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Hello. Winter is on the horizon and so I have started to work on Tektronix projects. While doing that I came to the realization that I have thousands of parts from scopes that I have stripped for various reasons. It also made me realize that I would never use probably any of this. Eighty years old now.

To find a home for this parts horde I have no interest in eBay. What I could do is open it up to requests to see if I have something you need or could use. I do not want to sell any of it, but I would be willing to send it out for a small fee and the postage.

If this is of interest you can message me and I will contact you by direct email. I will let you know if I have what you want, and if I do what the postage would be.

I am willing to give this a try if you folks are. I would accept any form of payment including PayPal. Sadly we have no postal service here in Canada right now, so any shipments would have to wait until it is settled. Typical costs here would be:

Anything that can be sent by letter mail about $8 US.
Small packages $13 to $20 US
Larger items cost could be found on Canada Post, UPS, FedEx etc.

Hi John,

Again, great offer!

Got to looking and I am now wondering if you have a 2N2148 transistor? This is a T0-3 Germanium PNP power transistor. Tek p/n 151-0137-00

My Tek 575 desperately needs this to complete my Tek-recommended upgrade list, and to improve performance. This is a working Curve Tracer in my production lab.

I'm choking on paying $40 plus shipping for one on eBay, etc.

Thanks!

Keith Lynch

Just to clarify, I am referring to analog tube scopes only.

Keith,

I just took a quick look at the schematic. AFAICT, there is no electrical need for a germanium device there. It's a Ge device only because that was what was available at the time. Go ahead and throw in a cheap (TIP-series or similar would be just fine) silicon device with appropriate breakdown voltage, max current and Pdiss ratings (actually, you can back off considerably on those because the circuit is not stressing the 2148 near any of those rating limits). You may want to add a base Q-spoiling resistor if the ft of the silicon device is too high. Finish up by tweaking the Step Zero cal pot, and you should be good to go. No need to spend $$$ on an original part unless you are going for museum-quality restoration.

--Tom

--
Prof. Thomas H. Lee
Faculty Co-Director, SystemX Alliance
Director, Stanford-Samsung Research Initiative

Allen Ctr., Rm. 205
420 Via Palou Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-4070

I restore and repair them whenever I find one that is interesting and at a price I am willing to pay. I use them too for troubleshooting and monitoring transmitter outputs. I am working to keep them from getting trashed or scrapped by AudioPhools so techies after me can experience them.

?? Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY

Hey there. I have a decent collection of restored and working 500 series scopes. I think I'm missing only 2 or 3 of the plugins. Depending on what you have I may just take you up on the offer, sir.
Thank you!

For the 2N2148 replacement try MJ15004G -- readily available from Mouser
etc. 2N2148 data sheet indicates that it was used as an audio amplifier
output transistor.

Hi group. It seems there is not the interest I expected for small parts to finish repair, refurbishing, and restoring 500 series. My purpose in offering this was to provide very hard to find small items that could easily be sent through the post. Examples: cabinet latches, knobs, resistors, capacitors, hardware, switches, cords, cables, light shields, graticles, stuff like that. I have had interest expressed in all of my tubes, power transformers, crts, plugins and difficult items to pack and ship. I cannot deal in these types of things, that is the reason I quit selling on eBay. However if you need that last little special item to get your project finished I might be able to help you.

I have a 561A, a 561B, an RM561A _and_ a 564... but they all work :) I fixed them up back when Deane Kidd was the main source of NOS parts and they get occasional use to keep the electrolytics reformed.

Although the 561A and the 561B both have the dreaded HV transformer lossy potting problem :(

Meanwhile I could use a couple of carrying handles. Long shot, I know, the leather(?) is almost as old as I am...

-Charles

Sorry Charles. I have no handles. If you look at the photos (/g/TekScopes/album?id=299466 ) of my lab you can probably see many of my scopes don’t have handles. I will be keeping my eyes out though.

I was glad to see some 500 interest. I have a 535a, 575, 503, a lack of plugins, and other tek stuff. I used 535a to try and see (barely) the Voyager in outer space slow scan ham radio broadcasts in real time as they came in from JPL amateurs.
I have let the units sit a long time in dehumidified basement. I shall try to slowly wake them up.
Your post has prodded me to do so before too late.

John

Go for it John. Good luck.

I have several 500 series oscilloscopes, it all started with a 561A. Now I’ve got a 561B, four 575 Mod 122C’s,(with two spare CRT’s) two 547’s, (one needs a HV transformer) a 565, 556 and an R556 that needs a new front panel, late model, three 532’s, a 545, an RM503 and RM504, and the latest addition, a 310A. Then of course a slew of test equipment for the test equipment, to keep them up to spec. Like two Type 130 L-C meters, etc.

I do need a good front panel for the R556 late model, if you have one. Kinda large to ship, so I understand if you don’t want to.

Also of interest is a 75A power test set that I use with everything that comes into the shop, and an Engineering Power Supply that I might because it just looks neat and is apparently rare.

On a side note John, what is the 502 scope in your pictures that looks like it’s been modified to take 560 series plugins? I’d like to hear about that one.

I have a very mint 556. Bought it with the original manuals about 15 years ago for 25 bucks at a ham fest (cost me 35 for an 8608 driver tube to get it running right!)
I have lot of plugins for it including a 1L5 spectrum analyzer.

The 1L5 seems to have problems that I haven't yet solved.
Finally got a plug in extension cable so I can work on it.
I may be starting a thread looking for some help with that in the future.

It's an amazing scope! Even though it is rated a 50MHZ scope I've been able to display, at diminished amplitude, stable signals over 100MHz.

I also have a single bay 500 series that was gifted to me (544 maybe?) that is in mothballs at the moment waiting until I have the time to give it the TLC it needs.

These old Tek scopes are works of electronic art and it's great to see that they all aren't just ending up as land fill!

John H.
Cool use for your 535a!!
Always great to find alternative uses for them.

I have a McIntosh MR74 and a Pioneer TX7800 tuners that have scope outputs on them. I have a couple little 3" recurrent trace (5MHz maybe?) scopes that would be a perfect alternative to the silly money they ask for a McIntosh MPI-4 or the Pioneer SD1100 scopes (2K to 7K+)
Won't look as cool.... well, then it might depend on your definition of cool! But the price is right!
?

Bill Koski

BTW I see a guy on Ebay that has a 556 for sale @ $600 from Hungary. Local pick up only. Gee, can't understand why he's not willing to ship:)

Thank you for your comments. The 502 Frankenscope. Is a hybrid. It was made from a 502. The three plugins are from a 561A. They connect directly to the deflection plate pins on the 502 crt. I was able to test the theory using a 561a and a 502a. That worked but the Frankie was never made operational. The chassis has no room for the power supplies necessary for operation. I am still working on that one! But it is a fun project anyway.

Bill, I paid a little more for my 556, but it is serial number 122 and has a P11 phosphor CRT. It works rather well and I’ve had it up to 126Mhz but like you say at a diminished amplitude. The R556 will do it as well, amazing pieces of engineering from a time we’ll never see again.
It’s our duty in my opinion to protect and preserve these scopes so future generations can enjoy them.

John, that 502 is amazing! Although I’d never cut up a Tektronix scope, I admire the ingenuity to make it.

Thanks John. BTW no scopes were harmed to make the frankie. The scope was entirely constructed from bits and pieces that were recovered from 502’s that were too far gone to salvage.

P.E.T.A would be proud:)

(Preserving Early Tektronix Apparatus)

Hi John,
I have a 502, Serial #565 that was given to me by a good friend. It's in the que to be worked and and fixed. I do, however, have a need for two cabinet latches. It uses the early style latch. One latch never came with the unit and one, I am ashamed to admit, I lost (I take great pride in not losing components of things). Other than that, the unit is in great shape (someone, however, painted the cabinet sides a brown color). The unit even has the original motor in it with the unsealed bearings that needed lubricating every now and then. That fan blew an air stream with oil in the air and I've experimented with the best way of removing the oil film from the chassis just downwind of the fan. A cute project. I hope that after I fix it someone might be interested in it in the general San Diego/Los Angeles area. Gordon

I’ve been using compressed alcohol and a rag/toothbrush to remove the oil in all of mine, then using window cleaner to clean up what’s left. I remove all the tubes and keep them in order first though. Mine have come out pretty clean afterwards.