest to maintain because the 2230 is more difficult to work on and the 2430 is a lot more complex.

The other day I posted a list of some differences between the 2230 and 2232 here.

On the subject of 2230/2232 record length, the 1K/4K specification is a little deceptive.  The *entire* 1K record is displayed across the 10 display divisions at 100 points/division for a very smooth display.  On the 2430, the record length is fixed at 1K but only 500 points fit horizontally so there are two display widths worth of record and that is still higher resolution than a standard LCD display.  Delayed sweep capability makes up for some aspects of the short record lengths.

[gfmucci]

Just curious.  What did the 2232 sell for when it first came out in the early 90's?

[David Hess]

Just curious.  What did the 2232 sell for when it first came out in the early 90's?

Dollars (inflation adjusted dollars) in 1990:

2230   $5,000 ($10,300) - Last available in 1989
2232   $5,500 ($10,800) - First available in 1990
2430A   $8.200 ($16,100)

[Neomys Sapiens]

Just curious.  What did the 2232 sell for when it first came out in the early 90's?

Dollars (inflation adjusted dollars) in 1990:

2230   $5,000 ($10,300) - Last available in 1989
2232   $5,500 ($10,800) - First available in 1990
2430A   $8.200 ($16,100)

Two personal oddities occured for me around the 2430/2440 series:

Earlier when those scopes were cutting edge, I repeatedly used some of them, i.e. 2430, 2432 and maybe 2440 in one place. After some other activities, I returned to this activity and was asked to show someone how I did the earlier measurements. I grabbed a scope of this series, set it up, and.....was stopped cold by the absence of features and capabilities. Before TekWiki, I always suspected this to be the difference between the 2430 and the 2430A. Now it is clear that I must have grabbed a 2431L or a 2439, both of which totally suck. At least this one is closed now for some years
.
The other puzzlement is a bit stranger. When I look away from the manuals and datasheets clearly telling me that this is not the case, I am under the vivid impression to have worked with a scope from this series where it was possible to select/vary the sample rate independent from the horizontal deflection setting.
I was so sure of this that I explicitely welcomed the ''re''introduction of this feature on the TDS5xxx series along with a separate control element. But all available data says that this did not exist!
 

@alm: you made me take another look at the 22xx series. It is possible that I will replace the 465 hanging around with a 2230 or 2232, although the 2236 is a candidate too.

[David Hess]

Earlier when those scopes were cutting edge, I repeatedly used some of them, i.e. 2430, 2432 and maybe 2440 in one place. After some other activities, I returned to this activity and was asked to show someone how I did the earlier measurements. I grabbed a scope of this series, set it up, and.....was stopped cold by the absence of features and capabilities. Before TekWiki, I always suspected this to be the difference between the 2430 and the 2430A. Now it is clear that I must have grabbed a 2431L or a 2439, both of which totally suck. At least this one is closed now for some years

Those were simplified versions which lacked the dual delayed timebase and peak detection.

The other puzzlement is a bit stranger. When I look away from the manuals and datasheets clearly telling me that this is not the case, I am under the vivid impression to have worked with a scope from this series where it was possible to select/vary the sample rate independent from the horizontal deflection setting.

Maybe you are thinking of the 2232 which can can quadruple the record length but continue displaying the whole record by pulling the time/div variable control.  Or the 2430A series has some really weird operating modes including dual delta delayed timebases; oddly enough, the 2246, 2247A, and 2252 do also.

@alm: you made me take another look at the 22xx series. It is possible that I will replace the 465 hanging around with a 2230 or 2232, although the 2236 is a candidate too.

The 2236, 2236A, 2247A, and 2252 all have that very nice gated universal timer/counter which is still much better than the timer/counter functionality in most DSOs.