I would say the instructions are faulty. With a 1.5 ohm resistor and 1.5 ohm coil, you are never getting 9v there.
I used Tek scopes forever but got a smoking deal on this HP. It took some time to get used to the controls but I find I like it better.
As @Pin_Head states it depends on the coil and ballast resistor values. 5.5 to 6v is not unheard of. But ultimately this is the answer. The condenser absorbs the back emf from the coil when the points open, if it is bad then the points take the punishment and burn up.