Everybody seems to have missed the entire point of the 465M, it was
designed specifically for a MTTR of 30 minutes, and the modular
design makes that possible. The MTTR of a regular 465 is measured in
days sometimes. It is hardly an inferior version of the 465, but
really a model with the same functionality, but designed to be easier
to service. The case opens quickly with a coin, and the scope
quickly breaks into three major subassemblies, all easily probed and
repaired. Hardly a step backwards. The military asked for this level
of repair capability, and got it.
having worked on every variation and age of the 465/475 family, I
like the 465M the best, as it is far easier to trouble shoot and
fix. the modules are a real delight if you have spares, and make
some complex problems much easier to fix and isolate. like every
module connector in history, they need to be cleaned, and MAINLY go
bad because people failed to screw the modules back in correctly,
and "made metal" by vibration within the mating connector. I have
seen many with half the internal hardware parts missing, thanks to
previous technicians.
the 465 (no suffix) is (by contrast) a virtual pretzel of mechanical
design, and very, very difficult to work on or repair. all versions
function pretty well, but I never buy the no suffux version any more,
as they all have the same problems, (dry caps, switch problems, etc.)
due to old age. B's are very nice, especially high serial numbers,
but are still built for people with lots of time on their hands.
The 465 is a landmakrk design, and virtually all scopes by all makers
after them derive their ergonomics and control functions from the 465
concepts. Tek even published their book series about the same time
(69-71), spelling out how to design the key elements of a high
performance scope from the 465 to the 7000 series. No doubt they
regretted that, since every competitor quickly leared all their
deepest secrets, and the books were soon withdrawn. if you see a
set, grab them, they are the best books ever written on CRT and scope
design.
The T900 series was far different from other Tek products, and a
vastly upgraded product for Telequipment to sell in the UK, their
eventual european subsidiary. that corporate acquisition
(Telequipment already existed in the UK as a scope maker) was to
allow market access to the common market in europe, but clearly did
not go so well. The original Telequipment products were garbage, of
incredibly low workmanship standards, and marginal design
throughout. The T900 series was a way of rectifying that problem by
providing a better product base for Telequipment to sell and
manufacture, along with other Tek products.
The only common item between the T900 series and the 465M is the blue
plastic material used in the case, there is no other relationship.
People who think they have deeper internal commonality are directed
to the manuals, it is quite clear they are totally unrelated products.
On another note, For those deep into Tek restoration, we have many
Tek CRTs, semis, pots and transformers on our site, along with lots
of cross-ref data. more bits are getting added regularly, and we
hope to have a new section with trim, case parts, CRT filters and
knobs up soon. Our spares are mainly for later solid state scopes,
and other than CRTs and some tubes, we do not have too much for the
531/545/561 models.
walter shawlee
sphere research
