Wavetek 296 synthesized 50MHz multichannel arbitrary waveform generator teardown - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:10:09 pm
content: Some time ago I purchased this arbitrary waveform generator (my is single channel) that, unlike other instruments that I purchased that required very laborious repairs, it works well so I only cleaned a little and checked the state of the electrolytic capacitors.I took advantage of the disassembly to take some pics.Unfortunately, the documentation of the instrument is a little lacking: the only user manual on the net concerns the little brother 295 that does not have the digital output, absolutely no service manual.Also on a Japanese blog I saw a 296 with v2.0 firmware, mine has the old v1.03 firmware which I posted, as always, on the KO4BB website.Let's move on to the pics: the first two are the front of the instrument during the presentation and normal operation.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:13:18 pm
content: This is instead the back of the instrument (pic taken from the insertion) and thecpu board located behind the front panel of the instrument and the back of the front panel.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:15:11 pm
content: Top an bottom view and the two power supplies with the two cooling fans.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:17:00 pm
content: The frequency synthesizer module with its own shield and, always itself without shielding.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:18:28 pm
content: Detail of the vco without the shielding and the digital waveform board (top and bottom)

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 06:19:23 pm
content: Finally this is always the frequency synthesizer board with its digital waveform board mounted aboveedit: At least this pic, since it's all alone, is in the right sequence!

author: don.r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 07:49:17 pm
content: Do you have any other DDS generators to compare it to wrt stability, noise, distortion, etc?

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2019, 09:38:29 pm
content: Quote from: don.r on October 17, 2019, 07:49:17 pmNo I don't have any other generator but, for distortion measurements etc (at least for low frequencies), I have a Tektronix AM700.

author: don.r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2019, 03:33:09 am
content: I don't know if you have seen it already but at the bottom of this KO4BB page is the Windows software (from 1998)http://ftb.ko4bb.com/getsimple/index.php?id=manuals&dir=WavetekUnfortunately its too old to run on Windows 7 or 10 but may work in a virtual Windows XP installation.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2019, 06:12:39 am
content: Thanks, I had already found this software.It also run well on Windows 7 x86 but it not run on any 64bit operating system of course.Luckily I have some old notebooks that I keep right for these things, some have even Windows 95, so I have no problems with old programs.

author: picburner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2019, 06:59:19 am
content: ...and as I said in the first post if someone is in possession of the original instruction manual (I don't dare to ask for the service manual!!!) or the firmware v2.0 as in the attached pix, thanks in advance.