I picked up a working 2465B locally for a decent price, at least much more decent than eBay prices. It has a lot of miles on it and has certainly been used (40k+ hours) but obviously not abused. Physically and mechanically it's is really nice shape. I also did some quick tests (horizontal and vertical) with a PG506 and TG501 and calibration still seems to be just about spot on. The scope was removed from a working environment and was was part of an equipment auction for employees of the company.
The only thing noticeable and bother me is that the CRT is soft which is not surprising given the number of hours on the unit and the fan is a bit noisy. Its serial number is >55000 and appears to have been assembled in the early 90s perhaps even 1990 since that's the newest date code I saw on the few ICs I looked at. The electrolytics on the A5 board haven't leaked and the NVRAM (1990 date code) is still working. I'd have to assume the NVRAM is living on borrowed time and needs to be replaced. I'll also need to take a look at the condition of the caps on the power supply boards and figure out if any are in need of replacement. I'd think with all the hours on this scope, a lot of the electroytics are going to be a little tired.
Since I'd like to put a better CRT into the scope at some point, I'm assuming it wouldn't really matter if the calibration data is lost since it'd have to be recalibrated anyhow. I'm assuming the replacement NVRAM need to be programmed with some data before installation into the scope. Is the anyone out there willing to program one for me or any suggestions for a cheap programmer that would do the job?
I read through the calibration sections of the service manual and while it looks daunting It seems doable. The only piece of equipment that I don't have is the Tunnel Diode Pulser (Tek 067-0681-01.) or the 15pf input normalizer (the normalizer looks trivial to DIY). Is there anything else I can use as a substitute for the tunnel diode pulser? or is there anyone in the NJ area that has one?
I'm assuming it's be a good idea to replace the SMD electrolytic caps on the A5 pcb as well, even though they don't appear to be in bad shape.
Jay
