Tektronix TDS 210 and TDS 220 recall June 1998

tautech

Joined Oct 8, 2019
383
While it's appropriate to remind owners about a product recall for a 25 yr old product it's also relevant to remind owners of the dangers of using such old equipment for any dangerous and demanding tasks.

While Tek have a good website and the recall is simple to find as I did some 20 yrs ago when I briefly had a TDS210 the best resource for all things Tek is the TekWiki and the relevant page for the the most popular TDS200, the TDS210 is here:
https://w140.com/tekwiki/wiki/TDS210
 

Thread Starter

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
Tektronix has identified a design issue in their older models of TDS 210 and TDS 220 which has been corrected in their service recall and newer models.

We will point out what you can do to avoid encountering the ground fault (in lieu of sending the unit back for service).

You may wish to contact Tektronix or a Tektronix qualified service centre to see if the service recall will still be honored.
 

tautech

Joined Oct 8, 2019
383
tautech said:
it's also relevant to remind owners of the dangers of using such old equipment for any dangerous and demanding tasks.


What do you mean by this? :')
You cannot know how previous owners of 25 yr old equipment may have stressed a piece of equipment so that it may compromise your safety when using it at elevated voltages.

You may wish to contact Tektronix or a Tektronix qualified service centre to see if the service recall will still be honored.


Really, still have replacements parts for 25yr old equipment ?

 

MarcosKDC

Joined Sep 10, 2021
67
You cannot know how previous owners of 25 yr old equipment may have stressed a piece of equipment so that it may compromise your safety when using it at elevated voltages.




Really, still have replacements parts for 25yr old equipment ?

Lol, I already got it to the one who sold it to me, he's more experienced so i'll let him to get it fixed and give it back to me after that
 

dl324

Joined Mar 30, 2015
16,846
Lol, I already got it to the one who sold it to me, he's more experienced so i'll let him to get it fixed and give it back to me after that
As long as there's no additional expense to you (e.g. shipping and lost time).

I watched the video referenced on Tek Wiki and the repair looked straightforward. Just add a jumper from the hefty ground pad of the BNC connectors and attach it well to a reliable earth ground. Even though it wasn't a long video, I skipped around until he got to the meat of the video. If I had watched the whole, rambling video, I might have thrown up. It was evident that he hadn't planned out what he was going to say/show and he kept whipping the board and camera around.
 

Thread Starter

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
A large corporation has to do what their lawyers say to do in order to avoid litigation.

If I were in your position I would save myself the hassle and do the fix myself at some later date. In the meantime it would be safe to use the equipment if certain precautions are taken, which we will address in due course.

You are in the process of learning how to do your own repairs to electronic equipment, are you not?
 

MarcosKDC

Joined Sep 10, 2021
67
A large corporation has to do what their lawyers say to do in order to avoid litigation.

If I were in your position I would save myself the hassle and do the fix myself at a some later date. In the meantime it would be safe to use the equipment if certain precautions are taken, which we will address in a due course.

You are in the process of learning how to do your own repairs to electronic equipment, are you not?
I am learning, but if I am paying for something in "good condition", I would preffer to receive it already fixed, I already have some things to fix before dealing with fixing my own equipment :/ I saw the tutorial and don't really think that I'm gonna learn something by making a track wider, but maybe I can break the case or something else if I don't have the correct tools, if it's the seller who does it, i'm not liable for that...

On my way learning, I already had to do some to fixes and upgrades to the DSO150 flaws and got quite fed, so that's why I decided to buy a better scope finally... The DSO, actually shorted the voltage present between probes when commutating between different couplings, blowing the track carrying the positive channel signal if there's enough current :/

My Axton C609 5 channel amp has been waiting for long time, some power supply doesn't want to output voltage for some reason, and now that I have the correct tools for it, i'll have to check why :D
 
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Thread Starter

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,720
Thanks. Looks like my old unit was on the list but a more pressing issue is finding a lost knob for the trigger level.
View attachment 271476View attachment 271477
Looks like a common problem. One of my scopes is missing the HOR POSITION knob.
I know that they are listed on eBay but I might just end up printing one on the 3D printer.

Edit: Marcos just beat me to it.
 

MarcosKDC

Joined Sep 10, 2021
67
Looks like a common problem. One of my scopes is missing the HOR POSITION knob.
I know that they are listed on eBay but I might just end up printing on on the 3D printer.

Edit: Marcos just beat me to it.
I like the idea of being able to 3d print knobs, as you can make the resolution better in some devices when doing the knobs bigger... I just have to save money for a 3d printer XD
 
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