Tektronix TDS 540A repair - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 30, 2015, 05:13:14 am
content: Check out this repair video. Classic problem with leaky capacitors. Huge thanks to another topic (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds644a-not-working/) and personally to Jwalling for the schematics.https://youtu.be/7V0LCL4mL-8

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 08:17:53 pm
content: By the way, does anyone have an experience hacking these scopes to enable some options?My older TDS 540A doesn't have option 2F (FFT), but the hardware seems to be identical to this scope, which does.Would it be a good idea to try NVRAM from one scope in the other? Are there some calibration parameters, which won't match?Or even better, does anybody know a particular location in the NVRAM to be modified to enable option 2F?I have DS1650Y NVRAM chips socketed in both scopes, and backed up (as DS1250Y, which is hopefully correct). So I think I can risk modifying a few bytes.

author: skennedy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2016, 01:21:43 am
content: I have done it on a TDS544a which is very similar to your TDS540A. Enabling the options is really very easy if you have GPIB connection. Unlock the scope with the password string then enable the options one by one.Tektronix forums has all of the detailshere

author: Andy Watson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2016, 01:37:57 am
content: I've done it on a TDS510A. From what I have read on various forums, this series of TDS5xx/6xx use the same memory address and constants. The Tek forum listed above is a good place to start, also, see this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hackingupgrading-old-scope-(tds754d)/

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 27, 2016, 11:21:49 am
content: Quote from: feedback.loop on December 30, 2015, 05:13:14 amNo need to thank me, I just supplied the link.Not sure who managed to get them and post them to the internet.Congrats on the repair!Jay

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 27, 2016, 11:58:09 am
content: Quote from: Jwalling on January 27, 2016, 11:21:49 amAh, it was Hakan, who posts occasionally in the Yahoo Tekscopes group.http://hakanh.com/dl/kits.htmNear the bottom of the page, there are a number of schematics for some of the TDS scopes.

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 07:31:44 am
content: Quote from: skennedy on January 27, 2016, 01:21:43 amUnfortunately, I don't have a GPIB adapter.I looked at the topic you linked, and now I am confused. They are talking about 1245Y chip, and also about 1486, which they propose to read as 1245. Is it the same chip?In my two 540A scopes there are two chips: 1650Y and 1286.Which one has the options?I backed up 1650Y as 1250Y - is this the right way?How can I read the 1286 (TL866 programmer doesn't support 1286)? Do I need to?I also discovered that the backup file I made a few years ago of 1650Y from my older 540A looks quite different from the backup I made from the scope in the repair video. I used some other programmer, which I borrowed from a friend.So I opened up my older scope and read the 1650Y again using the TL866 programmer. The result is very different from the old backup, and looks similar to the dump from the scope in the video.Now I wonder if any of the dumps are correct at all.

author: andy2000
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 10:24:50 pm
content: Quote from: feedback.loop on January 28, 2016, 07:31:44 amThe DS1286 only has 50 bytes of storage, which I don't think is used for anything important (if at all). The DS1650/1250 is the important one because it contains the options and cal constants.For later models (like the TDS7XX series), there is a DS1486 clock which has 128 kB of storage. You can treat that as a DS1245 when reading it. I believe that's where the options are stored. The cal constants are stored in a pair of EEPROMs on the acquisition board. The DS1250 is used for various user data like the event log, probe cal, SPC, and stored settings.

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 05:32:08 am
content: Quote from: Andy Watson on January 27, 2016, 01:37:57 amIn that thread I see commands for a console adapter or GPIB. Addresses in NVRAM are mentioned with respect to TDS784D it seems. I don't quite understand if it is known which is the right address for option 2F in TDS540A, and how to adjust the check sum.

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 29, 2016, 05:36:41 am
content: Quote from: evb149 on January 28, 2016, 07:57:00 amI got these schematics, and they matched my TDS540A exactly everywhere I looked:http://hakanh.com/dl/docs/hardtofind/TDS544A_A10(Acq).pdfhttp://hakanh.com/dl/docs/hardtofind/TDS544A_A11(CPU).pdf

author: feedback.loop
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2016, 06:52:42 am
content: I managed to enable the 2F option by copying the NVRAM from the scope with the option. After running the signal path compensation everything looks great.Also, it seems I was wrong in the repair video saying that probably the DS1650Y NVRAM can be treated as DS1250Y. I had no success copying the chip as 1250 using the TL866CS programmer.I managed to copy the chip using GQ-4X programmer, which I borrowed from a friend. This programmer supports DS1650Y.A copy of DS1650Y with options 1M and 2F is attached.Check out the follow up video:https://youtu.be/iJt2O5zaLRE

author: Fennec
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2016, 12:39:59 am
content: Hi,I've found the Tek calibration Software for the TDS500 series on an old floppy Disk. Seems still working after several years.. Short check with Win 98SE without MS-Dos. So NO WARRANTY. Maybe it helps.All you need is an old PC with a Pentium 133MHz with ISA slot and MS-Dos 6.22a . A GPIB Card you can find on ebay for under $US 20. It must be a PCII or PCIIA. PCI slot does NOT work, maybe timing problems i don't know.http://www.ebay.com/itm/National-Instruments-GPIB-PCII-IIA-IEEE-488-2-ISA-Card-181065-01-Rev-E-/121889113061?hash=item1c612843e5:g:m9kAAOSw~OVWuLKr

author: shingabiss
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 14, 2021, 09:13:06 pm
content: My first post.I have a Tektronix 540A that goes through the usual boot screens; diagonal lines, wave form then clock signal, 3 or 4 relay clicks then all lights on front panel go off, is unresponsive. The 7 segment display starts with a ".L" then segments A/F alternately blink at about 2Hz. After it hangs, these segments blink faster and more erratically.I have replaced all the 33uF/10V and 10uF/35V caps with new ones from DigiKey. I also cleaned both large boards.I cannot seem to find the 7 segment codes or dip switch settings in the service manual or anywhere online.Any help would be greatly appreciated and I can reciprocate with a CAD design or 3d print.