Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Handheld oscilloscopes - Any good ones for Digital CCD reader alignment?

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Topic: Handheld oscilloscopes - Any good ones for Digital CCD reader alignment?

Eric Robinson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 538
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 04-17-2006 03:57 PM

I have been looking around for quite some time, but havn't yet found a USB oscilloscope which seems to perform as well as a 60MHz analog scope when being used to align a Dolby Digital CCD reader.

A lot of companies claim theirs will work, but wont provide a test unit for me to test it in the field. Has anyone found one that works for them?

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-17-2006 08:16 PM

I've found the display refresh rates in digital scopes to be woefully inadaquate until you get into the 3K plus priced units.

Tektrinox used to bring their scopes to your shop for you to try them out. Don't know if they still do that or if they even have field sngineers any more. The best scope for booth work is the Tektronix 465B. Its the best of the best 100mhz scopes and indestructable.... nothing else even comes close to its performance or triggering. Mine can trigger on the SRD Video waveform without hooking to the clamp pulse [thumbsup]

.

Mark

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 04-17-2006 09:05 PM

I have found "digital" scopes to be basically worhless for SRD. When confronted, the scope salesman brought a factory engineer who also found our old analogue 100 mhz scopes to be unmatched for SRD. Louis

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Frank Dubrois
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 896
From: Cleveland, OH
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 04-18-2006 11:53 PM

If I wanted one of those scopes, what would a good price be? I saw a Tektronix 465B scope for for $77 on ebay yesterday.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-19-2006 08:11 AM

I paid 75.00 for mine plus abut 20.00 shipping from Idaho. It had lived all its life in a rack mounted adaptor frame in some laboratory in Idaho... perhaps INEL. A fair price is between 75.00 as-is take your chance to say 400.00 - 500.00 for a fully calibrated one with a warranty or satisfaction guarantee from a reputable scope dealer. Do not buy from a general test equipment dealer such as Tucker or you will get ripped off. Sphere in Canada is a very reputable dealer to buy from and they also stock alot of parts for them...Walter will bend over backwards to help you out any way he can. He has saved my butt a few times when I've restored scopes. The 465B scope cost a little over $4,000.00 when it was last produced, I wonder what it would cost in todays dollars! BTW..... only buy the 465B version... not the earlier plain ole 465. The 465B uses all led's for the indicators where the older 465 uses incandescent lamps. My 465B has been banging aruond on the road with me now for close to 6 years. Before that I used a small Leader 60 mhz dual trace scope that was ok and more portable but had its share of problems and does not have near the build quality, its also a pain in the ass to repair. Its triggering was also very so-so. From the dozen other Tektronix scopes that I own I also carry a Tektronix 214 storage scope....rarely use the storage part but its a handheld 3 lb battery operated dual trace scope that makes doing A chains and quick troubleshooting really fast. I think I got this one for 30.00 off e-bay... all it needed was new ni-cad batteries.

Mark

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System Notices
Forum Watchdog / Soup Nazi

Posts: 215

Registered: Apr 2004

posted 07-18-2007 11:54 PM

It has been 455 days since the last post.

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Eric Robinson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 538
From: Santa Rosa, CA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted 07-18-2007 11:54 PM

I just found this digital scope which boasts 60Mhz analog bandwidth. Anyone have any comments about this? I'd like to use it for Dolby Digital reader alignment.

WUNTRONIC Oscilloscope Series PDS

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 07-19-2007 10:37 AM

That looks like a re-badged Tektronix! Bandwidth is not as much a factor as sampling rate. Digital scopes need mach 7 sampling rates in order to display a signal like that. There are digital scopes that can easily do that but they are VERY pricy... starting at about 8 grand. BTW: Tektronix started making scopes like the PDS6062 about 15 years ago. Get yourself a good Tektronix 465B... there's not much that you can't look at with one of those and they are bullett proof!

Mark

[ 07-19-2007, 12:38 PM: Message edited by: Mark Gulbrandsen ]

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Louis Bornwasser
Film God

Posts: 4441
From: prospect ky usa
Registered: Mar 2005

posted 07-19-2007 10:40 AM

See my post above: digital scopes are almost worthless for SRD. Louis

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