How to Open a Tektronix TDS3000 Series DPO Oscillscope

Discussion: This is a video on how to open up a TDS3000 Series DPO Oscilloscope to perform maintenance on it.

Tools you'll need to open the scope are:
- T15 Tip.
- 1/4" bit driver handle.
- 1/4" wrench to turn the T15 near the BNC Input Connectors on the inside.
- 1/8" blade screwdriver.
- Small pair of Side cutters or small needle nose pliers.

Here's some comments about what I've found out about the two scopes I've worked on so far.

Maintenance is pretty straight forward unless you have to replace a channel Attenuator assembly. The Mother/CPU board was not intended to be repaired, it was intended to be replaced. Most of the Mother Board can be repaired fairly easily if you know what to look for. The Attenuator assymbly is very difficult to replace. Some parts of the Attenuator Assymbly can be repaired with it in place as all the components and most of the runs are on the top. Replaceable parts are the Relays, the SMT caps on it, and some runs if you run wires along the path where the original ran. One part on the board that can't be repaired but can be worked around are most of the printed resistors. Specifically the 50 ohm input is replaceable with a 1/4 watt axial 50 ohm resitor. Most of the time if your scope won't go into 50 ohm input impeadance it's probalbly burned out. Other parts on the Attenuator boards that are not repairable are the step db attenuators that are printed directly on the board. If you have ever opened up a Directional Coupler and seen the frequency matching step attenuators the ones printed on the board look just like them, except VERY SMALL. If you break the ceramic board sometimes it can be repaired with jumpers and epoxy. I say sometimes because if you break it across one of those step attenuators your done, you'll have to replace it. Of course repairing the Attenuator Assymbly is VERY tedious and may not meet specs after the repair. I would say the only exception to this is if you find a bad relay.

Replacing the relays is difficult but with some patience it can be done. Replacing the Attenuator Assymbly is VERY DIFFICULT, at least for me and anyone I know who has tried or done it. It is VERY DIFFICULT because it is surrounded by a metal cage. The cage acts as a HUGE heat sink and any iron on it won't melt the solder. You have to have either a HUGE iron on the connections or several irons turned WAY UP. With this much heat on the board the board sometimes gets damaged. Also with the cage in place and sometimes without the cage in place removing the Attenuator Assembly is still very hard as several of the pins go directly into the ground planes. These act as a HUGE heat sink too. So I found it easier to try to repair the board in place or cut the shield off and solder jumper pins across the cuts. I'm brand new to the TDS3000 Series Scope with me only having worked on two so far and they're not fixed yet. Most of my work have been with the attenuator Assembly and the cage surrounding it. So I don't know to much but if you have a question feel free to ask, I may just know the answer.
Best Wishes n Blessings Keith.

[Karl-HeinzSulanke]

Thanks a lot! This was really helpful!

[benlee]

Hi, Do you know if there is a clock memory battery?
Thanks,

[trbstudios]

Hi,
when i attempt to observe a square wave, my TDS3014B shows a lot of ringing in the Channel 1 only. After several test, I deduced this problem depends on the oscilloscope. So, I wonder: are there capacitive trimmers inside? Is it possibile to compensate this oscilloscope manually?

Thank you for your video!

[humgar]

Who the F is the sadistic monster who designed the mechanicals of this series? Need to take the handle out to access the unit, and need to open the hub caps to lift a pin to rotate the handle to the right position to do it? That is criminal. Not to mention they are not doing a screwless design, because there's still a screw under the printer port. The ill written service manual didn't say everything has to be opened up in a specific order fully dependent on the last procedure, and it's hard to believe that taking out the handle is required to take the case off. Not to mention both sides are assymmetrical! This is impossible to figure out without solving a puzzle if the manual didn't drop some hints.