Talk:11000 Series plug-in interface

TODO(kurt): Find out whether the RIGHT plug-in slot is special in 11400 and DSA600 scopes. It seems likely that it is, given that the 11T5H manual says (section 1-1):

The 11T5H is used with Tektronix Digitizing Mainframes.

and lists only 11400 and DS600 mainframes in the mainframe compatibility table (table 4-4), and the same document (section 1-7) says

Note: If the 11T5H is to be used to trigger on signals originating from an 11A34V Video Amplifier, the 11T5H must be installed in the rightmost plug-in compartment of your mainframe.

So it seems likely that in 11400 and DSA600 scopes, the trigger signals are routed to the RIGHT plug-in slot, same as 11300 mainframes. However, unlike 11300 mainframes, 11400 and DSA600 mainframes allow the RIGHT plug-in to function as a vertical plug-in, i.e., its main signal output (pins 11A/11B) can be used as the vertical axis.

Gregor: I am not an expert in 11000 series scopes at all, but some Tek documents (like the 11000 series interface description) and the existence of the 11k detector on B20 to me are a strong hint that the 11000 series scopes was initially designed to be compatible with the 7k plugins, but this feature was dropped later in the design stage? It would be interesting to mention if that is correct. Otherwise the B20 pin doesn't seem to make any sense.

---

Kurt, I also cannot claim any expertise in the 11000 series scopes, but based on Story of 11400 Development (who is the author?) and the mentioned 11000-Series Plug-in to Main Frame Interface Manual I totally agree with you. The interface manual also lists compatibility of 7k plugins, but does not mention the mechanical obstruction from plugging them in without modification. Also the modified 067-0587-10 is listed in some 11k mainframe manuals in the calibration section. So my personal conclusion is that 7k plugins should be working in most (?) 11k mainframes with the limitations listed in 11000-Series Plug-in to Main Frame Interface Manual.

However, John Addis says they dont: Similarity_of_11000-series_interface_and_7000-series_interface. (However he seems to mostly talk about how 11k plugins dont work in 7k mainframes) Based on that I was initially tempted to remove the statement in the 11401 page that 7k plugins are compatible. Conclusion: Its quite confusing to me at this point. Gregor (talk) 19:30, 11 March 2021 (MST)

Just as a clarification: My confusion is about the compatibility of 11k mainframes with 7k plugins. As long as Story of 11400 Development is trustworthy the 11k series was initially panned to be compatible with 7k plugins and I agree that we should mention this somewhere. Gregor (talk) 19:36, 11 March 2021 (MST)

It is definitely that case that the initial plan was for 7k plug-ins to work in 11k mainframes, though obviously without the fancy end-to-end calibration that makes 11k so nice. An 11k team member confirmed that the 7A29 was used during 11k mainframe development before the 11k plug-ins were available. Kurt (talk) 11:34, 28 December 2022 (PST)