Phillips 3050 60 mhz scope - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: jmctech
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 12:48:18 am
content: I bought a Phillips 3050 scope, I paid $66 USD for it. UPS dropped it off, it looks like it has been through some rough use. Powered it up hooked the leads up to the Cal terminal and it appears to work. I had it powered for about 15 minutes then I heard a pop and saw A LOT of smoke. But the thing stayed operational. Unplugged it, aired the kitchen out and took it apart. Found an old RIFA cap had decided to explode. Got on mouser ordered a new one (and a couple more). Those got delivered today, popped it in and it is working once again.Here is the bad capGot it working againI have a couple questions though,Does anyone have a manual for it? I found the service manual online but I can't find the owners manual.On the top there are little flat headed screw that don't hold anything, they are acting as plugs. Is there some type of optional equipment that you can screw to the top of this?

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 12:58:44 am
content: Cool! Good job on the cap. I haven't seen that model scope before, it's got an interesting settings display on the right side of the CRT.

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 12:59:08 am
content: Probably a top-mounted multimeter, I think Philips also had them.There is also a Philips current probe around whose preamp can be mounted to some scopes. But if I remember correctly the preamp was mounted on the side.

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 01:01:10 am
content: Quote from: xrunner on March 28, 2015, 12:58:44 amYes, the idea was to get rid of the somewhat unreliable and maintenance-happy drum switches and replace them with a controller + some standard buttons. Also gives programmability, HP did a somewhat similar rack mount scope, beginning of 80s I think. The called it some overblown name, "oscillioscope measurement system" or something like that.From what I heard the reed relays that superseded the drum switches tend to break sometimes, too. I read mostly about coil failures. Contacts seem to hold up fine.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 01:50:15 am
content: Congratulations on the repair. I hope you build and fix lots of neat stuff with it

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 03:27:27 am
content: pm3055 is very similar:http://www.qsl.net/vk5bar/AHARS-Resources/Philips%2520PM3055/PM3055%2520Service%2520Manual.pdfhttp://bama.edebris.com/manuals/philips/pm3055/(Operational Manual)http://www.woutersenwouters.be/sites/woutersenwouters.be/files/products_attachments/Philips%20PM3055%20Operating%20Manual.pdfthe 3055 model is a 2 channel + 1

author: meeder
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 06:11:19 am
content: Ah, the infamous X2 capFirst thing to blow in these scopes, it will however work perfectly fine without this cap as you have seen.I have the older 50MHz version of the PM3050 which also had a blown X2 cap.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 07:15:41 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on March 28, 2015, 03:27:27 amGot given a PM3070 (100 MHz) recently and to find an OM drew a blank. Thanks for the link to the 3055, it is quite similar but not the same. The 3070 has another row of buttons below the display and within the bezel, no doubt they will be for selection of on-screen settings/options.Service manual was easy to find and in the process I came across the brochure for this family of scopes.http://www.test-italy.com/Specifiche%20strumenti/PHILIPS/PHILIPS%20PM%203055/PM%203055.pdf

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 11:29:16 am
content: The PM3070 was the top model, the PM3050 model has a subset of these features. Grab this color intro by Philips which covers most of the operation of the series.http://www.amps-unlimited.nl/doc/oscilloscope_basics.pdf

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 11:41:32 am
content: Quote from: tautech on March 28, 2015, 07:15:41 amThe operation manuals seem fairly elusive.You might like the pdf I just linked. It covers CRT softkey operation (aka cursor keys).

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 28, 2015, 06:24:14 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on March 28, 2015, 11:41:32 amThanks very much.I do like it when one has full documentation for any gear one owns.I'm old-school I guess.

author: Dr.Seltsam
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 06, 2020, 03:47:46 pm
content: Hello everyone,I realize that this is a rather old thread, but anyways hoping for a useful hint or even a pdf. The original poster (jmctech) stated he was able to find a service manual for the Philips 3050 'scope online. I am looking for this sm for quite a while now but either I'm blind or it has disappeared so I'd be greateful if someone could help me out here. Any help is greatly appreciated.Many thanks in advance!

author: BreakingOhmsLaw
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2020, 05:15:58 pm
content: Here you go.https://elektrotanya.com/philips_pm3050_3055.zip/download.htmlYou can also use the PM3070 service manual, all that ever fails on these scopes is the power supply. That is identical for all scopes of the series.Always replace the RIFA smoke generator. My 3070 also had this problem.

author: Dr.Seltsam
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 07, 2020, 09:14:45 am
content: Thanks much for the replyI did find the one from elektrotanya before but the zip from there only seems to contain extracts of the 3055 sm and the complete 3055 sm can easily be found elsewhere. I also have the PM3070 and a sm for it. Both scopes are in good condition and working. (The 3070 seems to have slight issue within the focus circuit. Barely noticeable though.) I'm not in desperate need of the 3050 sm, just like to have it just in case...I understand that the difference between the 3050 and the 3055 basically is "just" the delayed timebase (and trigger view). I tend to think that this is basically additional circuitry "on top" of the 3050 base model but don't know for sure. If I knew that the 3055 sm completely covers the 3050 (+ the DTB and TrigView), then I'd be happy with that. But I don't know. Can anyone possibly confirm? (I'm thinking about maybe adding an X-output to control a sweep generator so a diagram of the time base and X-amp will be useful for finding a good spot to tap the signal.)And yes, the smoke generator gave me a nice surprise on the 3050, which I owned first. (It looked quite funny actually!) I was prepared when I got the 3070...Thanks again!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2020, 09:44:07 am
content: Quote from: Dr.Seltsam on May 07, 2020, 09:14:45 amWhat you say is quite right, although they are all from the same series the 3050 has a single timbase.I have the manuals for most of them but need to check if they cover the 3050 model.Not sure where I found them now .............Attached is a brochure with an overview of the series.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2020, 10:07:53 am
content: Here's a useful usage guide for the PM3050-3070 scopes.

author: Dr.Seltsam
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 07, 2020, 10:50:40 am
content: Thank you for both PDFs, tautech! If you could look for the manuals one of these days, that'd be great! TIA and greetings!

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 07, 2020, 03:15:40 pm
content: Quote from: Dr.Seltsam on May 07, 2020, 10:50:40 amSorry had a look and the only one I have is for the 100 MHz PM3070 which is tucked away in the 'rainy day' repair queue.However there's a big list of manual repositories that you might like to work through as Google doesn't always find what you need. Some manuals are listed under Fluke/Phillips headings and sometimes you need hunt deep in each site to find stuff.Anyways, good luck with these links:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/repair-documents-and-links-sticky-me-please-mods/msg478132/#msg478132

author: Dr.Seltsam
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 09, 2020, 01:44:53 pm
content: Thanks much for looking, tautechQuote from: tautech on May 07, 2020, 03:15:40 pmAnd also thanks for the link. Some of the links in this repository are familiar to me but my collection is far from being this comprehensive.