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wrote in news:1103067895.846572.88720
@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Rich.Andrews wrote:
wrote in news:1102901426.296651.26940
@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

Tek stayed profitable for a long time because they won a big court
fight against copycat mfr's like Hickok and Jetronix and also
because
many HP scopes triggered poorly. I would not buy any vintage Tek
box
except as a collectible or to tinker with, but they were well
built,
that's for sure. A few bucks spent at a hamfest will get you an
old
plug-in or assembly you can torment high end stores with for years
of
pleasure.

There are enough free or low cost software programs that run on
laptops that
will do the same function and do it better than the old gear. There
are some
rare exceptions of course.

Maybe on some other planet laptops have scope-grade vertical
amplifiers and DACs but on this one they have woefully inadequate sound
card mic inputs. In no way is a laptop or any PC a piece of test
equipment per se. It's a huge disservice to everyone concerned to let
the software pushers convey that erroneous notion.

Outboard or PCI card hardware does exist but for servicing, education,
or experimentation they suck.

While a PC won't make a good scope, it certainly does a superb job as a
distortion analyzer, sig gen, and SNR meter. I have found that a good
scope along with some software and a good sound card, I can measure the
specs of nearly any amp or preamp made and do it with greater accuracy.
Performing tuner alignments is a breeze with the PC and with a distortion
analyzer it is a royal pain. I am glad I was able to get as much money as
I did out of my old test gear. Once people find out how fast and accurate
the PC is with the right software, they will dump the old dedicated
analyzers like I did.

r

--
Nothing beats the bandwidth of a station wagon filled with DLT tapes.