Tek DPO4000B series unscrewed - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: LINACboy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 12:21:44 pm
content: Just had a bit of time to kill and went for a peek inside a Tektronix DPO4108B. This is what came out of it.Nice touch: all important assembly screws have identical heads (Torx T15) and lengths, a couple of self tappers for the plastic front panel excepted.I was hoping to find a way to hacktivate the logic analyzer that you can find on the corresponding MSO4000 series models. But it appears to require a dedicated board which is not installed in the DPO4000 series. You can however see the front panel breakout for the logic probe.Appologies for the underwhelming image quality. Pics were shot with the best cam I own (the one on my phone...).

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 01:33:04 pm
content: It wouldn't surprise me if the connector for the logic analyzer board is what it looks like - a PCI express slot with 4 lanes.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 01:35:57 pm
content: I doubt that. It would be a though job to re-align the timing. I'm more inclined to think the connector has 8 or 16 differential pairs which connects the LA's analog front end (comparators and level adjust) to the (probably) ASIC dealing with the logic analyser part.

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 01:52:03 pm
content: From what I see, it does not need extra board for logic analyzer, as all parts for it are on main PCB (see unpopulated connector and discrete parts around it for all data lines, going into that heatsink-less ASIC).

author: LINACboy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 02:06:47 pm
content: That black PCIexpress connector plugs into the I/O board which provides front USB and rear USB/LAN/VGA/AUX OUT/ 10MHz REF IN. For the mating male connector see the 5th image from top.TiN, I think, your´re onto something. There is an unpopulated 10-pad smd footprint directly on top (below .-.) of the logic-probe outlet on the analog input board (8th image from top).

author: tmbinc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 02:55:59 pm
content: Uh, that's a DPO4014B, isn't it?It's very similar to the DPO5k series, except for the fact that it uses the embedded PPC460EX instead of the embedded PC.Compare withhttp://debugmo.de/2013/03/whats-inside-tektronix-dpo5034/, especiallyhttps://plus.google.com/photos/106225052902927978382/albums/5839187339798665841/5839187657677148546?pid=5839187657677148546&oid=106225052902927978382(the MSO connector), or of course Dave's MDO4k teardown.I seems that for MSO the following parts are missing:- Frontpanel Connector itself- The capture ram (regular SDRAM)- the digital buffersNothing that couldn't be fixed, in my eyes.Oh, and I'd kill for the analog frontend board. If someone has an idea where to buy one for a reasonable price (>= 1GHz), I'd be very interested. (Fixing the analog bandwidth restriction on the <1GHz one is okay, but the preamp makes the signal much nicer and improves triggering a lot.)

author: LINACboy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 04:14:43 pm
content: QuoteYou´re right, that little b... must have fallen under the carpet when I hit the send button. ...corrected.Thanks for posting those links. According to Dave´s pictures, that footprint I mentioned above is supposed to hold an SMT angled 10 pin /100 mil header. Probably for debugging?Just watched EEVblog #199and indeed, the logic probe socket is on the bottom of the main board in perfect alignment with the front panel slot when assembled.https://plus.google.com/photos/106225052902927978382/albums/5839187339798665841/5839187657677148546?pid=5839187657677148546&oid=106225052902927978382Yeah, so if one could guarantee that soldering in all those components you mentioned and flashing the MSO firmware would add the logicanalyzer functionality, I´d probably give it a go. But I´d hate to brick a perfertly fine 1GHz scope in the process^^

author: tmbinc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2015, 05:04:26 pm
content: I don't know how DPO4000B stores their configuration data. I think on DPO4000 it was an I2C EEPROM. I remember hacking the binary to enable higher bandwidth (it's a software setting DPO4000, hardware on DPO4000B; but of course ADCs are still limited) and enable USB2 decoding (with the DPO4USB option module). Not sure if there's a simpler way.I never tried enabling MSO though; also the MSO front panel buttons are missing. (Not sure how much capture hardware was missing on DPO4000, I have the pictures _somewhere_ but can't access them.)

author: Hydrawerk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2015, 09:00:15 pm
content: Why is there no metal cover on the PSU??

author: analogRF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 27, 2020, 08:02:30 pm
content: Is the bandwidth on DPO4000B software upgradable? I dont mean to 1GHz but something like 350MHz to 500MHz or 100MHz to 350MHz

author: darkstar49
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2020, 03:44:04 pm
content: Quote from: analogRF on September 27, 2020, 08:02:30 pmdepends what you mean with "software upgradable"... there's no official way to do it, but there are only 2 types of boards for the DPO4000B (physically), the 2.5GS/s version, and the 5GS/s version (plus DPO vs. MSO, of course). I didn't check, but what does abyrvalg say in the MDO4K thread ? I'm pretty sure some 'admin' commands can alter te model ID, and thereby the bandwidth, within the boundaries of the installed h/w, i.e. max 500MHz for the 2.5GS/s version.Would be easier to know what model you have, what you're looking for, and have some high-res pics of your AFE board...

author: analogRF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2020, 05:53:28 pm
content: Quote from: darkstar49 on September 28, 2020, 03:44:04 pmby software upgradable I meant by sending a command or entering a license key etc...without any HW replacementI dont have the scope yet. If I get it, it will be a 100MHz version which somebody is selling locally. But I only want to get it if I can upgrade the BW to 500MHz. well 1GHz will be a bonus but 500MHz would be enough for me. I have 2-3GHz scopes already...so based on what you are saying it seems that at least 100MHz to 500MHz should be possible, right?but how? I cannot find the commands that need to be sent to the device. Is it through "telnet" or a serial debug port?

author: analogRF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 28, 2020, 07:10:46 pm
content: in the backdoor commands for dpo4000b published by tv84 herehttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/dpo3000-hacks/msg2576115/#msg2576115there is a :SETMODELID and also :HWAccountant:BANDWidthcommand. so it seems perhaps it is possible to upgrade the bandwiidth at least to 500MHzbut which command is the right one and with what parameters?

author: darkstar49
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 29, 2020, 09:27:37 am
content: Quote from: analogRF on September 28, 2020, 07:10:46 pmI believe HWAccountant:BANDWidth is indeed a "factory" command, which sets the bandwidth (within certain boundaries). Regarding the ModelID, I can tell that the 'official' bandwidth upgrades on the DPO/MSO3000 do NOT change the model ID, so don't expect too much from that one, although behaviour could be different on the DPO4K (although the code base is the same, so I doubt they're much different in that respect).