This shot is from a scifi movie Angry Red Planet. Every time I watch the movie, I wonder about this scope. Looks like it is a 2 channel scope. I recognize the vertical section and the horizontal. Looks like there might be controls for trigger and time delay but seems to be a ton of other controls. What could be their function?

Sorry for the horrible photo but this is about the best it gets from a 1950s movie.




Looks like they use a lot of test equipment in the movie.

 

If I was compelled to guess, I would say that the round screen and the knobs suggest Tektronix. Other controls are for beam position, focus, and triggering. There is a vernier knob on the right hand side that is used for delayed sweep.

 

Looks like a 500 series Tek. http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/500-series_scopes

 

If I was compelled to guess, I would say that the round screen and the knobs suggest Tektronix. Other controls are for beam position, focus, and triggering. There is a vernier knob on the right hand side that is used for delayed sweep.

The two lower sections would be the vertical and horizontal sections correct? What is the purpose of that whole upper right section? Seems to be an awful lot of controls more than the typical beam position, focus etc.

 

Looks like a 500 series Tek. http://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/500-series_scopes

I think you nailed it. Looks like this model here

 

I don't recognize controls like Amplitude Calibrator. Is a control like that available on some modern scopes? I don't recall ever seeing one. And the Horizontal Display control is semi familiar. It is hard to see the details on the control. Maybe I have used it in another form?

 

My Father-In-Law gave me a scope cart for the Tek 500 series scopes. I have a Tek 7704A on it.

The calibrator for that scope is under the screen by the power switch:

 

Amplitude adjust is for thos of us with older analog scopes. The gradicules may not align perfectly at 1v each on 1v scale so that knob is used to calibrate.

Horizontal display control is used to center the beam or a wave on the screen if needed. Some scopes not much movement is possible. +/-20% of screen width. Also, some scopes have a 5x feature that allows the horizontal field to be expanded without changing the sweep speed. It is like setting a camera to panarama mode. Then you can scroll far to the left to see trigger and to the right to see a delayed response. That is in my 1980s era analog scope. Yours is more of the early 1960s - but I am only guessing.

 

I think you nailed it. Looks like this model here

The picture you posted has enough resolution that if you copy and paste it to a picture viewer, you can zoom in and read the controls.

There are so many controls on the right because it's a dual time-base oscilloscope.
That allows you to delay/expand any portion of the main sweep display to view it at a faster sweep speed.

The calibrator outputs precise voltages at selectable amplitudes.
Those old tube scopes drifted much more than modern solid-state scopes, so whenever you wanted to do precise measurements, you would first calibrate the input with a voltage from the calibrator close to the signal voltage you want to measure.
If necessary, you could then use the variable gain setting (red knob) on the input sensitivity control to set the display to read exactly the calibrator output setting.

 

Fond memories of those old 500 series Tektronix scopes. During the mid to late 70s I taught those scopes in a Navy school in San Diego. During the cool winter mornings I would tell the students first in turn on all the scopes. They took the chill off the classroom. The Tektronix 545A with the 1A1 vertical plug in was a standard item in the Navy METCAL (Metrology Calibration) Type 4 field labs. The pictured Tektronix 7704 came later. They were the best things going at the time.

Ron

 

Wonderful tool.

 

Anyone recognize this scope?

Spinnaker that's old boat anchor Tkx 545A mainframe with a Pentrix CA plugin unit installed. You can tell mainframe is not 535 cuz scope in your OP (which I say is 545A) has BNC connectors on mainframe instead of SO239! So there are other differences but connectors are total giveaway! So I know abt Tek scopes cuz when I was kid and teen staying home on weekends to pull them from surplus heap and repair them was penalty for being trouble maker which I usually was So anyhow It paid in long run cuz even though they could only sell for like $200 or sometimes $500 max with 1Lnn series SA PU they were worth way more in trade even with boring PUs! I still love those scopes when I don't need super accuracy or much BW cuz like HP says they're totally indestructible and if you do manage to break them you can fix them yourself! Now I'm going to say something! Modern equipment's programmable trace algebra readout, logging, storage and everything else DSP and automation makes possible is something I'm grateful for! But sometimes it's just better to use more electrically rugged equipment but some snowflakey ppl say they just can't handle it! So maybe I'm traitor to my generation but I say anyone who can't figure out how to synchronize triggered analog scope or do basic undergrad math like calculus, vector algebra and even simple arithmetic belongs in home for feeble minded or anyway not engineering or any scientific field! So anyhow I think I'm preaching to choir with _regulars_ on here cuz I know most of you have a few years on me

 

What are all of the controls?

@spinnaker
http://bama.edebris.com/manuals/tek/545a/
here's your information overload

 

@Aleph(0) ---

that's old boat anchor Tkx 545A mainframe with a Pentrix CA plugin unit installed.

Definitely a Pentrix vertical amp unit howbeit I assert that the 'mainframe' is, indeed, a 535 -- (note the non-illuminated single sweep PB)...

You can tell mainframe is not 535 cuz scope in your OP (which I say is 545A) has BNC connectors on mainframe instead of SO239! So there are other differences but connectors are total giveaway!

Actually, early series 545 'mainframes' featured SO239 external trigger jacks (as may be noted in the manual attached to your post) -- the (putative) advantage being that the SO239 accepts 'banana plugs' as well as the PL259 coaxial connector...

I say anyone who can't figure out how to synchronize triggered analog scope or do basic undergrad math like calculus, vector algebra and even simple arithmetic belongs in home for feeble minded

Am I to understand that you expect people to actually know what they're doing?!?! -- Novel concept, that!

So I know abt Tek scopes cuz when I was kid and teen staying home on weekends to pull them from surplus heap and repair them was penalty for being trouble maker

NO! Not that! Golly! Your parents must have been monsters!

BTW IIRC the 549 was your forté, as it were? -- Or was that some other Aleph?

Best regards
HP

 

Angry Red Planet is from 1959. Tek 535 (11MHz) and 545 (30 MHz) scopes came out in 1956, could be either one. (http://tekmuseum.ebaman.com/500/500series.html) The layout and colors of the controls appear identical to me . . . Too bad the picture is so fuzzy.