Introduction to the 7000-Series Oscilloscopes

In August of 1969, Tektronix issued a supplement catalog featuring a new series of instruments, called the 7000 Series.

Howard Vollum himself wrote the introduction message on page 1 of this supplement, where he presented the 7000 series as a replacement to the 500 scope series, emphasizing the necessity to switch to a new platform for modular high-end scopes due to the limitations of the original 500 series platform designed in 1953. According to Vollum, $28 million (~$200m in 2021 value) were spent in two years to develop the initial components and products of the 7000 series.

While the original 7504 and 7704 mainframes introduced in 1969 were short-lived, the series lasted until the early 1990s, with some of the original 13 plug-ins like the 7A22 or the 7S11 remaining in production throughout.

Common features of 7000-series scopes

• One (7912) or two (all other 7000) vertical plug-in slots
• Zero (7612D), one (7xx3, 7912) or two (7xx4) horizontal plug-in slots
• Horizontal and vertical plug-ins can be used in non-native slots
• On screen readout controlled from plug-ins including probe scaling
• Differential, calibrated 50 Ω signal and trigger connections from plug-in to backplane

7000 series functional color code

Mode Selection

Trigger Source or Control

Uncalibrated Variable

Denotes functional relation

Links

• Scopes
• Plug-ins
• Readout system
• Backplane Interface
• List of 7000 series equipment
• Plug-in packaging
• Back-lit switches
• Soviet Clones