To learn electronics in a very different and effective way, and gain access to Mr Carlson's personal designs and inventions, visit the Mr Carlson's Lab Patreon page here: www.patreon.com/MrCarlsonsLab

@greggaieck4119

2 жыл бұрын

MR CARSON WHAT A KOOL 1959 ELECTVONICS

@stevemacbr

2 жыл бұрын

Mr C - I have a (monochrome) Fluke oscilloscope similar to the one shown, with a damaged LCD screen. - Are these available as spares & what is the general co$t. (PS: I'm currently in the UK & can't seem to source it from anywhere - Your help would be really appreciated. Thanks) .

@daleburrell6273

2 жыл бұрын

@@stevemacbr...I'd look on Ebay, and see if there is a Fluke available that you could use for parts.

@ludwigmesser5339

2 жыл бұрын

@@greggaieck4119 League

@ludwigmesser5339

2 жыл бұрын

@@stevemacbr to get DX Short Wave station equipment working.

As a calibration technician, I can say that this thing was never used. Not a scratch, not one speck of dust on the fan or baked onto anything. Fantastic find.

@ian_b

2 жыл бұрын

Alternatively the owner was friends with some of those elves who creep into your workshop at night and clean everything.

@redemptusrenatus5336

2 жыл бұрын

This furthers my theory that Mr. Carlson is a time traveler and picks these things up back when they were made and stores them in a warehouse not unlike the government warehouse where all the relics are kept from The Indiana Jones movies. Then when he's ready to share them he tells us about his lucky find while off camera he's got a telltale grin that would give him away if we ever got to see it!

@adksherm

2 жыл бұрын

I’d ‘cur.

@RapperBC

2 жыл бұрын

@@redemptusrenatus5336 I'd say this, quite clearly, is the simplest explantion and accounts for all observed phenomena.

@malte2483

2 жыл бұрын

@@redemptusrenatus5336 You're right Maaa'n🤣💯

It's interesting how things have changed. In my youth: "You can understand FETs by thinking of them as vacuum tubes." Today: "You can understand vacuum tubes by thinking of them as FETs."

@davelowets

2 жыл бұрын

😆 Thats pretty much the way it went, too. 🍻

I find it amazing that the people who designed that pulse generator are probably all no longer with us, yet the instrument continues to perform. That is truly an accomplishment. Tektronix was the gold standard back then.

@scottlarson1548

2 жыл бұрын

Before Tektronix started laying people off every year.

@charlessmyth

2 жыл бұрын

For which you needed gold to buy :-)

@DrewskisBrews

2 жыл бұрын

Epic

Man, this thing is mint! And I agree, the tektronics design of the 50s/60s is really second to none. Especially with that oldschool logo, it really has a nice "retro-futuristic" vibe.

@volvo09

2 жыл бұрын

I came to say this.... I LOVE old Tek gear, it's such a nice look. The knobs, aluminum face, blue wrinkle finish... And that really cool logo too!

I spent 22 years (1969-1991) in the U.S. Navy. I was always impressed with the quality of the test equipment that the Navy employed. We had a lot of Tektronix and Hewlett-Packard pieces. The stuff was built to last.

@GeekGinger

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, I was an ET in the 80s working on big HF transmitters and it was all HP and Tektronix, as well as Simpson meters.

Seeing a 62 year old device still in spec is amazing and the interior is beautiful.

@jamesplotkin4674

2 жыл бұрын

I'm a 61 year old device and I am not anywhere near original spec ;-)

@solarbirdyz

2 жыл бұрын

It really is gorgeous, isn't it? He pulled that cover off and even before it was flipped over it was already just "oh, this thing is gorgeous."

@malte2483

2 жыл бұрын

@@jamesplotkin4674 🤣

I love weekend mornings with Mr. Carlson's Lab. I have a coffee in hand and a lab bench is lit up with test equipment ready to start a busy weekend!!

My father worked at Tektronix from 1965 to 1996. They built some of the best test equipment ever made. He said that the quality started dropping after Howard Vollum died in the mid '80s. Back in the '80s I used to buy 5353A and 545A 'scopes at hamfests, then repair them to resell at the next hamfest. I made a lot of money that way! I feel old after typing this...

@MrCarlsonsLab

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your story Jim!

Paul, when I first started to work, the electronics company produced a lot of DOD equipment. One of my first jobs was building wiring harnesses. The 'harness room had plywood positioned in a vertical manner so that a 'harness drawing' could be attached and use as a pattern for the harness. The medium for holding all the wires together was called 'lacing tape'. It was a nylon flat tape ~ 1/8" wide and white. WHITE! can you imagine! The lacing tape was held with running knots, a simple twist of the wrist and continued throughout the 'run'. At the end, a special 'end knot' was applied. The whole time, talc powder was applied to the hands to keep the tape white. Eventually, someone thought that the tape should be black and made working with it so much easier. This was in the '60's.

@dougankrum3328

2 жыл бұрын

I've worked in electric motor repairs and we used a very similar tape, that was 50+ years ago. Now I see cheap brown twine.

@curtwuollet2912

2 жыл бұрын

I still have some lacing tape around someplace. It made for neat and vibration resistant wiring, But it was a pain to repair. It's probably right by my wire wrap tools.

@paulmoir4452

2 жыл бұрын

It's still used for aero and space applications since it's lighter weight than cable ties. I learned how to do it for a high temperature wire harness I needed to make using NOMEX lacing tape, which was white as well. High temperature PEEK wire ties are ex$pen$ive.

@randyshoquist7726

2 жыл бұрын

I grew up near Tek. Never worked there, but often went to the "Country Store", their surplus and salvage outlet. Sometimes they had grab-boxes, and I have a 500 yard spool of that same clear vinyl harness lacing cord.

@keitha.9788

2 жыл бұрын

In the 1970's I was working in telephone central offices. We used waxed linen lacing cord ("12 Cord" - for it's size), we then switched to waxed nylon cord. The nylon cord would cut into our fingers, so we had to use thin leather gloves. What a blast from the past........

The Zenith point-to-point was beautiful for a consumer product, but nothing like that. What incredible qualty.

Beautiful device with an incredible design, almost in class with Mr. Carlsson's own designs.

It is so nice to see when people took a lot of pride in their work and engineering . And seeing that this device was engineered and built completely in my home state of Oregon I find very satisfying 😌! It was a very different time than now , everything revolves around cost cutting and profit ! It is so hard too find anything that is built with quality in mind and not how cheaply it can be produced , not to mention engineered failure time so the item has to be replaced ! 😔 Very sad times ! What a shame !

Good old trust worthy Tektronix gear. Thanks for sharing Paul.

Tektronix was one top-range instrument of the time. Never seen again a construction quality like this. Mr. Carlson, the schematic was almost like plain written language, just as the construction tecnique. Thanks for sharing

BNC in 1959, amazing. This would look great plugged into a 1959 317 scope. Awesome video!

I'm a 1958 model, still going strong too!

@williamsloan5754

2 жыл бұрын

Me, too--but I'm afraid I can no longer claim a 3 M u sec rise time ...

Paul, a note on the stickers: First, the side sticker is most likely a CAL-sticker since it crosses a casee joint which makes it obvious if take apart. The BLUE-sticker is usually an INVENTORY-sticker; all this means is the unit has been recorded on the inventory sheet and is to prevent it from being counted twice, as there can be multiple units if the same make and model; also since taking inventory can take multiple days or weeks. Great Video & 73...

10:00 - One of the BEST point-to-point wiring jobs I've ever seen. Virtually no component leads cross any other component leads!

Very nice, clean layout on the component side. Whoever built this took pride on their work. It’s definitely service-friendly; they even labeled the tube #s on both sides of the chassis! ❤️

Wow, I'm so used to seeing tube equipment that looks like a birds nest inside, this thing is a work of art. Made in a time before bean counters who would have deemed it over-kill. Transformer nice too, could always use it as a doorstop or boat anchor if it ever fails.

@jbuchana

2 жыл бұрын

My father, who worked as an electronic tech at Tektronix from 1965 to 1996, says that the bean counters took over after Howard Vollum died in the mid '80s.

@bobblaine1437

2 жыл бұрын

Really amazing to think that someone was capable of designing that wiring without a CAD program on a computer. I would imagine that it made servicing it a lot easier.

This thing is absolutely beautiful! It looks like it sat on the showroom floor for the last 50+ years as a display model or, in a museum. They used to build things with such Pride & quality!👍

Considering it's age and sitting on a shelf for likely years, I was amazed how well this unit worked. It looks almost new! WOW.

That 107's totally gorgeous... thanks for sharing it, Mr Carlson. When you mentioned about a similar fan in the Gonset 2-meter amp, that 'Gonset' name instantly brought up some great memories of some Gonset gear I used to have and operate years ago... never had the 2-meter amp but I did have the 2-meter 'Communicator III' transmitter-receiver rig they made back in the day... utterly beautiful rig, and I also had an FM modulator device that plugged into a crystal socket on the front panel and and made the crystal's frequency wobble a bit at an audio rate and one could have some great QSO's on 2-meter NBFM, . I also had a Gonset GSB-100 HF transmitter, which I used alongside of a National NC-300 receiver... that GSB-100 xmitter was definitely another utterly awesome product from Gonset. One of my radio-nerd-dreams was to one day come across and obtain the G77 and G66 Gonset Twins... .. still, one of these days... lol : - D 73

@MrCarlsonsLab

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your story Terry!

@TerryMcKean

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrCarlsonsLab You're welcome Mr Carlson.

I don't understand just how your finds are so clean!

I don't understand it every time you open something up that you've picked up from an electronics auction or something it's a little dusty, but it looks brand new this piece is from 1959 if I were to get something like that from 1959 it would of had cobwebs and spiders and bugs all in it and it looked like it been through a dust storm just loaded with crap on the inside... Truly amazing... LOL.... keep up the good work Mr Carlson!

Heathkit used similar shaded pole fans to cool the 3-500 tubes on the SB-220 / 221 as well. They are super easy to disassemble and clean, the oilite bearings require occasional light machine oil to the surrounding felt to keep things quiet.

In my opinion Tektronix vacuum tube technology back then was unbeatable, superb design and no corner cutting. The choice of test gear for the professionals.

@VintageTechFan

2 жыл бұрын

I just recently realized that this stuff was very likely used to develop the (then) cutting-edge solid-state technology of the Apollo program.

@keitha.9788

2 жыл бұрын

@@VintageTechFan and the Mercury and Gemini Programs too...

This is defiantly something you can say "they don't build it like they used too". That's amazing honestly

Great Work; You Are Giving People Great INFO About Electronics.

Wow. What more can an old man say about classic Tektronix. Typical awesome point to point workmanship.

Darn thing is as old as I am and still functions like new. Wish I functioned like that today :) Tektronix was one heck of a set of test instruments in its day. I'd love to go forward 60 years into the future and see how well today's electronics work.

Techtronics always have the best point to point work, absolutely gorgeous.

I'm from 1959, this and I are working very well! Wonderful piece of vintage Tektronix equipment. Thanks for the review.

@tedmoss

2 жыл бұрын

Always count your blessings. I am from 1943 (two years before the bomb) and am still working very well. Just a minor quad bypass and a couple of fused disks oh, and I don't hear as well as I did.

Thanks, Paul. Very nice WF Generator!

Man! This looks like it just left the Factory! Looks Fantastic. Wish electronics were still build that solid and clean.

EXCELLENT explanation of the mechanical and electrical characteristics of this fine piece of vintage gear. I really like when you give a detailed discussion of circuit operation after pointing out the physical components ... and what's more exciting than seeing it power up and actually work as designed after who knows how many tens of years of inactivity! I'm liking your quick tour series of what's to come. THANK YOU for sharing the fun!!!

Very impressive piece of kit. Quality design and quality components. Hats off to Tektronix.

That's a real old school piece of beautiful art ❤ and amazing it is still working and in specs after over 60 years.👍 Todays electronic would never ...

There is no better advertisement for Tektronix than what you are showing here.

Thanks for discussing each tube, the circuit, discussing the issues with silver solder on the ceramic standoffs, and taking measurements. I find the word "approximate" on the front panel unusual for an instrument, but I have limited exposure. I haven't worked with this type of equipment for a long time, but it is still fun to see. I enjoyed the video.

Wow, great video. Amazing condition inside! I always like how you explain what each tube or other part does

Wow, this square wave generator is in near mint condition considering its dated around 59. Nothing like kicking back with a cup of joe and enjoying this video on a Saturday morning. Thanks for sharing Professor Carlson.

I would expect NOTHING less from a Pre 1980's piece of gear from Tektronix. My old 4 chanel Ossi was from 1966 and it was all tubes then BUT for ONE transistor. I must have moved that beast 20+ times over the years and it NEVER let me down nor fell out of alignment... PERIOD! I miss still miss it even today even tho it was ont rated to 20 MHz. I used it mainly to maintain my Live Sound gear and it's 24 channel mono Board. I kept that board so maintained that I got TWICE the money we had paid for it (after I had got it back to the original factory specs, which were WAY out) and I hear that it's still 20 years later still being used as the back up board for one of the clubs along the Sunset strip in L.A., tho I'm not at liberty to say which club it is (there are only 3 so you can guess!!! :) ). Those were fun times for sure! And to think it all started with blessed enough to get my hands on an old Tektronix Ossi back when I was in H.S.!!!

I was a new engineer at GE in 1983, and loved the old-school Tek equipment we had. 2,6ns rise time is really impressive! I will be honest - I never heard of a M u sec before.

I really love my TEK gear from this era, they really went the extra mile no matter what piece of equipment they were building. I've found this same era gear before and sure enough (as long as the previous owner didn't monkey with it), it generally comes up and just works. They use good (sometimes hand selected/paired and binned) parts and generally do not push the components hard. I remember seeing a internal TEKTRONIX video where they were showing the development of their CRT's, transformers, circuit boards, and chassis which they did in house. It was explained in the video that they would resort to manufacturing components themselves no matter the cost when their "rigorous" standards could not be met by third party suppliers rather than putting out a product which did not meet their high standards of quality. They always underrated their equipment, and in my experience you could always expect 'just a little more' on top of where they published the specs instead of the common practice of rating equipment based on it's theoretical limits in a perfect lab environment ILS (If Lightning Strikes). If you needed resolution at a certain bandwidth, you'd certainly be able to see your signal even if it was a the high end or low end of what the equipment was actually rated for.

Hi Mr Carlson's Sir, Detail Explain Is Very Useful Sir Great Video👍👍👍Thank You.

Love the olde Tektronix equipment!

Thanks ! I showed this video to my wife, se don't complain anymore about me owning 3 oscilloscopes ! ;o)

Interesting, I know little about valves and had no idea about the filter cap problem, thank you

That unit is in gorgeous shape.

I love tek equipment! Not just electronics - it's artwork.

Tek always nice inside. Thanks for the super clear close ups!

love how its bin wired up looks bit like art very well done sum one took pride in they work :)

@buildstoys

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeljohnson4204 It can be said either way, typically the 'l' is silent in the US pronunciation.

@tedmoss

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeljohnson4204 This is just for someone who took pride in their spelling.

@dougankrum3328

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaeljohnson4204 Yeah...it's 'so-durr'....but we here in the USA have called it saw-der since I was first doing it at age 4, 1951....my 1st actual electronic project, on a real bread board...the kind you sliced bread on....that was when you used a lot of wood screws and Fahnestock clips. But... the original commentor could have 'been' referring to something that was stored/supplied in bins, and the total number of parts was the 'sum'....naw....jus bad spellin'....

A true standing testament to Tektronix quality indeed!!! That square wave generator is almost as old as I am and it still works within spec!! Thanks for another quality video!! Thanks a bunch from John Bellas at KC2UVN State of New York 73's to Paul C!!

That motor is known these days as a C Frame motor, and I believe their sizes/dimensions are standardized. Most table/desk fans today use them, and a few companies even sell cheap 3" fans with motors and blades about the size as what is in your unit. >if you want to search for 3%, you're just getting picky As meticulous as you are, I'm guessing *your* silver solder is 5%. ;)

@dougankrum3328

2 жыл бұрын

'C' frame...shaded pole, they were all over the place in fans everywhere. you did have to oil them a bit...every few years, or they self-destroy and screech to no end like my old house bathroom ceiling fan. The bearings are ruined now, due to no one ever reading the label on there....'oil annually'....

It's a Tek, of course it works!

@audiodood

2 жыл бұрын

Except my 466 which had ONE bad capacitor :D

Great video! The construction is amazing, so much thought went into it & it still works! So much testing must have been done to tweak the circuit to the final design!

Great piece of equipment, and nice video too.

It was lovely to see the old TEK next to the Fluke scopemeter and I knew it would work !.....cheers.

The early Tektronix units were truly works of art. Tektronix documentation was also top notch. If only all documentation followed their standard. Love the cartoons drawn in some of the early schematics.

@tedmoss

2 жыл бұрын

Documentation? whats that?

That's a beauty

It’s beautiful to see the immense amount of care and thought Tektronix puts into their units.

Everything about this unit is electronic Art / Top notch craftsmanship / (Sombody took great pride in a job extra well done 101 points no less) beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...

What a incredible piece of top-engineering and build quality. And of course it still works like new - within spec. Simply stunning.

To think, all that metal, glass for the tubes and gas it took to make them, copper wire in the transformer, the time to make the above and the chassis... fast forward to now, a single .20 cent Op-amp and three resistors and one capacitor will give you the same results and you probably could get away with running it off a single lithium battery, Nonetheless, there definitely is a charm to those big sturdy made old equipment.

@curtwuollet2912

2 жыл бұрын

Except you wouldn't get Tr and Tf < 3 nsec.

@patprop74

2 жыл бұрын

@@curtwuollet2912 So true.

Made before my time but I had a relationship with Tektronix inc. 1969 to 1980 I have seen, used, repaired and dismantled Tek interments. As you can see Tek made more than Oscilloscopes some of these were television waveform and vector scopes, medical monitors, graphic computer displays, color laser printers, a desk top computer with graphics and many other items. Concerning the adhesive stickers I have never observed any such seal on a Tek interment these must have been added by a user. This equipment was made with field repair in mind although such repair was rare. I stopped the video before the power up of the square wave generator, I am placing my bet that it will come to life with out fail let's see if the bet is a winner.. PS: No surprises Tek a winner as usual. One other detail the Tek service manuals were true works of art I have several in my library because they represent the best of documentation now a long lost practice. Thanks for the well made video brings back fond memories.

That was fascinating. Thank you Paul! I am hopefully making it to Patreon. Still some videos to go. Thank you for taking care of this channel. Really appreciated!

Hi! Just wanted to say that I just recently came across your channel and think it is absolutely great!!! Just the amount of information and knowledge is amazing!! I have already signed up on your patreon channel and am in the process of watching all of the great videos posted there!! Thank you for sharing all of the this great information!!!

@MrCarlsonsLab

2 жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard Doug!

I'm a bit older than this piece of gear and can say my Rise Time is no longer within spec!

@davelowets

2 жыл бұрын

Me too... Output isn't up to spec either.

Good to see that blue beauty is still kicking, since we are of the same vintage! ,although I have some recapping myself, lately

Mr. Carlson, it was made by Tektronix. There is no equivalent today to that level of quality. My 535A belonged to my grandfather and now is mine, he was an engineer for Sperry Gyroscope and was at Los Alamos, well doing some interesting work there.

Greeting from Tulsa Okla. I am a retired Principal Designer for Protection and Controls, major utility company. Over the years I have watched many of your youtube videos. I believe that you are a ham radio operator. KF5MCJ is my call sign. It is clear that you enjoy restoring old electronic test equipment. I have watched several videos of you repairing ham radio equipment. Have you ever considered donating some of your restored equipment to ham radio operators? Do you do ham radio repair other than what you do videos on?

i absolutly LOVE old techtronics gear!!!.......practically works of art in and of themselves, and the quality of the parts used? mmM-Hmmm, a primo!

So nice to see Older equipment like that still working so well i wonder how much modren gear will still be working when it is that old

Nice therapeutic video thanks

wow another great video

Those shaded pole motor fans absolutely LAST FOREVER!!! A bit of maintenance every few years of constant use, possibly oil the felt pads… They’re almost un-killable. The few I have seen which failed… were due to a thermal fuse which is easily replaceable

I have never got any verification, but my understanding about the early wire bundle ties material was a Surgical Catgut. It was sort of twisted round. When the nylon lacing came around, it was flat braided. First time I met it, we got black version and it was loaded with bee's wax. That made the knots stay better, as well as made it more friendly for the hands. Later on, you could buy that lacing tape without the wax, if you preferred. Some people complained that bee's wax suffered from mold build-up. In any case, this TEK unit was manufactured before the lacing tape. dominance.

@keithstudly6071

2 жыл бұрын

Before the nylon lacing tape there was flax tape. It was light brown but otherwise like the nylon. I remember seeing the Hughes "Spruce Goose"" and it's wire bundles were done with flax. The bees wax was to help in getting the knots tight but about 20 years ago they phased it out where I worked as they had become worried about 'out gassing' in vacuum environments which the bee's wax would do. We swore and cursed when they stopped the waxed cord because non-waxed cord was so much harder to use. I remember about two years after I started doing lacing tape I was asked to show a new employee how to tie the knots. It took me some time to remember as I had done it so many times for so long it was something my fingers just did without any thought!

Im currently restoring a 50 Mhz TEK 453 portable scope. Ive worked on all this equipment having been an instrument Tech in the Cal Lab.

The quality of parts and construction that went into that is top notch. It's nuts to think how much that had to have cost new and how few parts it takes now to do what that does.

Looks way more modern than what one'd expect from out of '59! It's almost as smooth, minimalistic and modern as what Apple's designs are like.

I love the description of this video. Will it make waves? Will it make smoke?

Absolutely love the look of their equipment

Not at all surprised it works fine, vintage Tektronix stuff has always been beautifully built, I have a couple of scopes from the same era, both are working well on all original components!

Very interesting. I love seeing those vintage equipment still working to specs 62 years later.

Wow Paul that thing was spotless inside, loved the logo on display through the cut out and the way all the components were labeled. Nice bit of kit. TFS, GB :)

I’m no electronics wiz but damn ! That thing’s a beauty inside & out ! 😍😍

I love that old Pont to Point wiring, that little puppy was really clean inside and out. nice to see gear that had a little TLC. thanks for sharing. ECF

@19:26 Louis Rossmann would have called it fixed by now. Fan spin.

man, that is a *_BEAUTIUL_* instrument!!!! I want one just to look at it... leave it open in my living room

Wow awsom stuff

Great stuff Paul.

Very good mr.Carlson!

Interesting rectumfrier set up. I never seen that before. Those 6BW4's must certainly get some current drawn through them!

Paul, another outstanding video. The hamfest you go to has much better gear for sale than the hamfest I have attended. 73, AA4EZ

7:19 -- I was just thinking about the silver solder included on the old Tektronix scopes, and the reason behind it right before you mentioned it. I enjoy seeing the old gear that had such outstanding construction quality. They truly were works of art.

@davelowets

2 жыл бұрын

Some top of the line audio amplifier manufacturers used silver solder in their products because some people think it "sounds better". 🙄 I'm fairly certain that some companies today still believe that, and still use it.

Tektronix was king in test gear in those days. They made their own crts and even those ceramic parts. They survived and dominated the change to transistors. But things got simpler for the competition and their build advantage went away with integrated circuits and they slowly became one of many today. They demanded and got high prices for excellence, now it's a whole different game.

@dougankrum3328

2 жыл бұрын

There's at least one KZread video showing how TekTronics makes all those parts, including the ceramic connection strips, and the 'o' scope CRT tubes..

@curtwuollet2912

2 жыл бұрын

@@dougankrum3328 Yeah, I saw that movie in 1971. I may look for it again. I could have used it when I was teaching.

@boballmendinger3799

2 жыл бұрын

There's a Vintage Tektronix channel, that has their cool films.

Hi Mr Carlson , I had a 310 tech scope years ago. I had to leave it behind when I moved. I wish I had not. Now I have a 7700 with plug in modules

Look at how well was built, damn…