30 minutes of Dave twiddling knobs on a 2nd hand 50MHz Tektronix 2225 analog oscilloscope - it's right here! Who else can get so excited about a 500uV/div vertical scale?
I got the 60 Mhz version. I bought it brand new in 1985. It cost as I remember $1,200 US. I still use it today. Before I got it I had a couple of junkie scope with vacuum tubes. I spent more time trying to get the scope working then I did experimenting on a circuit. So I worked all summer at minimum wage to save up for my first brand new solid state Tektronix 2213A. I'm sure my parents thought I was crazy. Today's oscilloscope without a CRT seems lifeless. After all these years I still love my Tektronix 2213A. It seems heard to believe you can get a scope like this for around 100 bucks.
@@shyleshsrinivasan5092 I really love the features and such of my Siglent SDS1204X-E but it doesnt see a whole lot of use because I just love my Tektronix analog scopes. My 2252 sees daily use and my 2235 and Protek P3502C see almost daily use as backup scopes.
I just got an old hitachi scope on ebay for $12 and it's very old but works well. I took Dave's advice and it's been a good learning experience for me.
Thank you! I was just given this scope by a fellow ham operator and I am so excited as I have always wanted one for my lab. Your videos on the 2225 are a fantastic resource for me!
I am just starting out on my new hobby at 58 and I bought one of these from ebay, your tutorial has really taken the uncertainty away, great job, thanks from the UK.
I used to have a job calibrating scopes. Textronix was my favorite brand. Easy to use, accurate and durable. Some of the best specialized scopes were Textronix units with plug in modules.
excellent vid, I like how he is fast moving and packs lots into this ... the bane of my life are the 'slow moving droning taking for ever vids' .... mention no names! After all, life is too short and we've all got stuff to do. I think I'll go and get one of these.
I want to thank you for this video. Upon recommendation of one of your other videos, I purchased a Instek and Hitachi scope along with an Instek function generator for a very cheap price and you have helped me greatly with using the hitachi 35 mhz scope and the Isntek GOS 6112. From a beginners point of view I think I am going in the right direction. Thank you again.
Started out annoyed by voice, ended up loving this video and the enthusiasm for testing a scope, AND much more prepared for getting my first scope. Thanks a bunch!
got my first lab piece 2225 for $55.00, spent all day fixing it. so happy but need to buy probes and stuff to calibrate it. My board is brighter green and the display as well. Thanks Dave so much
He's not joking. The earth's magnetic field and other factors can affect the trace rotation on a 'scope, that's why the adjustment is so easily accessible on the front.
Exelente Dave thanks. I found one of those In a storage room at my old job and my boss gave it to me. I know it works but I haven´t had time to test it properly, now I know how. Nice one.
Awesome review, thanks! I just picked one up for $200 US, which is probably close to $100 AU. A really nice piece of equipment for my first-ever o-scope =)
I got an 2215A (still got no DSO). 50MHz dual trace (2mV/50nS minimum) with second timebase. I love it! At least for a repeating signal a second timebase is almost as good as a storage osci.
@squiggyreck It's the "-3dB bandwidth". The frequency at which the input signal is displayed "-3dB down" in amplitude. e.g. a 1Vp-p signal is displayed as 0.707Vp-p
@KozmykJ Yes, the probe "calibration" is always mislabled IMO. Or, you could say, people misunderstand what it's for. You don't calibrate X and Y with it. You calibrate the rise edges of a square wave. See how the signal looked (bent rise), when Dave connected the probe to it? You would then normally turn a screw on the probe until it looks square.
Just came up with a tip if you want to bye a scope on ebay. Ask the seller to take a photo of the screen, displaying an arbitrary frequency like 17,700 kHz
A way to rejuvenate and remove the scratches in the screen overlay is to remove it, and use brasso and a cotton cloth to buff it. Buff with circular movement and avoid scratching the other side. The result is incredible.
I have that exact scope I have had it for many years I got to use in a radio repair shop I worked in when I got layed off from my high paying job . It is always nice to have a back up knowledge to get a carry over job until you find a better one . The shop I went to did not have any scopes so I bought one many years ago for 100 bucks still have it today. I had a fluke o-scope meter but it got stolen I miss it but never had the money to replace it.
The Hitachi V-1050F is another good example of an analog scope with a 10x vertical mag that enables you to measure down to 500uV/div. The Hitachi does feature a dual time-base with A/B triggering and goes down to 2ns/div on the horizontal with the 10x horizontal mag enabled. It is also only a 2-channel scope but if you enable the "Trigger View" function and set the trigger sources to external, you can get 4 signals on the screen at once, although there are some limitations.
I sold my 2225 for a 2235A which is 100 Mhz scope, dual time base and goes down to 2 micro V/div ..... The 22XX series, as they get older they may need a recap in the HV switching power supply; as you say the switching pwr supply makes them light. The Tek 22XX's have an amazing trigger.....
Hey Dave, I'm a big fan of your videos, keep up the good work. But I would like to ask you for some recommended classes and degrees that I would need/want to put myself in a career similar to yours, as a freshman in Wyoming, there is not a lot of choices for classes on this subject, but id appreciate some suggestions, Thanks.
Find service manual before adjusting! My Tek 2225 didn't need calibration. The 2235A I have now did. One chan vert attenuation module, plug-in modules, two pots, was flaky. I was fortunate found part cheap. However I needed to re-adjust the vertical. I used the other channel to compare, close enough. As you know attenuation above 35% BW is normal & increases to rated BW. Relative measurements don't need absolute values. The manual has graph of attenuation vs Freq if you want to factor that in.
Hi. You have always recommended old analog oscilloscopes, but never really said anything about old digital oscilloscopes. Of course oscilloscopes are specialized to different task(s) and...blablabla... you know that better than me. Currently I have 'Tektronix 2440 Digital Oscilloscope'(1988). I believe it is very high quality and perfect for microcontroller analysis. What do you think about old (digital) scopes?
@EEVblog Yes Dave you are right, the Tek 2235A only goes to 2 mVolts or 0.002 microvolts, or 2000 uVolts, 2000 microvolts. You are right. I forget my 2225 went to .5mV (500uV/Div) , my memory failed me, thinking it was 5mV, my mistake. I sold my 2225 yr ago for $150+shipping. I paid $50, but you got a good deal. Personally I need bandwidth more than Vert sensitivity. I'd really like analog over 300 Mhz BW or more. I often want accurate measurements at 120 Mhz, so 400 Mhz scope would be nice.
Hey Dave, I'm about to buy my first analog oscilloscope, but I'm not quite sure what all the switches and knobs are for. This video has already taught me a lot, but I was wondering if you maybe had an oscilloscope tutorial on your channel. - Nick
Yes, I just paid AUD$270 for one from eBay, without probes, though it does have the handle/bail and a plastic cap or cover for the face, and another for the back, all in aid of making this delectable little CRO safe to chuck in the boot of a car or similar. Having done my technician's training in the eighties on a CRO of similar vintage which was then new, I finally feel I've got a 'real oscilloscope' again, something which my more recent purchases of digital scopes did not make me feel at all.
you may get even better performance if you compensate your probe for both low and high frequency. you have to take your Tek probe apart to do the high frequency adjustment, then you need to mark that probe for the channel it will be paired with and any other probes need to be treated the same. Probe compensation is delicate because Tek uses resistive cables in their equipment of that time frame to reduce noise. I have the 2440 and have read up on their probes, mine are P6137's and a P6230 which was a lot of reading. There is a old long video from Tek on probes I recommend, it should be easy to find.
This video was quite helpful. I bought an old analog oscilloscope on eBay for around $50 or so several months ago and never got it to do anything besides turn on and make a dot move across the screen, because I had never used an oscilloscope before. But now I got it to measure the 0.5 V calibration thingie and display a square wave after some fiddling around, so now I'm fairly certain it works ok. It is not, however, good for testing the voltage on 9v batteries. I used my multimeter at the same time as my oscilloscope after some low results, and the multimeter displayed about 1 V after the oscilloscope was added. I have a Hitachi Digital Storage Oscilloscope VC-6041, by the way. Apparently I can hook it up to a computer or something, too. But it's still analog, or at least has the cathode ray tube screen thingie.
Chances are, you're using a 10x probe :) which means that it reduces the amplitude of your signal by a factor of 10, so for example if you're on the 5 V/div setting, it's really showing 50 V/div
Got a 2230 DSO myself.....the guy at the industrial surplus shop thought it was an EKG from a doctor because it was on the Tek stand. $79 including stand, all manuals, and probes. I was just looking for a decent chair but couldn't pass it up.
I thought the timebase on my old 20MHz Kikusui was out but I slapped a freq counter on the cal signal and it was 1080Hz not 1KHz, enough to shorten the trace by half a square or so. Using an ext signal showed that the timebase was good and the "cal" osc was/still is out. I'd still like a nice cheap delay/storage scope or an affordable DSO though. ;) Dave, I reckon your reviews are pushing s/h prices up. 8^(
Ch 1 most likely has more noise than ch 2 due to sheer proximity to the CRO. Probably picking up that lovely emf off the vertical deflection grids. If the noise looks the same on more than one timebase, as in no change in shape, is most likely is being a good little antenna. ;-)
@KozmykJ I often thought that myself. But then I thought: how do you make sure the voltage/time referency won't drift? And you can't check mV or µs with a 0,5V/1kHz signal, no matter how accurate that signal is. So you would need a reference for many levels and switches to select aso. In the end this would almost add up to a small signal generator. So it's understandable that it's left out. They assume if you open a osci to calibrate it, you'll have a faunction generator anyway...
I got one now tadaaaa :) bit Dave effect price (200 Eur) but still best for my LA2A tube compressor projects :) because of sensitivity. Thx Dave for this review from Germany! Just opened my eyes what I need to find
@LSDjTutorials Your formula is correct, but you forgot that the scope actually generates 20mV, not 10mV in 50ohm mode. It's only 10mV into a 50ohm load.
My manual for the 2213 indicates that the test point is not an exact reference. Mainly used to check probes, etc. Mine says 500mV P-P and it is not close. Doesn't look like there is an internal adj either. Cheers!
Well, I got it going all right. You'll never believe what was wrong. A brand new probe which I'd bought for it (it didn't come with probes) turned out to be open circuit. Struth! It never even occurred to me to check …
And actually another question. Why can he see a vertical line on the square wave on 27:00? Other analog scopes I see online (never had any - yet?) don't display that line, maybe only if we go to uV per division or something. Why does his one show? Amazingly high intensity?
My trick for checking for burnt spots on a CRT scope : 1) Hook up a function generator, triangle wave, some high frequency around 50~100 KHz 2) Max out the volt scale to match the upper and lower borders of the screen 3) Lower the time base to some slow value in order to have a lot of periods shown The screen is now entirely lit up and you look at all the surface. :)
I am interested in buying a 225 Tektronix but the guy that is selling it says that it needs calibration the lines on the screen are not solid they are broken and with a little curvature on one end is that normal?and if it needs to be calibrated is calibration expensive if I take it to a shop?Thank you for any advice you can provide.Cheers
@tek7904 You are right 2 millivolts/DIV is the min Vert scale for the 2235A..... and Dave made the same mistake. The Tek 2225 only has 5 millivolts/DIV not 5 microvolts/Div as Dave said at 2:20 to 2:30. My mistake for listening to Dave.
I picked up a B&K Precision 2190B analog scope a few weeks ago from a family friend for $100. 100MHz, dual-channel, 5mV/div, pretty solid specs I guess for the price, though I'm not sure about the brand. How'd I do for my first scope? I'm a computer engineering student, and I'm hoping to get some solid tinkering in over the summer.
Hello. Thank you for such a detailed review of this device, I wanted to ask if it is worth buying such a device in 2024. I want to take it for the repair and manufacture of pulse converters. Or it's already worth looking towards digital devices. Sincerely, Alexander
Hi Dave, If the probe ground is the same as the chassis ground for tek scopes, how do connect the probe leads to test a circuit? Every time I try it the wave form goes well below ground on the display. Should the tek scope chassis ground be connected to the power supply ground? Can you recommend any links that illustrates how to make the connections? Any help well be greatly appreciated.
Hello Dave, if you're listening … I've just bought one of these from eBay, which was advertised as fully functioning, and it's not working. There's a trace, but it doesn't register vertical input on either channel. Vertical output amp maybe? I've let the seller know, but as this CRO is from the 80s and the seller is a music shop, I doubt very much that they'll be able to repair it if I send it back. I've got the service manual, and I'm an ex TV tech in Bundaberg QLD. Reckon I could fix it?
I bought an Tektronix 2225 for 70 € in Germany yesterday . It's completely original. There are all the same capacitors (blue, manufactured by Rubycon). I just have to clean the contacts from the Potentiometers for Volt/Div and Sec/Div. Apart from this it's completely operational. Should I replace the capacitors?
Just picked up a Tektronix 2215 scope for 50 bux(canadian). It powers up, shows both trace lines.. but I have no frequency/waveform generator to test the functions.. any suggestions? I was thinking maybe somehow use NCH tone generator(software) to create a frequency and tap into my speaker hook ups? Would that work for testing?
Is it common to all analog oscilloscopes that beam from CRT (when DC is applied or no signal at all) on the x-axis is not absolutely straight? I got BK model 2125C and its x-axis straight line/DC is not ideally horizontal. Could this be a sign of bad quality scope or is it normal?
I assume you also checked other V/div than the multiples of 5, but didn't show it? I had a scope that had one single pot for all "5" settings (50V, 5V, aso), one for the 2's and one for the 1's (I haven't disassembled that many scopes, so I don't know if it's standard in analogs). And then there was one pot for the overall vertical scale. But since both channels show the same deviation it seems it's the overall vertical scale.
You mentioned you might need to readjust the trace tilt if "you are from another part of the world", was that an Aus joke or does the earths magnetic field or some other factor actually come into play? Cheers
