On 2024Apr 1,, at 3:33 PM, Just Kant via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
>
> I have more then I need. All the working ones are HP w/color crts, and as far
> as older, verifiably vintage tools (right down to the 680x0 processor in
> either) I have to admit I favor them as a brand. Call we an oddball, weird
> egg, badges I wear with pride.
>
> But who could resist the allure of the newer ultra portable, even handheld
> units (some with bandwidth or sampling rates to 50mhz). I'm a big cheapo. But
> there's no real reason to agonize over a 65 - 200$ or thereabouts
> acquisition. It's a bit tiring to wade through the piles of availability. I
> favor a desktop unit, larger screen (but not always, careful). But most of
> those need wall current I think? The convenience of a handheld battery
> powered unit obviously has it's benefits.
>
> I will always love and dote upon my color crt based HPs. But the damned
> things are so heavy, so unwieldy. Judy-Jude knocked my 54111d over, hit the
> paved floor, shook the house. And still works! Built to withstand an atomic
> bombardment.
Pardon the plug for my own web page, but given the topic of scopes and DSOs,
for any interested in some minor reading on the origins of the DSO and geeking
out on sophisticated and little-known HP equipment from their heyday:
http://madrona.ca/e/HP5480A/index.html
<http://madrona.ca/e/HP5480A/index.html>
Or TLDR: digital capture of analog signals to the low KHz in the late 1960s
using core memory & TTL, or, “a DSO before the DSO”.
As for portability, it’s possible for one person to manhandle it around but it
comfortably needs 2 people to carry.
