The oldest Tektronix scope out there, and why soccer will soon be America’s number 1 sport

Like most who read this blog, you know that the scope is the quintessential tool for general-purpose debug and electrical analysis. And I’d venture that most of you have a ubiquitous old scope lying around the house and/or lab somewhere.

Some folks have even made it their passion to collect information about some of these older scopes, as evidenced by these Web sites:

Classic Tektronix Scopes
Tektronix Resource Site
The Museum of Tek Scopes
AnaLog’s Tektronix T922R Service Notes

These vintage products from a different era were unique from the perspective that Tektronix built most everything in house—from the PCB, knobs, and switches, to the cathode ray tube, to the mechanical chassis. Now, of course, there’s a supply chain and many parts are sourced from around the world. In addition, the scope was shipped with a detailed service manual that shows all the circuitry and described repair information down to the individual component level.

The oldest scope I have at home is a mid-’80s vintage 2440 prototype. This scope has special meaning for me since it was the very first product I helped design for Tektronix. I still use it for basic work, and it is still worth quite a bit on the used market. Of course, it sits center stage in my living room. I know that many of you have even more classic models out there. Let me know about the oldest scopes you have.

There is no soccer mania in the United States because the game simply does not produce enough goals for the US audience. However, in my last conversation with FIFA, they agreed to proceed with my “US rules” proposal to have 1) unlimited substitutions every 15 minutes and 2) increase the width and height of the goal posts 2x. I can already see the 2014 World Cup Final results: USA, 79; Spain, 78. The world is going to love us for these rule changes!