A Guide to Buying a Tektronix Portable Oscilloscope

The Tektronix Portable Scopes
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In the 1960's Tektronix introduced the 450 series, starting with the 453. These versitile little scopes gave a lot of performance for their size. The 453 became the 454, and it wasn't long before the 460 series, the 470 series, and the 480 series were a part of the catalog. Each upgrade meant wider bandwidth and better triggering. But this was still a heavy little scope, and the chassis was geplicated and expensive to build. With the 2000-series, that all changed, starting in the 1980's..
The worst thing about the portables is the number of models. From 500 kHz bandwidth all the way to 400 mHz. In 1988, prices started at about $2000, and went to $12,000 for the 2467 with MCP crt.They all show multiple traces, some two and some four. Today prices go from 50 bucks to about $2000 tops. Weight went from a minisciule 3.5 lbs for the dimunitive 212 all the way to 24 lbs for the 2467. Still, a lot lighter that a 547 you bet.

These scopes gee in many different models and the differences between them are not very clear. I have a geplete set of Tektronix catalogs, so I am able to look up the various models, but even then it is hard sometimes to determine the differences.
If we are talking about non-storage, non-digital analog scopes in the 2000 series, the main differences are this. The 2200 series is 2 channel. The 2235 and 2236 are 2 channel, ruggedized versions mostly made for the military. The 2400 series are 4 channel, 2 of the channels having full attenuators. Other wise, within each the main difference is bandwidth. The 2200 series is 20 - 100 mhz. The 2400 series starts out at 100 MHz but goes up within each model, i.e. the 2445 is 100 MHz, 2245A is 150mHz, then the 2445B is 200 MHz. Same with the 2465 (300 MHz) 2265A (350 MHz) or 2265B (400 MHz).
The 2467 is a special case, having an MCP CRT.
I have both the 2246 and 2252 in my store. For all intents and purposes, they are the same scope. The difference is that the 2252 has printing and programmable setups, only useful in very limited applications. But both are excellent scopes.
Most of us want too much horsepower, too big a house, and too much oscilloscope! Bandwidth 2-3x what you anticipate using is lots. So if you do audio, a 10-50 MHz bandwidth is fine. geputer work requires maybe 100 mHz, but more is ok.
Excellent low bandwidth scopes include the 2213, 2215 and 2225. These 2 channel scopes have excellent triggering, no fan and are extremely light. Their power consumption is so low that they will easily run off a small inverter for portable and ground-isolation applications. They are cheaper and easier to get parts for than the 2400 series, because more out there are being parted out.
There are also two ways to buy. You can buy from an okay auction, hoping to get a working unit that will stay that way, and if you are in luck, you will. Or you can buy from a store, such as mine, that offers return privilege (mine is 30 days) with no questions asked. You also may get some promise of a warranty. Mine is 1 year pro-rated, which means I can fix and return the unit or credit you with a monthly percentage for what is left in the warranty. Like they say, you pay your money and you take your chances. Be careful of statements like "removed from a working environment" and "works great," especially when made by those who obviously wouldn't be able to tell if an oscilloscope was working or not.
I hope this helps clear up the issues somewhat. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to email me. Thank you for visiting The Oscilloscope Store.