Does anyone have a Fluke (Wavetek) 9500 and 5 9530 heads? - Adjustiment TDS7104 - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: squadchannel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2023, 04:48:01 am
content: First of all, I am using Deepl translation. Some sentences may be difficult to read. My apologies.I recently purchased a TDS7104.I found a junked and battered TDS7104 and decided to fix it up and use it.Parts purchased, made, etc., and the fix is complete! It is now operational.TDS7000 Topic folks. Thanks.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tek-csa7404-repair-project/However, a problem arose. I executed a command to address an error I was getting in the debug terminal output.QuoteI then rebooted and was pleased to find that the error was gone. However, when I ran Diagnostic, there was a 521 error in Factory Cal Integrity.I was stumped, apparently I had deleted the calibration data.......In my search, I found a dump of the calibration data on the ACQ board in a post in the TDS7000 topic.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tek-csa7404-repair-project/msg3144050/#msg3144050I tried writing it to the EEPROM and it did indeed remove the error.However, the error is gone, but the calibration is still off.Therefore, I am looking for someone who has the Fluke 9500B needed for the calibration.I have looked for a repair company in my area of Japan, but none of them have the 9500.They seem to have the old school 5500/5700 though.Maybe they don't have it because I need 5 active heads 9530 and it costs $8000 on ebay?Or you can give up and1) Use the dump as written, or2) Buy a new TDS7104 ACQ board.Hmmm, the calibration doesn't seem to be off, but I don't feel good.But I also want to taste the TDS7104, which is more powerful than the TDS754D I was using before, as soon as possible.What would you guys do?Anyone who has a Fluke 9500 (or 9500B) and 5 active heads 9530, I'll pay you and you can calibrate this poor TDS7104.I do have software for calibration, downloaded from Tek.com.We can pay up to $1000. Shipping from your place to mine + work fee.Or the one who is willing to rent it to me for $500 a week.How do I get them to trust me?Thanks for reading. I have something I want to build and sell, so I'll be using it as is for a while.Please reply if you have 5 9500 and 9530 and are willing to adjust or loan TDS7104.Edit 01/20/2023I got a rough estimate from Tektronix Japan for $2300(US).It's not an amount you can pay in the hobby.

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2023, 10:01:30 am
content: Does it really need a 9500 scope calibrator, or could it also be calibrated with a Fluke 5800/5820 with the right options? Or even a 5500 with the 1.1 GHz scope calibration option? Not that I expect many hobbyists to have that either, but you might find more cal labs with one of those.If it's for hobby, could you generate the necessary signals another way, like with RF signal generators or older Tektronix TM500/TM5000-series scope calibrators?

author: squadchannel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2023, 12:02:32 pm
content: The TDS7000 series has calibration and adjustment software called NTCATS.According to the service manual, if the calibration is1) Automatic calibration using "NTCATS" and 95002) Manual calibration using the 5800 or a general SGHowever, when it comes to adjustment, the service manual does not describe the manual adjustment method.Therefore, it seems that the only way is to adjust using "NTCATS" and 9500.NTCATS binary is here.I believe the .con file in the "Control" folder is the file programmed to do this automatically.If this can be deciphered, manual calibration may be possible.

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2023, 12:40:36 pm
content: The .CON files seem quite readable to me. There's a bit of discussionhere. Looking at TDS7104.con, it appears to me like it defines two sequences of steps at the top. One for performance verification, and the other adjustment:Code:SEQ = PV (SPC = spc,VERT_DCACCUR = vert_dcaccur,DELTA_VOLTS = vert_gain,VERT_BANDWIDTH = vert_bandwidth,CHANNEL_ISOLATION = channel_isolation,CLK_ACC = clk_acc,A_TRIG_SENS = trigSens,B_TRIG_SENS = trigSens,PULSE_TRIG_ACC = pulse_trig_acc,CHAN_DELAY_CHECK = chanDelay,DELTA_TIME_ACC = delta_time_acc,PROBE_COMP_CHECK = probe_comp_check,IO_SIGNALS = io_signals)SEQ = ADJ (CVR_CAL = cvr_cal,SPC = spc,HF_CAL = hf_cal,GLITCH_TRIG_CAL = glitch_trig_cal,PNP_LATENCY_CAL = pnp_latency_cal,TRIG_POS_CAL = trig_pos_cal,CHAN_DELAY_CAL = chanDelay,SPC = spc)And below that all the tests are defined with the individual steps. MF_SET_*/MF_UNSET_* statements appear to be sending commands to the scope. I'm not quite sure what SET_SEC, SET_LOC, UNSET_LOC etc means. Looks like PTABLE indicates which signal the scope is expected, and PV the specification it's supposed to meet. For the adjustment, I imagine CALSTORE_MAGIC_WORD will write to the calibration memory (this might be documented in the manual if you're lucky), etc. So if the second sequence indeed corresponds to the adjustment, and the manual documents all commands necessary for adjustment, then it might be possible to do the procedure by hand.Unfortunately control of the calibrator is not in this file, but it might be possible to replace PTABLE commands with HOOKUP_INST or something like that. This would be a long process involving lots of trial and error, however.

author: calibrationfixture
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2023, 05:48:10 am
content: Hi,See also the TDS5000(B) Service Manuals. Same Configuration (CalData EEPROM on Acquisition Board), needed Equipment and thus "Problem". With one addition: a Sample of the Calibration Program written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6. Would be nice if the Program could be rewritten for Tektronix CG5011/SG5030/SG5050 and other "affordable" Calibration Sets.Calibrationfixture

author: calibrationfixture
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2023, 11:09:10 am
content: Hi again,How did you acquire the NTCATS Software? I can't find them on my TDS5000, TDS7000B HDD's and TDS7000B Series Product Software Disks.Calibrationfixture

author: squadchannel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2023, 02:39:47 pm
content: Reply #3, what I did after alm replied.I am trying to edit the files used for the NTCATS config (g_config, r_config and TDS7104.con) to see if the behavior changes.However, the only GP-IB converter I have is the NI PC-GPIB used inside the AWG430 and I am not sure if it will work.I'm in the process of getting my old computer (Pentium 66MHz) out of storage to install Windows 98 and trying it out.Quote from: calibrationfixture on January 21, 2023, 11:09:10 amNTCATS was downloaded from Tek.com."TDS7104 AND 7054 FIRMWARE UPGRADE"NTCATS software is not available for TDS7000 and 7000B series except TDS7054 and TDS7104."Adjustment Procedures" in the TDS7000B Service Manual, "Adjustment must be performed by a Tektronix Service Center.".Quote from: calibrationfixture on January 21, 2023, 05:48:10 amThe commands are indeed listed in the TDS5000B service manual. It may be worth a try.Thanks, Calibrationfixture!

author: charlyd
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2023, 10:24:18 am
content: Anybody here experienced with rebuilding the NTCATS file to so it can be used for a TDS7254 and TDS7404 series.like building extra files in the control folder :TDS7254.conTDS7404.conCSA7404.contogether with a Data Precision 8200 calibrator ( from the DP8200 config info g_config, r_config can be found in the old FAS config ) and maybe use SG unit in the range of like a smiq06B in manual mode or an other over 4 GHZ unit. ( in the old FAS there was an Auto and Manual mode i can imagine it doesn t have the auto commands for gpib in the software but i know from the earlier FAS in manual mode you could use many SG units with the software and yes it took a long very time to finish the manual Cal. but was do-able.Or do these units differ so much that the 7054,7104 is a total different series and firmware then the 7254,7404.(which would mean that the 7254,7404 would never respond to the tweaked NTCATS software)looking back to the old days the TDSXXX series were very different but all the FAS file set were many similaritiesor is the only way with the wavetek 9500 and the 9530 heads?