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Re: Tek 1480C waveform monitor vs oscope

 

I do see it has an external X drive input, five volts for full horizontal sweep. It may have some redeeming qualities if not only for NTSC video. Of course regular X-Y displays are also dirt cheap these days.

Regards, Pete W1BR


Re: Tek 1480C waveform monitor vs oscope

 

Can it be configured to be used as an X-Y display? I use an old 604 along with my HP generators as a display for sweeping along with a cheap AD606 log detector.

Pete


Re: 576 shaft repair

 

The advantage of my heat shrink solution is it is non-conductive. The two ends of the shaft don't meet inside the heat shrink because the original broken flexible coupler prevented them from doing that in the first place. In addition Tek used plastic shafts for this kind of thing so those were non-conductive to begin with and they get inserted into the ends of the heat shrink tubing and held in place with the bead of epoxy.

Hobby shops sell lengths of plastic rod that have enough flexibility that they can sometimes do away with the flexible coupler in the first place. They are easy to cut to length.

I find all sorts of interesting materials in hobby shops that can be repurposed to repair parts of Tek equipment. They are a fascinating place to browse around in these days. Parts are generally inexpensive as well.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: David C. Partridge
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2019 1:43 AM

IIRC some flexible couplers in the 576 have the be insulating up to the
full voltage output of the 576.

I know that because I needed to replace one and luckily Hakan Hintze
had one on stock.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Tillman W7PF
Sent: 18 April 2019 03:41

Hi Neil,
I had a slightly different problem but I think this might work for you.
But first, companies like McMaster-Carr ()
sell flexible couplers that can be substituted for the broken ones you
have. If they don't have one that will work for you try what I did
next:

What I have done in the past is taken a piece of heat shrink tubing
that is a close fit before shrinking. It should be long enough so about
a half inch of heat shrink is on the shaft on each side of where the
coupler used to be. I put a dab of epoxy all the way around each end of
heat shrink and then insert the heat shrink onto the two shafts. With a
heat gun I shrink the tubing. When the epoxy dries it is glued to each
end of the shaft. The small section of heat shrink tubing in the middle
where the coupler used to be should be nice and flexible and act like
the coupler did.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: groups@...
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2019 8:32 AM
Subject: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic
couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken.
They look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option
is - has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a
video where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic
tubing ().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation
for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available -
instead replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or
should I use something else?

Thanks,

Neil
--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: 576 shaft repair

Helge Kyndbo
 

tor. 18. apr. 2019 kl. 10.43 skrev David C. Partridge <
david.partridge@...>:

IIRC some flexible couplers in the 576 have the be insulating up to the
full voltage output of the 576.

I know that because I needed to replace one and luckily Hakan Hintze had
one on stock.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Dennis Tillman W7PF
Sent: 18 April 2019 03:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Hi Neil,
I had a slightly different problem but I think this might work for you.
But first, companies like McMaster-Carr () sell
flexible couplers that can be substituted for the broken ones you have. If
they don't have one that will work for you try what I did next:

What I have done in the past is taken a piece of heat shrink tubing that
is a close fit before shrinking. It should be long enough so about a half
inch of heat shrink is on the shaft on each side of where the coupler used
to be. I put a dab of epoxy all the way around each end of heat shrink and
then insert the heat shrink onto the two shafts. With a heat gun I shrink
the tubing. When the epoxy dries it is glued to each end of the shaft. The
small section of heat shrink tubing in the middle where the coupler used to
be should be nice and flexible and act like the coupler did.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
groups@...
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2019 8:32 AM
Subject: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic
couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken. They
look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option is -
has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a video
where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic tubing
().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation
for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available - instead
replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I
use something else?

Thanks,

Neil



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator







Re: 576 shaft repair

 

IIRC some flexible couplers in the 576 have the be insulating up to the full voltage output of the 576.

I know that because I needed to replace one and luckily Hakan Hintze had one on stock.

David

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dennis Tillman W7PF
Sent: 18 April 2019 03:41
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Hi Neil,
I had a slightly different problem but I think this might work for you. But first, companies like McMaster-Carr () sell flexible couplers that can be substituted for the broken ones you have. If they don't have one that will work for you try what I did next:

What I have done in the past is taken a piece of heat shrink tubing that is a close fit before shrinking. It should be long enough so about a half inch of heat shrink is on the shaft on each side of where the coupler used to be. I put a dab of epoxy all the way around each end of heat shrink and then insert the heat shrink onto the two shafts. With a heat gun I shrink the tubing. When the epoxy dries it is glued to each end of the shaft. The small section of heat shrink tubing in the middle where the coupler used to be should be nice and flexible and act like the coupler did.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
groups@...
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2019 8:32 AM
Subject: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic
couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken. They
look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option is -
has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a video
where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic tubing
().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation
for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available - instead
replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I
use something else?

Thanks,

Neil



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: Craigslist- Baltimore MD area Tek 577 for sale

 

"Pickup only."

Doesn't make it easy either.


Re: 576 shaft repair

 

Hi Neil,
I had a slightly different problem but I think this might work for you. But first, companies like McMaster-Carr () sell flexible couplers that can be substituted for the broken ones you have. If they don't have one that will work for you try what I did next:

What I have done in the past is taken a piece of heat shrink tubing that is a close fit before shrinking. It should be long enough so about a half inch of heat shrink is on the shaft on each side of where the coupler used to be. I put a dab of epoxy all the way around each end of heat shrink and then insert the heat shrink onto the two shafts. With a heat gun I shrink the tubing. When the epoxy dries it is glued to each end of the shaft. The small section of heat shrink tubing in the middle where the coupler used to be should be nice and flexible and act like the coupler did.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
groups@...
Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2019 8:32 AM
Subject: [TekScopes] 576 shaft repair

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic
couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken. They
look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option is -
has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a video
where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic tubing
().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation
for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available - instead
replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I
use something else?

Thanks,

Neil



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: 576 shaft repair

Dan Cordova
 

I can 3D print a part from ABS plastic.
However, I will need either a CAD file or the part itself to measure dimensions and then create a .stl file.?
Lately, I've been using Fusion 360. ?You can get a free download. ?A 3 year license is available to students and educators. ?I can also use SolidWorks. ?
Thanks,
Dan

On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, 6:18:28 PM PDT, groups@... <groups@...> wrote:

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken. They look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option is - has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a video where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic tubing ().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available - instead replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I use something else?

Thanks,

Neil


Re: Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner into some Tek pots

 

Hi Dave,
Most pots are not waterproof but they are "sealed". They are intentionally designed to be assembled in such a way that they keep atmospheric borne contaminants out. At the same time they are quite configurable in myriad different ways.

Some time ago I came up with my own variation on an article I first read in TekScopes, about how each of the field offices sprayed each scope that came in for calibration and repair with deionized water and then baked it overnight. What I was doing was totally immersing problematic plugins in Isopropyl alcohol. I left them in it for s while to allow the alcohol to soak into everything and loosen up dust and debris. While immersed I would brush the components on the circuit board to free up any dirt and particles that had attached themselves to the board. I would also routinely turn all the pots, dials, and knobs, and push all the switches.

I only stopped because it was a hassle filtering the dirt and debris out of the Isopropyl after words (I used filter paper when I should have used a Buchner Funnel). Eventually the Isopropyl accumulates dissolved contaminants which I removed with a laboratory hot plate and a distillation apparatus). That works real well but it is also a hassle. Cleaning plugins this way worked extremely well. I only ever had a problem once when I discovered the numbers inside the 7T11 Sweep Range knob floating in the Isopropyl. To this day I have no idea why they came off. From that point forward I removed that knob from all 7T11s before bathing them.

The point of bring up my way of cleaning plugins was to let you know the isopropyl did get into all of the Tek pots. I know this because there were no noisy pots on my plugins after they got Isopropyl baths.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Dave Daniel
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 11:39 AM
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner
into some Tek pots

would be interesting to submerge a "sealed" pot in a liquid and see
if the pot eventually fills up, just as an experiment to see just how
well these sealed pots are sealed.

Some time ago I had to submerge an unobtainium unsealed pot into a
beaker of IPA in order to free the shaft's rotation. It took a couple
of days of immersion to free up the shaft. I'm guessing that a "sealed"
pot would take much, much longer to absorb the fluid.

DaveD


On 4/16/2019 1:51 PM, Richard Solomon wrote:
My foolproof method is to drill
a small hole on the top side at
the rear. Pump in De-Oxit Fader
Lube and seal the hole with some
black tape.

73, Dick, W1KSZ

On Tue, Apr 16, 2019 at 10:45 AM Terry Gray via Groups.Io <tlgray42=
[email protected]> wrote:

I also have restored 100's of "sealed"? noisy controls by
pointing the control shaft straight up vertically, wrapping
something
around the bottom of the control to catch the excess contact
CLEANER/LUBE, spray around the base of the shaft where it goes into
the control, and "pump" the shaft up and down and give it time to
"pump" the contact cleaner/lube down into the control---remember
patience is a virtue. If at first it doesn't seem to be getting the
spray down the shaft, make a dam" just below the point where the
shaft enters into the control and try spraying a little additional
cleaner/lube into that area keeping it saturated and at the same
time
periodically "pumping' the shaft up and down to allow the
cleaner/lube to migrate along with capillary action down the shaft.
Allow the potentiometer shaft to remain pointed up vertically.
Sometimes it can take overnight or longer to get the cleaner/lube
down into the control but I have found over the last 50-60 years
that
it very, very rarely fails. Just be patient and I think this will
work for you, even for the difficult ones. I remember setting
upright
on their backs some of the big monster stereos and doing just that,
especially when the potentiometer access was not readily accessible
even with the long extended flexible tubing that sometimes came
with the contact cleaner/lube or that were also available at the
time. I
also remember running into some well sealed potentiometers and TV
tuners that we had to drill a small access hole into/through the
metal or plastic housing to get the cleaner/lube inside to do its
job. Just be very careful to not drill into the tuner or control
doing any internal damage. I remember disassembling throw-away pots
and tuners to learn where to drill the holes to prevent any internal
damage and you could then seal the hole
up with solder or glue when you completed the cleaning/lube process.
One
additional point, DO NOT use a contact cleaner with no lubricating
agent in its ingredients. Many years ago I attended a Channel Master
seminar on their contact cleaners and tuner (and switch)
cleaner/lubes. The company representative showed us under a fairly
high-powered microscope a video of what happens when you spray a
contact cleaner (with no lube) on the old TV tuner switch contacts
You completely wash away all lubrication from the individual contact
points and he showed us under the microscope what happens when you
rotate the switch thru the washed contacts. It scrapes the plating
off the contacts and now being unplated in that area it is oxidizes
and you end up with intermittent high resistance contacts down the
line(with time) that play havoc with your circuit. You think that
you
are "fixing" the intermittent switch contact(s) (or the intermittent
internal potentiometer wiper problem) but in reality you are totally
ruining (for the future) whatever you are so-called restoring by using
a non-lubricated
spray. I wish the video that the Channel Master rep showed us was
still
available>>>>it looked like a chisel scraping the plating off the
available>>>>contact
under the high-magnification microscope when all the lubrication had
been previously "cleaned" off the contact areas. He said DO NOT EVER
use a contact cleaner that has no lubrication in it or at least
follow up the "cleaning" process by spraying or adding some
additional lubrication to the
contact points. Hope this is helpful information to some of you,
it sure
was for me.
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 9:51:07 AM CDT, Bob Koller via
Groups.Io <testtech@...> wrote:

Try it sometime, I have literally done hundreds this way. Some



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: Tek 1480C waveform monitor vs oscope

 

On Wed, 17 Apr 2019 17:12:06 -0700, you wrote:


It might also be of use to the small sub-group of radio amateurs that do
TV.
At the time I was doing that, it would have been wonderful. I had
some home-built equipment that I used. I may have been the first to
transmit color on the Baltimore Maryland ATV repeater.

That being said, I do agree with your assessment, that and perhaps the
corresponding color burst monitor would be quite good. Ditto with a
test generator that if needed, could supply signals to everything (tek
1910, for example).

If you never do video, however.....

Harvey



John

On 4/17/2019 7:55 AM, Harvey White wrote:
On Wed, 17 Apr 2019 07:06:19 -0700, you wrote:

I have been given this tool. I have a Tek 2246A and a Hitachi scope already. What can I do with this that I can't with the other scopes? I have never done anything with video nor intend to. Also, the trace is hiding deep lower left of CRT. Can't get it out of there.
If you're doing anything with baseband video, such as CCTV cameras for
surveillance systems, video tape recorders, etc., then you'll want
this.


Re: Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner into some Tek pots

 

Hi Gary,
The contact cleaner I was using is MG Chemical's "Super Contact Cleaner with poly phenyl ether". It is in a pressurized can and it comes with a 6" long tube nozzle which goes all the way into the screw hole of the pot. The briefest squirt deposits contact cleaner in the main chamber of the pot. If it is a ganged pot the blowback from the squirt will deposit contact cleaner in the ganged pot as well.

Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Gary Robert Bosworth
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 7:42 AM
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner
into some Tek pots

Unless you squirt the contact cleaner in under pressure, I doubt that
much of it will find its way to the resistive element. What would be
better is to slightly loosen the other 3 screws and again squirt the
cleaner in under pressure. Some will find its way to the outside, so
be sure to wrap the potentiometer with tissue paper to block the
vapor's path.

Gary

On Mon, Apr 15, 2019 at 6:57 PM Dennis Tillman W7PF
<dennis@...>
wrote:

For years I've struggled with what to do about noisy pots. Until now
the best solution I have come up with is to remove the knob and drip
contact cleaner down the shaft. It only works a small percentage of
the time. And I'm not sure it can even work on ganged pots at all.
Plus it is quite messy since it is almost impossible to control the
burst of contact cleaner that comes out.

Faced with the same problem once again an idea struck me while I was
staring at the back side of one of the very common black square pots
(single or ganged). The ones I'm referring to have four tiny screws
holding them together from back to front.

SOLUTION: Remove one of the screws and squirt the contact cleaner
into
the hole. All four of the screws screw into a metal plate at the
front
of the pot. So the screw hole passes through every section of the pot
(or multiple pots regardless of how many there are.

It's too early yet to tell how effective this is. I only just
discovered it.

Dennis Tillman W7PF
--
Gary Robert Bosworth
grbosworth@...
Tel: 310-317-2247



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: More Complete List of Concept Series and Measurements Concepts Books

 

What site are you and Roy referring to? Please include context (we aren't mind readers) so we don't have to guess.
Dennis Tillman W7PF

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
redarlington
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2019 8:44 AM
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] More Complete List of Concept Series and
Measurements Concepts Books

I backed it up so it won't go away forever. What I don't have is a
place to dump it online with enough storage for even a quarter of it.

Downloaded: 37670 files, 136G in 14h 2m 14s (2.76 MB/s)

-Bob

On Sun, Apr 14, 2019 at 11:37 AM Roy Thistle
<roy.thistle@...>
wrote:

On Sat, Apr 13, 2019 at 09:25 AM, Dave Daniel wrote:


Does anyone know who the owner of this site is?
Hi:
I've seen that question asked on the forum before. IMHO, if people
keep asking, the site will soon disappear... like others, that were
once up, have.
Regards.



--
Dennis Tillman W7PF
TekScopes Moderator


Re: FOLLOWUP RE: [TekScopes] If you own a 7854 READ THIS

 

Very late to the party (as usual...) I just had a thought I wanted to throw out there.

My best understanding of the data sheet is that the 555 contact form is really just the 500 contacts with two bends in them in the right place. The difference between the -201 and -202 mounting options appears to be that the 202 has mounting lugs with holes in them, and 201 has no lugs.

In other words, for someone who enjoyed this kind of mechanical work... making a little jig to put the bends in the right places in the pins, and cutting off the mounting lugs neat and tidy, probably wouldn't be terribly difficult to do.

On the other hand, for someone who doesn't do that kind of thing or doesn't like it or otherwise objects... maybe not!

The 346-080-500-202 parts are non-stocked, but apparently can be obtained with a certain amount of patience and effort; I think DigiKey wanted a 25 piece minimum order, Mouser seems okay with an order of 1.


576 shaft repair

 

Apologies if this has come up before! I have a 576, and the plastic couplers for the Intensity and Focus knobs are, of course, broken. They look fairly hard to find, so I'm wondering what the best option is - has anyone 3D printed replacements, for example? There's also a video where a 577 has a similar repair accomplished with plastic tubing ().

One other thing - I've seen CRC 5-56 mentioned as the recommendation for cleaning switches, but it no longer seems to be available - instead replaced by CRC 05005. Is that an acceptable substitute, or should I use something else?

Thanks,

Neil


Re: Tek 1480C waveform monitor vs oscope

 

It might also be of use to the small sub-group of radio amateurs that do TV.

John

On 4/17/2019 7:55 AM, Harvey White wrote:
On Wed, 17 Apr 2019 07:06:19 -0700, you wrote:

I have been given this tool. I have a Tek 2246A and a Hitachi scope already. What can I do with this that I can't with the other scopes? I have never done anything with video nor intend to. Also, the trace is hiding deep lower left of CRT. Can't get it out of there.
If you're doing anything with baseband video, such as CCTV cameras for
surveillance systems, video tape recorders, etc., then you'll want
this.


Re: 475A : excessive jitter on delayed sweep

 

99.44 % sure the mark on a Ta cap is the positive terminal.? If it is in backwards it will say so loudly.

Regards

On 4/17/2019 7:23 AM, Alberto I2PHD wrote:
On 2019-04-16 16:35, Alberto I2PHD wrote:

There is a suspect tantalum capacitor, which I did not replace, namely
C933, which is in the path that brings working voltage to the Delay Time Position control.... just as good measure, I
will replace that also...
Problem fixed. I replaced that suspect capacitor with a 4.7uF, 100V electrolytic, and now the delay time after which the B sweep starts is rock stable...

Now I have a suspect, which maybe somebody could confirm or deny... look at this photo of the replaced cap :



Should the mark indicate the negative side of the cap, then it was soldered in reverse, with the marked side connected to +14V....
If instead it indicates the positive side, then no manufacturing errors....? I am not much familiar with the markings of the tantalum caps....

In any case, now my 475A is perfectly working, and this is what counts... :-)


453 for sale

Bob Albert
 

I have an excellent 453 for sale. I don't know what it's worth, so I am entertaining offers. It's in Los Angeles. Let me know if any interest.


Re: Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner into some Tek pots

 

I have never seen any noticeable lingering effects from electronic cleaning
solvents on the resistive elements. Most electronic cleaning
agents evaporate and leave no residue. Even the solvents that leave a
slight oily surface seem to have no effect on the value of the resistor
element.

Gary

On Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 9:43 AM tom jobe <tomjobe@...> wrote:

This has been a very interesting thread on how to clean potentiometers,
but there has been no mention of what happens after you get the
cleaner/lubrication into the potentiometer.
Do you leave the liquids in there, and what about the residue that
caused your problem to start with?
Thank you for any comments you might have!
tom jobe...




On 4/16/2019 9:44 PM, Frank DuVal via Groups.Io wrote:
I think GC Electronics made them for their contact cleaner. Long
cylinder that threaded onto the mounting nut, maybe 5 inches long and
necked down to a small diameter that fit the aerosol nozzle of the
contact cleaner.

Check electronics magazines of the 1950s.

I see the StewMac cap advertised. Only good for short shaft pots.

Frank DuVal

On 4/16/2019 6:26 PM, John Kolb wrote:

I remember seeing in the distant past, a catalog picture of a
pot/contact cleaner which threaded onto the pot threaded bushing. I
guess you would then put in the cleaner/lube, and push a plunger to
force the cleaner into the pot.

John




--
Gary Robert Bosworth
grbosworth@...
Tel: 310-317-2247


Re: Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner into some Tek pots

 

ironcoder@... wrote on 4/17/2019 1:26 PM:

Yes Gary, I ruined a pot years ago from carelessness. I am very very cautious now. You want to drill the outer cover but not let the drill enter into the pot itself at all.
Hello--

Another pot-related problem arises in older equipment (e.g., antique radios)
when a tin-plated outer steel shell sprouts tin whiskers:



Dislodged whiskers inside the pot can cause crackling intermittents.

73--

Brad? AA1IP


Re: Absurdly simple way to get contact cleaner into some Tek pots

 

Yes Gary, I ruined a pot years ago from carelessness. I am very very cautious now. You want to drill the outer cover but not let the drill enter into the pot itself at all.