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I am working on a Tektronix 2467 oscilloscope and need to know if I need to put new 3.7 volt battery in this oscilloscope when to battery reads 3.7 volts.

Voltage is a poor indicator of remaining charge, lithium batteries maintain a mostly flat voltage over their life with a sharp drop at the end.

We use the date code imprinted on the batteries

Over 5-10 years old, replace regardless of voltage

J

My 2467 battery has a '97 date code, still going strong. I have the gear to
calibrate it when it gives up, though.

On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 5:12?PM Jean-Paul via groups.io <jonpaul=
[email protected]> wrote:

We use the date code imprinted on the batteries

Over 5-10 years old, replace regardless of voltage

J

On Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 5:21?PM Sigur?ur ?sgeirsson via groups.io <siggi=
[email protected]> wrote:

My 2467 battery has a '97 date code, still going strong. I have the gear to
calibrate it when it gives up, though.

Sorry, I misremembered. Mine has an '85 date code. Still going strong.

Whether you decide to replace the battery now or not, take a few
minutes to back up your calibration data first. Two easy methods:

1) Use the built-in diagnostic routine EXER 02 and record a video
while scrolling through all 256 calibration values. How to use
EXER 02 is in the service manual.

2) Or, if you have the GPIB option, via the GPIB interface enter
the command "key 0" followed by the command "earom? f" . This will
produce a list of 256 numbers which is the calibration data. Save
this output in a file for future reference.

-mark

Does this procedure also apply to 2465 ?
thanks.
maurizio

Just for completeness of the information, what kind of cable is needed to do the GPIB backup into a windows PC?
I know there are those rather pricey HP GPIB to USB adapters floating around ebay for $100 and plus.
Would that be the correct cable type?

And what software is needed in the PC?

Yes, it also works with the 2465 (meaning not A or B versions).

With the 2445 or 2465, you will get 200 calibration values returned instead of 256. If you don't have any options installed, I believe it will only return 100 values because the second EEPROM (EAROM) resides on the options card cage which is only installed if you have options.

-mark

On 2025-04-09 9:40 AM, Alex wrote:

I know there are those rather pricey HP GPIB to USB adapters floating around ebay for $100 and plus.

Well, my KISS-488 is one of those "pricey" adapters, at $129 single piece via my www.hxengineering.com, but it does way more than just USB. USB/serial at 115.2 KBPS, Telnet, HTTP (any standard browser), SNTP (sets a local clock, to timestamp data it records and graphs), ICMP (so you can ping to confirm connection), and TFTP (for firmware updates). And I've recently added some "quantity purchase" options as well. Best of all, it's as close to obsolescence-proof as I could make it - no PC side drivers to load, indeed not even tied to PC, as one of my beta testers uses it with an Apple. Just a lot of standard protocols that are well establish and not likely to go away soon. Others have suggested the roll-your-own approach, but I'm here to tell you it takes a lot more than it first appears, and I'll never make enough on it to justify the amount of time in it. But I mode it for my own use and decided to share it to help keep these old boat anchor precision instruments alive.

Pardon the sales pitch, but I only mention it when directly applicable to solve a list member's need. I'll shut up now, and any queries should be taken offline directly to me at SteveHx@....

Steve Hendrix

I run Linux with the linux-gpib driver, which from personal experience works fine with the NI GPIB PCI card and the Keysight 82357B.

For windows, I'm certain other users can jump in with some recommendations. Steve Hendrix, a user on this group, has a product called the KISS-488, but I have not used it: . There are a number of open source GPIB (aka IEEE-488) adapters, such as the AR-488, if you are looking for something more home-brew.

If you are asking specifically about the cable, I would recommend getting a used HP 10833A/B/C/D cable. They come in various lengths depending on the suffix letter.

Note that GPIB functionality is very limited on the 2445/2465 (plain)/A/B and 2467 scopes and only provides basic control and can also return measurement values. It does NOT allow you to download a copy of the displayed waveform, if you are expecting that. So, if you have a GPIB interface laying around, it's handy to use for calibration backup, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to get one just for backup.

For the software on the PC, you just need to be able to send a command and capture the output to do a cal backup. All adapters have this capability in their host software. No one has written any special application for backing up these scopes, as far as I know.

-mark

If anyone is interested in old GPIB adapter hardware and has a USA mailing address, I can offer for free:

- HP 27209-60001 GPIB 8-bit ISA card, or

- IOTech Micro488/EX Bus Controller (this is a bi-directional RS232<-->GPIB gateway), w/power adapter and manual

Either (or both, if you can use both), would be for the cost of postage on a USPS flat-rate box. You would email me a label.

Either can be used to do the cal backup, and communicate with other GPIB/HPIB/IEEE-488 equipment. They're not doing anything here except collecting dust for years. Please contact me off-list if interested.

-mark