Need Tektronix TDS220 firmware file

[Vorlon]

The same happened on my TDS220 with an Aliexpress LCD.
It seems they sell defective LCDs as "used ones".

[Nprod]

I'm not sure if you can consider them defective or not, but the one i got certainly looked like it had been rusting away in a warehouse somehwere for a good 20 years. Even though both are labeled "LM32P073" there were differences in their PCBs - the original had about 3 small electrolytic capacitors on it while the aliexpress one has about 9, and they're bigger. There are also some differences in how the backlight bulb is housed. If i had to take a guess i'd say they're different revisions of the same model. Can you say which type the original and replacement screens were?

Perhaps these particular versions are designed for slightly lower contrast voltages, so a little resistor between the flex cable and PCB pad could bring it down to a more usable range that doesn't require you to set the contrast to 0% in the menu to make things visible.

[JFJ]

... The LCD itself is not factory original, i got it from some old stock warehouse on aliexpress and it requires a low contrast setting to look correct for some reason...

It may be informative to compare the contrast control voltage range of your substitute LCD panel, with that of an original:

On my TDS220, the Contrast buttons adjust the voltage on conductor 1 between -13.1V and -19.0V. The effect of this varying voltage is as follows:
 
-13.1V = A negative display (white-on-black)
-16.7V = A normal display (black-on-white)
-19.0V = A white display (completely washed out)

(the voltages are with respect to the main board ground connector).

NB With the ribbon cable only partly inserted into its connector (just enough to engage the contacts), sufficient conductor protrudes above the connector to take voltage measurements with a standard DMM probe.

[Nprod]

@JFJ

Here's what i got:

Without a module installed:

Setting	Voltage	Appearance
0%	-18.8V	Good
15%	-17.77V	Poor contrast, display flips
50%	-16.16V	Blank screen
100%	-13.55V	Blank screen

With a module installed (TDS2MM firmware):

Setting	Voltage	Appearance
0%	-18.5V	Good
15%	-17.71V	Poor contrast, display flips
50%	-15.94V	Blank screen
100%	-13.45V	Blank screen

As you can see, the module doesn't affect the contrast voltage by a significant amount and the screen's response is the same. The reason i got a blank screen when first installing the module is because the scope's setting reset itself to 50%, not because of a voltage drop. Changing the EPROM possibly made the scope think it's a different module.

About the contrast - the datasheet for the LM32P07 (attached) states in its electrical characteristics (Table 4) that the contrast adjust voltage should be between 17.5V and 25.5V, with a typical setting of 21.5V. That would mean that the LCD is acting as it should, but the voltage the scope provides is too low.

[clauditaolivia]

Success! Bend flash pins 1 and 31 up (can be done once). Then use narrow tape strips between flash and socket pins  (I used capton, it worked nicely), and just solder flash pin 1 to  U104 pin 4 and flash pin 31 to closest VCC (pin 32 is closest, just bridge them).


Ramppa

Hello.
 This is my first time on the blog.  I need to upgrade my tds2cm module to tds2mm, but the speed of my new chip ram is 70 ns and the seller send me an amc27c040 120ns. Can i use them? Does the speed between the ram chip and the memory maters? (I´m not an electronics expert just an amateur) I noticed you( OH2LIY) used an am29f040b -90ns(well i think so because of your photos).  I hope you can help me. Cheers from Mexico

[george.b]

Hello.
 This is my first time on the blog.  I need to upgrade my tds2cm module to tds2mm, but the speed of my new chip ram is 70 ns and the seller send me an amc27c040 120ns. Can i use them? Does the speed between the ram chip and the memory maters? (I´m not an electronics expert just an amateur) I noticed you( OH2LIY) used an am29f040b -90ns(well i think so because of your photos).  I hope you can help me. Cheers from Mexico

Yes, the speed matters. Not between RAM and ROM, but relative to the CPU.
I tried a 150ns part and had no luck. 120ns might work. 1/120ns = 8.33MHz, and the CPU clock is 7.something (I can't recall exactly). 150ns translates to 6.67MHz, which would explain why it didn't work for me.

[clauditaolivia]

Thank you.
I will buy a new one AM27C040. By the way,  do you have the firmware for tds 220 v1.17 or supperior ? I used it the one uploaded on previous page but it`s for the 210 and mine is 220 also the factory calibration failed (with the original eprom the factory calibration is passed. Cheers from Mexico

[george.b]

Thank you.
I will buy a new one AM27C040. By the way,  do you have the firmware for tds 220 v1.17 or supperior ? I used it the one uploaded on previous page but it`s for the 210 and mine is 220 also the factory calibration failed (with the original eprom the factory calibration is passed. Cheers from Mexico

The ROM file is the same for both TDS210 and TDS220. An ID variable, stored in flash, is what determines the model. See https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tds-1000-2000-3000-bw-hack/

[Nprod]

I have now tried an LCD module from a different seller and don't have the contrast issue anymore. This new screen has the same PCB layout and frame design as the one that originally came with the scope, so it looks like the specific revision of LM32P073 matters. For clarity, the one with the contrast problem looked like this:



While the good one looks like this:



I can't guarantee that this is true for all TDS scopes, so the best thing when replacing would be to look for ones that match the original.

[TERRA Operative]

For those who need it, here is v1.04 firmware for the TDS2MM module

[ximtou]

Bonjour.

Le plus récent de mes osciloscope, c'est un tds220 .
J'ai aussi un tds3034
Mon problème c'est que j'ai besoin de FFT et il n'y à pas grand chose de plus sur les appareils comme rigol neufs qui justifie un achat. Mon TDS 3034 vois les oscillateurs de télécommande de porte de garage, pas très net, mais mesurable ! Et ce n'est qu'un 4x300mhz. Les émetteur FM, c'est un jeux d'enfant.

Bien sûr mon TDS 220 n'est pas à jour.
Donc j'ai trouvé ces circuits intégrés , voir les images , sont ils bon ?

https://ibb.co/Xt9Z0x5
https://ibb.co/dD7wxvf

Et modifier pin 31 sur 1 et 1 sur 5 v?

Autre chose , pourquoi ne montez vous pas des led à la place du tube sur vos écrans en panne ?
Merci

[TERRA Operative]

You can see the FFT upgrade process in this video. You will need the optional TDS2CM module to do it, but if you can get a TDS2MM module cheaply then you won't need to do the upgrade at all.

If you want to upgrade the firmware in the scope, that can be done easily too with the older version scope, but the newer version uses a flash chip instead of a PROM chip and I haven't worked out how to update the flash chip type. I believe it involves using a specially made module that plugs into the option port.
If you have the older version scope, the old PROM chip can be simply unplugged and discarded, and a new PROM chip programmed and plugged straight in.


https://youtu.be/MKwDZn6nyXo