EEVblog #1022 - How To Find A $50 Oscilloscope On Ebay - REDUX

Another look at finding a $50 analog oscilloscope on ebay.
Original video from 4 years ago:

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[yauwohn]

I ordered a $30 Scope off Ebay as a parts scope....My Jaw dropped when I opened the box, well packed and the scope looked brand new, no scratches, no dings, couldn't believe my eyes!! Put her on the bench and plugged her in and switched on, HOLY OSCILLOSCOPES!! It fired up, perfect trace on the two channels!! So instead of a parts scope, it will get used. It's a Tektronix 2213 60Mhz two channel scope.

[metatechnologist]

Everytime there is a video about $50 O'scopes on ebay, *there are no more $50 O'scopes on ebay.*

[MrOpenGL]

One place to look for oscilloscopes are generic garage sales. Sometimes, the guy who's selling the stuff has absolutely no idea of what he's selling, so you can snatch a pretty good deal like it happened to me.
I saw a Philips PM 3315 125MHz DSO on the table of the guy, and I asked how much he wanted, expecting at least 100€. He said that for 15(!) € he would sell it to me, since "this little TV" (Yes he was calling the DSO a little TV!) only displayed a line when he powered it up, and it was too complex for him to set up and had way too many buttons!

It was one of the happiest days of my life, and when I got back on the train I was holding the oscilloscope like it was a child and looking at it with a huge smile (people looked at me like I was mad :D)

Apparently, the service manuals for the thing cost more than I paid for it!

[TrippLilley]

True story: since moving to the Philippines, sixteen months ago, I've been missing my bench back in the US, and the abundance of good deals on old analog scopes. I'm watching this video with Dave going on about eBay US and thinking "yeah, I miss that." First scope he drills deep on and it's here, in Taguig. And the seller has like a half dozen old scopes (and thousands of other industrial surplus items, which are my weakness.) Cool.

[rohitkhanna]

This where working with a university is useful. I picked up a HP5454C 4 channel 2 Gsps from computer science dept of my university as they had binned it due to its big size. I recovered it an love to use it with its coloured LCD. Probably its one if the first scopes with lcd and coloured display.

[andrewkowalczyk]

Honestly if you want a good deal on analog scopes (and lab equipment in general) just go to a local hamfest. Not only are you going to meet the seller, hams are generally very friendly and will tell you about some of the quirks of the one you're looking at ahead of time. The only downside is that if you're not a HAM, they might spend a good 10 minutes trying to convince you to become one, but it's totally worth it to avoid ebay.

[Apokalypzx]

You should do this kind of video as a live feed. We can watch as all the equipment you search for get sucked up in real-time.

[dardosordi]

Hey Dave, I followed your advice from the last video and scored a lot of 3 Teks 2245A for 160 USD, sold 2 of them for close to that and kept the last one for me. Free scope!

[cberge]

Been on the lookout for an inexpensive scope for about a year now. Finally found one for $40 hitache v1060 yesterday on Facebook marketplace 6 miles away from me. The seller picked it up at a garage sale along with some fishing equipment. The person who sold it to them thought it was part of a fish finder, but they couldn't find any of the sensors for it.

[embeddedbastler]

Bought a broken oscilloscope from eBay for 20 bucks in february.
I fixed it (blown .47uf cap parallel to mains and blown fuse replaced) and now a have a working oscilloscope :)

[noyhcat]

The browser extension at 8:16 is called Imagus

[zertali]

Dave, great video as always!

After reading some of the comments below that say it is impossible, I thought I would post about my personal experience picking up an inexpensive scope on ebay. First, I am in the US and can only speak to my experience hunting for scopes within my country. We all know that anytime you include international shipping into the equation the total cost of an item will increase dramatically, and the valuation of items vary by country as well, ... and I do not keep a list of what X goes for in X country, ...

My personal experience: In Oct 2016 I picked up a Kikusui COR5560U (60Mhz 2ch) in working condition for $37.50 (buy it now) + $14.72 shipping. Grand total was $52.22 for a working scope. Scope only, power cord and probes were not included, but I had those lying around anyways. Adequate probes can also be obtained on ebay for < $10 if you search a bit.

The Kikusui was in working condition, but was sold in as/is condition since the seller could not test it beyond power up (they were a general estate/lot reseller). They had 3 of these scopes for sale for the same price, with essentially the same auction description, and in the same condition. All of the scopes appear to have come from the same place (maybe a school), and all three were obviously in need of a good cleaning. The one I picked up cleaned up nicely.

While ebay is the easiest to hunt for bargains like this, but you can probably get one even cheaper if you do not mind hunting a bit more, especially offline. Estate sales, pawn shops, garage sales, going-out-of-business sales/auctions, and the like often have awesome deals. Especially when the person selling the item has no idea what it is, and that happens a lot with test gear. Also, if you happen to work for a larger corporation that has research/dev departments, check with the tech guys to see if your company has a surplus department that you can purchase the equipment from. Back in the early 2000's I picked up an HP 1980b for $25 from my company's surplus depot (the guys at the surplus warehouse had no idea what it even was).

Honestly, I wish I had not down-sized my classic HP 1980b scope a few years back, but that is a story for another day, ...

Happy scope hunting everyone!

[THOMMGB]

Dave, I belong to the Southern California Antique Radio Society. At our swap meet last weekend, I picked up a pristine Tektronix 2211 in perfect working order for $50.00. It also came with a large plastic bag full of probes and adapters. Still learning about it but it’s so cool.

[blackwingmaster]

I got 2 Telequipment D61-s from my university. Semi-functional, they required some restoration but hey, as long as CRT is good, they can be repared, as they are fully-transistorized design

[lionelhutz]

Didn't know the V212s were that common! When I graduated from our equivalent of High School, the lab was going to throw out 5 perfectly fine ones because they got two new Rigols. I took care of them all, sold four of them to dad's work colleagues (industrial automation electronics wizards) for ~50 euros each and kept one for myself. It's the main workhorse at our hackerspace now!

[Tedybear]

If worried about shipping costs. Click "Closest" first for distance and see if anyone's selling one locally. If so? Then contact the seller and ask if you can purchase and pick up locally. If they flat out say "Shipping only, no local pickup" and they are within driving distance? I would still ask. If they refuse, then walk away. Many times people will jack up the shipping and handling costs beyond reality so they can pad their $$$. I think Dave mentions this, but I'm running late for getting into work.

[Grumskiz]

I see a lot of comments right now either arguing the "ebay" or the "50$" part. Depending on where you live and where the scope comes from, you likely have a point. However, I believe it's also likely that you can find an analog oscilloscope for a bargain price if you keep your eyes open. Check some of the following local places, if available: Schools, Colleges, Universities, Military Training Grounds (highly recommended), Repair Shops (Cars, Electronics, you name it), Hacker or Maker spaces (people will hook you up)
Make sure you get to talk to someone who actually knows what these devices are and where they could be stored. Pretty much all larger education places have huge stockpiles of old electronics and other equipment that have been forgotten about once a certain project ended. Asking the secretary will not get you very far.

[harukinzaphod]

You use the same log in for every eBay site but you need to log in to each site separately. You can also do a search from eBay Australia for sellers that don't specify Australia as a shipping country but the way items are categorised vary from one version of eBay to the next and search results don't necessarily match to the same categories.

[kelvinstokes]

Too funny - I just gave away a working Hitachi V-212 a few days ago to a young kid who was extremely interested in learning about electronics. I didn't need it - I've got a modern 'scope, and it was just taking up space. Great cheap scope.

[marcdraco]

Four years later (again) and in Europe the prices are so high they ask if you know a good surgeon because you're going to sell a limb. It's even worse (thanks Covid!) for classic Heathkit stuff which I'd love to own.