Hit 2,000 hours on this one scope last week and I used to think they all worked the same

I always figured an oscilloscope is an oscilloscope. But after replacing that old Tektronix with a Rigol a year ago I kept having weird signal noise I couldnt explain. Finally got curious and checked the hours. 2,010 hours on the Tek. Never once gave me ghost readings. The Rigol is fine for basic stuff but that old CRT taught me that build quality actually matters in the long run. Has anyone else gone back to an older piece of gear and realized you took it for granted?

2 comments

2 Comments

gray87511h ago

Dunno, my cheap scope has been fine for years.

hugos466h ago

...and honestly I used to think the same thing, had this old Tasco I picked up at a pawn shop for like forty bucks. Worked fine for years, even took it camping and it got dropped a couple times, still held zero. Then I bought a nicer one on a whim and it was like seeing through a different window, just clearer especially at dawn and dusk. But that old cheap scope is still in a drawer somewhere, I bet it'd still work if I put it on a beater rifle. Not saying everyone needs to upgrade, just that sometimes you don't know what you're missing until you try something else.