BEB #72: Tektronix 475 Oscilloscope, What's inside?, Electronic Documentary

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Welcome to the Beautiful-Electronics-Blog, BEB. Free electronics videos, teardown, and education.
Today: A real classic! Tektronix 475. One of the first fully transistorized osciolloscopes made by Tek.
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I am fully aware that this production is not brilliant. I'm not a full time youtuber. Still, this video took me quite a while to shoot and produce. I did my best to provide you 11 minutes of electronics related entertainment. I am receptive to constructive feedback, but yeah, please practise a little bit of politeness. Thank you.
Script, Camera, post production: Max
Footage recorded in Feb 2018 in Dobl, Steiermark. Edited and uploaded to KZbin in Jun 2018.
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[@cat-lw6kq]

Back in the day when American workers took pride in their work.

[@mrwoldridge]

Back in the day when American workers had quality work to do period.

[@richpayton7162]

And back when American manufacturers took pride in and respected their employees, IMHO.

[@bhoot1702]

Gold everywhere 🤩

[@bloguetronica]

Your video introductions are amazing! It seems that it is now your trade mark. Keep it up! Now, for the more insightful part of my comment, it is nice to see another beautifully made unit. The power switch is very uncommon, but that only shows the creativity of the engineers of that time. The PCB was probably drawn by hand, which was a painstaking job (been there, almost done that), yet very beautifully done. Some of the packages seem to be custom ordered. And yet another coax delay line. Got to love the ingenuity reflected in all parts of this scope.

[@MaxKoschuh]

Thank you for your comment. It means a lot to me. Yes, a lot of clever engineering and love in details in this unit. Love it too.

[@emptech]

You brought back some old memories. I was an electronic tech at a university from 1979 to 2007, I worked on many models of tek and hp equipment. I don't remember any problems that were consistent, sometimes it was the vertical atten module, sometimes the switch contacts, sometimes the vert or horiz amplifiers, all direct coupled of course, so you didn't know what problem caused what. Back then, I thought tant. caps were great, had no idea they would end up having a lifetime. When they failed, they were often like a volcano, fire, sparks, etc. I purchased a brand new 465b for about $3k at the time. The B version was working it's way over to a computer operated instrument, I don't believe there was a lot in common with the 465. When you worked the front panel controls, they put out a digital number which an prom read and translated to the function. Nice video - Jim

[@MaxKoschuh]

Hi Jim. Thank you for watching and commenting. Great and detailed comment. Yes, tantalum caps can be pretty annoying :-) I have much more Tektronix stuff which wil be shown in future videos

[@richpayton7162]

I had a 515 for the garage shop but the CRT was weak and fading fast. I sold it at a swap meet for $20. Next a 475 was given to me by a school custodian friend who was supposed to have dumpstered it. It developed an intermittent condition where the vertical gain would increase to some ungodly amount, making it useless other than as an impressive prop. I was next given a tiny BK 405 that supposedly didn't work when it was installed on some sort of machine tool, so that place discarded it. Turned out that its power supply had been wired for the 240 vac mains option. 5 mhz BW on a good day, but better than nothing for chasing signals on twisted pairs and troubleshooting audio amps, etc. Next I bought a big high end Heathkit scope from a master dumpster diver who had not a clue what it was, for $20. Alas, never could get it to trigger in a useful manner. Gave that one away. Then when my brother-in-law retired from servicing medical electronics he gave me his 453, but not before it had sat idle in a shed for over five years. Within a year the HV went kaput. I still have it tucked away. I could never bring myself to throw it away. Sad. I had been looking for something for several years and eventually found a well cared for 465 locally at the going rate, which came with the factory cart and several hundred dollars' worth of Tek and HP probes, a bunch of adapters and cables, and the full original set of factory service and operators' manuals. I have remained intoxicated with Tek scopes since first using them in 1971 in the Navy. Once you have gotten used to having the "Real Thing" to work with, anything else does not quite compare.

[@hubaswift7640]

Hey! This is the same Oscilloscope that I've got. It's cool to get a look at the insides of it. Thanks for the video.

[@MaxKoschuh]

Hi Jacob. You are welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@gerryjamesedwards1227]

Very cool! I have a 465B awaiting a full resto, but I'd love a 475!

[@MaxKoschuh]

both are excellent instruments. thanks for watching.

[@SusanAmberBruce]

Yep! reminds me of a day when my Dad was looking after me at work

[@mikefischbein3230]

I bought a 475 from an electronics repair guy in the process of retiring and closing his shop on Canal street (New York City, USA) about 5 years ago. Worked great. Picked up a 2467B about 3 years ago and started using it as my main scope. Recently realized I hadn't used the 475 in almost a year, so decided to power it up. Seems my neglect earned me some bad karma, which was delivered in the form of magic smoke. A LOT of magic smoke! Like I was barbecuing magic hamburgers in there. The beam came on with unusually high intensity, without sweeping, and then disappeared 2 seconds later, right before I managed to power off. Opened it up but couldn't find any burnt components. Time to consult the service manual...

[@MaxKoschuh]

Hello Mike. Thank you for watching and your comment. Go for the electrolytics in the power supply. I believe the rectifier could be gone aswell. The 475 is always worth a repair.

[@mikefischbein3230]

@@MaxKoschuh Hi Max. Thanks for the advice! I will try it.

[@outsideworld76]

I bought one 475 to have a look at this winter, nice preview of what to expect.

[@MaxKoschuh]

you will love it!

[@yoramstein]

What kind of spray did you use in the beginning of the film for cleaning?

[@msylvain59]

Nice to see that all the rare semiconductors are socketed, If by any chance someday I find one in scrap condition, at least I will be able to save those parts.

[@MaxKoschuh]

yes, this is very exciting. Also, the board is 2-layers, which was very obscure in 1971.

[@Sigmatechnica]

So much stuff crammed in there!

[@MaxKoschuh]

yes, I love this weird stuff. vintage parts. early sockets. HQ pots.

[@stevesmyth4982]

Lovely old 'scope, my 475A still works 100% (fingers crossed). The finger switches on the PCB can sometimes give trouble but can be cleaned by carefully passing a piece of plain white paper between the PCB and the forks. It does have a lot of special parts that are no longer obtainable, particularly the tunnel diodes that are used in the trigger section. The bandwidth (475A) is specified as 250 MHz but mine will trigger on 430 MHz if a short length of wire is connected to an input and a 70 cm transceiver set to transmit. The build quality and the service manual are unmatched by today's standards and I wouldn't want to think about the cost of something like this made nowadays. Thanks for the video.

[@MaxKoschuh]

Thank you for your awesome comment, and thanks for watching :-)

[@toni6618]

Ich habe das selbe, sehr schönes Gerät, kann man gut mit arbeiten, kann ich empfehlen. LG

[@MaxKoschuh]

Hallo Toni. Danke für's Schauen und Dein Kommentar :-)

[@andrespecht8225]

Hey Max, what is the cleaner you hab used in this video? It looks like "Backofenreiniger"

[@MaxKoschuh]

Hi Andre. It is a Schaumreiniger.

[@shoppy00]

Very nice, big lyke!

[@MaxKoschuh]

thank you. you are welcome. more tek stuff coming soon. don't miss the other videos thugh ;-)

[@HAL_9k]

Nice!

[@MaxKoschuh]

;-)

[@uniservo]

The loving toothbrush treatment...

[@MaxKoschuh]

heh heh, yes....

[@dariodraiman6339]

Excellent video. Great job! I have a digital Tek TDS1002B since 2008 and I'm happy with it. Recently I run into the opportunity of buying one of these used Tek 465 (not the B version) for $150. Is it worth buying and having it nowadays?

[@richpayton7162]

Yes, Yes, Yes, if in good shape and functional. Seems a common weak point is the CRT intensity control, which can become finnicky with age, but a bit of exercising the control on the one I got brought it back. The 465 is also a Tek that is capable of having a focused trace, something that went the way of "progress" in newer models. If you can get the 465 without it needing to be shipped I jump on it. Remember, in essence if you ever need to troubleshoot your oscilloscope, you'll need a functional scope to do the job.

[@hkredpill9661]

Your unit should have had a multimeter (DM44 or DM43) on top. That's why there are holes.

[@dariodraiman6339]

From what I've seen the ones that comes with the DM on top have a much larger cut out in the enclosure. What is missing there is a small metal bar that holds the leather holder for the manual and probes.

[@youdonotknowmyname9663]

Beeeeeeeeeeaaaaaauuuuuuutiful!

[@MaxKoschuh]

heh heh heh :-)

[@adamalterman6657]

Could you please provide the brand name of the spray cleaner you are using so I could find a USA equivalent. You seem to have good results with your cleaner without damage to the plastics or metals.

[@MaxKoschuh]

I have to look this up

[@pjrage82]

Curious as well

[@TheHoss4145]

@@pjrage82 He is still looking it up...

[@dariodraiman6339]

Hi there. From min 10:30 I think it's this one: www.werkstatt-produkte.de/detail/index/sArticle/23136/number/50720

[@richpayton7162]

@@dariodraiman6339 Did Tek recommend a contact cleaner? In the mid to late 1970's I would order for the day job at GE an excellent product called Miller-Stephenson "Contact Renew and Lube" which met all the milspec ratings we had to adhere to. They are still in business, dropped the "lube" from the title, but no longer seem to be interested in selling less than 5 gallons minimum. I've been lucky to get by with 99% Isopropyl alcohol, seems everything is too safe any more to be very effective.

[@user-R2as8orG]

You should set in the middle position. Austria has 230V in the outlet. As you know, this value is not constant and so +/- 10% will cover all voltage fluctuations. 240V, too high a threshold in my opinion.

[@MaxKoschuh]

thank you for your comment. actually, I have 238V at my store. it is very constant. with the voltage selector set to 240V, the unit is awaiting 240V, and getting 238V, which is absolutely fine.

[@user-R2as8orG]

@Ing. Max Koschuh I'm also from Europe, and in my socket is 233V (+/-). So adding this 10% should be fine (middle setting). Well, since you have nearly 240V and you do not have too high voltage drops on the line, and the device works well - I agree, it may not really be worth changing.on the middle position. Regards :)

[@DolezalPetr]

Yeeeeeeees 😀

[@MaxKoschuh]

Petr !!! yeah

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

max loves old electronics as much as I. it is beautiful to me too. once in the shop I was admiring something like this and as a comparison I had a bug fly in that i could magnify and nature leaves us in the dust. Just as to form and function. tis what makes a woman beautiful right?

[@alfredneumann4692]

And where was the second beam?

[@mineown1861]

And that's how to break the control knobs , remove from case by standing it on its face .

[@mr.amp0076]

MAX o max.... Wanna see you soon.....

[@MaxKoschuh]

you are welcome ;-)

[@allthegearnoidea6752]

Yes it is beautiful thanks Max. Electronics porn LOL.

[@MaxKoschuh]

:-) :-) :-) ;-)

[@hlavaatch]

9:16 power led dies :(

[@lambertax]

Jan Hlavatý do you really think these are led, in 1971?

[@bandersentv]

Possibly. The first commercial red LEDs came out in 1962. Orange, yellow and green in 1971.

[@lambertax]

bandersentv At that time, red led where so dim that I don’t think Tek would have put one in this scope :)

[@stergeon8272]

That's the "Line Low" light! It was on while the variac was set bellow the usable threshold.

[@HansDelbruck53]

Why do you turn up the trace intensity so damn high? Are you half-blind or what?