Hi,

I'm working on a hobby project to enable readout for the 5S14N. As far as I
know after a lot of reading on manuals that the 7000 and 5000 series
readout is basically the same. I know that the 7S14 is a 5S14N with some
interface board and the readout board containing the resistors for the
readout row and column current settings.

My idea is to fit the readout board into the 5s14N, it does have the
mounting points on the casing for the delay line. I have also validated
that the horizontal timebase cam switches contain the contacts for the
readout and the pin header is there and it is just not connected. This of
course makes sense, since Tek used the same boards in both units, it
probably was not worth to have separate boards with only a couple of cam
switch contacts removed.

One thing I have not been able to verify if the vertical switches contain
the necessary contacts. It takes some deep disassembly to get to them,
which eventually will have to be done, but just by looking at it I was not
able to figure out if the contacts are there. . However, for these
switches, it would make sense to use different types. The 5S14N parts list
contains two part numbers for the S110 and S120 one is the same as in the
7s14 the other is not, I'm not quite sure what to make out of this.

Looking at photos of 7S14 on the net, I was not able to decide if these
switches are in fact the same or not. They do look similar, though.

So if anyone has the knowledge if these switches are the same in the 7S14
and 5S14N, that would be a big help.
I already have the schematic in KiCAD and PCB design for the readout board
in progress, so if having this retrofit makes sense (doesn't, but it is a
fun project :-) ) then I will share the design files and will probably have
some spare boards.

Thanks,

Szabolcs

I cannot say about the 5S14N, but only the 5400 group (5440, 5441 and 5444) of 5k scopes are equipped for CRT display of readout. If you don't have one of those mainframes, your project will be a bit more challenging.

Hi,

Yes, I have a 5440, it has readout. I was actually wondering why Tek left
out the readout from the 5s14n.
Was it for compatibility with the low speed 5000 mainframes? Or was it some
business decision. The direct cost savings couldn't have been much, as only
a handful of cheap components are missing. Maybe it was to move people to
the 7000 series if they wanted readout on the complex plugins?

Szabolcs

Clark Foley <clarkfoley@msn.com> ezt írta (időpont: 2020. dec. 20., Vas
22:46):

It might be more difficult on the 5xxx and 51xx, but it can be done. How it is done and the black magic or witchcraft that is involved; is way over my head. However, the 5D10 Digital Storage plug in adds display readouts to the lowliest versions of the 5000 series Scopes.

--
Michael Lynch
Dardanelle, AR