570

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Tektronix 570
Curve tracer for tubes
Tektronix 570 front

Produced from 1955 to (?)

Manuals
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

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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

Notes

  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.

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