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User Manual
TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A
Digitizing Oscilloscopes
070-8710-01
Please check for change information at the rear
of this manual.
First Printing: July 1993
Revised: November 1993
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Instrument Serial Numbers Each instrument manufactured by Tektronix has a serial number on a panel insert or tag, or stamped on the chassis. The first letter in the serial number designates the country of manufacture. The last five digits of the serial number are assigned sequentially and are unique to each instrument. Those manufactured in the United States have six unique digits. The country of manufacture is identified as follows: B010000 Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, USA E200000 Tektro
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WARRANTY Tektronix warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of three (3) years from the date of shipment. If any such product proves defective during this warranty period, Tektronix, at its option, either will repair the defective product without charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product. In order to obtain service under this warranty, Customer must notify Tektronix of the defect before th
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German Postal Information Certificate of the Manufacturer/Importer We hereby certify that the TDS 520A, TDS 524A, TDS 540A, and TDS 544A Oscilloscopes and all factory-installed options complies with the RF Interference Suppression requirements of Postal Regulation Vfg. 243/1991, Amended per Vfg. 46/1992 The German Postal Service was notified that the equipment is being marketed. The German Postal Service has the right to re-test the series and to verify that it complies. TEKTRONIX Bescheinigung
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EC Declaration of Conformity We Tektronix Holland N.V. Marktweg 73A 8444 AB Heerenveen The Netherlands declare under sole responsibility that the TDS 520A, 524A, 540A, & 544A Digitizing Oscilloscopes meet the intent of Directive 89/336/EEC for Electromagnetic Compatibility. Compliance was demonstrated to the following specifications as listed in the official Journal of the European Communities: EN 50081–1 Emissions: EN 55022 Radiated EN 55022 Conducted EN 60555–2 Power Harmonics EN 50082–1 Immu
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Welcome This is the User Manual for the TDS Family Digitizing Oscilloscopes. The Getting Started section familiarizes you with the operation of the digitizing oscilloscope. Operating Basics covers basic principles of the operation of the oscilloscope. These articles help you understand why your instrument works the way it does. The Reference section teaches you how to perform specific tasks. See page 3-1 for a complete list of tasks covered in that section. The Appendices provide an options list
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Welcome In the Getting Started and Reference sections, you will find various proce- Conventions dures which contain steps of instructions for you to perform. To keep those instructions clear and consistent, this manual uses the following conventions: In procedures, names of front panel controls and menu labels appear in boldface print. Names also appear in the same case (initial capitals, all uppercase, etc.) in the manual as is used on the oscilloscope front panel and menus. Front panel nam
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Table of Contents Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Getting Started Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1 Start Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3 Setting Up for the Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6 Example 1: Displaying a W
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Table of Contents File System (Optional on TDS 520A & TDS 540A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55 Hardcopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67 Horizontal Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68 Limit Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Safety Please take a moment to review these safety precautions. They are provided for your protection and to prevent damage to the digitizing oscilloscope. This safety information applies to all operators and service personnel. These two terms appear in manuals: Symbols and Terms statements identify conditions or practices that could result in damage to the equipment or other property. statements identify conditions or practices that could result in personal injury or loss of life. These two
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Safety Observe all of these precautions to ensure your personal safety and to pre- Specific Precautions vent damage to either the digitizing oscilloscope or equipment connected to it. Power Source The digitizing oscilloscope is intended to operate from a power source that will not apply more than 250 V between the supply conductors or between RMS either supply conductor and ground. A protective ground connection, through the grounding conductor in the power cord, is essential for safe system ope
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Getting Started
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Product Description Your Tektronix digitizing oscilloscope is a superb tool for acquiring, displaying, and measuring waveforms. Its performance addresses the needs of both benchtop lab and portable applications with the following features: 500 MHz maximum analog bandwidth. 1 Gigasample/second maximum digitizing rate (TDS 540A & 544A); 500 Megasamples/second maximum digitizing rate (TDS 520A & 524A). Four-channel acquisition — the TDS 544A & 540A offer four full-featured channels; the TDS
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Product Description Getting Started
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Start Up Before you use the digitizing oscilloscope, ensure that it is properly installed and powered on. To ensure maximum accuracy for your most critical measurements, you Before You Begin should know about signal path compensation. Signal Path Compensation Be sure you compensate your oscilloscope for the surrounding temperature. This action, called Signal Path Compensation (SPC), ensures maximum possible accuracy for your most critical measurements. See Signal Path Compensation on page 3-138
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Start Up 4. Check that you have the proper electrical connections. The digitizing oscilloscope requires 90 to 250 VAC , continuous range, 47 Hz to RMS 63 Hz, and may require up to 300 W. 5. Connect the proper power cord from the rear-panel power connector (see Figure 1-1) to the power system. Power Connector Principal Power Switch Fuse Figure 1-1: Rear Panel Controls Used in Start Up Table 1-1: Fuse and Fuse Cap Part Numbers Fuse Fuse Part Fuse Cap Part Number Number .25 inch × 1.25 inch (UL 198
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Start Up Once the digitizing oscilloscope is installed, it is typical to leave the princi- pal power switch on and use the ON/STBY button as the power switch. ON/STBY Button Figure 1-2: ON/STBY Button Self Test Check the self test results. The digitizing oscilloscope automatically performs power-up tests each time it is turned on. It will come up with a display screen that states whether or not it passed self test. (If the self test passed, the status display screen will be removed after a few
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Setting Up for the Examples All the examples use the same setup. Once you perform this setup, you do not have to change the signal connections for any of the other examples. Remove all probes and signal inputs from the input BNC connectors along the lower right of the front panel. Then, using one of the probes supplied with the digitizing oscilloscope, connect from the CH 1 connector to the PROBE COMPENSATION connectors (see Figure 1-3). Figure 1-3: Connecting a Probe for the Examples Gettin
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Example 1: Displaying a Waveform In this first example you learn about resetting the digitizing oscilloscope, displaying and adjusting a waveform, and using the autoset function. All examples in the tutorial begin by resetting the digitizing oscilloscope to a Resetting the known factory default state. Reset the oscilloscope when you begin a new Digitizing task and need to “start fresh” with known default settings. Oscilloscope 1. Press the save/recall SETUP button to display the Setup menu (Fig-
