Oscilloscope Recommendations:Caution

[paul hendershott]

One word of caution -  I've ordered over a hundred ham and antique radio items on ebay with almost no problems whatsoever, HOWEVER, of the 4 O-scopes I bought, 2 Heath scopes and 2 Tek scopes - ALL had major problems. One Heath and one tek arrived completely DOA. The other Tek only had 1 channel functioning, and the other Heath only worked marginally. I've talked to many hams who had similar experiences w/ this particular piece of test equipment, having purchased them on e-bay or at a hamfest from an 0-Scope dealer.

If you do buy them on ebay, never agree to buy them working but AS-IS. There are a number of other guys to choose from who sell used o-scopes and guarantee  them working & completely tested. I've  seen their prices and they are many times the same price as an ebay auction.

I'm sure many folks have had an OK experience buying their o-scope on ebay(so this is not directed to you) and they should feel fortunate. But 4 bad apples out of 4, and lots of groaning from many others I've met, makes me a little gun shy on "ebay & o-scopes" for a long time to come. In fact the o-scope track record is so bad on ebay, that the fellows who are selling a good solid working unit, go out of their way in their description to let the buyer know that this is an "actual working fully tested scope w/ a guarantee" and not one of those "others".

I would suggest you stick to buying from a fellow ham on the reflector who can actually guarantee a properly working scope, or from an individual or co. that reconditions and stands behind their work. just my $0.02.

73 Paul


Mark Graalman WB8JKR <wb8jkr at JUNO.COM> wrote:
I agree. Actually the Heath IO-4550 is a decent triggered
sweep scope that is rated for 10 Mhz, but still triggers well
at over 20 Mhz. Anyway, these can be found for usually
about $30-$50.00
I have the 35 Mhz IO-4235 here and find it to be an
excellent unit, these can be had for about $100-$150.00
And with the Heath unit there is a slight chance you may
be able to service the unit yourself.

Mark WB8JKR


On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 18:54:49 -0500 "Gene A. Nailon"
writes:
> FROM: Gene Nailon K5DLE k5dle at juno.com
> 27 Aug 2004
> Edmond, OK
>
> Hello Ed,
>
> I have read a bunch of replys to your post. NO BODY paid any
> attention
> to what you
> said you wanted to do with the scope.
>
> I would guess you are fairly new to servicing. I would also guess
> you
> have never ownde a
> scope of any kind.
>
> I started out with an old Eico 470 Scope that did not work! It
> would do
> good to look at the
> 455 Khz If frequency. It taught me a lot about SCOPES!!!!
>
> One hell of a lot can be done with not much scope. Any scope is
> better
> than none!!!
>
> Get one and learn something about scopes.Once you learn about them
> you
> will not have to ask.
>
> Most of the replies said you need to get a 100 to 200 Mhz scope.
> BOLDERDASH!!!
>
> Sure, a 100 to 200 or more Mhz scope is best. You sure as hell
> don't
> need one to service a
> 1945 Hammarlaund HQ-129X I have 3 of them!!
>
> For the do gooder KNOW IT ALLS. In the 60's and 70;s I used a 15
> Mhz
> scope to service
> 1000 Mhz DME and TRANSPONDER Equipment . As well as 10,000 Mhz
> X-Band
> weather radar equipment. All of it with .2 micro sec or less pulse
> width, and a hell of a lot shorter
> rise and fall time.
>
> BUY A CHEP SCOPE AND LEARN ABOUT THEM!!!
>
> Gene Nailon K5DLE
> =============================================
> On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:27:31 -0400 "Goss, Ed"
> writes:
> > All,
> > What would you folks recommend in the way of a used Heathkit
> > scope?
> > I'd like to pick up something for general bench use, alignment of
> > boatanchors, etc.
> > --Ed G--
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-----------------------------------------------------------
Products bought, sold or traded here is the responsibility of the
parties involved.  This list and the City of Tempe are not responsible
for losses or misrepresentations of any kind.  Buyer beware!

-----------------------------------------------------------
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Subscription control - http://www.tempe.gov/lists/control.asp?list=HEATH
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