Tektronix 160 Series

[AlanBeckett]

NOS 6U8A arrived, plugged it in and everything works as it should
A bit surprising really but I suppose even with Tektronix conservative ratings Components will change over 50 years so probably there's not as much 'Slack' as there used to be.
I've had it soaking most of the day, on Load, and it's fine.

Onwards and upwards.

Alan

[pwdrive]

Brill, what's next?

Lawrence.

[ppppenguin]

6U8A appears to be very close to the ECF82. This in turn is the 6.3V version of the PCF82 which was a VHF TV frequency changer.
http://www.r-type.org/exhib/aad0305.htm

[AlanBeckett]

Yes, Jeffrey, at least for the 6U8. The 'A' version has a different Heater warm-up Characteristic apparently. I'd have gone for an ECF82 if 6U8A had been a ludicrous Price as they're all in Parallel, but it was reasonable so I got the real thing.

Alan

[AlanBeckett]

Back to the 162 Waveform Generator Lawrence, although I may make a longer Power Supply Cable to make working on it easier.

Alan

[AlanBeckett]

The next job was to make a longer Power Cable as the ones I have are quite short and make working on the Units a bit tricky. Two of them have Moulded Plugs and Sockets with no obvious way of taking them to bits, but the third one has Metal Shrouds.

   

So, take No.3 to bits and see what the score is. The Wires are surprising flimsy, especially as the Heater Supply is good for 20A. It was really just a matter of removing the old Cable and making a new one. I used Phil's splendid Silicone Insulated Wire and even got the Colours right this time - 0.5mm for the HTs and GND and 0.75mm for the Heater Wires. The addition of some bits of Heatshrink and Cable Ties finished the job off, at least for now.

                   

Next Plug up the Waveform Generator and see what's what. Instant Panic - no +70V. How could that be? I'd Buzzed the Cable after assembly and I knew it was OK at the PSU end. After some thrashing about I had a look at the Diagrams and the +70 doesn't seem to be used at all. In fact it isn't even looped through the Units, which I why I couldn't 'See' it at the 162.

Now I've got a properly working PSU and a sensible working environment hopefully I can make some sense of the 162.

   

Alan

[Alan Douglas]

It's a bit surprising that Tek would have gone to the trouble of making specially-molded cables, but then everything they did was "over the top."

The octal plugs, sockets, and shrouds are still made, as far as I know. We were still using the plugs and sockets in underwater acoustic gear when I retired.

[Refugee]

Yes I bought a bag of plugs from China a few weeks ago to make valve/tube adapters. They can be bought with or without back shells.
Those grey adapters look like press-on back shells from the photos.

[AlanBeckett]

Just to save me looking could you Post a Link Ref? I'm going to need some more to make Cables.

Alan

[Refugee]

I just looked through the list and found a bag of 20 bare plugs for my task. I did not need the back shells so you would be better picking through the list for the style you need.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xoctal+plug.TRS0&_nkw=octal+plug&_sacat=0