Savecal5k: Calibration Backup Disk for Tektronix TDS5000 Oscilloscopes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 11:24:29 am
content: Somebody has created software to Backup the factory calibration constants on TDS5000 (Non B) scopes. More scopes like the B versions are planned.https://www.ebay.com/itm/126049416547?No affiliation.

author: colorburst
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 12, 2023, 11:39:27 pm
content: Thank you Jay for sharing my listing.I'm the developer of the backup disk and will be happy to answer any questions in this thread. The disk was in part inspired by this forum and is meant to prevent loss of calibration data as seen in the following cases:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5104-cant-find-cal-data-during-starting-scope-application/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5054-calibration-problem/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5052-loss-of-calibration-data/The included utility runs directly off the floppy disk and communicates with the TekScope application to retrieve the contents of the EEPROM. The backup file is written to the same floppy and named after the scope model and its serial number for easy tracking; one disk can be used to store backups for multiple scopes. It's all done in software, so there is no need to open up the scope and attach an external programmer.In the event the EEPROM needs to be written to, an external programmer is still required at the moment. In theory, it's possible to write the calibration data back into the chip in software also, and if there's sufficient interest, this capability may be pursued further.This utility is designed to work withTDS5000andTDS5000Bseries scopes, e.g. TDS5104B, TDS5104, TDS5054B, TDS5054, TDS5052B, TDS5052, TDS5034B, TDS5034, TDS5032B, and TDS5032, as well as VM5000 instruments. It's compatible with any oscilloscope that uses the latest versions of TekScope firmware,2.0.11,1.2.1, and1.1.5; support for other versions can be added by request.

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 13, 2023, 08:27:18 am
content: FYI: There are a number of reports on the board of the TDS7000 series losing the factory calibration constants as well. I've had it happen once myself. Could be your next project.

author: colorburst
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2023, 02:54:10 am
content: I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm going to leave it to someone else. This has to be debugged on real hardware, and the last thing I need is one of those boat anchors!Updated December 2024: a software-based method for backing up TDS7000 and TDS8000 cal constants was recently described inthis EEVblog thread.

author: chronos42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2023, 09:01:41 pm
content: @colorburstHi,I would like to ortder your disk for my TDS 5104 to be prepared if the EEPROM failes.But: "No shipping to Germany", according to the eBay offer.

author: colorburst
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2023, 09:48:30 pm
content: chronos42,Thank you for reaching out, I can ship this anywhere in the world and just enabled the option in the listing. Germany should now be available, but if you encounter any problems when ordering, feel free to send me a message and I'll look into your specific case.Thanks,

author: chronos42
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2023, 04:39:31 pm
content: Thanks,just ordered.

author: Bravo
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2023, 06:41:04 am
content: Hi, I will also be purchasing one if you can ship to New Zealand.Also can you tell me if the CD drive on the TDS5054 can write to a CD, or does it only read ?Thanks in advance.

author: Bravo
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 18, 2023, 07:58:28 am
content: I tried to make a purchase, but New Zealand is left off the countries that you can ship to. It is a couple of hours away from Australia. Is is possible to add it ?Thanks in advance.

author: colorburst
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 19, 2023, 06:30:39 am
content: Hi Bravo,Thank you for your interest. Sorry New Zealand wasn't on the list, I just added it. If it doesn't show, please send me a direct message and I'll investigate.Regarding the CD writing ability, it varies. AFAIK it was an optional feature, but many scopes had it and it wouldn't be indicated on the sticker. You can usually tell by looking for words "recordable" or "rewritable" on the faceplate of the drive. If you only have a CD-ROM, it can be upgraded with a common laptop-style IDE disk drive.