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Showerthought: I think we're too quick to trash old test equipment for the new digital stuff.
Honestly, I had to choose between buying a brand new digital spectrum analyzer for the shop or keeping our old, but perfectly good, Tektronix 2710. Everyone said to get the new one, that the old box was a boat anchor. I picked the old one. I spent about $500 getting it fully calibrated and fixing a minor power supply issue myself. It works just as well for 90% of our comms checks, and the guys learned to read the analog display, which I think gives you a better feel for signal noise. The new unit would have been over eight grand. I'm not saying new gear is bad, but sometimes the old tools just do the job if you know how to use them. Has anyone else held onto an older piece of gear that still pulls its weight?
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emma962d ago
Better feel for signal noise" is so true. I read an article about ham radio guys who swear by analog meters for tuning because you see the needle dance.
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paul_ramirez1d ago
Totally get that. It reminds me of when I tried to learn guitar on a cheap digital tuner. The screen would just snap to "in tune" but my old teacher had this ancient needle tuner. You could watch it drift and see how the string actually settled, which taught me way more about keeping it stable. That little bit of wiggle tells a story numbers just freeze in place.
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