Tektronix 2465 Option 10

[McBryce]

Hi all,
     like many here, despite owning one or more modern scopes, I still like to use a real analogue scope for certain measurements. My chosen weapon is a Tektronix 2465 which I have owned and kept alive for the last 20+ years. The only thing I miss is not having the GPIB option (Option 10). I have scoured fleabay and other sites for many years, but they never seem to come up, and even my attempts to find another 2465 with the option already installed hasn't come up with anything.

So does anyone here have a 2565 with option 10 installed, that I could possibly clone? Or is it a board that would be almost impossible to clone or require extra firmware / hardware that I won't be able to copy?

Of course, if it is user installable and someone has one to sell, let me know.

McBryce.

[MarkL]

I have a 2465 (plain; not A or B) where I added option 10.  I purchased it about about 11 years ago from an ebay seller who was just selling individual parts and he was willing to put together an option 10 retrofit "kit" for me.

At a minimum you would need:

  670-7558-08  Main GPIB board (A23)
  174-0203-00  GPIB connector
  337-0118-01  Ribbon cable
  670-8159-00  Front panel LED board (A22)
  175-7185-00  LED board cable
               Front bezel nameplate with holes for GPIB status LEDs
               CRT rear coverplate with cutout for GPIB connector

The GPIB card plugs into the 2465 Options Buffer Board (A20), so you need that too if it's not already installed in your scope.  See attached 2445_65_opt10_sm_Parts.pdf.

I needed automated measurements using my scope's CTT option, and it worked fine for that.  But you should be aware that the GPIB option is pretty limited.  It does not allow you to capture waveforms or do virtually any automatic waveform measurements.  You can basically set and read the knob positions on the front panel.  The command summary of what it can actually do is attached below, 2445_65_opt10_sm_App_A.pdf.

I also found that it interferes with the cursor positioning knobs and makes their behavior erratic while trying to adjust position.  This is because the GPIB board intercepts some of the front panel controls in analog form, converts to digital, and then regenerates the analog signal.  There's an EPROM on the board and it clearly has bugs.  The whole thing strikes me as an after-thought and a hack.

In the end, quite honestly, I don't think it was worth the trouble.  And it was a real pain to put it in.

If you still want to do this and want the contact info for the seller I can dig it up.  Drop me a PM.  I have no idea if he's still in business.  Bits and pieces of what's needed come up from time-to-time on ebay.  There's a GPIB board on there right now, but obviously you need more than just that.

[McBryce]

Thanks for all the info, that's pretty comprehensive. On the one hand, it all sounds pretty doable, but it seems that it's not quite the GPIB functionality I was hoping for, so I think I'll just leave it unless those boards fall into my hands at some time in the future. Mine is also a non-A/B (with flip switches instead of buttons).

McBryce.