Savecal5k: Calibration Backup Disk for Tektronix TDS5000 Oscilloscopes

[Jwalling]

Somebody has created software to Backup the factory calibration constants on TDS5000 (Non B) scopes. More scopes like the B versions are planned.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/126049416547?

No affiliation.

[colorburst]

Thank you Jay for sharing my listing.

I'm the developer of the backup disk and will be happy to answer any questions in this thread. The disk was in part inspired by this forum and is meant to prevent loss of calibration data as seen in the following cases:

• https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5104-cant-find-cal-data-during-starting-scope-application/
• https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5054-calibration-problem/
• https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tds5052-loss-of-calibration-data/

The included utility runs directly off the floppy disk and communicates with the TekScope application to retrieve the contents of the EEPROM. The backup file is written to the same floppy and named after the scope model and its serial number for easy tracking; one disk can be used to store backups for multiple scopes. It's all done in software, so there is no need to open up the scope and attach an external programmer.

In the event the EEPROM needs to be written to, an external programmer is still required at the moment. In theory, it's possible to write the calibration data back into the chip in software also, and if there's sufficient interest, this capability may be pursued further.

This utility is designed to work with TDS5000 and TDS5000B series scopes, e.g. TDS5104B, TDS5104, TDS5054B, TDS5054, TDS5052B, TDS5052, TDS5034B, TDS5034, TDS5032B, and TDS5032. It's compatible with any instrument that uses the latest versions of TekScope firmware, 2.0.11*, 1.2.1, and 1.1.5, and support for other versions can be added if necessary.

* Updated September 1, 2023: support for the B series has been implemented and is now in beta testing! It is expected to work reliably on the B series; however, if you run into any issues, please get in touch via EEVBlog or eBay. Any problems will be addressed promptly.

[Jwalling]

FYI: There are a number of reports on the board of the TDS7000 series losing the factory calibration constants as well. I've had it happen once myself. Could be your next project.

[colorburst]

I appreciate the suggestion, but I'm going to leave it to someone else. This has to be debugged on real hardware, and the last thing I need is one of those boat anchors!

From a quick glance, this memory appears inaccessible from the Windows side, but you could write a dump program for the Vxworks portion and get it to run using topScript. The contents could be saved on the hard drive during boot up. There are always unexpected complications, but overall I don't think it would be too difficult. And maybe there is a way to do it without reboot as well.

[chronos42]

@colorburst

Hi,

I would like to ortder your disk for my TDS 5104 to be prepared if the EEPROM failes.
But: "No shipping to Germany", according to the eBay offer.   

[colorburst]

chronos42,

Thank you for reaching out, I can ship this anywhere in the world and just enabled the option in the listing. Germany should now be available, but if you encounter any problems when ordering, feel free to send me a message and I'll look into your specific case.

Thanks,

[chronos42]

Thanks,

just ordered.

[Bravo]

Hi, I will also be purchasing one if you can ship to New Zealand.
Also can you tell me if the CD drive on the TDS5054 can write to a CD, or does it only read ?
Thanks in advance.

[Bravo]

I tried to make a purchase, but New Zealand is left off the countries that you can ship to. It is a couple of hours away from Australia. Is is possible to add it ?
Thanks in advance.

[colorburst]

Hi Bravo,

Thank you for your interest. Sorry New Zealand wasn't on the list, I just added it. If it doesn't show, please send me a direct message and I'll investigate.

Regarding the CD writing ability, it varies. AFAIK it was an optional feature, but many scopes had it and it wouldn't be indicated on the sticker. You can usually tell by looking for words "recordable" or "rewritable" on the faceplate of the drive. If you only have a CD-ROM, it can be upgraded with a common laptop-style IDE disk drive.