Quick Oscilloscope Advice?

[SierraBravo]

An ad on CL in my town lists a Precision ES 550B Oscilloscope for $50. I'm afraid this piece of equipment's function is so far over my head I don't know what it's good for, much less what I would do with it.

Guess my question is whether or not it's worth 50 smackers. The seller claims it works but doesn't know how to test it, and frankly, neither would I.

Could I get my $50 (or more) out of it?

Thanks,
Sam

 

[JBL GUY]

IIRC, that is just a 5 MHz single trace oscilloscope. From the late 1950s-1960s maybe.

It uses vacuum tubes, it is not solid state.

It would need a lot of work to make it reliable.

You can do much better.

 

[EchoWars]

More of a collectors item than something to actually use for electronics work.

 

[SicMan]

agree on that one ..

 

[LexDM3]

Look for a good early solid state Tektronix. They're very reliable and don't have any custom ICs inside if you need to fix it. You can find them for $100-200 if you check your local CL or visit electronic surplus places.