Recently got a Tek TDS210 from eBay for £1/MHz which I was happy with. Had sticker on one channels with "iffy" written on it but showed self test passed. Took the gamble.
Arrived with the usual wobbly BNCs on both channels, a common problem on these when previously owned by a gorilla. Wiggling the "iffy" channel stopped it from working reliably. This was confirmed as the cause by testing first with a grounded generator and then with a floating one. The grounded one by nature of the loop through the signal generator should show a waveform at correct amplitude, the floating one no when you wiggle the connector as the BNC shell lifts off the board.
Took it to bits. If you have to do one of these:
1. Lay the handle down flat and lever the sides of the handle outwards and it will pop off.
2. Undo the two screws behind the handle.
3. Pull the power button upwards to remove it.
4. Unclip all the clips on the bottom.
5. Put the unit face down and lift the back straight upwards.
6. Remove the front of the unit which is now loose. The keyboard rubber will fall out here.
You will be left with the inner chassis with all the bits attached to it. There aren't many bits: the screen, the front panel, the logic board (which is tiny) and the power supply. Nice design:
![](https://i.imgur.com/I8ar6Ni.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/xTvf4Ai.jpg)
Next step is to get the logic board off for the repair. Undo the earth strap, the panel, power and LCD connectors and unclip the board from the bottom. That's it!
![](https://i.imgur.com/vUVavuW.jpg)
Examining the board shows the problem. The BNC connectors have two pins on the bottom which are soldered to the board to anchor the connector shell and act as ground. As expected, these have sheared off.
![](https://i.imgur.com/2P12cEh.jpg)
Next step, remove the existing BNCs and clean up the pads with soder wick then clean with isopropyl alcohol. Lots of high impedance stuff on scope front ends so clean, clean and clean some more!
![](https://i.imgur.com/GgVtP1B.jpg)
![](https://i.imgur.com/CRUMj2V.jpg)
TE connectivity / AMP part number 5414373-1 is the correct replacement part. RS sell these for £2 a pop:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/bnc-connectors/8218808/New parts soldered on. You have to hit these pretty hard and use a flux pen as they are on a ground plane, not tinned and are generally large heat sinks as well. Metcal FTW. Don't use a fire stick! I left the original trigger connector on as that is fine. I don't want to do any unnecessary work on anything ever as that risks damage. The site had three-pass cleaning again afterwards.
![](https://i.imgur.com/tK94Q6O.jpg)
Assembly is the same as disassembly but in reverse. No special considerations. I fired it up quickly once it had been partially assembled to make sure I'd put everything back correctly.
![](https://i.imgur.com/gITq3sh.jpg)
Final assembly and test. Working nicely.
![](https://i.imgur.com/fq2HO9B.jpg)
Shiny connector money shot.
![](https://i.imgur.com/6cOXD8M.jpg)