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See also [[:Category:5000 series scopes]] | See also [[:Category:5000 series scopes]] | ||
Introduction to the 5000-Series Oscilloscopes | |||
The Basics of the 5000-Series | |||
The 5000-series (5K) was introduced in 1971 as lower-cost, laboratory oscilloscope | |||
instrumentation with plug-in versatility. This series generally has larger display | |||
screens than the more-expensive and higher-performance 7000-series, but also has | |||
very low bandwidth in comparison. | |||
Unlike other Tektronix products other than the 7704A in the 7000-series, the | |||
5000-series mainframes consist of an acquisition unit (the 5103 or 5403) containing | |||
the plug-in compartments and low-voltage power supply and a display unit (e.g., the | |||
D10, D11, D12, D13, etc.). The idea was that the display unit could be sold | |||
separately for custom integrated uses by other manufacturers at a lower cost than | |||
could be had by using one of the 600-series monitors, and at the same time provide | |||
a larger display screen area. Within the Tektronix product line, the D10 and D11 | |||
display units are used in constructing the 577 semiconductor curve tracer, one | |||
providing a non-storage display and the other providing bi-stable storage. | |||
But within the 5000-series, this led to documentation problems as each oscilloscope | |||
ended up with two model numbers and two serial numbers. In 1977, the scopes that | |||
were listed as “5103/D13” for example, with a serial number for each half, Tek | |||
began eliminating the serial number from the 5103 or 5403 portion, using the serial | |||
number from the display unit as the serial number for the complete oscilloscope. | |||
With this, Tek began referring to the various models with the acquisition unit | |||
prefix followed by the “D” number, such as 5110 for a 5103/D10, 5113 for a 5103/D13 | |||
or 5441 for a 5403/D41. Thus, documentation became much simpler. | |||
Tektronix Service Centers began “grandfathering” this designation with the older | |||
models that had serial numbers on the acquisition unit, referring to them as the | |||
combined number (e.g., 5112) with the display's serial number, ignoring the serial | |||
number of the acquisition unit. | |||
Unfortunately, all of this causes confusion today as service and operator's manuals | |||
are available for the 5103, D10, and 5110. In all cases, if you have the 5110 | |||
manual, you have all the operation and service information you need for that model. | |||
It will be pointless and take a lot more time, energy and money to find separate | |||
manuals for a 5104 and a D13 than it will be to find a 5113 manual. | |||
Mainframe and Plug-In Numbering Convention | |||
While the 7000-series has a certain convention for numbering the mainframes, the | |||
5000-series has very little convention. The beginning “51” designates the | |||
5100-series while “54” designates the 5400-series. After that, there is no | |||
convention as all are three-compartment mainframes which eliminates anything | |||
special that would be attributed to the last digit of the model number. The 10, | |||
12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 that follow the “51” have no special meaning at all. Some | |||
are non-storage, some are bi-stable storage, some are dual-beam, some are both | |||
dual-beam and storage. | |||
Here is a listing of mainframes and their capabilities: | |||
* 5110 Single beam, non-storage | |||
* 5111 Single beam, split-screen bi-stable storage | |||
* 5111A Single beam, split-screen bi-stable storage (updated circuitry), 50 DIV/µs writing rate | |||
* 5112 Dual beam, non-storage | |||
* 5113 Dual beam, split-screen bi-stable storage, 20 DIV/µs writing rate | |||
* 5114 Aha!! Tektronix never made a 5114! Who knows why they skipped over it to the 5115? | |||
* 5115 Single beam, split-screen, bi-stable storage (>200 DIV/µs writing rate) | |||
* 5116 Single beam, tri-color display using a LCD shutter. | |||
* 5223 Single beam, digital storage | |||
* 5440 Single beam, non-storage | |||
* 5441 Single beam, variable-persistence storage | |||
* 5444 Full dual beam (independent horizontal deflection systems using the 5B44 timebase) | |||
(Option 3 enhances the writing rates to 200 DIV/µs on most 5100-series storage | |||
mainframes.) | |||
5000-series plug-in numbering coincides more with that of the 7000-series. The | |||
first digit, a “5”, designates the plug-in as being for use in a 5000-series | |||
instrument. Unfortunately, there is no standard indication of whether or not it | |||
is compatible with the 5400-series. The second digit marks the general use of the | |||
plug-in. “A” units are preamplifiers; “B” units are timebases; “CT” designates | |||
curve tracers; “D” marks digital instruments; “L” is used to denote spectrum | |||
analyzers; and “S” denotes sampling plug-ins. The last two digits, however, depart | |||
from any standardization. It would have been nice for preamps to have a 1, 2 or 4 | |||
to denote number of channels for the third digit and then use the last digit to | |||
denote function, such as differential. But the last two digits are meaningless | |||
other than to differentiate one plug-in from another. The timebases are the same | |||
way, so there is no point of any further discussion. | |||
The Two Faces of 5K and Compatibility | |||
The 5000-series is divided into two general categories: the low-frequency | |||
5100-series and the high-frequency 5400-series. The 5100-series has a maximum | |||
mainframe bandwidth of 2 MHz and lower bandwidths may be inflicted with plug-ins | |||
such as the 5A22N. The 5400-series has a maximum mainframe bandwidth of 60 MHz, | |||
again this figure at the mercy of lower-bandwidth plug-ins. | |||
The lower-bandwidth plug-ins designed for the 5100-series (commonly referred to as | |||
“5100-series plug-ins) are the preamplifiers with suffix numbers of “2x” and lower, | |||
such as the 5A22N, 5A15N or 5A13N. Timebases for this series will have suffixes of | |||
“1x” and lower, such as 5B10N or 5B12N. In addition the 5CT1N semiconductor curve | |||
tracer, 5L4N spectrum analyzer and 5S14N sampling unit are available for use in | |||
this series. | |||
“N” at the end of any Tektronix model number indicates a unit that DOES NOT have | |||
on-screen readout capability. You'll find this designation with all of the | |||
low-bandwidth plug-ins, but for some reason, none of the 5100-series mainframes | |||
ever have the “N” designation even though they have no readout capability. The | |||
only 7000-series products without readout capability have this designation on | |||
everything: 7403N, 7603N, 7A18N, 7B53AN, etc. It is not known why the 5110, for | |||
instance, is not the 5110N. One must suppose that it's simply because NONE of the | |||
mainframes ever have or can have readout capability. But this doesn't explain why | |||
the low-bandwidth plug-ins, none of which have or can every have readout DO have | |||
the “N” designation, with the exception of the 5A21 and 5A22 which have a readout | |||
option for use in the 5400-series mainframes. | |||
Three plug-ins of the 5000-series directly mirror “twins” in the 7000-series: the | |||
5CT1N (7CT1N), 5A22N (7A22) and the 5A13N (7A13). Front panel layout and function | |||
) of these “twins” are nearly identical, although the bandwidth of the 7A13 is | |||
significantly higher than its 5K counterpart. 5100-series plug-ins may be used in | |||
ANY (5100- or 5400-series) mainframe in the 5K series. They will severely limit | |||
the bandwidth of the 5400-series, but they offer capabilities to the 5400-series | |||
that the series would otherwise not have, considering the function of the 5A13N, | |||
5A22N, 5CT1N, 5S14N and 5L4N. | |||
The 5400-series has its own small set of plug-ins dedicated only to that series. | |||
The 5400-series plug-ins absolutely CANNOT be used in the 5100-series and in fact, | |||
have interface connector keyways plugged to prevent them from being seated into a | |||
5100-series compartment. THESE KEYWAYS MUST NEVER BE REMOVED OR ALTERED. | |||
The 5400-series plug-ins are those that have suffixes of “3x” and larger for the | |||
preamps and “4x” and larger for the timebases. There are no other standard | |||
plug-ins that are not preamps or timebases for the 5400-series with the exception | |||
of the 067-0680-00 mainframe normalizer calibration fixture. | |||
At this point, one may be curious and wonder WHY the 5400-series plug-ins cannot be | |||
used in the 5100-series mainframes. A close look at the interface connector on | |||
both series will show that the 5400-series has two extra power supply voltages, | |||
±15v on interface connector pins 6A & B. 5400-series plug-ins will not find those | |||
two supply voltages in a 5100-series mainframe, so will not operate correctly. | |||
Those two pins are otherwise unconnected in a 5100 scope and whether or not one | |||
could modify one by building a bipolar 15-volt supply for those two pins and | |||
actually get a 5400-series plug-in to work is an unanswered question. There is | |||
really not much point in doing such a thing. | |||
TM500-Series/5000-Series Compatibility | |||
The mechanical aspects of the TM500 line of modular instrumentation and those of | |||
the 5000-series are identical except for the interface connector keying. There has | |||
been an instance of a TM500 frequency counter installed in a 5000-series mainframe | |||
with the LED display bright and presumably active, as the photo illustrated for | |||
some items being sold on an on-line auction. But it is suspected that this image | |||
was “Photo-shopped” by the unscrupulous seller. This error had been pointed out to | |||
the seller by this potential buyer with no response from him. | |||
Here is the mandate: TM500 INSTRUMENTS AND 5000-SERIES INSTRUMENTS ARE ABSOLUTELY | |||
AND TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH EACH OTHER. ATTEMPTING TO OPERATE ONE TYPE IN | |||
ANOTHER TYPE OF MAINFRAME WILL RESULT IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PLUG-IN, MAINFRAME | |||
OR BOTH. | |||
Here are the details. In the 5000-series, all power supply voltages are developed | |||
by the mainframe and supplied to the plug-ins as regulated voltages: +5v, ±15v | |||
(5400-series) and ±30v. There are no power supply circuits other than supply | |||
decoupling and small zener regulators in the plug-ins. | |||
On the other hand, the TM500-series power modules (the “mainframes”) supply AC and | |||
raw DC voltages to the compartments and no regulated voltages, and these voltages | |||
are not supplied on similar interface connector pins as the 5000-series. All of | |||
the power supply regulation control circuitry is inside the individual plug-in for | |||
customized voltages, since each plug-in instrument is a radical design departure | |||
from the other instruments. The power module also contains one NPN and one PNP | |||
power transistor for each compartment for use by the instrument installed as a | |||
power supply regulation component, a design to keep the heat out of the plug-in and | |||
in the power module where it can be properly dissipated. None of this is even | |||
similar with the 5000-series. | |||
However, this writer, plagued with intense curiosity, wondered if a 5CT1N could be | |||
modified to operate in a TM500 power module as an independent curve tracer with an | |||
external display. After a lot of study and design work, it was discovered that | |||
such as thing could be done. But it took modification of nearly every interface | |||
connector pad, cutting scores of circuit board runs, adding scores of jumpers and | |||
designing a “piggy-back” circuit board with extra power supply, warning indicator | |||
and signal interface circuitry. It was done, the project was a success and it was | |||
self-designated the “CT501” a rogue, non-Tektronix product. In the near future, | |||
you should be able to find the documentation for this radical conversion project on | |||
the pages of Tekwiki. It is a very intensive and laborious project requiring a lot | |||
of attention to detail and a lot of patience, and there's still no guarantee that | |||
it will work because of differences in production runs | |||
of the 5CT1N circuit board. But this is all an attempt at an illustration to show | |||
how the two systems are not the least bit compatible. | |||
Plug-Ins and Bandwidth | |||
The 5100-series mainframes are limited to a bandwidth of 2 MHz. As low as that | |||
bandwidth is relative to the rest of the Tektronix product line (there have been | |||
probably less than a dozen scopes with lower bandwidth over the life of Tektronix), | |||
many of the plug-ins lower the system bandwidth even more! Full bandwidth of a | |||
5100-series mainframe can be had only with the 5A15N, 5A18N and 5A19N. The other | |||
preamplifiers limit the system bandwidth to 1 MHz, even less if you use a 5A22N and | |||
selectively limit the upper frequency cutoff. | |||
Some may think that this low bandwidth makes the 5100-series worthless. In | |||
reality, there are five things that make the 5100-series attractive and worth your | |||
investment of time and money. (1) Those that work in the low-frequency arena of | |||
audio sound systems, LF and VLF radio, mechanical transducers, hearing aids, etc. | |||
will find the lack of HF noise in the 5100-series to be a blessing; (2) the plug-in | |||
versatility of the 5100-series can be matched only by that of the 7000-series, and | |||
then at a far higher price in cost and complexity; (3) a large display screen, | |||
internal graticule and fine, sharp trace; (4) simple and easy troubleshooting and | |||
repair, usually involving no custom, complex and hard-to-find Tek ICs; (5) and | |||
three nice plug-ins: the 5CT1N semiconductor curve tracer, the 5L4N audio spectrum | |||
analyzer and the 5S14N sampling system give the 5100-series power that you can't | |||
find in any of Tek's portable scopes. The 5S14 increases the effective bandwidth | |||
of the system to around 1 GHz. | |||
Some Interesting Notes | |||
The dual-beam 5444 was offered for sale for just one catalog year at $3330 and then | |||
was gone! The 5B44 was a plug-in developed for the 5444 to allow access to BOTH | |||
sets of horizontal deflection plates for full dual beam operation similar to the | |||
7844 or 566. This plug-in appeared in the same catalog as the 5444 (for $895) and | |||
stayed for a full five years, even though the 5444 was the only scope in which it | |||
would work correctly. By the time it was deleted from the catalog, the price had | |||
risen to $1020. It would be a good story to hear. | |||
The 5CT1N semiconductor curve tracer was introduced in the 1972 catalog and the | |||
price slowly rose from $350 to 375 over four years. Then in 1976, the price shot | |||
from $375 to $600! The next catalog in 1977 increased it to $630 and then a year | |||
later in 1977, it dropped down to $510! | |||
The cheapest Tektronix instrument on record is probably the 5A24N, a spartan | |||
preamplifier that originally sold for $25 in 1971! Ten years later, the price had | |||
risen to $160. | |||
The Tektronix 5000 series includes the following scopes: | The Tektronix 5000 series includes the following scopes: |