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Re: Homemade tunnel diodes

 

Modern mixer diodes are great but I have yet to find a good replacement for step recovery diodes.
Re: Schematic/PCB KiCAD 5 is finally out and available

John Griessen
 

On 07/23/2018 10:44 AM, walter shawlee wrote:
Gentlemen,
Schematic/PCB software 5.0 from KiCAD, the massively powerful,
For people who like using linux and scripting and make files, (like chip designers),
pcb-rnd is rapidly becoming a complete toolkit for making blind buried vias,
defining groups of circuitry that move as one, searching for data in layout and extracting
parasitics. The autorouter is soso, but there is another one and ways to use external ones also
in the works. Schematics are possible to come from Kicad or gschem.
You can import a netlist from eeschema and keep using eeschema, or switch to gschem if not a Kicad user already.

pcb-rnd will not force upgrades on you ever -- older formats of files are going to be supported if anything changes.
No upgrade treadmill.
Re: 7603 specifically and general refurbishment procedures of older oscilloscopes

 

If it works with the 7L12 but not with known good regular plug-ins. More than likely don't have the right buttons pushed ( or a bad button) . Take a deep breath and check that you have the trigger selector set correctly for the channel your on and so forth.

Beam finder works correct?
Dave
manuals@...

On 7/23/2018 11:57 AM, johnasolecki@... wrote:
Hello everyone,

I recently acquired a 7603 with 7L12 SA. I got the pair to use the 7L12 with my 7904A but I really like the large screen of the 7603. So I'm planning to use the '03 for audio work. The '03 seems to work when the 7L12 is installed but I can't get any kind of trace (except for readouts) when I use any of my 7000 series plug ins. I can't say I've tried every permutation but I've tried installing a 7A19, a 7A22, 7A26 in conjunction with a 7B92, 7B92A, 7B80 and a 7B85 with the "A" plug ins in the center & left slot and the "B" in the right with no joy.

Because of this problem I'll be opening up the 7603; if anyone has any specific suggestions on where to look I'd be grateful but otherwise are there any common procedures for the overhaul of an older scope? I have quite a bit of experience rebuilding older amplifiers and radios but I bought my 7904A refurbished, I have no experience on older Tek scopes. I thought I'd start by cleaning the plug in connectors and as many pots & switches as I could access. While open I will check voltages and have a good look at the caps.
Do you automatically replace all electrolytic caps or just ones that are showing signs of ripple or leakage?
A search of the files section implied that tantalum caps are usually reliable and do not require preventative replacement (other than obvious failures).
Are there any other common issues that need to be looked at? Any other suggestions?

This will take me a while to complete but in the meantime, thanks in advance for any help,

John


--
Dave
Manuals@...
www.ArtekManuals.com
7603 specifically and general refurbishment procedures of older oscilloscopes

 

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired a 7603 with 7L12 SA. I got the pair to use the 7L12 with my 7904A but I really like the large screen of the 7603. So I'm planning to use the '03 for audio work. The '03 seems to work when the 7L12 is installed but I can't get any kind of trace (except for readouts) when I use any of my 7000 series plug ins. I can't say I've tried every permutation but I've tried installing a 7A19, a 7A22, 7A26 in conjunction with a 7B92, 7B92A, 7B80 and a 7B85 with the "A" plug ins in the center & left slot and the "B" in the right with no joy.

Because of this problem I'll be opening up the 7603; if anyone has any specific suggestions on where to look I'd be grateful but otherwise are there any common procedures for the overhaul of an older scope? I have quite a bit of experience rebuilding older amplifiers and radios but I bought my 7904A refurbished, I have no experience on older Tek scopes. I thought I'd start by cleaning the plug in connectors and as many pots & switches as I could access. While open I will check voltages and have a good look at the caps.
Do you automatically replace all electrolytic caps or just ones that are showing signs of ripple or leakage?
A search of the files section implied that tantalum caps are usually reliable and do not require preventative replacement (other than obvious failures).
Are there any other common issues that need to be looked at? Any other suggestions?

This will take me a while to complete but in the meantime, thanks in advance for any help,

John
Re: OT: HP 70843B Error Performance Analyzer, 12 GHz BERT info needed

 

hi Ed,

I believe that I had seen free .pdf manuals for the HP 70843b Error Performance Analyzer at the Kurt manuals site:




However, a small quick start manual is available at the Keysight:


Also, someone on the EEVblog may have some info on it:


An HP blurb about it:


Cables:
The DB-37 pin HP MSIB cables can simply be made with crimp-on flat ribbon cable connectors:



Let me know,
rick
Schematic/PCB KiCAD 5 is finally out and available

walter shawlee
 

Gentlemen,

Schematic/PCB software 5.0 from KiCAD, the massively powerful,
long awaited, auto-routing and multi-OS integrated package, with better libraries and 3D models
is now on their site for download. Also available in many languages, see the localization support.

and yes, *free*, funded by CERN. this is a great public milestone,
and very useful for guys like me that are not on Windows,
as it runs on Ubuntu and many other LInux platforms (Debian, Mint, Suse and more) as well as Apple
and Windows. This software is why several wildly over-priced commercial packages
have had huge discounts recently, the days of the abusively over-priced $5K PCB CAD seat are
running out. Eagle guys can import designs directly. It now also links to Ngspice.

see:

*
for all the details. This is a great moment for designers that
have not had a good tool that runs outside of windows, or one they could
afford for personal use.

all the best,
walter

--
Walter Shawlee 2
Sphere Research Corp. 3394 Sunnyside Rd.
West Kelowna, BC, V1Z 2V4 CANADA
Phone: +1 (250-769-1834 -:-
We're all in one boat, no matter how it looks to you. (WS2)
All you need is love. (John Lennon)
But, that doesn't mean other things don't come in handy. (WS2)
Re: Tek bits

 

Is there a complete inventory list?

On July 23, 2018 7:52:01 AM "Andre de guerin via Groups.Io" <testing_h@...> wrote:

Hi, in my shed I have a lot of Tek bits including very hard-to-find long pots.have a few flybacks but not sure what state they are in.
Anyone have a use and want to pay postage only?
_A
Re: Tektronix DM5010 NiCa 2.4V battery replacement

 

Hi everyone,

Ok, I've created a photo album ("DM5010 NiCad battery replacement info") with the battery schematic part and spec of the CMOS RAM.

According to the DM5010 manual, the battery is to be replaced every 2 years.
Procedure is to let the DM5010 running 24h for the battery to fully charge, and then do the calibration.

The CMOS RAM (U1220) that is battery backed, is a HMI-6562-9 (Harris).
According to the specification, the data retention supply current is 10uA max.
For a 110mAH, that would be (110 / .01) = 11000 hours (458 days) for full discharge?
At least, the battery should handle a month or two, I guess?
Correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, according to the schematic, we have a current limit of around 24mA (R1135 limiter resistor at 100R for around 2.3-2.4V) for the trickle charger.
But the trickle charge would be quite high as R1131 is only 100R. Let's say BT1121 is 2.4V and CR1133 cathode is 5V, that would be around 24mA.
Even for the original battery spec'ed at 150mA, trickle charge should be C/10 = 15mA.

My planned replacement battery is spec'ed at 4mA for trickle charge, should I replace R1131 by a 680R resistor? This would give around 3.5mA max.

Thank you for your comments.

Best regards,
Re: Tek bits

Craig Sawyers
 

Hi, in my shed I have a lot of Tek bits including very hard-to-find long pots.have a few flybacks
but not
sure what state they are in.
Anyone have a use and want to pay postage only?
_A
Where on planet earth are you?

Craig
Tek bits

 

Hi, in my shed I have a lot of Tek bits including very hard-to-find long pots.have a few flybacks but not sure what state they are in.
Anyone have a use and want to pay postage only?
_A
Re: Dead 7603

 

I figured as much.?
Thanks, Craig.


Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

-------- Original message --------From: Craig Sawyers <c.sawyers@...> Date: 7/21/18 11:43 PM (GMT-08:00) To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Dead 7603
BTW, I did try a 7A22, a 7A26, and a 7B85 in the plug-in slots last night.? Readout was a bit
grainy, and it
was impossible to get a stable trigger on the calibration squarewave except at the highest
amplitude, a
few volts.
Since the 7B80/85 use +5V it is not surprising that they don't work properly if your 5V is screwy.

Craig
Re: 7603 Calibration Plug In Question

 

It is possible when you use the rigid extender. The signal coax cables in the extender can be disconnected and in their place external coax cables to another scope's input can be connected, all BNC and to be terminated into 50R. Even better would be the special signals pickoff calibration fixture between the -02 and the extender.

Albert

On Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 04:20 PM, Harvey White wrote:


On Sun, 22 Jul 2018 10:04:16 +0100, you wrote:

Thanks Adrian. What I was wondering was whether it could be externally
connected in some way to another scope in order to calibrate that second
scope. I suppose not based on the responses so far.
No, the idea is to plug it in, in place of either a vertical or
horizontal plugin, and it provides standardized signals to the
mainframe itself, allowing you to adjust two scopes to the same gain.
It also has risetime, linearity, and bandwidth signals.

That one has the highest bandwidth, and is suitable for the 7104 scope
(1 Ghz analog bandwidth).


Harvey


On July 22, 2018 9:54:03 AM "Adrian" <Adrian@...> wrote:

It will work with any 7000 series mainframe. This gives an outline and
there's a link to the manual:



Adrian


On 7/22/2018 9:06 AM, David Berlind wrote:
067-0587-02

On July 22, 2018 8:47:06 AM "Craig Sawyers"
<c.sawyers@...> wrote:

Tek scope noob question: Can the calibration plugin for the 7603
also be used in some way for
calibrating other scopes too? Or just the 7603?
Which calibration plugin?

Craig
Re: Tektronix DM5010 NiCa 2.4V battery replacement

 

On Sun, 22 Jul 2018 08:40:54 +0100, you wrote:

My (limited) understanding is that NiMH cells really don't like more than C/20 -
and in many cases the definition of C is, um, very optimistic. I'd restrict
trickle charging to C/40 or C/50 - but that is finger in the wind.
As I remember it, NiCd cells can be left on trickle charge
indefinitely, NiMh cells do require a lower trickle charge current.
NiMh charging is intended to be C/4, C/2, or C (depending on the
cell), but that is for a limited time with end of charge detection
(either delta V, or temperature rise) with failsafe timers, etc. Look
up the TI BQ series for examples of chargers.

So for NiMh the trickle charge is a very low rate. The actual rating
in MAH is dependent on age, manufacturer, etc. Chinese MAH, like the
motors rated in Chinese horses on their lathes and mills, tend to be a
bit smaller than we think.

I did find some Raytheon 2400 MAH NiMh cells that measured just about
2400 MAH.

Harvey





On 22/07/18 00:52, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
I have a couple control panels from a machine tool where the design was for the Varta 3.6V 70mAh batteries that were common on computer motherboards. When they became NLA, the company started using NiMh batteries without a redesign. They leak in under a year, and badly damage the interface board. I just received some rechargable Li-ion batteries to try, when I repair the boards.



12-pcs-LIR2032-Li-ion-Button-Coin-3-6V-Rechargeable-Cell-Battery-w-Tab-US-Stock/
Michael A. Terrell


-----Original Message-----
From: Harvey White <madyn@...>
Sent: Jul 21, 2018 7:02 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [TekScopes] Tektronix DM5010 NiCa 2.4V battery replacement

On Sat, 21 Jul 2018 18:36:42 -0400 (GMT-04:00), you wrote:

You can still buy Ni-Cad replacements for cordless phones, but I always extend the leads and mount them away from anything they can damage. You may have to buy a three cell package and remove one cell, but some are easily reworked and cheap. They are sold by many places, and on Ebay.
Agreed. There are two cell packages (somewhere) as well. The main
problem with the NiCds is twofold. One is the amount of time between
use/charge and loss of calibration data. The second one, (of more
interest once you finally have the calibration equipment) is the
damage a leaking NiCd will cause. Hopefully, the Lithium primary
cells don't do that. IIRC, such cells were not included in the
design, although I do remember one in the AWG series.


Harvey
Re: 7603 Calibration Plug In Question

 

On Sun, 22 Jul 2018 10:04:16 +0100, you wrote:

Thanks Adrian. What I was wondering was whether it could be externally
connected in some way to another scope in order to calibrate that second
scope. I suppose not based on the responses so far.
No, the idea is to plug it in, in place of either a vertical or
horizontal plugin, and it provides standardized signals to the
mainframe itself, allowing you to adjust two scopes to the same gain.
It also has risetime, linearity, and bandwidth signals.

That one has the highest bandwidth, and is suitable for the 7104 scope
(1 Ghz analog bandwidth).


Harvey


On July 22, 2018 9:54:03 AM "Adrian" <Adrian@...> wrote:

It will work with any 7000 series mainframe. This gives an outline and
there's a link to the manual:



Adrian


On 7/22/2018 9:06 AM, David Berlind wrote:
067-0587-02

On July 22, 2018 8:47:06 AM "Craig Sawyers"
<c.sawyers@...> wrote:

Tek scope noob question: Can the calibration plugin for the 7603
also be used in some way for
calibrating other scopes too? Or just the 7603?
Which calibration plugin?

Craig
Re: Dead 7603

 

On Sun, Jul 22, 2018 at 06:07 AM, Dave Hills wrote:


Since this is a linear supply, not a switcher, I would not be concerned about
a 105C part, an 85C part should be just fine. I would first try to find a
replacement with "snap-in" type leads that will fit within the existing lead
spacing. Parts from Nichicon, United Chemicon, or Vishay Sprague are a good
place to look for a replacement. Note the tolerance of the original is
-10%/+100%. You could use a modern 20% part of up to 33,000uF if it provides
a better fit. I don't think the original Sprague 68D's were exceptionally
long life parts, maybe 2000-5000hrs, so I would not worry to much about that.
Here are some "modern" Sprague parts to give you an idea as to what might fit.


Dave

Yep, a 3300 uF cap jumpered across C821 smoothed out the voltage fairly
nicely. The 18,000 uF C821 is toast! I have a feeling removing it is
going to be a two-person job.

Next order of business: there are dozens of 18,000 uF caps with voltage
ratings between 16 V and 100 V listed at Digi-Key and Mouser. Should I
just go with Nichicon or United Chemicon and look for the longest life
one at 105 degrees C without breaking the bank? After all, I did see
one for >$100! Most seem to be $4-6 apiece. Size does not seem to be a
problem, as any modern cap is much smaller than the monster that is in
there; it's about the size of 2 D-cell batteries end to end.

I know for my next 7000 series recap I will use these.

Re: The "other" Tektronix Mail List?

 

There are at least six groups that have to do with Tektronix test equipment:

tekscopes.groups.io

tekscopes2.groups.io

tek500.groups.io (related to Tektronix TM-500/5000 equipment)

tektronix_techs.yahoo.com

tekscoparc.yahoo.com (originally intended as a place to archive Tektronix material)

tektronix_logic_analyzers.yahoo.com

DaveD

On 7/22/2018 2:45 AM, Richard Knoppow wrote:
FWIW, there is a Tektronix list at Yahoo
called TekTronix_TECHs? This seems to be mostly about Tektronix instruments other than scopes but may be of interest. The only other list I found when searching for them some time ago was a small private list of collectors.

On 7/21/2018 11:23 PM, Raymond Cote wrote:
I wasn¡¯t aware of another list!
You mean there other scopes besides the three number ones?
Re: Dead 7603

 

Since this is a linear supply, not a switcher, I would not be concerned about a 105C part, an 85C part should be just fine. I would first try to find a replacement with "snap-in" type leads that will fit within the existing lead spacing. Parts from Nichicon, United Chemicon, or Vishay Sprague are a good place to look for a replacement. Note the tolerance of the original is -10%/+100%. You could use a modern 20% part of up to 33,000uF if it provides a better fit. I don't think the original Sprague 68D's were exceptionally long life parts, maybe 2000-5000hrs, so I would not worry to much about that. Here are some "modern" Sprague parts to give you an idea as to what might fit.

Dave


Yep, a 3300 uF cap jumpered across C821 smoothed out the voltage fairly
nicely. The 18,000 uF C821 is toast! I have a feeling removing it is
going to be a two-person job.

Next order of business: there are dozens of 18,000 uF caps with voltage
ratings between 16 V and 100 V listed at Digi-Key and Mouser. Should I
just go with Nichicon or United Chemicon and look for the longest life
one at 105 degrees C without breaking the bank? After all, I did see
one for >$100! Most seem to be $4-6 apiece. Size does not seem to be a
problem, as any modern cap is much smaller than the monster that is in
there; it's about the size of 2 D-cell batteries end to end.
Re: The "other" Tektronix Mail List?

 

At 09:12 PM 7/21/2018, Roy Morgan wrote:

Is there a mail list oriented to the older "Classic"
Re: 7603 Calibration Plug In Question

 

Don't think it's a problem, it's an upgrade to the -01 version and the opening paragraph of the manual says the -02 is "...suitable for all 7000 series...." I'm guessing the -01 is called out in the 7603 procedure because the -02 didn't exist at the time!

Adrian

On 7/22/2018 10:07 AM, Albert Otten wrote:
Why do you think "for the 7603"? Version -01 is called for in the 7603 calibration procedure. Version -02 is intended for the fastest scopes in the 7000 series including 7104. I don't know whether the faster rise time check function could cause some spurious ringing in the 7603.
Re: Dead 7603

 

Jim,

In audio applications, when a huge filter cap is required, and not practical (usually due to cost), I use 2 smaller caps wired in parallel.
In your case, I would use 2 x 10,000uF 105¡ãC caps, properly rated for the actual voltage measured across the + and - terminals.

Regards

Menahem Yachad
58861 - 58880 of 208699