570: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 06:18, 12 August 2024

Tektronix 570

Curve tracer for tubes

Produced from 1955 to (?)

Manuals

Modifications

Tektronix 570 Modification Summaries

Calibration

Miscellaneous

(All manuals in PDF format unless noted otherwise)

Manuals – Specifications – Links – Pictures

The Tektronix 570 was Tek's first curve tracer, introduced in 1955. It is a curve tracer for vacuum tubes. It sweeps the plate voltage between zero and a selectable maximum voltage while "stepping" the control grid through a set of voltages.

A selectable screen voltage is available for testing tubes with screens. The plate voltage is measured and applied to the X-axis of the display. Plate current is measured and amplified and is applied to the Y-axis of the display.

John Kobbe had a key role in the development of both the 570 and 575 curve tracers. He says:

While I was working on the 540 series vertical amplifier, Virgil Briton, whose bench was next to me, had put together a vacuum tube curve tracer using stepping relays and other mechanical devices. I remember thinking that, that was a neat display even if it did a lot clicking and was slow.
After putting the cross hatch generator together, I knew it would be very easy to do the curve tracer electronically, it started for in house use, but after putting a self-contained instrument together, Tek decided to call it 570^[1] and sell it.

Key Specifications

please add

Internals

The 570 contains five transformers:

T310: center-tapped isolation transformer for plate sweep
T340: multitap transformer for heater voltages
T401: multitap autotransformer for selecting peak plate voltage, feeds T310
T501: transformer for floating supplies and screen voltage supply
T620: transformer for 60 kHz HV power oscillator for CRT voltages

The screen supply is regulated and uses a 6CD6GA tube as the series regulator.

The vertical and horizontal amplifiers are almost identical. The first stage is a differential amplifier made of two 6AU6 tubes. The second stage is a differential amplifier made of both halves of a 6BQ7A.

A T52P1 CRT is standard in the 570.

Links

Pictures

Early Tektronix 570 (Brown Era)

Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5010

Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5055

Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5148

Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5429

Adaptors for Different Tube Bases

12-pin adaptor
12-pin adaptor
7-pin miniature adaptor
7-pin miniature adaptor

Notes

↑ The original quote refers to the 575, however, the first curve tracer was the 570 in 1955; the 541 was released in 1955 as well, and the text continues to tell the 575 story. It follows that the instrument referenced is clearly the 570, not the 575, which was released in 1957.

Components

Some Parts Used in the 570

Part	Part Number(s)	Class	Description	Used in
12AT7	154-0039-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode)	dual high-gain triode	161 • 180 • 310 • 310A • 315 • 316 • 360 • 502 • 502A • 511A • 512 • 513 • 513D • 514 • 514AD • 514D • 516 • 524 • 529 • RM529 • 544 • 546 • 547 • 556 • 565 • 570 • 3A2 • 75 • 3A75 • 1M1 • A • B • C • G • H • K • L • ML • M • N • K • R • S • Z • Keithley 610B
12AU7	154-041 • 154-0041-00 • 154-0287-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode)	dual medium-μ triode	104 • 104A • 122 • 160 • 161 • 162 • 181 • 190 • 310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 3C66 • 502 • 502A • 507 • 511A • 512 • 516 • 517 • 517A • 524 • 526 • 535 • 536 • 545 • 545A • 545B • 547 • 549 • 555 • 561 • 564 • 570 • 575 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • C • D • E • N • Q • Hickok 1825
12AX7	154-043 • 154-0043-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode)	dual triode	3C66 • 513 • 524 • 531 • 531A • 535 • 536 • 545 • 545A • 545B • 546 • 547 • 549 • 555 • 570 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • E • Q • Hickok 1825 • Keithley 610
12B4	154-044 • 154-0044-00	Vacuum Tube (Triode)	power triode	126 • 310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 502 • 502A • 524 • 526 • 541 • 541A • 535 • 535A • 545 • 545A • 546 • 547 • 570 • 549 • 551 • 555 • 513 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • Keithley 610
12BZ7	154-048 • 154-0048-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode)	dual triode	524 • 570
154-0763-00	154-0763-00 • 154-0763-03	CRT	5" CRT	525 • 570 • 575
5642	154-0051-00 • 154-0079-00	Vacuum Tube (Diode)	directly-heated high-voltage rectifier	310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 360 • 453 • 502 • 502A • 503 • 504 • 506 • 513 • 515 • 516 • 524 • 529 • RM529 • 533 • 533A • 535 • 536 • 543 • 543A • 543B • 545 • 545A • 545B • 547 • 551 • 555 • 556 • 560 • 561 • 561A • 561S • 564 • 567 • 570 • 575 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • 647 • 647A
5651	154-052 • 154-0052-00 • 154-0288-00	Gas Discharge Tube (Voltage regulator)	87 V voltage reference	128 • 160 • 310 • 310A • 502 • 503 • 504 • 511A • 512 • 516 • 517 • 524 • 526 • 531 • 531A • 535 • 536 • 541 • 541A • 543 • 543A • 543B • 545 • 545A • 545B • 570 • 549 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A
6AL5	154-016 • 154-0016-00 • 154-0038-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Diode)	high-perveance dual diode	163 • 181 • 190 • 1M1 • 310 • 310A • 315 • 316 • 317 • 3B1 • 3B1S • 3B2 • 3B3 • 3B5 • 502 • 502A • 503 • 511 • 511A • 512 • 516 • 517 • 517A • 524 • 526 • 535 • 535A • 545 • 545A • 549 • 551 • 565 • 570 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • C • T • Telequipment D52 • Telequipment D56 • Telequipment S52
6AN8	154-078 • 154-0078-00	Vacuum Tube (Triode/Pentode)	triode-pentode combo	310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 360 • 502 • 502A • 516 • 517 • 517A • 526 • 565 • 570 • 575 • N
6AQ5	154-017 • 154-0017-00	Vacuum Tube (Pentode)	beam pentode	310 • 310A • 316 • 360 • 507 • 511A • 512 • 517 • 517A • 524 • 536 • 570 • 575
6AU6	154-0022-00 • 157-0073-00 • 157-0059-00 • 154-0284-00	Vacuum Tube (Pentode)	RF pentode	107 • 160 • 181 • 190 • 60 • 2A60 • 72 • 3A72 • 3C66 • 310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 360 • 502 • 502A • 506 • 511 • 511A • 512 • 513 • 516 • 517 • 517A • 524 • 526 • 529 • RM529 • 531 • 531A • 535 • 536 • 545 • 545A • 546 • 547 • 549 • 555 • 561 • 561A • 561S • 564 • 565 • 567 • 570 • 575 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • 80 • C • CA • Q
6AX4	154-113 • 154-0113-00	Vacuum Tube (Diode)	diode	570
6AX5	154-023 • 154-0023-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Rectifier)	rectifier	570
6BQ7A	154-028 • 154-0028-00 • 157-0022-00 • 157-0003-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Triode)	dual triode	107 • 163 • 181 • 310 • 315 • 316 • 360 • 524 • 531 • 532 • 535 • 536 • 541 • 545 • 570 • T
6CD6GA	154-0112-00	Vacuum Tube (Pentode)	20 W beam-power pentode	570
6CL6	154-031 • 154-0031-00 • 154-0286-00	Vacuum Tube (Pentode)	7.5 W power pentode	132 • 310 • 310A • 316 • 317 • 515 • 524 • 525 • 531 • 535 • 535A • 545 • 545A • 545B • 549 • 570 • 581 • 581A • 585 • 585A • 3A74
6X4	154-035 • 154-0035-00	Vacuum Tube (Dual Rectifier)	dual rectifier	128 • 130 • 181 • 511A • 512 • 517 • 517A • 570
T0520	154-0093-00 • 154-0097-00 • 154-0102-00 • 154-0103-00 • 154-0129-00 • 154-0162-00 • 154-0176-00 • 154-0343-00	CRT	5" CRT	525 • 532 • 570 • 575

[1] The original quote refers to the 575, however, the first curve tracer was the 570 in 1955; the 541 was released in 1955 as well, and the text continues to tell the 575 story. It follows that the instrument referenced is clearly the 570, not the 575, which was released in 1957.

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Oscilloscope Sidebar|
+{{Instrument Sidebar
-title=Tektronix 570 |
+|class=Curve Tracer
-image=Tektronix-570-Outside-Front.jpg |
+|manufacturer=Tektronix
-caption=Tektronix 570 front |
+|model=570
-introduced=1955 |
+|summary=Curve tracer for tubes
-discontinued=(?) |
+|image=Tektronix-570-Outside-Front.jpg
-summary=Curve tracer for tubes |
+|caption=Tektronix 570 front
-manuals=
+|introduced=1955
-* [http://w140.com/tek_570_rk.pdf Tektronix 570 Manual 070-167 (good quality, OCR, PDF)]
+|discontinued=(?)
-* [http://w140.com/tek_570_manual_070-359_7-63.pdf Tektronix 570 Manual (good quality, PDF)]
+|designers=John Kobbe
-* [http://w140.com/mmm/tek-570.pdf Tektronix 570 Manual (mediocre quality, PDF)]
+|manuals=
-* [http://w140.com/tek_fcp/tek_570_fac_cal.pdf Tektronix 570 Factory Calibration Procedure (PDF)]
+* [[Media:070-167.pdf|Tektronix 570 Manual 070-167 (1955)]] (OCR)
-* [[Media:Tek 570 fcp feb 1964.pdf]]
+* [[Media:070-359.pdf|Tektronix 570 Manual 070-359 (1963)]]
+<!-- * [https://w140.com/mmm/tek-570.pdf Tektronix 570 Manual] (mediocre quality) -->
+<!-- * [https://w140.com/tek_fcp/tek_570_fac_cal.pdf 570 Factory Calibration Procedure 1959] -->
+<small>
+'''Modifications'''
+* [[Media:570 Mod Summary.pdf|Tektronix 570 Modification Summaries]]
+'''Calibration'''
+* [[Media:Tek 570 fcp.pdf|570 Factory Calibration Procedure 1959]]
+* [[Media:Tek 570 fcp feb 1964.pdf|570 Factory Calibration Procedure 1964]]
+'''Miscellaneous'''
+* [[Media:Tek Type 570 Characteristic-curve Tracer Technical Description.pdf|570 Technical Description]]
+* [[Media:Tek Type 570 Preliminary Brochure.pdf|570 Preliminary Brochure]]
+</small>
 }}
-The '''Tektronix 570''' is a curve tracer for tubes, introduced in 1955.
+The '''Tektronix 570''' was Tek's first curve tracer, [[introduced in 1955]].  It is a curve tracer for vacuum tubes.
-It sweeps the plate voltage between zero and a selectable maximum voltage
+It sweeps the plate voltage between zero and a selectable maximum voltage while "stepping" the control grid through a set of voltages.
-while "stepping" the control grid through a set of voltages.
 A selectable screen voltage is available for testing tubes with screens.
 The plate voltage is measured and applied to the X-axis of the display.
 Plate current is measured and amplified and is applied to the Y-axis of the display.
+[[John Kobbe]] had a key role in the development of both the 570 and [[575]] curve tracers. [https://vintagetek.org/my-early-tektronix-days-by-john-kobbe-2/ He says]:
+<blockquote>
+While I was working on the [[541|540 series]] vertical amplifier, [[Virgil Briton]], whose bench was next to me, had put together a vacuum tube curve tracer using stepping relays and other mechanical devices. I remember thinking that, that was a neat display even if it did a lot clicking and was slow.
+After putting the cross hatch generator together, I knew it would be very easy to do the curve tracer electronically, it started for in house use, but after putting a self-contained instrument together, Tek decided to call it 570<ref>The original quote refers to the 575, however, the first curve tracer was the [[570]] in 1955; the [[541]] was released in 1955 as well, and the text continues to tell the [[575]] story. It follows that the instrument referenced is clearly the 570, not the 575, which was released in 1957.</ref> and sell it.
+</blockquote>
 {{MissingSpecs}}
@@ Line 32: / Line 50: @@
 * T620: transformer for 60 kHz HV power oscillator for CRT voltages
-The screen supply is regulated and uses a [[6CD6GA]] tube as the series
+The screen supply is regulated and uses a [[6CD6GA]] tube as the series regulator.
-regulator.
 The vertical and horizontal amplifiers are almost identical.
 The first stage is a differential amplifier made of two [[6AU6]] tubes.
 The second stage is a differential amplifier made of both halves of a [[6BQ7A]].
+A [[T0520|T52P1]] CRT is standard in the 570.
+==Links==
+* https://vintagetek.org/curve-tracers/
+* [[Media:Tek 570 10 amp request.pdf|Request from GE for a 10-amp 570]] (1961)
 ==Pictures==
+=== Early Tektronix 570 (Brown Era) ===
+<gallery>
+Tek570-test-setup.jpg
+Tek 570 top controls and storage.jpg
+</gallery>
+===Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5010===
 <gallery>
 Tektronix-570-Outside-Front.jpg
-Tek570-test-setup.jpg
 Tektronix-570-Inside-Right.jpg
 Tektronix-570-Inside-Left.jpg
@@ Line 51: / Line 79: @@
 Tektronix-570-Outside-Front-Close2.jpg
 Tektronix-570-Inside-Right-Close3.jpg
-Tek 570 top controls and storage.jpg
+</gallery>
-Tek 570 12-pin fixture 1.jpg
+=== Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5055 ===
-Tek 570 12-pin fixture 2.jpg
+<gallery>
+tek_570_sn5055_1.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_2.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_3.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_4.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_5.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_6.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_7.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_8.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_9.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_10.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_11.jpg
+tek_570_sn5055_12.jpg
+</gallery>
+=== Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5148 ===
+<gallery>
+tek_570_sn5148_1.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_2.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_3.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_4.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_5.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_6.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_7.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_8.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_9.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_10.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_11.jpg
+tek_570_sn5148_12.jpg
+</gallery>
+=== Tektronix 570 Serial Number 5429 ===
+<gallery>
+Tek 570 sn5429 1.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 2.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 3.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 4.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 5.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 6.jpg
+Tek 570 sn5429 7.jpg
+</gallery>
+===Adaptors for Different Tube Bases===
+<gallery>
+Tek 570 12-pin fixture 1.jpg|12-pin adaptor
+Tek 570 12-pin fixture 2.jpg|12-pin adaptor
+Tek 570 seven pin miniature adapter 1.jpg|7-pin miniature adaptor
+Tek 570 seven pin miniature adapter 2.jpg|7-pin miniature adaptor
+Tek 570 assorted adapters.jpg
 </gallery>
+==Notes==
+<references />
+==Components==
+{{Parts|570}}
 [[Category:Curve tracers]]
 [[Category:Specifications needed]]
 [[Category:Introduced in 1955]]