Recent TDS 724D acquisition  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Preda-Fran
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 21, 2024, 11:11:51 pm
content: Good afternoon EEVBlog,Hopefully, you guys are having a good weekend. I have acquired a Tektronix TDS 724D as my first oscilloscope, I have access to the ones at my college for when I do work over there but I want to have something for my home projects. Now with a unit this old, I know there are a bunch of problems to be had, but I wanted to hear from people who have more experience and knowledge on how to approach such a project, both as a learning opportunity on how to upkeep and restore test equipment properly in general, and to learn more about what would be the best course of action. I have done a lot of restoration work on simpler test equipment and old audio equipment, but nothing that required this level of precision or had this many ICsI have read that the NVRAM could be having an issue anytime soon, and I do have access to a substantial amount of calibration gear, but not enough gear or knowledge on how to properly calibrate it.The screen is a little dim and a little blurry, but it still works, so, for now, it is not a worry, but I know I will be replacing this with an LCD at some point once I take some more classes on VHDL and FPGA.I have read that some of the units seem to have issues with capacitors, but it was not clear to me if it is something that is a year basis or model basis or a capacitor manufacturer basis. I am not opposed to changing capacitors since I can do SMD repair, and I am considering replacing any electrolytic at least since they are past their prime, but I am unsure what other ramifications regarding the calibrations of the machineI will be doing some of the software unlocking for the unit(Already have options 13, 1F, 2F, 1R), but I don’t have access to a GPIB Interface yet, I was wondering if the floppy drive should be kept or if it’s worth trying to convert it to a floppy drive emulator unit so I can use USB drives for it.The 1GHz modification seems very worthwhile to do so I will be tackling that sometimes soon. I am just unsure if my equipment for the voltage signals that need to be generated is up to par for the task.Finally, is the hard drive in the unit prone to failure at this age, is there a replacement unit I should consider, or a more modern equivalent I can toss in for peace of mindThe unit has the VGA, RS-232, Centronics and GPIB ports in the back.Rigol DS1102E OscilloscopeRigol DS1102D OscilloscopeTektronix TDS274D OscilloscopeHP 54645d OscilloscopeTektronix 455 Oscilloscope3x Hameg HM8012 Digital MultimeterHameg HM8030-6 Function GeneratorHameg HM8040-3 Triple Power Supply UnitHameg HM8018 LCR-MeterLeader LTC-906 Transistor TesterInstek PSP-Series Programmable Switching Power SupplyRigol DSA815-TG Spectrum AnalyzerRigol DSG815 Signal generatorKikusui AVM15 AC VoltmeterNational Panasonic VP-7750A Wow Flutter MeterHakko FX-888D Digital Soldering StationHakko FR-301 Desoldering ToolHakko FR-810B SMD Hot Air Rework StationTektronix AFG 5501 Programmable Arbitrary/Function GeneratorI have looked at some videos(the ones David and NFM made), read some of the threads here, and looked around the forums using the search functions, but since it is my first time with such an undertaking I was interested to hear any information or tips or anything that you guys don’t mind sharing. I do plan to keep this scope for a long time since it seems very capable, and I want to start acquiring more equipment for a home lab so if you guys think that there's a piece of equipment that might be worth finding to both help with fixing the unit and for future ones, I would be very thankful to knowIt is all very appreciatedThe 1GHz modification seems very worthwhile to do so I will be tackling that sometimes soon. I am just unsure if my equipment for the voltage signals that need to be generated is up to par for the task.Finally, is the hard drive in the unit prone to failure at this age, is there a replacement unit I should consider, or a more modern equivalent I can toss in for peace of mindI have looked at some videos(the ones David and NFM made), read some of the threads here, and looked around the forums using the search functions, but since it is my first time with such an undertaking I was interested to hear any information or tips or anything that you guys don’t mind sharing. I do plan to start acquiring more equipment for a home lab so if you guys think that there is a piece of equipment that might be worth finding to both help with fixing the unit and for future ones, I would be very thankful to knowIt is all very appreciated