Today, the Museum of Tek Scopes brings you a look at a very special private collection, Bernard Tichit's.
I used to think I had quite a few scopes in my posession (about five or so), until I came into contact with Mr. Tichit. He is a far more serious collector than I am, and he kindly contributed the following pictures to the museum. I am told this is just a part of his whole collection, which encompasses over 100 different classic Teks.
Not only do you get a good look at an excellent collection of classic scopes, the Museum of Tek scopes is also proud to present an inteview with the man behind the collection.
In this picture, you see (amongst others) a couple of 555's, two 585A's, a pair of 575's, a 551, a stack of power supplies, and a lot more.
When did you start collecting?
I really started collecting scopes around 1977, when these old scopes
were replaced by modern ones in my company and were destroyed.... I had
realized 10 years before (in 1967) when I was at electronics school
how high the performance and manufacturing quality of these scopes really
was... I could not see such beautiful products being destroyed, simply
because they were obsolete... Their performance was not obsolete, only
size, power consumption and noise ...
How many Tek scopes do you have?
About 100 of the 500 series, plus about 50 "transistorized"
ones...(5000, 7000 series ....) But my basic collection is: scopes equipped
with electronic tubes.
Do you keep track of that in a book? by memory?
Simply in my computer, in a few Excel sheets where types, numbers,
date of purchase, date of repair, status.... are logged.
Why do you collect Tek scopes?
It is difficult to understand, I can't say it any better than Jim Williams
says in the introduction of the museum ... Clearly, in my opinion, most
old Tek Scopes are equivalent to Rolls-Royce cars (especially some early
ones like the 555), Again, I can't stand the idea of seeing them destroyed...
Why Tek, why not Philips? HP? DuMont?
Tek has produced absolutely beautiful scopes, beautiful inside, beautiful
outside, performing perfectly, easy to use, easy to service.... There is
nothing equivalent in any other manufacturers range... And what a range
! Uniformity of sizes, Uniformity of front panels, Uniformity of plug-ins
that fit in most of the scopes....
I do collect a few other scopes such as DuMont, HP, Philips, of course..
but they are so sad compared to Tek scopes... I agree that some of them
are very interesting to collect, such as miniature scopes (One of my friends
specializes in miniature scopes) or very very early scopes (pre-War).
Do you collect other things as well?
I am also collecting other old Measuring Equipment, such as generators..also
early radios... but my main collection is Tek scopes.
What was your first Tek?
A huge 555 ! with two "L" plug-ins. I got it in 1975 when
my company decided to replace all equipment fitted with tubes....
What did you pay for it?
About 20 USD ! It was really a bargain because it was in perfect condition,
having been realigned every year !
Do you still have it?
Of course, it can be seen in one of the pictures...
What scope do you use in your day-to-day work?
For most current work, I use a 465, it is an excellent scope, it was
a huge success...because of portability, small size, and excellent performance
and design.. For higher bandwidth or special features, I use 7000 series
with adequate plug-ins ...
Do you still use any of the old Teks?
The transistor curve tracer 575 is still perfectly usable today, with
200 Volts/1 Amp and 20 Volts/20 Amps it can test most current small signal
and power junction transistors in normal service work ... I also have both
a 576 and 577, but on many occasions I still prefer to use the 575 because
of greater simplicity. Only FETs cannot easily be tested.
Are all the scopes working?
All are working: I mean that the tubes are in good condition, time
bases and vertical amplifiers working properly but not calibrated. About
half are 100% checked and calibrated.
What is the most valuable/the rarest scope in your collection?
Hard to say ... maybe the tiny 321 or the Huge 519 ? I found only one
of each in 20 years...
What is your favourite scope? Pourquoi?
Still the 555, because it was my first one, and because it is huge
in size, in performance, in number of tubes, in power consumption....
What is the oldest scope in your collection?
Probably a very very very old Philips fitted with "Transcontinental"
red pre-war valves and a 3-inch CRT.
Does it work?
Yes, but with very poor performance and a lot of capacitors had to
be replaced ....
Is your collection complete? almost?
No, the very early Teks are nearly impossible to find in Europe. I
still have no 507, 511, 512, 513, 517 .... and I am not sure I will ever
find them...
What are you still particularly looking for?
A 570 Electron-Tube curve tracer. It is still missing in my collection.
I could not find one, probably very few were ever imported to Europe, but
I easily found many 575's...
What are the rarest plugins? why?
Probably the Spectrum Analyzers, not the 1L5 but the others 1L10, 1L20,
1L40 ...why ? because they were very expensive and of very specific purpose...
Do you have a bad back?
Ha ha ha.....
Mr. Tichit, Thank you for your time, and good luck in finding the
missing scopes in your collection.
Thank you. Should anyone wish to, I can be contacted by email at:
bernard.tichit@wanadoo.fr
Here, you see, well...... LOTS more scopes. In the bottom row is a 661 sampling scope. For the rest, another five 575's and a few more 555's.
If you would like to see your own collection featured here, please contact the museum curator and we will work something out. Scanning pictures is no problem for me.