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I've had a couple of enquiries from US members here, requesting clarity on the new Customs Duties - which may or may not be applicable on my 24xx series Tekscope kits, which are shipped from here in Jerusalem, Israel.

For PERSONAL imports, which is EXACTLY what these are, when you buy the kits from me, there is what's called in Government language, a "De Minimus" level of US$800.

That means that any PERSONAL import (in this case, up to 3 kits) from Israel to the USA is EXEMPT from US Customs Duties, when the value is less than US$800, and 17% when the value is more than US$800.

Commercial imports (which these kits are not, unless you buy a number of kits for a commercial enterprise) from Israel are taxed at 17% from the first Dollar, irrespective of the value.

So, the bottom line is that if you (a US Resident) buy 1 or 2 kits from me, valued at about $70 each, then you are exempt from the new US Customs Duties.

I hope this helps to clarify the issue!

Regards

Menahem Yachad
www.condoraudio.com

Dear Menecham:

Very timely note, suggest to repost on Tekscopes2 and BUY/SELL forums. Perhaps also EEVblog?

We have seen congress in US proposing removing the deminimus exemption. The entire customs/tarrifs is in flux.

Chel the CBP/USPS/Fed Ex for latest info.

Our personal and corporate inports/shipping expericance

1/ The declaration of CoE, Harm # and exact descr is critial to get fast and correct clearance.

2/ Imports of USA CoE are NOT tarriffed by USA regardlss fo the export country,

3/ The reciever in USA may have a tax/tarriff levied by the shipper/US CBP, wheri must be paid before seivery.

4/ The amount is ENTIRELY at the descretion of the government office/worker that clear the shipment, and varies randomly......

High value shipments arealways examined , small packages and lw value MAY be taxed.

Best plan: Fill exact customs decalr with carefully choosen HARM number and country of origin with descr matche HARM # exactly.

Just my experince since 1970s of internation shipping


SHALOM!

Jon

Hello,
For all those of you new to customs - in Europe we had it for 20 years.

Small video is at <> which should answer some questions.

Tam

--
With best regards
Tam HANNA (emailing on a keyboardless handset....again)

Enjoy electronics? Join 21k4 other followers by visiting the Crazy Electronics Lab at

The simple solution is just boycott the USA.

Tam

Your video is most entertaining and well explained.
Well done!

The documentation accompanying my kits is spot-on, with all the correct codes and descriptions fully matched, ensuring the fastest possible clearance.

Menahem

You may have no choice...is you iphone or android containg china components?

On Sat, Apr 5, 2025 at 01:33 PM, Jim Ford wrote:

Nope, David, at the risk of getting political
:

IMO... I'm not sure... at this time... expressing political opinions... in the forum... is a good thing.... I mean good for the forum.
I'd like to here more about why people use 'capacitor kits' ... to fix 24XX series scopes, rather than sourcing the parts themselves.
I don't usually replace a component, unless I know it's bad.



--
Roy Thistle

I just deleted a message on this thread. If any more divisive messages appear, they will be deleted and the thread will be locked.

David

Roy,

I'm not going to blow my own horn here, as I do this primarily as a service to fellow Tek owners.
There are hundreds of members here who have bought my kits, who can speak for me if they wish.

Sure you can spend hours of your own time, poring through pages of Digikey and Mouser parts, and make up your own selection.
That's your privilege, and nobody can take that from you.
But do you really know your scope's circuits and functions so intimately, that you can easily select which components out of a vast pool of available components is really the most suitable, most reliable or longest-lasting one?
Where would you install a super-low ESR capacitor, and where would you install a Low-Dissipation capacitor in the scope?
Where would you want a thick film, or a Ceramic, or a carbon film capacitor?
Do you really want to open up your scope time and again, because your choice of component may not have been the optimal one, even though all on paper, all the numbers matched up?
Do you want a fully-working scope in the minimum possible time, at a fair and reasonably low price, or do you want to troubleshoot part-by-part, hour after hour?

The time which I spend evaluating the photos of the Scope's PCB's including close-up inspection to determine whether additional components are defective, and answering the customers' questions during installation, is certainly not reimbursed in the kit price.

My experienced eye can identify problem components which the owner doesn't even know about.

Some of the components in my kit are not available from Mouser or Digikey, and I source them directly from Vishay's warehouse in Israel, not because it's convenient, but because it's the most optimal part for that circuit.

The bottom line is that it boils down to trust.
My customers trust me that I will deliver the optimal products for a fair price, about which they need have no concerns as to whether the product will provide a successful overhaul, and reliability for decades ahead.

Let me put it this way - if I was in the market for a used scope, and I had to choose between an unknown overhauled scope for which the owner used my kit, versus one which the owner sourced his own parts, there is no doubt that I would want the one which has my components installed. Not because my parts are optimal or better, but because I have no idea what the knowledge level of the other owner is, and what criteria he used to make his selection of components.

This statement is not intended at all to denigrate the abilities of the highly knowledgeable and competent techs on this and other forums, who likely have much more knowledge and experience than me, but only to suggest that it's a good idea to assimilate the experience of "those who have come before you", and not to focus on saving a few pennies here or there.

In 2009, I overhauled my own 2465B with exactly the same components in my kit. It now 16 years later. The scope is on 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week. That's an easy 50,000 hours. I have had 3 failures in that time, all unrelated to the circuits in which my kit components were installed. They were: the A2 ON-Off switch burnt out - replaced; a diode on the A3 shorted after a power failure - replaced; and the A5 failed (corrosion), with a whole bunch of the SMD ladder resistors and a couple of semiconductors needing replacement - thanks to Siggy for his diagnostic help with that. I expect trouble-free performance for at least another 50,000 hours.

Menahem

Typo - sorry about this
Should be:

Where would you want a thick film, or a Ceramic, or a carbon film resistor?

For the components (sidestepping political comments), it's the same reason why people buy pre-packaged meals.? It's more convenient for one.? The other is that you know what you're getting, and the cost is acceptable, saves you a lot of preparation, and it devolves to a "just do it".

It does save all the diagnostic steps, and it does start the instrument from a known state.? You can argue both ways.

Harvey

Sorry for the politics earlier; I'll quit with it.
Back to TekScopes related stuff, regarding kits vs. DIY, it's the usual tradeoff between time and money.? Those of us who are not yet retired tend to have more money than time.? Those who are retired tend to have more time than money.? Parts kits save you time, at the expense of some profit for people like Menachem who put in the effort to put the kits together.
OTOH, I am considering buying a guitar amplifier kit for my son who just bought himself an electric guitar.? In that case, it will take more time to assemble the kit than if we went to Guitar Center, say, and bought a working amp.? But the cost of the kit is considerably less than that of the off-the-shelf amp.? The tradeoff in reverse.? And since I've been a professional EE for almost 37 years and have been soldering since I could pick up an iron, assembly and test are no issues.? And the dad-and-son time assembling the kit together is a huge bonus (Heathkit, I miss you from the 1970s when I was a kid).
Different types of kits for different purposes.
HTH.
Jim FordLaguna Hills, California, USA

OTOH, I am considering buying a guitar amplifier kit for my son who just
bought himself an electric guitar.? In that case, it will take more time to
assemble the kit than if we went to Guitar Center, say, and bought a working
amp.? But the cost of the kit is considerably less than that of the
off-the-shelf amp.? The tradeoff in reverse.? And since I've been a
professional EE for almost 37 years and have been soldering since I could pick
up an iron, assembly and test are no issues.? And the dad-and-son time
assembling the kit together is a huge bonus (Heathkit, I miss you from the
1970s when I was a kid).

If the kit is one those 5F1 Fender Champ all tubes amp, they are tons of fun to assemble.
Plus, you can source better quality parts, etc.
Also, effect pedals are a very good way for a kid to get into electronics.

I'd choose my own selection over some other random internet person every time.
Too many self proclaimed experts appear on a whole range of subjects, then many sheep start to follow and believe.