Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
tomverbeure.github.io
Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
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Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#2Flebay has some used ones around $1.5k. I wonder how much this model MSRP brand new? Either way, $300 is a steal!
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#3Flebay has some used ones around $1.5k. I wonder how much this model MSRP brand new? Either way, $300 is a steal!
I think they sold for $60k back in the early 2000s.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#4The TDS500, 600 and 700 series can expand memory by removing zero ohm resistors.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#5The TDS500, 600 and 700 series can expand memory by removing zero ohm resistors.
My TDS754D is waiting for the resistor and capacitor mod that converts it from a 500MHz/2Gsps scope into a TDS784D with 1 GHz/4Gsps.
Still, entering an easy to generate license key is less intrusive than removing a resistor.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#6Give it a month and the acquisition ASICs will blow up and the caps will eat through the board traces. Can’t stand these scopes.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#7Love this. I knew nothing about oscilloscopes until just a few months ago, when reasearched and bought one from a science lab. It wasfor a personal side project. I gutted it out and installed a mini PC inside, and now i run AI models into it. It's like my personal AI assistance. Hooked up to OpenAI realtime voice, grok bot, claude code, etc so I can command it to do stuff even when my main computer is off.
I just mainly love the retro-moder look of it. Here's a link to how it looks, for those curious:
https://x.com/slhomme/status/1965131874734584291
I had now idea there was such a huge second-hand market for those. It was such a great opportunity to learn about this tech.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#8Give it a month and the acquisition ASICs will blow up and the caps will eat through the board traces. Can’t stand these scopes.
Nice, so I'll get even more entertainment out of it!
The equipment that's bought and sold at the electronics flea market typically isn't used as a means to an end, it is the end. There's disappointment when you buy something there and it just works. There's no fun in that.
I don't really have a use for a R&S AMIQ, but replacing all the PC motherboard caps taught me a lot about good desoldering practices. https://tomverbeure.github.io/2026/06/28/Rohde-Schwarz-AMIQ-...
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#9I just had claude walk me through refurbishing a Rohde & Schwarz signal generator from the 90s. It feels pretty cool getting a multi thousand dollar piece of equipment for 60 bucks even if you have no idea what you'll use it for.
Re: Refurbishing a Tektronix TDS7104 Oscilloscope
#10I just had claude walk me through refurbishing a Rohde & Schwarz signal generator from the 90s. It feels pretty cool getting a multi thousand dollar piece of equipment for 60 bucks even if you have no idea what you'll use it for.
Was that by any chance the R&S AMIQ that I refurbished in an earlier blog post?
And yes, it's a lot of fun bringing these bargain bin pieces of kit back to life.