OT : heathkit scope IO-18 manual or tips to repair the focus

GroupDIY Audio Forum

Help Support GroupDIY Audio Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

12afael

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2004
Messages
1,342
Location
Helsinki
Today I bougth an oscilloscope really cheap near of ten dollars.
it work but I can make work the focus . I have a 5mm wide line.

someone hace a manual or tips for repair it?
I open and clean it . 9 tubes , could be a fail tube ? maybe need a recap work.

12afael
 
Schematic can be found here.....
ftp://bama.sbc.edu/downloads/heath/io18/

It's a djvu image, whatever that is.

peter
 
thanx . it appear to be an electronic kit.
I check resistors value on high tension circuit , they are ok.

the filters can are a little hot. I have to replace it.
 
> I can make work the focus . I have a 5mm wide line

I assume you can not make work the focus.

Does the spot change at all when you turn Focus? How about when you turn Spot Shape? Intensity?

> maybe need a recap work.

Hmmmm. As in power-rail hum/ripple WILL cause totally soft focus. Use your good scope to check the IO-18's power rails..... oh, I guess that won't work. Anyway the scope's high voltage, 1,400V, is too high to measure safely with common probes (and too high impedance).

Start by replacing C40, 20uFd 450V at the EZ81 cathode.

If that makes no change, carefully cut one lead of the 1uFd 1400V cap at the 1V2 plate. if that makes things worse, then it was good; fix the cut. If no change at all, get another 1uFd 1400V cap. Get two, you need both to get a very clean focus. This will be a hard part to find.
 
> I can make work the focus . I have a 5mm wide line

I assume you can not make work the focus.

ups :oops: where I put the... ´t ... :roll:

on the high tencion circuit I found two big caps, are red and made of glass. two metal parts on each side and a bolt for conectors. they don´t say anything .they don´t appear to be electrolitics. at least don´t have a polarity mark.
here is a picture (sorry for the size)
e.aspx

http://s13.yousendit.com/e.aspx?id=1BUP4KXA21HTV3RQ494H4O2GD6
on the manual of the IO-12, say that if I have a problem of focus I have to check the IV2 tube recifier. can I just use silicon diodes instead the tube? the tube make noise if I shake it.

I can´t check the high supply voltage with my digital tester . the screen look as if we look through a magnifier. maybe is caused for a low tencion on the CRT.

can I make a tencion divider to check it?

If I move the astigmatism pot I can change the shape of the spot from an oval or a line , passing by a circle.

If I move the pot of focus the spot turn off gradually.
If I move the intensity pot it work well, I think is not too brigth but , if we get all that light on a small point it will be ok.

if the main supply is bad probably the horizontal and vertical amplifiers have noise making the point look big. I will try to change the 20uF cap on that supply .

thanx PRR

here is a picture of the oscilloscope.
http://s13.yousendit.com/e.aspx?id=0PUGQ8O0ND9TX3UTBRNW5BTLBY
 
I still have problems... I can read the high voltage even with a resitive divisor.
the circuit have a resistor of 33M :shock: and a pot of 2M
If I put a resistive divisor the low input of the tester or the resistive divisor change the value of the complete circuit. I need a tester with 100M input.. :sad:
 
> IV2 tube recifier. can I just use silicon diodes instead the tube?

Yes, though they will have to be over 2,000 Volt rating, not ordinary 1N1006 rectifiers.

However if you had no high voltage, you would have no spot at all, so I think you have high voltage.

> the tube make noise if I shake it.

Not a good sound, but many tubes have loose parts and still work. The insulating support can snap off, or bits of welding splatter. As long as they lay in the base, they do no harm. Maybe a little microphonic if the support broke, but not a big problem, certainly good enough to check for other trouble.

> I need a tester with 100M input..

Yes, it is difficult to check the high voltage directly. The rectifier output might support a 10Meg voltmeter, but very few modern voltmeters will survive 1,000+V on their inputs. But note that the voltage divider resistor chain has low-voltage taps, which are also lower impedance. If you get about 100V on a tap that calculates as about 100/1400 of the total HV, you have HV. The exact HV is not critical: I had a CRT rated for 1,000V, built with 450V supply, and I re-built it with 300V supply. Brightness is a little less, but sensitivity is better. As as you say, brightness improves with focus: a good sharp focus does not need a lot of HV.

> the screen look as if we look through a magnifier. maybe is caused for a low tencion on the CRT.

No, as the HV gets smaller, with the same signal voltage, the sweep gets bigger. I could only get 50V signals, and with 600V CRT HV supply that was only half-screen. When I dropped to 300V on the CRT HV, I got full-screen sweeps. So for biggest picture you want small HV. Not too small or it will be dim. But more important than voltage is getting all the voltages in the right proportion. That is what Focus and Astig do.

Small sweep sure sounds like the Signal amplifiers are sick, maybe low B+ voltage. And if your funny unmarked capacitors are glass, then I sure would bet that the 450V Electrolytics in the B+ are sick before I would worry about the HV caps. If the B+ is low and also full of ripple, you will get exactly what you put into the CRT signal electrodes: a lot of 100Hz/120Hz wobble.

Put a jumper wire across the plates of the Vertical output tube, another on the Horizontal output tube. This will force the Signal voltage into the CRT to be "zero", while still getting the normal DC voltage. You should now get a tight dot. It may not be centered: the CRT is never perfectly centered. It might not even be on screen: I had a CRT that I could not get a dot on until I held a small magnet near the neck, then I could pull the spot on screen. With that clue, I put the CRT on a tape eraser, and now it gave a spot slightly off-center: the CRT was magnetized! When you do get a spot, and are able to focus it small, keep the Intensity low and don't leave the spot on for very long. A stationary spot will burn the screen.

None of your links work. "File Transfer: Incorrect link ... You have clicked on an invalid or stale link." Maybe that photo-host does not like too many hits.
 
> IV2 tube recifier. can I just use silicon diodes instead the tube?

Yes, though they will have to be over 2,000 Volt rating, not ordinary 1N1006 rectifiers.

However if you had no high voltage, you would have no spot at all, so I think you have high voltage.
I put 4 3A 1000v silicon diodes in serie instead the tube rectifier but work on the same way. so tube rectifier are ok.

> I need a tester with 100M input..

Yes, it is difficult to check the high voltage directly. The rectifier output might support a 10Meg voltmeter, but very few modern voltmeters will survive 1,000+V on their inputs. But note that the voltage divider resistor chain has low-voltage taps, which are also lower impedance. If you get about 100V on a tap that calculates as about 100/1400 of the total HV, you have HV. The exact HV is not critical: I had a CRT rated for 1,000V, built with 450V supply, and I re-built it with 300V supply. Brightness is a little less, but sensitivity is better. As as you say, brightness improves with focus: a good sharp focus does not need a lot of HV.
I read 0v on the 33M is a problem on measure . I read 250volts. on the High voltage. it´s obvious is a measure problem. at this point I discard the High supply.



No, as the HV gets smaller, with the same signal voltage, the sweep gets bigger. I could only get 50V signals, and with 600V CRT HV supply that was only half-screen. When I dropped to 300V on the CRT HV, I got full-screen sweeps. So for biggest picture you want small HV. Not too small or it will be dim. But more important than voltage is getting all the voltages in the right proportion. That is what Focus and Astig do.

Small sweep sure sounds like the Signal amplifiers are sick, maybe low B+ voltage. And if your funny unmarked capacitors are glass, then I sure would bet that the 450V Electrolytics in the B+ are sick before I would worry about the HV caps. If the B+ is low and also full of ripple, you will get exactly what you put into the CRT signal electrodes: a lot of 100Hz/120Hz wobble.

the b+ is 423v (more than 415v ) I can´t see the ripple still.


Put a jumper wire across the plates of the Vertical output tube, another on the Horizontal output tube. This will force the Signal voltage into the CRT to be "zero", while still getting the normal DC voltage. You should now get a tight dot. It may not be centered: the CRT is never perfectly centered. It might not even be on screen: I had a CRT that I could not get a dot on until I held a small magnet near the neck, then I could pull the spot on screen. With that clue, I put the CRT on a tape eraser, and now it gave a spot slightly off-center: the CRT was magnetized! When you do get a spot, and are able to focus it small, keep the Intensity low and don't leave the spot on for very long. A stationary spot will burn the screen.

None of your links work. "File Transfer: Incorrect link ... You have clicked on an invalid or stale link." Maybe that photo-host does not like too many hits.

I get out the output tubes and wire the deflection plates. I have a 5mm point . if I move the spot(astigmatism) pot the point get big 5cm.
so with this test I discard the B+supply.

the focus pot don´t do anything ,
finally I suspect of the concentration anode voltage. as I can´t read the voltage, I will try to replace the resistors . .

thanks PRR for all the tips . this post almost cover each posible failure.

here are new links for the pictures (with a new host.)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=396KN4O5 scope
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4129BOFZ glass caps
 
Back
Top