7S12

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The Tektronix 7S12 is a Time Domain Reflectometer / Sampler plug-in for 7000-series scopes. It occupies two mainframe plug-in bays (one vertical, one horizontal).

The 7S12 has two bays for S-series plug-in modules ("heads"). The right bay accepts a pulse generator or a trigger recognizer plug-in, whereas the left bay accepts a sampling plug-in.

The typical configuration is to have an S-6 on the left and an S-52 on the right for time domain reflectometry, or a sampling head like the S-4 on the left and an S-53 on the right as a generic sampler.

The 7S12 can also control an optional 7S11 through its left side contacts, adding a second input channel.

Y axis can be scaled in voltage (mV) or distance (ρ) units, X axis in time or distance.

Specifications

Key Specifications

Sweep modes	Single / Repetitive / Manual / External input
With S-6 and S-52	Pulse: 200 mV into 50 Ω Rise time: < 35 ps for incident step, < 45 ps for displayed reflection Jitter: < 10 ps
Sweep modes	free-running single manual external input
Weight	2.13 kg (4.7 lbs)

Links

Pictures

Front view without sampling head plug-ins
Front view with S-6 sampling head and S-52 pulse generator
7S12 TDR "self portrait" in 7613 storage mainframe
7S12 as a sampler, displaying a 1 GHz sine using a S-6 sampling head and S-53 trigger recognizer, 2^nd channel (top) on a 7S11 with S-4 sampling head.

Inside

Left side
Left side with cover. Side contacts to interface 7S11 are exposed.
Right side
Top view
Horizontal board
Vertical board

Measurements

TDR "Self Portrait" — pulse reflected on S-6 "through" path (approx. 120 ps one way)
7S12 displaying the incident pulse from an S-52 (nom. < 25 ps) through an S-6 head (nom. < 30 ps). Displayed rise time ~35 ps confirms spec.
7S12/S-6/S-52 displaying pulse reflection from ~ 5 in semi-rigid SMA cable. Stored display of two traces. Left trace: cable only, right trace: cable plus SMA-to-BNC adapter (~ 25 mm)
7S12/S-6/S-52 displaying reflected pulse from end of 5 in semi-rigid SMA cable. Stored display overlaying multiple traces, left to right: cable alone, SMA-to-BNC adapter added, BNC f-f adapter added, (cheap) 50 Ω terminator added.
7S11 with S-4 and 7S12 with S-6 and S-53 displaying a 1 GHz sine in normal mode without storage. Sampling is evident.
7S11 with S-4 and 7S12 with S-6 and S-53 displaying a 1 GHz sine in high-res mode with variable-persistence storage on a 7613.