Ok. Let’s try this again…RCA 9TC240 Alignment

[Penthode]

On top of the marker are my wideband HP 403B AC Voltmeter and my HP 200D Generator. I used them for various testing. Most recently for audio distortion measurements in conjunctio with and HP 331A Distortion Meter. The 403B was locally $20, the 200D was free and the 331A was $40.

Attached is your photo with the connections.

[Chris K]

Nope...have it all set the way you have it...all hooked up correctly and all levels set as pictured. I have a line with no markers and when the counter is on scope and I press the center marker button, I have a frequency readout that's jumping all over the place and no markers on the screen...just the straight horizontal line.

This is fu%$#ng hopeless. Just not gonna happen

[Yamamaya42]

Perhaps before throwing in any towels, or hitting it with a Sledgehammer, you could post pics of everything in detail, front and back, and how it's wired up and set and working (not-working), and perhaps someone who has the same type of set up can spot something that's being overlooked.

[Chris K]

Thank you for the encouragement. Sometimes I need to walk away from these things for a few days and reboot my brain. Right now I can't even get this setup to put out a countable RF signal much less sweep and insert markers. I can't even reproduce what I posted a couple of days ago where at least, I saw markers albeit on a bizarre sweep trace that looked like a cone . Maybe my scope is messed up or something shorted in the sweeper or the counter. I don't know. Maybe this weekend, my mentors can walk me through this in real time from the most basic to where I can get a symmetrical swept trace with markers. Right now I'm pretty disgusted and a bit demoralized.

[bandersen]

Please post picture of the front of your devices and the rear connections.

Regarding markers. Doesn't this use the z-axis on the scope for intensity modulation? Do you have that hooked up?

[Penthode]

Originally Posted by bandersen

Please post picture of the front of your devices and the rear connections.

Regarding markers. Doesn't this use the z-axis on the scope for intensity modulation? Do you have that hooked up?

It does not use Z modulation. What it does is momentatily stops the sweep at the marker point to make it brighter. Notice the sweep inhibit connection.

[Penthode]

Originally Posted by Chris K

Nope...have it all set the way you have it...all hooked up correctly and all levels set as pictured. I have a line with no markers and when the counter is on scope and I press the center marker button, I have a frequency readout that's jumping all over the place and no markers on the screen...just the straight horizontal line.

This is fu%$#ng hopeless. Just not gonna happen

You have to rotate the marker controls to se them. When they are within range, the selected markers when making the adjustment will cause the marker counter display to change. Try pushing in the buttons and rotating the marker controls.

Just be patient. It will work!

[Chris K]

OK...I'll post pictures of everything

[Chris K]

Aux out of the 8601 into counter on 8600



Blanking out of 8601 and into 8600




Sweep Inhibit out of the 8601 into the 8600




Sweep out of the 8601 and into the 8600




Sweep out of the 8600 and into horizontal input on scope




8601 on and set for CW at 50MHz. 8600 showing frequency with the scope button pushed in.




8601 set for a symmetrical 3MHz sweep around 50MHz at 0 dBm. Frequency displayed on 8600 shows a stable frequency read with the center button pushed in but actually the frequency display is almost unreadable as it flashes with jumbled frequencies all over the place. No markers on trace. No amount of turning the marker setting control to left and right extremes changes anything.






I've tried all the other marker buttons with no change. Marker height adjustment on 8600 turned up almost full but there's no change no matter what I do. Scope is in X-Y mode.

[bandersen]

He's using a digital scope, so I don't think sweep inhibit is going to work. It's not going to get brighter if the sweep pauses. I think he'll need to use the z-axis option.

Can you take a couple steps back so we can see how you have the cables connected?

I'd also go with a lower frequency than 50MHz. You goal is to align a set with 22MHz IF. The higher the frequency, the more strange effects pop up.

[Yamamaya42]

So, this is a case where a cheap analog oscilloscope from evil bay would help, but you can prob get the digital one to work!

[Chris K]

Originally Posted by bandersen

He's using a digital scope, so I don't think sweep inhibit is going to work. It's not going to get brighter if the sweep pauses. I think he'll need to use the z-axis option.

Can you take a couple steps back so we can see how you have the cables connected?

I'd also go with a lower frequency than 50MHz. You goal is to align a set with 22MHz IF. The higher the frequency, the more strange effects pop up.

I posted photos of all the cable hookups. I do have a Textronix 60MHz analog scope but I don’t know how to set it to X-Y input

[Yamamaya42]

Originally Posted by Chris K

I posted photos of all the cable hookups. I do have a Textronix 60MHz analog scope but I don’t know how to set it to X-Y input

it should be quite easy, they all can do it!

[Chris K]

My scope is too advanced for this? What the hell?

[bandersen]

It's not too advanced. Digital operates in some fundamentally different ways than analog.
The longer the electron beam stays in one spot, the brighter it gets in an analog scope. Digitial does not work this way.

Thats a consequence of mixing gear from different eras.

It's hard to follow all the close up photos and read the descriptions.

It would be helpful is we could see your whole setup in one photos. See the whole cable from end-to-end. That way we can see how it is all hooked up.

What model Tek scope?