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Tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope Memory Backup Battery Replacement

By on March 28, 2015
tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope Repair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope

My Tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope is in near mint condition, but it is still old. The backup battery looks like it is the original battery that was installed when the scope was made. It is a KeeperII #LTC-7P, 3.5V 750mAH lithium battery. It has the number 4286 on the side of it that I believe means it was made in the 42nd week of 1986. I bought a new LTC-7P battery from www.mouser.com.

I heard that it would cost me several hundred dollars to have the battery replaced because the scope would need to be recalibrated. Well, I can’t afford that right now. So I decided that I should be able to replace the battery myself. Normally, I would just tear right into stuff; but not my scope. It’s too expensive and I’m not sure I would be able to find another scope in this good of shape for a decent price. I also needed to make sure I did not lose my memory and need to have my scope recalibrated.

I’m a subscriber to Alan’s YouTube channel, “w2aew”. Alan is an excellent teacher and has many great videos, including many useful analog circuits. I recommend everybody to subscribe to his channel. He was very kind to help me out when I asked him, which helped me be confident in working on my scope myself. Also, a few commenters were nice to offer some tips and advice. Their YT names are: German Alvarez, Paul Collins, and nodriveknowitall. Thanks for the help guys!

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 1

The above picture shows my scope with the front cover on it. It was hard to find one, but I finally did – and it wasn’t cheap either. But I’m glad I found one because it helps protect the CRT and knobs. It also makes taking it apart much easier when I can just stand the scope up on its face without fear of damaging anything.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 2

This is a view of the back of my scope. My scope is standing on its face, the knobs and CRT being protected by the face cover.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 3

With the back cover off, you can see the fan. At this point all I have to do is lift the case up and off of the scope.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope battery

With the cover lifted up and off, we can see the inside of the scope. This is the board that has the backup battery (LTC-7P) at the top. The number for the battery in the schematics is BT2570, which you will see in later pictures of the schematics. Notice how clean the scope is? It’s nearly 30 years old and hardly a speck of dust inside it!

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope battery replacement

In this photo I show and label the key components in the battery circuit. I will connect the temporary battery positive wire to the cathode of  Schottky Diode CR2770, and the ground wire to the cathode of the tantalum cap C2470. That will give me plenty of room to change the batteries without the temporary power wires getting in my way. For my temporary power supply I am using a battery holder that holds 2 AA batteries. If I understood everything right, I will be ok as long as the voltage doesn’t drop below 2 volts. So I should be ok. I am using 2 brand new AA Duracell batteries, so the voltage is a tad over 3.2 volts.

Everything in my workroom is on the same ground plane. So I can’t use my DC Power Supply and my soldering iron at the same time on the same circuit. I thought the output ground was isolated from the main ground on my Tenma Variable Isolation Transformer, but it’s not. But using batteries is easier anyway.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope schematic

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope diagram

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope schematic diagram

Here is a look at the battery circuit and component placement schematics.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 9

Here the PCB is removed from my scope. The connectors have very little play. So I was real careful removing them. I used small precision screwdrivers to help pry up on the connectors in a little slot at the bottom while I gently pulled and wiggled them out. They were in pretty tight, but not too tight.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope  batteries

Here I show the old and new battery side by side. You can also see the diode that I will solder to on the back of the PCB.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 12

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope  batteries

I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that I was extra, extra careful with my scope PCB. I triple & quadruple checked everything before I made a move! I turned my soldering station a little lower than I normally do, and I was more careful with my Hakko 808 De-soldering gun also; limiting contact to the PCB to no more than 3 seconds soldering on each pin, and 1 second at a time with my de-soldering gun. It turned out great!

I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture of the PCB with the new battery soldered in! Double Facepalm!! I was so happy that everything went so well that I clean forgot to take a picture of it! I took a picture of the top side but not the bottom. Oh well, I’m not taking it all apart again to take a picture, sorry – my fault. But if you have seen my other articles then you know that I do pretty good soldering.

 tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope 14

I took a picture of the top of the PCB and totally forgot to take a picture of the bottom side. Maybe I should start making videos instead of articles!

Look how clean and beautiful the PCB is. It is a work of art! I didn’t vacuum it or anything. That is how it looked when I opened it up.

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope  battery repair

The connectors are very tight and don’t have much, if any play. But I was very careful not to bend any pins, and took plenty of time to make sure everything was perfect.

tektronix 2465A DV Oscilloscope repaired

Praise The Lord everything went well and my oscilloscope is working great! It was a lot of fun. I hope you guys enjoy the article. I would like to say thanks again to everyone that has helped me in my hobby of learning electronics and device repair, and helped me with my oscilloscope – Thank You!

robert calk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please leave any comments and suggestions below. And don’t forget to check out Alan’s YT channel “w2aew”, you will be glad you did! Robert Calk Jr. is a hobbyist from Texas USA that loves learning electronics and electronic device repair.

 

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P.S-  If you enjoyed reading this, click here to subscribe to my blog (free subscription). That way, you’ll never miss a post. You can also forward this website link to your friends and colleagues-thanks!

 

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49 Comments

  1. Anthony

    March 28, 2015 at 5:17 pm

    Hi Robert....You're the "Rembrandt" of electronics ! I'm glad it turned out so well and so it should as you were so meticulous and precise before making any move. Great job and the photos really paint the picture so clearly. Nothing more I can really say except..."I'm not worthy". lol....Keep up the terrific work !
    Cheers

    Likes(6)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 28, 2015 at 11:09 pm

      Thanks Anthony. I'm still learning and also need help myself. Electronix is a great hobby. My camera does take great pictures, huh? It is a Fujifilm FinePix SL1000.

      Likes(2)Dislikes(0)
      • Anthony

        March 31, 2015 at 4:31 pm

        No worries Robert. Thanks also for the tip on the W2AEW website....I have seen lots of very interesting videos there that I am definitely going to watch as soon as I can !

        Best Regards

        Likes(2)Dislikes(0)
        • Robert Calk

          April 1, 2015 at 12:35 am

          Alan is a good teacher and has many great videos. And he seems like a nice guy and was willing to help me out when I asked.

          Likes(2)Dislikes(0)
  2. Alan W2AEW

    March 28, 2015 at 8:14 pm

    Nice job Robert, great story, and thanks for the plug for my YouTube channel!

    Likes(6)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 28, 2015 at 11:13 pm

      Hi Alan,

      You are very welcome. And thanks for the help and all the great videos you make!

      Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
    • Jestine Yong

      March 30, 2015 at 9:18 am

      HI Alan,

      You have nice and very informative videos-good job!

      Jestine

      Likes(2)Dislikes(0)
  3. Bernie Scott

    March 28, 2015 at 9:29 pm

    Good job......As you know, it pays to double and triple check everything before committing iron to circuit trace....keep up the great work.....
    Cheers,
    Bernie
    P.S. I believe you are in the U.S. I am in Canada.....

    Likes(4)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 28, 2015 at 11:23 pm

      Thanks Bernie. Yes, I'm in Texas. I have been to Canada twice. It's a beautiful country. But I was working and didn't get to sightsee much.
      I was more careful with my scope than anything I've worked on before. I lucked out and got it for $400 on Ebay without the probes. It has just over 1000 hours on it. I might not ever get that lucky again.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
      • Albert

        June 3, 2015 at 9:34 pm

        Hi Robert, I just bought from my upcoming vacation money a second hand Tektronix 2465A too! It wasn't cheap costing almost $569.09 including Shipping. But it will be send without any probes like yours.
        I hope it will be as nice as your Oscilloscope!
        (I don't think I ever bought something expensive over Ebay before).

        I understand you have a service manual for this Tektronix 2465A?
        Maybe you have a link were I can find this manual?

        Albert.

        Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
        • Robert Calk

          June 4, 2015 at 2:06 am

          Hi Albert. I hope your scope turns out to be a nice one also! I don't remember where I got the manuals. You should be able to go to the Tektronix website and get the manuals. If you can't find them, let me know and I'll email them to Mr. Yong and he can email them to you. My manuals are for the 2465A DV though.

          Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
          • Albert

            June 5, 2015 at 10:34 pm

            Hi Robert, I found already more and all different manuals (different dates) for the 2465A (without DV). Including Eproms. The biggest and best quality from site ElektroTanya...with size of over 210MB !
            Hope my scope doesn't have any unrepairable disasters. But according to the USA (Texas?) Seller (David B.) it needed some Calibration.
            And I noticed that the green light of input Channel 4 wasn't as bright as the first three. He found an original matching Front Cover also and I payed extra to include it before Shipping (160 Euro Shipping and Importing/VAT).
            By-the-way: Yesterday my AR907A Tester also arrived. It works splendid, except I noticed when I Charge a capacitor (Elco) 400V 47uF on the 250Volt scale with max of 250Volt, the Button on the left keeps on going and only quits after I unhook my Elco from charging. I checked the button inside and it was okay. Beats me? Maybe 3 battery lines too little current power?
            Cheers,
            Albert.

            Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
            • Albert

              June 22, 2015 at 5:23 pm

              Hi Robert,
              My Tektronix 2465A finally did arrive at 20 June at 15.00 Dutch time. It looks and works great although my four 400 MHz Probes haven't arrived yet. So I tested all four Input Channels with an 100 MHz Probe and a LF signal.
              I noticed that your Scope has something sticking out at the Ground connection of the TestSignal Output on the Scope Front Rightbelow. My Scope only has a hole there for sticking in a Banana plug or something like that to ground the Calibrator. Is it maybe an original item that is missing from my Scope? And only Green Led Channel 4 lights up a bit less brighter than channels 1 to 3 do. Otherwise everything seems fine on my 2465A Tek Scope. The Seller in Texas David always tells any buyer that Calibration could be necessary but that is only because he doesn't have the lab-equipment or time himself to test every Scope he Sells. So I am still uncertain how to check this, and if any Re-Calibration is possible on my Tek 2465A with the equipment I have. David B. gave me the advise not to spend the $600 US dollar necessary to let some US Firms Recalibrate my Scope for the $397 US dollar I paid already for my Tektronix 2465A at his Shop on E-Bay. At least as long as my Scope functions like is to be expected.
              The KeeperII #LTC-7P, 3.5V 750mAH lithium battery however I am still not able to buy. US Firms do not Ship them to Europe because of Safety Air Traffic Regulations or because they don't accept PayPal or Ideal. But a spare AD0812HB-C70 FAN 12V 0.24A 8x8x2 cm I was able to buy on E-Bay for only $13 US dollar.
              Cheers.
              Albert.

              Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
              • Robert Calk

                July 7, 2015 at 3:03 am

                Hi Albert,
                Since Mr. Yong removed the spot on the website that shows the recent comments, it's hard to keep up with new comments on older articles. It seems like life is already hard enough...
                The metal piece on my scope for the ground on the test circuit was already there when I received my scope. I don't know where the former owner got it. It is steel with a male banana that plugs into the female in the scope, and has a small threaded end on the outside.
                The manuals have checks and adjustments in them for checking your scope. A good waveform generator would help also.
                Hopefully by the time my scope needs recalibrated, I'll have the equipment to do the job myself. Have fun.

                Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
                • Jestine Yong

                  July 7, 2015 at 7:25 am

                  HI Robert,

                  The recent comment is located at the right sidebar of each post. There are "Repair Tips","Popular" and "Comment. Click on the comment.

                  Jestine

                  Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  4. Wildon priddy

    March 28, 2015 at 10:12 pm

    Robert,great repair job and story! Also Allen , w2aew great u tube channel,ka4fku, 73's

    Likes(4)Dislikes(0)
    • Wildon priddy

      March 28, 2015 at 11:23 pm

      II forgot to enter location,louisville. Kentucky

      Likes(2)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 29, 2015 at 11:05 am

      Thanks Wildon. Yes Alan gives great lessons on his YouTube channel.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  5. Mohammed Kasim C M

    March 28, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Thanks for the wonderful case history. I am very exited to here the way you worked. It is really inspiring me to do similar tasks in future. Any way congratulations

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 29, 2015 at 11:14 am

      Thanks Mohammed. I'm glad you liked the article. Just remember that if you are unsure about something or need help, don't be ashamed to ask - I'm not. That's what we are here for and watch electronic videos on YouTube, and study books for, is to learn. I'm a rookie hobbyist and am not ashamed to admit it. The more we learn, the more we can help others with our knowledge.

      Likes(3)Dislikes(0)
      • Mohammed Kasim

        March 30, 2015 at 2:50 pm

        Definitely you are right

        Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
  6. Peter O

    March 29, 2015 at 8:03 am

    Great work, high confidence level (IE big balls), well done.
    I guess I would have shied away but your the man!

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 29, 2015 at 9:32 pm

      Lol! Thanks Peter.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  7. Yogesh Panchal

    March 29, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    One should have guts to perform this type of experiment without prior experience on this type of device. sir keep up and thanks for sharing.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 29, 2015 at 9:33 pm

      Thanks Yogesh. I'm glad you liked it.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  8. Taofiki ishola Akinleye

    March 29, 2015 at 4:20 pm

    Sir,is Oscilloscope still available in the market to buy?

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 29, 2015 at 9:34 pm

      You might be able to find one on Ebay or Amazon.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Albert

      June 12, 2015 at 6:03 am

      Hi Taofiki ishola Akinleye,
      I bought one almost like Robert Calk's from Ebay recently.
      For more information about buying one, please do read my text under that of Robert's answer to Mister Bhupendra Thakur.
      Albert.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  9. BHUPENDRA THAKUR

    March 29, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    Hi Robert,
    Great and carefully done job on well maintained equipment with out prior experience on the same,keep it up and thanks for sharing the knowledge with all of us.
    Regards.
    BHUPENDRA

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 30, 2015 at 9:45 am

      Hi Bhupendra. You are very welcome. I felt like a doctor performing surgery on this upgrade!

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Albert

      June 12, 2015 at 5:53 am

      Hi Bhupendra, I also recently bought such a wonderfull 350Mhz Tektronix 2465A Oscilloscope at Ebay. From David B. from Texas. (Most scopes are of course from the USA and mine comes from Lockheed Martin). It wasn't cheap costing about $397 USD without probes or extra's. But shipping and other cost bring it on about 600 Euros. (plus about $40 USD extra for a matching front cover. Those are hard to get these days!).
      I especially bought a scope that was tested by the Seller and completely working. Only the Fan needs replacing and perhaps some re-calibration. And probably a new Backup battery like Robert Calk's scope. (KeeperII #LTC-7P Lithium are very hard to get in Europe because they are not shipped from the USA. Also not by Air either.)

      So if you can afford the money you could still own one yourself. But remember these oscilloscopes are maybe 30 years or more old, and probably all that time in use by big companies in the USA. But I also own a Philips 10 MHz memory oscilloscope that I repaired and that one is probably much older and now still works like on the first day.

      I still do have to wait a few days more until mine arrives. I hope it works without any problems.

      Cheers,
      Albert.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  10. randy warren

    March 29, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    that is a nice job well thought out, kudos Bob. Showing your skills for all of us to admire and learn from! And yes, I am subscribed to Alan's channel, excellent! I also found anew channel that is excellent, it's Mr. Carlson's lab, check it out for mad knowledge

    Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 30, 2015 at 9:56 am

      Thanks Randy. Yes, Alan is a great teacher. I thought he was a college professor! I know that you don't know it so it's ok, but I hate to be called Bob. I don't trust anyone named Robert that goes by Bob.
      I'll check out Mr. Carlson's Lab, thanks.

      Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
  11. Mark Tembo

    March 30, 2015 at 7:50 pm

    This is good job, and if it was myself trying to repair this, I wouldn't have known where to start from.
    Congratulations!

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 31, 2015 at 1:39 am

      Thanks Mark. I have the service manual that told me how to take the scope apart and provided me with the schematics.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  12. Humberto

    March 30, 2015 at 8:13 pm

    Hi Robert, nice experiment. You own great tools

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 31, 2015 at 1:44 am

      Thanks Humberto. Actually, my tools aren't very expensive. Many people have much better equipment than I have. I wish I could afford a good digital scope but they get expensive when you get above 100 MHz.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      March 31, 2015 at 1:49 am

      BTW, did you see my comments about the UT-139C on your article, "Digital Multimeter Repaired"?

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  13. Erik

    August 6, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    Hai Robert,
    I am a friend of Albert from Holland and i also bought a Tek 2465A-DV,same as yours.
    question: is the backup battery the only part that has to be changed?
    regard
    erik from
    holland

    Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      August 7, 2015 at 5:42 pm

      As far as I know it is, that is unless it has already been changed. If you have downloaded the manuals, you can open the unit up and look on the side of the battery and see the date code. The first numbers will be the week of the year of manufacture, and the next set of numbers will be the year - as is in my article.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  14. Gurpreet

    August 7, 2015 at 1:48 pm

    Hello
    Really good job done. Experience really pays. I also want to learn this thing and thanks for sharing the knowledge with all of us.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk

      August 8, 2015 at 12:27 am

      I'm glad you enjoyed the article, Gurpreet. It is my pleasure.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  15. Lee

    December 5, 2017 at 4:24 pm

    Hello, did someone get to fix the little yellow mechanical indicator inside the power switch of this scope? It should fold inside when it is pressed to power off, and come back as you push it back to ON.
    Thanks for your restoration post Robert!

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  16. Edward

    March 18, 2018 at 10:47 pm

    Thanks for sharing about the Alan’s YouTube channel.. I too have similar issue with my scope. Hope it'll help 🙂

    Likes(1)Dislikes(0)
    • Robert Calk Jr.

      July 25, 2018 at 5:36 am

      You are very welcome, Edward. Alan has a great channel! I hope everything goes well with your scope. Alan works for or at least used to work for Tektronix. Let us know how it goes.

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  17. Nick

    August 20, 2019 at 6:04 pm

    Where on earth did you actually find a cover for that?! I've been looking for months for a cover to fit mine to no avail. I don't recall even finding a part number for the dm cover in the options manual.

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
    • Albert van Bemmelen

      March 29, 2021 at 11:47 pm

      Maybe here on eBay?
      https://www.ebay.com/c/1268849710

      Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  18. Erik

    March 31, 2021 at 2:05 am

    Hello Robert
    question:
    where do you get the front cap of a Tektronics scope 2465A.
    I need this to protect the knobs on the front when i put the scope upsite down. I can evt. also made a wooden frame.
    OR
    is someone capeble to print in 3d such a cap???

    By the way i have seen the Youtube videos from your friend Alan w2aew, fantastic videos and explanations.
    thanks
    erik b
    NL

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)
  19. Erik

    March 31, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    Hello Robert
    Question
    the frontcover for the 2465A DV, where can i bye this??
    And the frontcover of 2465A fits also on the DV design??? i ordered these.

    thanks

    Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

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