Tektronix 576 Curve Tracer - Part 1

[@wall_k]

The amount of disassembly and "dewiring" makes me anxious, knowing how many projects are getting stuck in this state for me But you haven't disappointed us yet, very impressive!

[@colinstu]

I'm amazed by your ability to take apart and still be able to put back together! Great work.

[@Runco990]

You are MAD!!!! MAD, I tell you!!! Dear GOD, that's a LOT of wires! 🙀 At least you picked a SIMPLE project for 100!

[@atkelar]

Well, I wanted project #100 to be something special... It was pure chance that it lined up with this one so nicely. Still, I would have preferred to start the first video when the project is finished, like usually, but hey... no risk, no fun! 😸

[@t1d100]

Congrats on 100!!! Neat inflation trick, on the party horn. Bravo!

[@TheDefpom]

You are braver than I, I wouldn’t have chosen to dismantle one of those unless I absolutely had to !

[@Runco990]

Me neither!!!!

[@R.Daneel]

Wow. The complexity of this makes me feel queezy. This is going to be amazing series. I'd love to see you tackle an old-school pinball machine. For you, you'd have to do it using only your feet to make it a challenge.

[@atkelar]

I have looked up pinball cabinets on e-bay... slightly too expensive for a fun project, and while I am lucky to have a *bit* of space here, it's probably not enough for that. Would love to give it a try though!

[@zyeborm]

​@@atkelari spent years trying to fix one at my mother in law's place every time we visited on holidays. It would always say tilt randomly after like 10-15 minutes of play. I scoped it and the waveforms looked ragged but not terrible. Eventually after replacing lots of components i noticed on the tilt "switch" a place where a wire had been broken off. The switch itself was a block of wood with some metal bits attached with a pendulum and some other bits. The wire had been broken off two points in the switch at the solder and totally removed. The leakage through the wood was enough for it to mostly work. That sucked lol.

[@matthuszagh7358]

I’m amazed by your restorations. If you haven’t done such a video already I’d love to see one where you detail your process for taking things apart in such a thorough way and still knowing how to reassemble them.

[@atkelar]

Thank you! - but as quite often, the answer is in the question: The videos help quite a lot. That, and pictures, pictures, pictures. Overall, the process is: Take picture; remvoe parts until more parts become visible, repeat until there's nothign left. Then, clean and reverse the process essentially. Usually I learn about certain hidden screws/bolts/connectors during disassembly and so the assembly is often much easier and more straightforward. But that's it in a nutshell. Not sure if that warrants a full detailed video?

[@matthuszagh7358]

@@atkelar Thanks for taking the time to respond! That helps clarify things. Do you have any special organization system for the disassembled parts? And, any notation system (or similar) for parts that might be difficult to distinguish in photos or videos, but have slight differences (e.g., otherwise identical screws of slightly different length)?

[@atkelar]

With most devices, it is not as critical to get the exact length of screw again: When I see it in the disassembly, I separate them into different containers; I got a whole lot of "small parts bins" from a dollar store for that, about 5cm diameter with screw on lid. If I miss it, because they are too similar, it's usually a matter of looking into the number of screws per lenght and making sense where they came from: i.e. to they bottom out in a blind hole? Do they pertrude in a regular one? If so, might they be in the way of things? So far, that strategy has worked fine. Oh, and don't forget: there's always a few nuts and bolts left, even when everything is where it should be! That's rule number one of any such work! 😁 It's always a fun contemplative phase to make sense of where the extras came from. In this case, for example, I forgot that there was one "screp in" capacitor in the supply section that I also replaced with the rest... so those screws threw me for a loop becuase they were the only flat head ones. Screws are usually not the probem for me. I tend to struggle with washers. I have no idea how manufacurers decide on those. Seems kind of random to me at times, so even when have all screws in... a washer or two left is a given.

[@matthuszagh7358]

@@atkelar makes sense - thank you!!

[@MonkeyUnit]

17:56 I believe I know why you put black tape on the chrome portion of the faucet. Thanks for doing that. Makes for a much better image. You are all about the details!

[@zyeborm]

Hey man, congratulations on the 100. You've got to be one of the most underrated channels on KZbin. I sing your praises to all my friends. I've gotta say I'm in the old music camp. I liked the quirky but chill vibe to it. The rock style ones really don't seem to fit the feel of your voice and the calm relaxed nature of the channel. But, that's just me whining about change. Please keep doing what makes you happy😊.

[@gordonwedman3179]

You are a brave man taking that completely apart. All those loose wires🙄. I have a B&K curve tracer box that you hook up to your scope or crt monitor. Works well for low voltage and current components but I don't use it much.

[@atkelar]

I'm pretty sure that I'll only use it very rarely too. But that makes me think it'll have a much longer lifespan left. It's one of these things that you only need in very specific circumstances... but when you got it ready, it'll safe a ton of work/time.

[@ASquishyBean0126]

You are so earnest in these videos, I love them! They are such a treat! Also, you may need to get your puppet's fur combed. :P

[@atkelar]

Bad fur day 😅

[@JimmytheCow2000]

Thank you for keeping all the bloopers in! its becoming the reason i watch till the very end!

Und alles in umgekehrter Reihenfolge wieder zusammenbauen. Allein der Gedanke daran... Gulp! 🥶

[@atkelar]

Ist nicht so schlimm wie es aussieht... oder... naja, fast 😉

[@bborkzilla]

Make sure to use silver solder if you modify anything in those ceramic tie points. Regular tin/lead or antimony solder will eventually cause separation from the ceramic...

[@atkelar]

I already found the little roll that Tektronix provided on the inside and put it to good use 😸 - also, I ordered some more because it might not be enough These solder points are heat sinks...

[@thorpejsf]

Congratulations on the 100 milestone!

[@adrianschneider4441]

A worthy candidate for a 100 anniversary.

[@aritaoficial2776]

Respect for you, I am speechless.

[@valmonta3647]

Amazing as always!!!

[@jeanaimarre8605]

You should explain how you manage full dismantling without loosing any screw or part, and with being able to reconnect hundred of’wires. Impressive.

[@atkelar]

For the screws: little plastic containers help; depending on the similarity of screws involved, I use different bins for different parts of the device. If the screws are "all the same except diameter" anyhow, I just use one large bin. As for the wiring: pictures and the service manual help a great deal! The ES-500 rebuild with the completely redone wiring was much more complicated on that part, since one has to tick off connections one by one.

[@senilyDeluxe]

Some choice of music. Nice! I used to get your default theme stuck in my head for hours. I have one of these machines, believe it or not and mine's in near-mint cosmetic condition if you define yours as mediocre... I got a couple of adapters and the transparent plastic plexi that pushes on the interlock. Mine works, but it's developed some significant looping, the looping compensation doesn't work well enough to get rid of it (I checked that the connection rod still turns the tuning capacitor on the insides). At least it still works good enough to match and test transistors, something which I unfortunately only do very rarely and thus the machine sits unused most of the year. I gotta check the schematics, maybe there's a bad cap or a shorted voltage regulator in the looping compensation circuit somewhere. (I also have the service information - it's like 4cm thick! If you need any of that, let me know. Like, if you need the plastic interlock cage for measurements so you can make a copy, I could send it over.)

[@atkelar]

Thanks! I try to keep the mood in the same ballpark but since I'm limited to free music and copyright is handled very odd around here, I'm left with a small selection. Thanks for offering to send things, but a few decent pictures and measurements for reference would do; I plan to build the box and a few useful adapters after finishing the initial restoration. Knowing how the original box looked and connected would be a good start. I have an idea, but following the original is certainly a better path :) EDIT: as for the looping compensation: the one adjustment from the front panel is just one of four(!) trimmers for it. In the video, I mention "some trimmers and a relay" - these are accessible from the left panel, via cutouts in the collector supply base. All four of them form the compensation it seems (or three comp. and one HF suppression) but the alignment must match between them. I haven't looked into details yet, but I assume that the three on the inside do a rough calibration and the one on the front is the day-to-day fine tuning.

[@senilyDeluxe]

@@atkelar err... question. You got the video link I recorded, where I'm showing the box? It looks like KZbin has deleted the comment.

[@atkelar]

Aparently they do that wiht external links... if you post it as an unlisted video, it might pass thorugh. I double checked the held comments, but other than one person getting a bit too rowdy to some other commenter, there's nothign in there.

[@YuriyKrivosheyev]

Congrats! Thanx! Very interesting device, looking fwd for continuation. Btw, missing looped old music track, but some of new melodies are quite fit..

[@atkelar]

Thanks! The music thing is a stalemate... some viewers prefer the loop, others hate it. Current plan is to keep the original tune as a first one and then build up a few tunes with similar feeling to have a bit of variation though the rest of the video.

[@KeritechElectronics]

What a teardown! Complete and utter discombobulation - something I wouldn't do unless I had no other choice. And working with a Dremel Versatip and a soldering gun... Not my fav tools because it's easy to do collateral damage, a bit unnerving for me. Wishing you to find a tube test fixture - or maybe even make your own :) I love the scketed TO2 transistors and the real deal Isostat switches.

[@atkelar]

I have found some plans for a tube test adapter. I'll try to follow those in a way eventually. But first: there is a set of boxes of components that need connecting again :) EDIT: About the Versatip: I only used it because the tip of the solder gun was bad and I had to find a replacement. The trick with it is to direct the "exhaust nozzle" in a safe direction. One tends to remember that after buring a few fingers :P - The disassembly happened on my "dirty worksurface" - i.e. in the "remote workshop" room. That implies that my better tools are about 2km away. The solder gun is usually a good tool for larger jobs like chassis ground points and such. Also, older bulkier joints like the transformer taps.

[@fabiocattaneo9434]

Wonderful project for an equally wonderful tool (TEKTRONIX is my love!) Looking forward to part two! Compliments!!!

[@taunusmechanics3121]

Congratulations to your 100th project. Tek curve tracers are really nice. But please use or get a Pozidrive Screwdriver, there are enough units out there with damaged screw heads.

[@atkelar]

Quite a few of the screws are already mangled to some extent... I have a few sizes on order now, to take care of some missing ones and probably replace one or the other more extremely mangled one. For disassembly, I didn't have any stuck ones, and my iFixit kit does come with those for assembly ^^

[@taunusmechanics3121]

@@atkelar do you have a good source for UNC/UNF screws with the right heads? I have a lot of Tek gear that's missing some

[@atkelar]

I've just searched on amazon for the thread size and whether it's countersunk or flat. Have to wait what arrives in a few days to see if they are a close match or not. I'll make a small update post on that ^^

[@DrBagPhD]

Congratulations! Here's to the next 100!

[@CuriousMarc]

That is both very good and very daunting restoration work! How do you even keep track of which wires go where? Take survey pictures? Map things out first? Or do you just redo it from schematics?

[@atkelar]

I take lots of pictures before unplugging things. But I also use the schematic for connecting things up again, just to double check and avoid contact issues before firing up the device.

[@Karpour]

Looking forward to the next 100 🎉

[@uthor707]

you deserve many more subs mate, hope you get there.

[@sefarkas0]

When taking apart multi deck rotary switches try inserting an unbent paper clip as you remove the screw, then bend it so ot wont come out. if you need to work on or remove a section, cut the clips and bend them to stay in place, reverse to assemble.

[@UpLateGeek]

I know how you feel with that delivery getting stopped. I had an Apple Powerbook G3 stopped by the eBay global shipping program on the grounds that it was an export restricted item. This is despite the fact that it was literally 25 years old, and there are no technology export restrictions between the USA and Australia! The worst part is that they said it wouldn't be returned to the seller, because I'd have gladly paid for a better shipping service, but instead it was going to be destroyed! At least I got a refund. But the best news is that since then, eBay announced they're phasing out the global shipping program, presumably because the company that ran it (Pitney-Bowes) got so many complaints! Anyway, best of luck on this "little" project! And congratulations on the 100th project!

[@atkelar]

Ouch! So far, I have had only good experiences with that global shipping program. At least nothing got held back or destroyed. Maybe they fixed that by now? Because it's one of if not the primary use for e-bay to buy vintage collector's items. Having those destroyed like some cheap knock off product can't have been good publicity. I just hope that some gears would start turning, because as of now, neither me nor digikey seems to have any information about the shipment or what even might be the problem... So if I indeed accidentally picked a restricted item (doubtful but not impossible) I wouldn't even know what to look out for next time.

[@UpLateGeek]

@@atkelar My guess is that it's some stupid paperwork issue. Either someone used the wrong form or ticked the wrong box or put the wrong part number or something.

[@TheDiveO]

Part 1: disassembly. Parts 2-99: Reassembly. With an accompanying New Dictionary of Modern Swearing.

[@atkelar]

Well, it's always just bleep anyhow; but so far, I had one swear jar moment...

[@agranero6]

The cable management of this thing is a lost art form, look at how the wires are around the CRT socket, its a beautiful origami or oriharigane (if we want to invent a proper term). Tektronix and HP equipment assembly fascinates me since my father brought me to his work when I was a little boy and I saw a frequency counter with Nixies, I am not sure if it was HP or Tektronix, but I remember the nixies and the scopes were all Tektronix, this I remember.

[@Jerry-sf3vd]

Thanks. Now I know how to access the damaged 500V Bridge Rectifier D310 A,B,C,D. 15:23 and 15:55

[@atkelar]

That is indeed one of the most burried components; it might be possible to get to it without desoldering the entire transformer, I realized too late that the lower and upper cage can be removed together. That would allow some access to it with much less trouble I think. The biggest issue will be the front panel connections though, those are a tight squeeze.

[@Jerry-sf3vd]

@@atkelar That's what I want to try. Waiting for a 1000V/50A. and will report back to you when done.

[@Jerry-sf3vd]

​@@atkelar I was able to expose the D310 bridge rectifier assembly for testing, not difficult at all with your demonstration of how to remove the CRT. However I forgot whether the illuminating panel assembly (a PCB and a piece of plexiglass) should be inserted first or after the CRT when I tried to put the CRT back to the sheathing. Hope you can help. Thanks!

[@atkelar]

I put in the lamp PCBs first, that made it easier to connect the wires, but I kept the screws loose enough for it to wiggle around. Then I added the CRT, carefully tightnetned the mounting screws on it and then I tightened the lamp PCBs (both) to align the little plexiglass piece. Originally, that plexi was taped to the CRT on mine, so I assume it was intended to go in attached to the CRT... but since I don't have a precise alignment tool, I left it untaped.

[@Jerry-sf3vd]

​@@atkelar Thanks for the help. I was able to desolder the D310 bridge and measure it. It turned out to be OK. With the freedom to move around inside I finally found the front panel "Collector Supply Reset switch" was open. It made me feel silly as the solution is simply pushing the button. I did hear about how robust Tek 576 power supply robust was and overlooked it.

[@aserta]

18:51 could also do that treatment with UV light to cook the yellowing out of the part. I've had great success with it in the past. One step extra over what most do online, i spray paint my parts in UV resistant resin (with the little aerobrush everyone has).

[@atkelar]

I tired it several times; but the results always are all over the place for me. Form "nothing happens" to "parts get white and others stay yellow" I've seen everything. For this part, it was certainly easier to just paint it.

[@ToumalRakesh]

Love the little RIFA cap in the title card

[@atkelar]

That's Karpour's doing - I just requested "some components in the confetti" for the artwork :)

[@agranero6]

Funny that RIFA caps became famous not for their quality, but for their lack of it (maybe I am being unfair as I never saw a NEW one). In Brazil except for imported equipment they were not very common as at that time we have very good national caps available here (at that time not anymore I think), including some that were very uncommon outside Brazil (I think) like the Schicko caps made by Icotron: they always had the same lead distance (that cap could be taller or wider, but the leads always had the same distance) and they regenerated if a partial short happened (as current between some of the layers of aluminium heated and formed an oxide, that could change capacitance but never short. I never saw any reference for those caps (the were a kind of metalized polyester ones) outside Brazil.

[@gammarayflash1170]

Why don't you use the Hydrogenperoxide and UV-light method to remove the yellowness of the plastics? And, btw, this is a really brave journey you are willing to go. Disassembling the whole 576 down to the naked chassis with that complex wiring harness is quite a challenge. I hope you do have the complete and correct service manual for that tracer.

[@atkelar]

I've tried the "retrobrite" approach several times and could never get reliable results with it. The best so far was with my Commodore PC-I - but that was mid summer with fresh peroxide; Unless the plastic has a texture, or some hard to remake print, I prefer the paint approach. And yes, I do have the service manual PDF and already printed the circuit diagrams and "explosion drawings" (is that the English term?) - it also includes the alignment guide, so I am positive to have a properly working unit eventually. The only thing that I'm really worried about is any special part being broken or burnt out.

[@richardmerifield3263]

Epic teardown. I would need to take 10,000 photos and attach bits of tape with notes to everything if I were to contemplate doing this sort of thing. Looking forward to the following episodes.

[@atkelar]

So far, I was able to avoid attaching notes, but I do take a ton of pictures during the disassembly of course. It just doesn't make for good video to show a smart phone camera taking pictures of stuff :)

[@t1d100]

@@atkelarI was going to ask how you are able to remember everything.

[@elementaldraco]

Quite the disassembly and the challenge of finding hens teeth, and maybe having to sell some organs to pay for missing parts and assemblies. This reminds me that I have a Textrinix 465 oscilloscope that I found languishing in a dark dusty corner of a junk shop that needs to be nurse back to life. Just being put off by the amount of disassembly required as I already have 3 large projects on that are being held up with awaiting parts, and battles of obsolete parts. Which is presently occupying my ability to remember how everything goes back together.

[@TheStefanskoglund1]

Zen wizard spoke about these - according to him, they was basically done by Tektronix engineers for their own use, and then someone said : WAIT we can sell these. They never really did any optimization with regards to cheap and cheerful production of them....

[@atkelar]

Sounds plausible... that's how some products end up out there. And sometimes they are actually useful :) - But I still assume that they might have made some optimizations if they were expecting a larger number of machines sold. It's a pretty specific use case so I don't think they made them in quantities...

[@stevebollinger3463]

I'm guessing your shipment got held up because they think the banana plugs are fruit. On a project we worked on we were making the physical parts of consumer product. We would label them as "shells" when transporting them. We kept being searched and eventually were told that "shells" make them think of turtle/tortoise shells, animal parts. So we were told to always refer to them as "enclosures" from then on. And we then had much fewer problems.

[@atkelar]

I mean... I ordered from digikey before and never had any problems; this is why I always pick the "digikey handles all the formalities" option after all. It's now sitting in a warehouse for a week and nobody knows what's up.

[@zyeborm]

​@@atkelarsomeone probably thinks the caps are batteries

[@dcallan812]

Congratulations on project 100. Very nice bit of kit and when you think it was built with CAD or JLC PCB . ☺🤣 great video 2x👍

[@aserta]

1:06 you can do it!!! Not a shadow of doubt in my mind.

[@maffsie]

congrats on 100! seeing you disconnect all the wiring looms gives me fear; no way i'd ever get them back on the right pins. I oddly find myself missing the My Train's A Comin' in the rest of the video, the new music was a little too loud and distracting for me :

[@atkelar]

Sorry for the loud parts; I'm still tuning the levels for the new tunes and it's quite a bit harder to get audio right for different devices than it is the picture.

[@e7yu]

Nice, a new video. 😸

[@brunoramey50]

100 ! 🍻

[@POVwithRC]

🥳

[@harryshector]

Sure hope you have a lot of good reference photos. Tektronix built some of the finest electro-visual equipment in the world. But it surely was complex.

[@atkelar]

Plenty, indeed. And of course the videos. Along with the service manual, I don't see any real problems on that part. I just hope that I don't find any more broken parts than the few lamps...

[@vmiguel1988]

Since those transformers have so many taps I would test them before wiring everything back. I am scared how many hours will take you to properly connect all those wires again but looking forward for the next video!

[@atkelar]

I usually give components a quick check before wiring up anything further; for the transformers, that would mean checking if the windings show expected connectivity. And then, the plan is to wire things up in stages: primary first, then checking the output voltages, then rectifiers, check, caps, check, regulator... It's usually too hard to get to these components again when everything is put together again. Also, I don't like to blow up any of the downstream components with an accidental polarity reversal or so :D

[@jensschroder8214]

At the end of the day I wouldn't know which cable goes to which contact.

[@atkelar]

This is where all the pictures and videos come in handy 😸

[@foffu]

What a brave project - good luck getting everything working well. I am curious about your "pistol" type soldering iron. Despite doing electronics for many years I've never had cause to use one, and don't know anybody else that uses one either! What are the advantages and use-cases for that type?

[@atkelar]

Well, for one... I had it ready when I needed it; I have two workspaces: a "clean" one, right here next to my desk, and a "dirty" one in another building. The disassembly usually happens at the "dirty" location for obvious reasons, and I don't have the nicest tools there either; whenever I upgrade something on my desk, I move the old version over to the "dirty" workshop. On a more practical reasoning: the solder guns are usually higher power at the tip of the iron. The one I have is 200W, all concentrated in the tip. That makes it possible to solder quite large things, like ground wires to chassis parts in tube equipment. For disassembly, it's also useful because it can heat up the solder even if there's a layer of oxide over it.

[@foffu]

@@atkelar Thanks. I always imagined that they might be useful if you want to get a lot of heat into a joint to get it undone! Good luck with the project.

[@lwilton]

You might want to look into a process called "retrobright", "retrobrite", or "retrobrighting". You can find lots of KZbin videos on this. Basically a simple photo-chemical way of reversing the yellowing on plastic parts caused by years of exposure to UV light. Don't need to do sanding or painting in most cases.

[@atkelar]

I did try retrobrite several times before; just can't get reliable results out of it, so in this case, the sanding/painting was the more reliable way to get a nice looking result.

[@tommuller817]

Hallo, schöner Kanal mich würde interessieren wie Sie den Überblick bei den vielen Kabeln behalten ist ein Schaltplan vorhanden oder werdne alle Farben und Anschlüsse per hand dokumentiert? Im video sieht es so aus als würde alles einfach auseinander gebaut ohne Angst zu haben es später nicht mehr zusammen zu bekommen. Wie läuft es in Wirklichkeit? Besste Grüße aus Deutschland

[@atkelar]

Danke! Die Videos sind ursprünglich mal entstanden, weil ich beim Auseinandernehmen dokumentiert habe. Natürlich mache ich auch viele Bilder zwischendurch, aber "beim knipsen zusehen" ist halt nicht wirklich interessant für ein KZbin video. Trotzdem ist in diesem Fall auch eine gute Serviceanleitung zu dem Gerät im Internet verfügbar. Da steht tatsächlich für jeden Pin die Adernfarbe dabei. Bei Geräten ohne Serviceanleitung helfen dann die Bilder auch.

[@oblioi]

:o)❤

[@ua89das7ufj]

Forget wanting to know how you're going to get that rats nest of wires back together, how did you blow into that party horn?

[@atkelar]

I took lessons with the big bad wolf 🤣 - thanks for noticing that practical effect!

[@spyder8986]

Fantastic video, very meticulous. Does anyone know what those types of small tools he uses to take off the small nuts.are called.

[@atkelar]

Which ones? Would you have a timecode for reference?

[@spyder8986]

Rite around 15.10 I think they look aluminan or galvanized I saw you use them a couple times in the video ,it looked like you had differant sizes.i was just curious if there's a place I could purchase a set of these.Thank you for responding.

[@atkelar]

Oh, those. According to my Amazon order history, they are called "Pipe Socket Spanner" - the set that I have is made by "hrb". Certainly not the quality you'd look for in day to day automotive use, but for the potentiometers, these are a treat. Funny detail: Amon lists the material as "cardboard" 🤣

[@spyder8986]

Thank you, yes they certainly are not cardboard, and I think they probably work great for those thin nuts. That is a funny story though.im sure sooner or later they will catch there mistake. But once again Thank you for your quick responce.

[@adrianschneider4441]

Could you possibly detail on how you made these decals for the adaptor plate?

[@atkelar]

That was rather easy... I had the process in several other projects, so I didn't go into details here. Basically: Make the writing in whatever software of choice (I used Inkscape) and do a few test prints for size/positioning. Then, print on "water decal transfer paper" - available for inkjets and laserjet printers. This can then be cut and applied after soaking in water for a few minutes. A bit of a fumble on larger ones, you can see in the video that it folded over on itself and it took quite a bit of tugging to straighten out. When you look for these decal papers, keep in mind they come in "glossy" or "dull" versions as well as "transparent" or "white" for the base material. For durability, a coat of clear spray paint might be a good idea, but I am still experimenting with that.

[@AxelWerner]

Wer zeichnet denn den knuffigen Kater ?

[@atkelar]

Die Zeichnungen sind Auftragsarbeit. Die für die Thumbnails macht "Karpour"; wir kennen uns seit über 15 Jahren und ich mag seinen Cartoon-Stil 😁

[@byterock]

You know there is a formula for Majik smoke Ms= ((Tk*Ac)^Ic)^Iv where Ms= Cubic Meters of smoke Tk=Complexity if the Instrument Ac= Component Accuracy Factor Ic= Incompetence Factor of repair technician and Iv= Value of Instrument 😉

[@atkelar]

I sure hope the Ic is low enough to compensate for the other values 😅

[@MCPicoli]

Is there any reason for not using retrobrite on the yellowed plastic parts?

[@atkelar]

I can't get reliable results from that. So I only try it, when there's something "at stake" - like a keyboard of a retro computer with lots of printed letters. In this case, the lettering was simple enough to remake and there was no curved surfaces or surface texture involved.

[@cvetomircvetkov5670]

Where did you find the curve tracer? No body parts with them nowadays.

[@atkelar]

To quote Fiarly OddParents: "Ummm... Internet!" - but seriously: chatting with somebody about upcoming or planned projects and learning that they wanted or maybe more had to get rid of theirs for space/time/monetary reasons. In other words: I got lucky with this one. The price was in the regular region, but we found a more affordable way of shipping. 'cause that usually almost doubles the cost.

[@ardentdrops]

Do you think it's possible to regenerate some of those capacitors instead of replacing them?

[@graealex]

This device is a direct contradiction of the usual claim that "back then, devices were made to get repaired". Just all the free wiring instead of actual connectors is very intimidating.

[@atkelar]

There was a comment here about these being made for "internal use" first and then just sold as a product. It looks like that to be sure. If it were planned as a product, it might have had some more optimizations done; but a "hard to service" model might still be preferable to "two different models"... who's to say after so many years?

[@graealex]

@@atkelar We can all agree that the engineering isn't particularly good here. Basically, it's missing its back plane.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

So answer me this because I am flabbergasted, How in the world do you keep track of where all wires and screws goes in a project like this? I mean I been working on some Tektronix equipment myself and they all been made to last but very awkward to work on with their separate wires for everything

[@atkelar]

Pictures. Lots of pictures during disassembly. And the videos of course. No secret at all. I can memorize quite a few details for a few days, yes, and given enough time I can probably work out anything without a plan even, but having pics and videos to backtrack really speeds up the process.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@@atkelar well I also use pictures for everything but when there is enough stuff to keep track of even this can be too little. I typically sort things up myself but that amount in your curve tracer really ain’t just a few wires to keep track of. I wish you good luck working on it. I am currently working on two oscilloscopes myself. One tube based and one transistor one

[@atkelar]

It is much easier with something likt he curve tracer in fact. Tek has made sure that every signal has its own color wire... that leads to interesting wires; with three colors like red-yellow-white. It's harder with tube stuff where all wires almost look the same to begin with and then the dust and grime makes them all "brown". I also always look for circuit diagrams before taking things apart so I can backtrack wires and connections I can't 100% identify anymore.

[@Pulverrostmannen]

@@atkelar It’s still impressive what you do. I look forward to the next episode. I am doing well with my Scopes too. I got some re-cap work to do here

[@radimkolar2270]

Why do you paint the test panel? Trying to reverse the yellowing might have been worth it, painting seems almost like a shortcut. Otherwise a great video :3

[@atkelar]

It wasn't just yellow, it also had some dents that needed sanding. When I did that, I saw that some minor sanding would reveal the original color again, so I tried that way first. It worked perfectly for that little plastic ring around the left/right switch. That, and that I can't get consistent results from the "retrobrite" tecnique made me opt for painting.

[@radimkolar2270]

@@atkelarFair enough, sorry for assuming you would take a shortcut. Great work!

[@XXX-mj2yr]

Again great video