On 30 Mar 2016 16:33:28 -0700, you wrote:
The trace brightens up very quickly and no dips that I can see. It starts to widen just a little when turned all the way up ( I de-focused the trace and did that very quickly. Turning the intensity up high makes my skin crawl. ~shivers~ )
So it is not a problem with the CRT. When they get old, the trace
becomes both dim and less well focused because of lack of emission
from the cathode.
There is another possibility with the CRT though. If the oscilloscope
has been in storage for an extended time, I think trace gas can
accumulate in the CRT. Operating the oscilloscopes for hours to days
may clear this condition.
This happed with my 7603 which was not used for 10+ years. A couple
of days of leaving it running with a bright but defocused trace made a
marked improvement in brightness and focus.
If you do this, for now I would only leave the 465B running while
supervised in case something happens.
I'm not sure yet if I would try that. You say precharge resistor? In parallel with the HV capacitor?
The high voltage capacitor goes to the high voltage test point and a
high value resistor, like 10M, goes between the open end of the
capacitor and ground. That way when the high voltage starts, the
resistor bleeds charge from the capacitor until it reaches ground and
it becomes safe to apply your oscilloscope probe or voltmeter.
The only other gear on the bench is the leader scope and my Keithley DMM. Also I did power on the scope in a different room when I first got it.
I Disconnected the vertical CRT leads and the trace curved a little but it showed no difference in thickness. The vertical pins on the CRT look a little crusty to my eye. I'm going to double check for noise on the LV connections to the CRT and then check the physical connections.
With the deflection plate leads disconnected, a slight curvature in
the trace is expected.
David Hess