For anyone willing to invest the time and effort into a Tek storage scope, of
which I've looked at over a dozen in the last decade, yet never yet seen one
that worked properly, I'd certainly recommend investing in the "real McCoy"
probes, i.e. Tek P6106's or the like, and I'd not buy them unless they're
complete with everything that came with them when sold new. An old TEK
catalog will clear up what that is, but I've often bought stuff that was
incomplete, only to find that it cost more to make it complete than it would
have cost to buy it complete in the first place.
The probes that were shipped with the 465 and 466 were 2-meter probes with the
very useful end-clips and a couple of replacement probe tips. Be sure that
they have the black plastic sleeve with the ground contact that tells the
'scope that it's a 10x probe that's attached, so that it will correctly
display the voltage setting at the attenuator.
There should also be both a long and a short groundig strap with a 'gator clip
at the end. This should have a polyethylene boot on it so it won't contact
other equipment. It should also have a few plastic identifier rings that snap
at each end of the probe, so you can tell which trace you're going to impact
with whatever you're doing with the probe. When you've got a probe on each
channel, one on the external sweep input, and one on the 'Z' modulator at the
rear of the instrument, it's pretty important to keep track of who's who. The
Z-modulator, BTW, requires a 1x probe, so the ones shipped with the instrument
won't be useable in that context. It's primarily useful for putting timing
markers on the display when you're operating in uncalibrated timing or doing
something else that's out of the ordinary.
Generating high-speed timing to check the 'scope's calibration against a
typical 100 ppm is quite straightforward. IF you have a 100 MHz oscillator
and a 4.5ns GAL, you can double the frequency and generate /2 /5 and /10
outputs, which will line up (VERY nearly) with marks on the display on a
properly calibrated instrument. If they don't line up precisely, you can make
note and "live" with the uncalibrated instrument, which is not impossible, or
you can get someone to help you with the calibration procedure. You can even
spend a fortune to have it done, but it may not be worth it to you. If you
make a table of deviation on each attenuation and each timing scale, you can
pretty reliably interpolate the correct values. This will be less convenient
if the linearity of the sweep is out of whack.
Check your local libraries for information about the TEK 4xx series of solid
state 'scopes. Other (5xxx, 7xxx)-series scopes don't work exactly the same
and most universities have at least a few of this series in house, having
stashed the user manuals somewhere. Perhaps, if you have a contact at the
computer science lab in one of the local colleges, you can get a look at the
user manual, which is not a huge document. You might even be able to arrange
to photocopy it.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: Loboyko Steve <sloboyko_at_yahoo.com>
To: <cctalk_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 2:14 PM
Subject: Re: [possibly OT]: Tektronix 466 - spares needed
> I don't think this is that OT: Everyone who expects to
> fix any of this equipment should have one - and, given
> their incredibly inexpensive prices on eBay, they
> should!
>
> On the manuals, there are two places you can easily
> find with Google who will have manual reprints. I've
> dealt with both and although not inexpensive, the
> manual copies are absoutely first-rate. There are also
> books on how to use a scope that are generic, but will
> help a lot.
>
>
> You can pickup probes from anywhere; just make sure
> you get 100 mhz+ probes if you expect to use your
> scope at 100 mhz. There are used ones on eBay, but
> unless you know what you are doing, it's hard to get a
> good one. I got come probes from Jameco and they are
> pretty good given the price. I would also advise
> getting probes with little test clips on the ends,
> which are not too good on the Mhz, but they are cheap.
>
> There is a Yahoo group specifically geared to the
> repair and maint. of Tek scopes: mostly oriented to
> the older tube types, but they apparently don't get
> mad about people discussing newer transtorized scopes.
>
> I have a 464, but it started to blow fuses, and I
> suspect one of the HV diodes in the "flyback" is bad;
> but I got an entire working 464 for $75 shipped
> recently instead (I will probably fix the older one
> eventually). I also have two working Tek 1230 logic
> analyzers with 4 pods, one as a spare and all manuals
> including training materials. Total investment on this
> originally over $14,000 dollars of logic analyzers:
> 180.00.
>
>
>
>
>
> --- Philip Pemberton <philpem_at_dsl.pipex.com> wrote:
> > Hi,
> > A few days ago I picked up a very nice Tektronix
> > 466 storage
> > oscilloscope, complete with service manual. Catch
> > is, I don't have the
> > operator's manual. The service manual is thick with
> > schematics and parts
> > manifests, a fair bit of technical info ("this part
> > does x function", etc).
> > No real information on how to actually *use* this
> > thing. I've worked out
> > what 90% of the controls do by trial and error
> > (that, plus the fact I used
> > another scope before this one), but the storage
> > section and some of the
> > trigger section still eludes me...
> > Scanned images or photocopy prefered, original
> > manual would be even
> > better.
> > Also, it seems to be missing the blue cover that
> > goes over the front
> > panel and a set of Tek 1x/10x probes that were
> > supposed to come with it.
> > Anyone got a 466 as a junker they wouldn't mind
> > parting out? I've been told
> > Tek abandoned this scope a long time ago...
> >
> > Thanks.
> > --
> > Phil.
> > philpem_at_dsl.pipex.com
> > http://www.philpem.dsl.pipex.com/
> >
>
>
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Received on Thu Jul 18 2002 - 18:26:01 BST