Hello people,
Sorry to interrupt, didn't want to, but Tautech just told me I may have a problem with TE and suggested I come here to say hi. So, hi...
Better grab a cup of coffee and packet of biscuits, just saying...
At first I thought I was not worthy of TEA, that I would not qualify, but then I read the "About TEA" at the start of this thread, and to my surprise, it seems that I objectively DO qualify ?!
I guess that means I have a problem then
I think I suffer from GAS, but mostly TGAS.
Born in 77, started tinkering with electronics since 10 year old or before, can't even remember. Failed my engineering B.Eng degree so couldn't find a job in R&D, which was all I was interested in. So changed career, switched to aeronautics. I quickly got bored and disillusioned. Electronics was started to haunt me more and more every year, I was missing it, my heart was broken deep down...
So a few years back, in early 2014 or something, discovered this Youtube thing and came across a funny guy called Dave on EEVBlog. His passion and enthusiasm revived mine. A year later moved into a house, a spare room... decided it was time to get into the hobby "seriously", no limit other than finances, guilt free, as I had so many years of catching up to do. So bought some wood, some tools and built a lab into that spare room. No money to buy fancy modern test gear of course, so I started searching for old stuff that were still good enough to be used, and preferably broken so I could get them real cheap. So I was repairing TE, or anything really, for the first time... was so fun an exciting, became addicted, started buying broken test gear I didn't even need, that I already had an example of, just to challenge myself, see if I could fix it. Became a drug indeed. Then, I started to find beauty in these old devices, and I started to buy gear simply because I liked their industrial design, look and feel, or performance, or features, engineering specialties, ... something in them that I liked particularly.
I soon became addicted to old Tek scopes i particular. Loved all the CRT based ones, be them analog or digital or both. Got one from the '90's, then another one. Then one from the '80's, then I thought I need one from each decade so as to have a little Tektronix museum. So I bought one from the '70s. Then I thought hey, I need one from the '60's or it won't be complete, especially since that era was the first generation of Tek scopes, the ones that established them as best in class... how could I possibly not have one ? Problem was, these scopes were so big and heavy, I thought it was not reasonable. Also, they used these strange things they called "tubes", which I knew nothing about. It was all black magic to me. Not knowing anything whatsoever about how they worked, how to work on them, how to troubleshoot stuff made with them... I felt it was not reasonable to buy one, since I would not be able to fix it, and could even kill myself given that they are filled with lethal voltages !
But then I came across another youtube channel, from Paul Carlson. Guy sure loves tube stuff and knows a thing or two about them... he mostly fixes old radios, but still, it gave me the basics, and after a while binge drinking all of his videos, I eventually felt I knew enough to not kill myself, and maybe even stand a reasonable chance at fixing an old Tek scope.
Still... the weight and size of these things put me off... until I came across an ad for a Type 317 ! Didn't even know about them. It was love at first sight : it had the same industrial design/beauty as the big heavy mainframe 500 series, but it was half the weight and much smaller !
So I got it, and proceeded to restore it, 3 and half years ago, with success :
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/vintage-tektronix-317-repair-and-restoration/As I worked on it, I quickly fell in love with these things. The industrial design is so beautiful, they are so pleasing to look at, both outside AND inside, the big clicking noise and feel of the rotary switches is a joy. It's so nice to see them progressively come back to life, electrically and cosmetically. The finished product is like a jewel, I just can't get enough.
But I thought, one is enough, I only needed one to complete my Tektronix museum.
But I was already hooked.... so when I saw another 317 for sale, just could not resist, then another one... have five of them now !
But I thought I would NEVER buy a big mainframe 500 series, as way too big and heavy, and if nothing else, too big and heavy to fit the limits of transporters, so people could not ship it anyhow, even if they wanted to... which they never wanted to anyway.
But I could not resist... after a while I thought I needed at least ONE example of these big 500 series in my collection... just one, just one...
That would then be limited to those that popped up close enough to me that I could contemplate taking my car to go pick them up. In France petrol is 10 times the price it is in the USA, so any trip costs a lot of money. So I really could not afford to go very far to pick one up, or it would bankrupt me. 99% of the ads were hundreds of kms frome, "of course" !
After a while... an ad popped up for an old crusty 500 series, no type mentioned, no info just a crappy pic. Was 120kms away... an hour and half drive. Was barely reasonable financially, but not completely ridiculous, so went for it, as I was so excited to go see and get my first "big one"..
Then got another one, and another one and....
Then I had to build a very strong custom piece of furniture to hold them all and be able to wheel them around as needed.
Picture below. Have now 18 of them if I know how to count. I don't intend to stop there... I just can't get enough.
They go in average for 50 to 75 Euros. It's cheap for a piece of Tek history, hours of fun to fix it and restore it, and the joy of seeing them looking like new again, and working just fine. Also, I just can't stand the idea of such master pieces of engineering and industrial design, and history, being dumped ! Or some audiophool stealing the tubes from it then dumping it, like it was a piece of junk or something ! Makes me sick !
So if nothing else, I try to save all those that I can save...
At this point I have so many of them that I already know I won't restore all of them, impossible. I have several types in several examples, so the aim is to restore only one of each type, and keep the duplicates as parts donors, or as guinea pigs to let me test restoration processes...
Here is what I have so far:
- 310A in its original Tektronix leather carry bag.
- x5 317
- x2 Type 515A
- 502
- 502A
- 531A
- x2 545A
- 585A
- x2 547
- x2 549
Also have others scopes. Developed an addiction for the Philips/Fluke "combiscope". Have 3 of them : 4x100 and 4x200 versions. They have their quirks but I love them.
Have some DMM's too. Didn't quite know just how many until I pulled them all out a minute ago to take a picture for you. Apparently I have 20 of them, brrr, didn't think I had nearly as many...
Well I have 23 in fact, but my 3 analog old meters are not in the shot, they are buried too deep in god knows what box... lab still not operational just yet, new house, still very much working on it for now.. lab is not the priority. It's all stuffed in the living room for now...
Have my dad's Metrix 460 which he bought brand new in 1960 as he started working at age 16, fixing pinball machines all around Paris cafés.
Still works fine 60 years later.
For the more recent stuff pictured, as you can see I have developed an addiction for the Metrix MX 53/54/55/56 series. I just can't get enough of them.
I also like old Flukes, on the far right on the picture. 4 of them. Fluke 11 was my very first meter, I bought it in 1997 I think, from my electronics teacher as he could have me a good price via the school, got 30% off IIRC. Excellent DMM's, still my primary DMM, the one I throw in the tool box, and also on the bench as it's good enough 99,99% of the time, let's be honest....
Got an addiction for fluorescent displays too ! Be them old Nixie tubes, or more modern VFD's from the '90s.
Scored a rare cool 8 Nixie digits 160MHz Metrix Frequency counter ! A DX446A
Very recently redeveloped an addiction for old CD players... fixed my first one last X-mas, old man gave me his 1990 Philips CDC486, my childhood player, to fix. Did not know a thing about CD players, never thought I could understand these things, never mind fix them ! But the good souls on this forum took my hand and eventually I managed to fix it. Then old man gave me another one to fix a month later.... too late, got the bug now ! Love fixing these things ! LOL So 3 weeks ago I started buying all the cheap broken old CD players ! In the past 3 weeks I got 16 of them ! Spent 300 Euros on them... broke now. Will try to fix and resell some of them to recoup some of the cost... but some of them I really like so will keep them... so that's the start of yet another collection !
I think I have gone past a milestone in my TE addiction : I have accepted the fact that I need to sell some of them to keep it under control and limit the cost... and have done so a few times already. So I now establish a hierarchy... the stuff that I will NEVER sell, and the stuff that I could potentially live without, and the cheap broken stuff I do'nt even care for but buy only to fix and resell, hoping to make a buck in the process, as times are tough with COVID.... especially if it brings some space and cash to let me buy some new gear I like better and need more !
For example, I have over 30 scopes now... but not even a cheap ESR meter or LCR meter, or decent soldering station with adjustable temperature, or electronic DC load, or decent sig gen, or a HV diff probe...never mind a microscope or spectrum analyzer...
So the move into my new house is the opportunity to take my lab to version 2.0 : try to control my GAS for the better : reduce my collection of gear, a bit, in order to better equip my lab with useful stuff. What good is it to have 35 scopes if I don't even have an ESR meter to check caps on all the old stuff I keep finding myself trying to repair ? I ask....
Anyway, enough of me, just meant to say hi, won't bother you anymore...