1959 Electronics - Let's See If It Works! 

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As a calibration technician, I can say that this thing was never used. Not a scratch, not one speck of dust on the fan or baked onto anything. Fantastic find.

It's interesting how things have changed. In my youth: "You can understand FETs by thinking of them as vacuum tubes." Today: "You can understand vacuum tubes by thinking of them as FETs."

I spent 22 years (1969-1991) in the U.S. Navy. I was always impressed with the quality of the test equipment that the Navy employed. We had a lot of Tektronix and Hewlett-Packard pieces. The stuff was built to last.

I find it amazing that the people who designed that pulse generator are probably all no longer with us, yet the instrument continues to perform. That is truly an accomplishment. Tektronix was the gold standard back then.

Man, this thing is mint! And I agree, the tektronics design of the 50s/60s is really second to none. Especially with that oldschool logo, it really has a nice "retro-futuristic" vibe.

Seeing a 62 year old device still in spec is amazing and the interior is beautiful.

I love weekend mornings with Mr. Carlson's Lab. I have a coffee in hand and a lab bench is lit up with test equipment ready to start a busy weekend!!

The Zenith point-to-point was beautiful for a consumer product, but nothing like that. What incredible qualty.

My father worked at Tektronix from 1965 to 1996. They built some of the best test equipment ever made. He said that the quality started dropping after Howard Vollum died in the mid '80s. Back in the '80s I used to buy 5353A and 545A 'scopes at hamfests, then repair them to resell at the next hamfest. I made a lot of money that way! I feel old after typing this...

Beautiful device with an incredible design, almost in class with Mr. Carlsson's own designs.

It is so nice to see when people took a lot of pride in their work and engineering . And seeing that this device was engineered and built completely in my home state of Oregon I find very satisfying 😌! It was a very different time than now , everything revolves around cost cutting and profit ! It is so hard too find anything that is built with quality in mind and not how cheaply it can be produced , not to mention engineered failure time so the item has to be replaced ! 😔 Very sad times ! What a shame !

BNC in 1959, amazing. This would look great plugged into a 1959 317 scope. Awesome video!

Good old trust worthy Tektronix gear. Thanks for sharing Paul.

Paul, when I first started to work, the electronics company produced a lot of DOD equipment. One of my first jobs was building wiring harnesses. The 'harness room had plywood positioned in a vertical manner so that a 'harness drawing' could be attached and use as a pattern for the harness. The medium for holding all the wires together was called 'lacing tape'. It was a nylon flat tape ~ 1/8" wide and white. WHITE! can you imagine! The lacing tape was held with running knots, a simple twist of the wrist and continued throughout the 'run'. At the end, a special 'end knot' was applied. The whole time, talc powder was applied to the hands to keep the tape white. Eventually, someone thought that the tape should be black and made working with it so much easier. This was in the '60's.

Tektronix was one top-range instrument of the time. Never seen again a construction quality like this. Mr. Carlson, the schematic was almost like plain written language, just as the construction tecnique. Thanks for sharing

Paul, a note on the stickers: First, the side sticker is most likely a CAL-sticker since it crosses a casee joint which makes it obvious if take apart. The BLUE-sticker is usually an INVENTORY-sticker; all this means is the unit has been recorded on the inventory sheet and is to prevent it from being counted twice, as there can be multiple units if the same make and model; also since taking inventory can take multiple days or weeks. Great Video & 73...

I'm a 1958 model, still going strong too!

Very nice, clean layout on the component side. Whoever built this took pride on their work. It’s definitely service-friendly; they even labeled the tube #s on both sides of the chassis! ❤️

10:00 - One of the BEST point-to-point wiring jobs I've ever seen. Virtually no component leads cross any other component leads!

I don't understand just how your finds are so clean!

This thing is absolutely beautiful! It looks like it sat on the showroom floor for the last 50+ years as a display model or, in a museum. They used to build things with such Pride & quality!👍

Wow, I'm so used to seeing tube equipment that looks like a birds nest inside, this thing is a work of art. Made in a time before bean counters who would have deemed it over-kill. Transformer nice too, could always use it as a doorstop or boat anchor if it ever fails.

Great Work; You Are Giving People Great INFO About Electronics.

Considering it's age and sitting on a shelf for likely years, I was amazed how well this unit worked. It looks almost new! WOW.

I don't understand it every time you open something up that you've picked up from an electronics auction or something it's a little dusty, but it looks brand new this piece is from 1959 if I were to get something like that from 1959 it would of had cobwebs and spiders and bugs all in it and it looked like it been through a dust storm just loaded with crap on the inside... Truly amazing... LOL.... keep up the good work Mr Carlson!

Heathkit used similar shaded pole fans to cool the 3-500 tubes on the SB-220 / 221 as well. They are super easy to disassemble and clean, the oilite bearings require occasional light machine oil to the surrounding felt to keep things quiet.

Thanks, Paul. Very nice WF Generator!

That 107's totally gorgeous... thanks for sharing it, Mr Carlson. When you mentioned about a similar fan in the Gonset 2-meter amp, that 'Gonset' name instantly brought up some great memories of some Gonset gear I used to have and operate years ago... never had the 2-meter amp but I did have the 2-meter 'Communicator III' transmitter-receiver rig they made back in the day... utterly beautiful rig, and I also had an FM modulator device that plugged into a crystal socket on the front panel and and made the crystal's frequency wobble a bit at an audio rate and one could have some great QSO's on 2-meter NBFM, . I also had a Gonset GSB-100 HF transmitter, which I used alongside of a National NC-300 receiver... that GSB-100 xmitter was definitely another utterly awesome product from Gonset. One of my radio-nerd-dreams was to one day come across and obtain the G77 and G66 Gonset Twins... .. still, one of these days... lol : - D 73

EXCELLENT explanation of the mechanical and electrical characteristics of this fine piece of vintage gear. I really like when you give a detailed discussion of circuit operation after pointing out the physical components ... and what's more exciting than seeing it power up and actually work as designed after who knows how many tens of years of inactivity! I'm liking your quick tour series of what's to come. THANK YOU for sharing the fun!!!

Tek always nice inside. Thanks for the super clear close ups!

Wow, great video. Amazing condition inside! I always like how you explain what each tube or other part does

Looks way more modern than what one'd expect from out of '59! It's almost as smooth, minimalistic and modern as what Apple's designs are like.

Techtronics always have the best point to point work, absolutely gorgeous.

Very impressive piece of kit. Quality design and quality components. Hats off to Tektronix.

Hi Mr Carlson's Sir, Detail Explain Is Very Useful Sir Great Video👍👍👍Thank You.

Wow. What more can an old man say about classic Tektronix. Typical awesome point to point workmanship.

Love the olde Tektronix equipment!

Darn thing is as old as I am and still functions like new. Wish I functioned like that today :) Tektronix was one heck of a set of test instruments in its day. I'd love to go forward 60 years into the future and see how well today's electronics work.

Great video! The construction is amazing, so much thought went into it & it still works! So much testing must have been done to tweak the circuit to the final design!

This is defiantly something you can say "they don't build it like they used too". That's amazing honestly

Man! This looks like it just left the Factory! Looks Fantastic. Wish electronics were still build that solid and clean.

In my opinion Tektronix vacuum tube technology back then was unbeatable, superb design and no corner cutting. The choice of test gear for the professionals.

A true standing testament to Tektronix quality indeed!!! That square wave generator is almost as old as I am and it still works within spec!! Thanks for another quality video!! Thanks a bunch from John Bellas at KC2UVN State of New York 73's to Paul C!!

That unit is in gorgeous shape.

Great piece of equipment, and nice video too.

A beautiful piece of equipment, thanks for sharing Mr. Carlson.

Thanks for discussing each tube, the circuit, discussing the issues with silver solder on the ceramic standoffs, and taking measurements. I find the word "approximate" on the front panel unusual for an instrument, but I have limited exposure. I haven't worked with this type of equipment for a long time, but it is still fun to see. I enjoyed the video.

Interesting, I know little about valves and had no idea about the filter cap problem, thank you

I'm from 1959, this and I are working very well! Wonderful piece of vintage Tektronix equipment. Thanks for the review.

That's a real old school piece of beautiful art ❤ and amazing it is still working and in specs after over 60 years.👍 Todays electronic would never ...

What a incredible piece of top-engineering and build quality. And of course it still works like new - within spec. Simply stunning.

It’s beautiful to see the immense amount of care and thought Tektronix puts into their units.

I would expect NOTHING less from a Pre 1980's piece of gear from Tektronix. My old 4 chanel Ossi was from 1966 and it was all tubes then BUT for ONE transistor. I must have moved that beast 20+ times over the years and it NEVER let me down nor fell out of alignment... PERIOD! I miss still miss it even today even tho it was ont rated to 20 MHz. I used it mainly to maintain my Live Sound gear and it's 24 channel mono Board. I kept that board so maintained that I got TWICE the money we had paid for it (after I had got it back to the original factory specs, which were WAY out) and I hear that it's still 20 years later still being used as the back up board for one of the clubs along the Sunset strip in L.A., tho I'm not at liberty to say which club it is (there are only 3 so you can guess!!! :) ). Those were fun times for sure! And to think it all started with blessed enough to get my hands on an old Tektronix Ossi back when I was in H.S.!!!

Thanks ! I showed this video to my wife, se don't complain anymore about me owning 3 oscilloscopes ! ;o)

There is no better advertisement for Tektronix than what you are showing here.

I really love my TEK gear from this era, they really went the extra mile no matter what piece of equipment they were building. I've found this same era gear before and sure enough (as long as the previous owner didn't monkey with it), it generally comes up and just works. They use good (sometimes hand selected/paired and binned) parts and generally do not push the components hard. I remember seeing a internal TEKTRONIX video where they were showing the development of their CRT's, transformers, circuit boards, and chassis which they did in house. It was explained in the video that they would resort to manufacturing components themselves no matter the cost when their "rigorous" standards could not be met by third party suppliers rather than putting out a product which did not meet their high standards of quality. They always underrated their equipment, and in my experience you could always expect 'just a little more' on top of where they published the specs instead of the common practice of rating equipment based on it's theoretical limits in a perfect lab environment ILS (If Lightning Strikes). If you needed resolution at a certain bandwidth, you'd certainly be able to see your signal even if it was a the high end or low end of what the equipment was actually rated for.

That was fascinating. Thank you Paul! I am hopefully making it to Patreon. Still some videos to go. Thank you for taking care of this channel. Really appreciated!

Wow, this square wave generator is in near mint condition considering its dated around 59. Nothing like kicking back with a cup of joe and enjoying this video on a Saturday morning. Thanks for sharing Professor Carlson.

wow another great video

I love tek equipment! Not just electronics - it's artwork.

Nice therapeutic video thanks

Greeting from Tulsa Okla. I am a retired Principal Designer for Protection and Controls, major utility company. Over the years I have watched many of your youtube videos. I believe that you are a ham radio operator. KF5MCJ is my call sign. It is clear that you enjoy restoring old electronic test equipment. I have watched several videos of you repairing ham radio equipment. Have you ever considered donating some of your restored equipment to ham radio operators? Do you do ham radio repair other than what you do videos on?

Everything about this unit is electronic Art / Top notch craftsmanship / (Sombody took great pride in a job extra well done 101 points no less) beauty is in the eyes of the beholder...

That's a beauty

I was a new engineer at GE in 1983, and loved the old-school Tek equipment we had. 2,6ns rise time is really impressive! I will be honest - I never heard of a M u sec before.

Hi! Just wanted to say that I just recently came across your channel and think it is absolutely great!!! Just the amount of information and knowledge is amazing!! I have already signed up on your patreon channel and am in the process of watching all of the great videos posted there!! Thank you for sharing all of the this great information!!!

Absolutely love the look of their equipment

Wow awsom stuff

Very interesting. I love seeing those vintage equipment still working to specs 62 years later.

I love that old Pont to Point wiring, that little puppy was really clean inside and out. nice to see gear that had a little TLC. thanks for sharing. ECF

Wow Paul that thing was spotless inside, loved the logo on display through the cut out and the way all the components were labeled. Nice bit of kit. TFS, GB :)

Great stuff Paul.

Very good mr.Carlson!

Im currently restoring a 50 Mhz TEK 453 portable scope. Ive worked on all this equipment having been an instrument Tech in the Cal Lab.

love how its bin wired up looks bit like art very well done sum one took pride in they work :)

The early Tektronix units were truly works of art. Tektronix documentation was also top notch. If only all documentation followed their standard. Love the cartoons drawn in some of the early schematics.

Good to see that blue beauty is still kicking, since we are of the same vintage! ,although I have some recapping myself, lately

7:19 -- I was just thinking about the silver solder included on the old Tektronix scopes, and the reason behind it right before you mentioned it. I enjoy seeing the old gear that had such outstanding construction quality. They truly were works of art.

i absolutly LOVE old techtronics gear!!!.......practically works of art in and of themselves, and the quality of the parts used? mmM-Hmmm, a primo!

impressive. Thank you.

Podziwiam Cię. Arsenał wiedzy...

Made before my time but I had a relationship with Tektronix inc. 1969 to 1980 I have seen, used, repaired and dismantled Tek interments. As you can see Tek made more than Oscilloscopes some of these were television waveform and vector scopes, medical monitors, graphic computer displays, color laser printers, a desk top computer with graphics and many other items. Concerning the adhesive stickers I have never observed any such seal on a Tek interment these must have been added by a user. This equipment was made with field repair in mind although such repair was rare. I stopped the video before the power up of the square wave generator, I am placing my bet that it will come to life with out fail let's see if the bet is a winner.. PS: No surprises Tek a winner as usual. One other detail the Tek service manuals were true works of art I have several in my library because they represent the best of documentation now a long lost practice. Thanks for the well made video brings back fond memories.

Good video. 👍🏻 Interesting device.

So nice to see Older equipment like that still working so well i wonder how much modren gear will still be working when it is that old

I love the description of this video. Will it make waves? Will it make smoke?

I'm a bit older than this piece of gear and can say my Rise Time is no longer within spec!

I’m no electronics wiz but damn ! That thing’s a beauty inside & out ! 😍😍

Tek, as always... Great video, Paul. Thx!.

That motor is known these days as a C Frame motor, and I believe their sizes/dimensions are standardized. Most table/desk fans today use them, and a few companies even sell cheap 3" fans with motors and blades about the size as what is in your unit. >if you want to search for 3%, you're just getting picky As meticulous as you are, I'm guessing *your* silver solder is 5%. ;)

It's a Tek, of course it works!

The quality of parts and construction that went into that is top notch. It's nuts to think how much that had to have cost new and how few parts it takes now to do what that does.

Mr. Carlson, it was made by Tektronix. There is no equivalent today to that level of quality. My 535A belonged to my grandfather and now is mine, he was an engineer for Sperry Gyroscope and was at Los Alamos, well doing some interesting work there.

Hi Mr Carlson , I had a 310 tech scope years ago. I had to leave it behind when I moved. I wish I had not. Now I have a 7700 with plug in modules

@19:26 Louis Rossmann would have called it fixed by now. Fan spin.

great presentation as usual.... an other ever lasting piece from Tektronix.... listening and watching, something crossed my mind.... you could have used also an old Tek scope for determinate the rise time, instead of a modern digital..... but it was just a thought.....

man, that is a *_BEAUTIUL_* instrument!!!! I want one just to look at it... leave it open in my living room

Paul, another outstanding video. The hamfest you go to has much better gear for sale than the hamfest I have attended. 73, AA4EZ

To think, all that metal, glass for the tubes and gas it took to make them, copper wire in the transformer, the time to make the above and the chassis... fast forward to now, a single .20 cent Op-amp and three resistors and one capacitor will give you the same results and you probably could get away with running it off a single lithium battery, Nonetheless, there definitely is a charm to those big sturdy made old equipment.

Interesting rectumfrier set up. I never seen that before. Those 6BW4's must certainly get some current drawn through them!