dyang said:

 

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There's a whole lot of people posting their vintage rigs on "Show Your Head-Fi Station at its Current State", more than I've seen before.

 

 

New scope!

speakerbox said:

  New scope!

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That was fast!
 
Correction - New Preloved Tektronix 468 . I will post pics, essentially a tutorial how to clean vintage preloved and-not-so-preloved gear, applicable to vintage receivers as well of course.
 
For now, intro what this machine is capable of :
 

I have a Tektronix 464 - so know the look.

speakerbox said:

  I have a Tektronix 464 - so know the look.

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Yes, the entire Tektronix line from about three decades ago is instantly recognizable by Tektronix Blue - it is as known colour in the electronics circles as is Ferrari Red known to automotive lovers.

ssrock64 said:

 
There's a whole lot of people posting their vintage rigs on "Show Your Head-Fi Station at its Current State", more than I've seen before.

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Oh I gotcha….  

2012 October Flashback... 
 

silent one said:

  2012 October Flashback... 
 

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Liked that wheel and always will....

analogsurviver said:

Liked that wheel and always will...

.

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 With a room full of cycling gear and audio gear, when different housekeepers come to clean, they always have a "What on earth?" look on their faces. 

So, here the promised. First the pics of my new scope as delevered by the ebay seller:
 


Here remnants of the double sided tape once securing the pouch ( with probes, cables etc ) to the top of the smaller enclosure are clearly visible.
 

In the upper left hand corner you can see the last calibration sticker (green circle with dates etc, this one was officially calibrated up to 6/12).
 
 


These two pics show the detail of the remnants of the round sticker all scopes in the industry have to carry to atest they are calibrated at prescribed time intervals - usually yearly.
 
Electronics in industry and lab use is not pampered the way we use home audio gear - there will be scratches, dents, stickers, tape and other remnants of unmentionables  telling it HAS BEEN USED. Contrary to home, particularly vintage equipment, such electronics has to conform to certain standards and is tested/adjusted=calibrated accordingly  -  usually on yeary basis. Pics also clearly show knobs dirty from regular use, everything within the normal .
 
The remnants of stickers/tape are particularly stubborn and rather hard to remove without damage to the surface below. The most usual catastrophic failure is to use alcohol (based) cleaner - it is HIGHLY LIKELY that you will get it clean - TOO MUCH, by partially or completely remowing lettering. There is lots  collectible (prior to alcohol treatment at least... ) vintage McIntosh etc gear - reduced in resale value by painful % by this common error...
 
The "cleaner" I have yet to fail me or damage anything is good ol' - WD40 (or its reverse engineered equivalents ). This thing will dillute the most stubborn remnants without damage to the surface below. Application is as follows:
 
1. You need an (old) medium hardness toothbrush.
 
2. WD40 or equivalent
 
3. NEVER apply the WD40 by spraying to the surface treated directly; at least not until you acquire enough experience when it is safe to do so. ALWAYS spray the WD40 from     the closest proximity possible to the toothbrush first
 

 
 
4. GENTLY start scrubbing the surface with remnants of tape etc - the surface has to be damp, but not wet; excess WD40 can leak inside and cause ???, so use it    sparingly. Brush the surface say every 10 minutes, so that it does not dry; WD40 evaporates, you may need to apply some more to keep the surface damp. I suggest working in a well ventilated space; WD40 has quite a powerful odour/smell and is not the most healthy substance to inhale. You will see that dirt/grime is loosenig up and say after half an hour the treated surface will be visibly better looking. You may want to repeat until satisfied with the result.
 

It is OK to "drown" most affected portions with WD40 and leave it working. Specially on "pebbled" surface, as customary on Tektronix scopes.
 

Only damp brush on the front plate, particularly around switches, levers, etc, where liquid could do damage to internals :
 

 

silent one said:

 

 With a room full of cycling gear and audio gear, when different housekeepers come to clean, they always have a "What on earth?" look on their faces. 

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Tell me about it....

Here, the grime is all but removed from the pebbled surface - couple of minutes later, it was perfectly clean again.
 
5. Wipe off the remnants of the WD40 with a white paper towel - yuck IS the correct reaction:
 

 
Now you have to clean the surface with paper towel moistened with solution for hand washing of the dishes; again, DAMP to VERY sparingly wet will do; do not skimp on paper towels, you can get a "truckload" of those for one piece of electronics.
 
RESULT:
 

ALL the grime gone; you can see a small scratch on the surface; such is the outcome of trying to remove the grime by scratching with fingernails - do not succumb to this usual desire to get over with ASAP - it does not work and leaves marks. Not of my doing ...
 

It is possible to remove the "shine" around the green sticker by WOODEN toothpick with some cotton on the tip moistened first with WD40, then dishwasher solution.
That is for  Stage 2 - after the scope will be deoxit-ed, rerfurbished with new caps, etc, etc - I intend to make it better than new condition, Cathode Ray Tube   ( CRT )  is still completely OK so such extravaganza is warranted in this case. At Stage 2, all the knobs will be removed, cleaned with toothbrush and/or ultrasonic cleaner - I like my tools trustworthy, dependable and why not, nice.
 

 

That dent will be rectified in Stage 2 too; as delivered, all the recessed areas of the pebbled surface were "black-ish"... - perfectly normal for a piece of electronics professionally used in the industrial enviroment for the 30 or so odd years.

Nice scope - hope it does the job for you.  Mine is in kind of rough shape - needs calibration - but has worked ok to trace signals through vintage gear.  Payed $44 shipped - so was not expecting much.   At some point I may have it calibrated though.