The Tektronix Retired Volunteer Program was more commonly referred to as TRVP. It had its beginnings in 1997. This excerpt from their first newsletter describes their beginnings. Their mission is described in this excerpt from the same newsletter. You can … Continue reading →
The CurveBug debugging hardware is a simple but effective tool to help find faults in modern arbitrarily complex circuit boards. Bad assembly can result in open solder joints or solder bridges and failures are generally a result of over-stresses, electrical … Continue reading →
Our volunteers came across several adjustable ceramic coils in boxes with part numbers. We did not remember seeing these in instruments. These coils are unique and use external snap rings in grooves in the ceramic for the solder points. That … Continue reading →
This Easter Card was drawn by Bob Anderson and the year is undated. Bob started in 1959 and the Tek Bug changed to a rectangular CRT in 1967 so this is likely in that range. We do not know yet … Continue reading →
A visitor sent us these photos of Tektronix Oscilloscopes at the Moogseum in Asheville, NC. From their website: The Moogseum is the museum that brings synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog’s legacy to life. Our facility explores his contribution to the world … Continue reading →
We recently found this X-shaped ceramic strip at the museum. We do not recognize it as from any instrument. It might have been an experiment. What is odd is one of the sections is completely filled in with solder but … Continue reading →
Our 2025 calendar is now available at our Lulu bookstore. Lulu has print facilities across the world including France, India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. They ship globally reducing shipping and customs expenses. A limited supply … Continue reading →
We recently received a donation of a fairly complete Type 544 Oscilloscope from the estate of Julie Rampke. It was acquired from Tektonix by Collins Radio under a USAF contract. It also was apparently subseqently under use and serial numbered … Continue reading →
An individual in SW Portland found two CRTs in their attic and contacted and donated them to the museum. One is a unique dual gun CRT that was never put into production. Note the CRT shield has an additional rough … Continue reading →
Cathode-Ray Tubes (CRTs) were used in oscilloscopes from the 1930’s by engineers and scientists to visualize electronic waveforms. The development of television, computers, cell phones and much in the way of modern electronics would not have been possible without the … Continue reading →
The vintageTEK museum is located in the SE corner of building 13, just east of RAMS (Recycling and Material Salvage – e.g. company store). Our street address is: 13489 SW Karl Braun Dr Beaverton, OR, 97077 Maps used to show … Continue reading →
The vintageTEK museum participated in the OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) Science Festival. The Science Festival is a fun, interactive, and engaging week-long celebration of science! It highlights STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) and takes … Continue reading →
The May 2024 Photo of the Month is a really interesting one because of the number of Tektronix instruments on the bench. Many have large number labels which might indicate Pool instruments and some have the plastic covers which typically … Continue reading →
Our 500-Series Plug-In poster proved popular so we thought a puzzle would also be popular. Initial feedback has been positive. The image is different from the poster due to the different aspect ratio and has one more plug-in shown. It … Continue reading →
This was a Tektronix reunion on June 8th for anyone who worked at the Wilsonville location. It was a terrific event. The reunion featured the IDD Pickers band which formed and played regularly at Wilsonville. Appetizers and dessert were served … Continue reading →
SONY/TEK & TEK/JAPAN is organizing a 2024 Reunion Meeting on July 6 in Tokyo. Any ex-Tek who remembers SONY/TEK is welcomed to join! Date: July 6, 2024 Time: 4:30 PM – 7:30 PM Location: Tokyo (Near Shinagawa Station) July is … Continue reading →
Tektronix direct view storage tubes (DVST) were green when written and stored. Tektronix developed the CRT technology for orange to be displayed in refresh and writing. We wanted a color write-thru CRT for exhibit at the museum. A GMA monitor … Continue reading →
IBM used a lot of Tektronix oscilloscopes in the design, development, manufacturing, and servicing of their computers. This first image from 1953 shows a Type 514 oscilloscope used to test the waviness of their disk platters. This December 1958 … Continue reading →
We have two of these 3A74 mod 505 plug-ins at the museum but cannot find any information on them in the microfiche. It has several interesting features such as no model number, serial number, or Tektronix logo on the front, … Continue reading →
The MADDIDA (Magnetic Drum Digital Differential Analyzer) was a special-purpose computer developed by Northrop in the late 1940s. It was designed to solve systems of ordinary differential equations for guidance systems. It was a digital computer using Boolean algebra and … Continue reading →
Vogue magazine has published a “high fashion and lifestyle” magazine continuously since 1892. For a reason that completely escapes us, the March 1977 issue featured a Tektronix 650 NTSC video monitor being destroyed by a woman wearing a pair of … Continue reading →
This printed sheet of aluminum recently came to the museum. It has 5 rows of printing consisting of a repeating sequence of text followed by a filled circle. Each row is uniform and the text consists of 50m, 500m, 5, … Continue reading →
We have published our reprints of Miles Tippery “My Years At Tektronix: 1946 – 1953” and Stan Griffiths “Oscilloscopes: Selecting and Restoring a Classic” books on our Lulu bookstore. Lulu prints books at facilities across the world including locations in … Continue reading →
The Digital Equipment Coropration (DEC) PDP-7 is an 18-bit minicomputer introduced in 1965. It is the third of their 18-bit machines, and shares a similar instruction set architecture as the PDP-4 and the PDP-9. Option 31 is a Tektronix RM503 … Continue reading →
The 468 oscilloscope was based on the industry standard 465 oscilloscope with the addition of a 25 MS/s 8 bit digitizer. It could operate in conventional non-storage mode and storage mode. In storage mode it had a usable bandwidth of … Continue reading →
We received these photos and candidly can’t make out what they represent. The first two show some individuals, none of whom we can identify. These next photos show an amazing number of Tektronix products from different Divisions and product lines. … Continue reading →
The museum’s 2024 calendar is now available. They available on our eBay store for US customers. For non-US customers, these calendars are purchased through the Lulu Bookstore. US customers may also purchase through the Lulu Bookstore. These are high quality … Continue reading →
The museum has completed their design of a 500-series plug-in poster in a 24″ x 36″ format. We have sold out of our production run. At this point we don’t see enough interest for another run. The poster is printed … Continue reading →
A 500 series oscilloscope and cart appear in the 2016 movie Hidden Figures about the early days of NASA. At about 59 minutes in the movie a scene in the computer room shows the Type 545B oscilloscope with a G plug-in … Continue reading →
Gary Nelson and his wife Suzanne visited the museum and donated the award he received on the occasion of the 250,000th 465 CRT celebration in 1982 the Building 50 auditorium. The award consists of a rodded gun mounted on a … Continue reading →
We have a new addition at the museum. Volunteer Kurt Rosenfeld assisted the museum by photographing and creating a high resolution image of 36 of the 500-series oscilloscope plug-ins. The museum turned this into a special one-of-a-kind giant 38″ x … Continue reading →
On May 16, 2022 we posted this oscilloscope sighting. Two Tektronix oscilloscopes were spotted in the waiting area for the new Web Slingers – A Spiderman Adventure at the Disney California Adventure Park. This photo is from the DSNY Newscast … Continue reading →
In response to an announcement in The Oregonian newspaper about an upcoming Calculators Exhibit in Portland, a museum volunteer asked the organizer if they would like a Tektronix 31 calculator on loan for the event. Greg Maletic, a principal at … Continue reading →
Adrian Black, who publishes the YouTube channel Adrian’s Digital Basement, visited the museum with Barry Marshall. In his Tech archeology: The frustrating experience of trying to identify mystery cards episode he is proudly wearing his vintageTEK T-Shirt.
Continue reading →Kyle Owen visited the museum from Alabama where he is a volunteer at the SIGNALS museum. SIGNALS is a communication technology museum located in Huntsville. It provides a hands-on, immersive experience where guests can explore, interact, and learn about communication … Continue reading →
The museum acquired an Electro Scientific Industries PDP-8/E laser trimming system computer used to trim hybrids in the Hybrids Component Organization (HCO) (later becoming Maxtek, and now part of the Tektronix Component Systems Group). Volunteer Vincent Slyngstad started restoration in … Continue reading →
This Hewlett-Packard discussion of Tektronix comes from INSIDE HP: A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF HEWLETT-PACKARD FROM 1939–1990 by John Minck, pages 88-89. John Minck retired in 1995, after a 37 year career with Hewlett-Packard Company. HP 150A Oscilloscope HP Journal, April, … Continue reading →
We again participated in the Tektronix college intern orientation in May 2024. We chose the same format as previously with a large group hour presentation by volunteer Pat Green of the history of the company followed by two simultaneous 90 … Continue reading →
Our March 2023 Photo of the Month was this image of a prototype all-ceramic CRT which is in the collection of one of our volunteers. We had no further information on it, or why it was developed, or why it … Continue reading →
Some time ago we donated a new screen filter, a MaxiRom 10-in-1 Rom Pack, and a Ram Pack to the Home Computer Museum in The Netherlands to restore their 4051 Graphic Desktop Computer. Nostalgia Nerd visited the museum and posted a … Continue reading →
This is a series of 9 IOCs (Inter-Office Communications) dated in June and July of 1958 between General Electric, and the Tektronix field, and factory about a specialized test setup to detect line transients in homes. These IOCs demonstrate how … Continue reading →
The museum was honored to host Barry Marshall for an extensive tour and visit. Barry is an Australian physician, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Co-Director of the Marshall Centre at the University of Western Australia. Barry is also a Nobel … Continue reading →
RR Auction sold a rare Apple Computer Company check signed by Steve Jobs payable to Tektronix on June 23, 2022. The check was sold for an incredible $55,000. This check uses Apple’s first address at 770 Welch Rd., Ste. 154, … Continue reading →
The vintageTEK museum now has a display of current Tektronix products consisting of the 3Series, 4Series, and 5 Series oscilloscopes. On the left is a 6 channel 1.5 GHz MSO46 oscilloscope. The center is a MDO32 2 channel 60 MHz … Continue reading →
Early oscilloscope graticules were on a clear plastic screen in front of the CRT which could cause measurement errors due to parallax. This photo shows the process of scribing a graticule on a clear piece of plastic. By the 1960s, … Continue reading →
We were pleased to arrange a tour for Tektronix President, Chris Bohn (second from left), and his leadership team. Pat Green provided an in-depth overview of the history of the founders leading up to the formation of the company. Dave … Continue reading →
Gianni Becattini has authored two incredible free books available as a PDF download. The first is Tektronix oscilloscopes Vol. 1 The 7000-Series consisting of 289 pages of information and photos of the 7000 series of oscilloscopes. The second is Tektronix … Continue reading →
On our Movies and Shows page we have the 1984 movie Ghostbusters movie which has a Tektronix RM561A oscilloscope with a 3A74 and 3B3 plug-ins in the interior of their Ecto-1 vehicle. The BIGBADTOYSTORE [external site] is offering a 1/6 scale … Continue reading →
This is an excerpt from the February 2000 Oregon Business magazine article “What’s Up With Tek? The rise, fall and rebirth of Oregon’s bellwether technology company” by Ted Katauskas It is an interesting look into the early history of Tektronix. Our … Continue reading →
1-28-2024 Update We have sold our inventory and have now discontinued this board. We have some 1980’s oscilloscopes at the museum which used the Mostek MKB36000 ROMs which are known to deteriorate over time (e.g. FROMs – Forgetful Read Only … Continue reading →
A digital replica of the famous garage that contained Apple’s first headquarters is called Steve Jobs Garage and is at www.stevejobsgarage.net/ External Site From the site: The house has been converted into a digital collection of Job’s famous moments. Taking … Continue reading →
RR Auction had the opportunity to sell a most unique 465 oscilloscope. From their website: Atari engineer Al Alcorn’s Tektronix 465 Dual-Trace 100 MHz Oscilloscope that he used to create the early video game Pong and that he later lent … Continue reading →
[2-2-24 Update] This news blog was to share that we re-organized the movies page as it was getting too big. We do not keep the list up to date on this news page, but do maintain the complete list of … Continue reading →
Our 2022 vintageTEK Calendar was a hit so we’ve create a brand new 2023 calendar. The calendar month photos include historic images and descriptions. We’ve revised the calendar portion to be larger with borders so notes can be written in. … Continue reading →
Here are two brochures for Oscilloscope Calibration Workstations. This is a brochure for an Oscilloscope Calibration Workstation procured by the U.S. Army under contract number DAAH01-89-D-0143. DAAH01 is the US Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal. 89 is the … Continue reading →
Thanks to volunteer Andrew Meier we once again have a Facebook page. We couldn’t recover our original page so the new page is at www.facebook.com/Vintagetekmuseum Andrew will be regularly updating our page. Andrew is our newest volunteer and worked at … Continue reading →
February 12, 2003 Update All the HP parts have been sold. Among the numerous parts that have been donated to the museum were a limited number of Hewlett-Packard part-numbered components. This list of available HP parts is current as of … Continue reading →
Heike Mayer received her Ph.D. in Urban Studies from Portland State University in 2003. Her dissertation examined the role that Tektronix, Intel, and Electro-Scientific Industries played in the evolution of the Silicon Forest, the high-technology cluster of industries in the … Continue reading →
Raptor was the code name for the TDS3000 series oscilloscope development which replaced the Shasta/TDS300 series of oscilloscopes. The project was originally called Pacman. The models that were in the original launch were the TDS3012, 3014, 3032, 3034, 3052 and … Continue reading →
Shasta was the code name for the TDS300 series oscilloscope development. We have identified only about half of the individuals in the photo. Please contact us if you can identify additional individuals. Click on the image to view a higher … Continue reading →
The publication NASA SP-87 is a summary of papers presented at a technical conference for the S-Band tracking and communications equipment used for the Apollo missions. Pages 69 – 70 describe the Receiver-Exciter Subsystem which utilize three Tektronix RM503 … Continue reading →
Tektronix held a number of customer training classes on the operation and use of their various products. What makes this photo of the class more interesting is there is a list of the attendees on the rear. This 530/540 training … Continue reading →
An individual sent us these photos of an unknown waveform generator. This was likely an internal test unit and possibly a Field Engineer demonstration tool. There are three elements that help to pinpoint the date – rough alligator texture, glass … Continue reading →
This half-width 529 Waveform Monitor, serial number 010208, was used in the production of all 56 episodes of the Spud Goodman show broadcast on Fox. The Spud Goodman show started in Tacoma in 1985 on a local cable channel. By … Continue reading →
This scan of a nametag was sent to us by a retiree. He says it was used at one of the Tektronix Retiree Volunteer Program annual gatherings. We cannot find any history on this or when it was used but … Continue reading →
May 2025 Update These acrylic LED signs have been discontinued and Your Laser Engraving has been sold. vintageTEK has entered into a relationship with Your Laser Engraving of Yakima, Washington, to offer three different illuminated acrylic signs featuring the Tek … Continue reading →
The 2022 calendar has been retired. Please see our 2023 calendar. The museum created a 2022 calendar with photos of 12 of our exhibits. We’ve also added some notable dates and events. The calendar is spiral bound and printed on … Continue reading →
Much has been written about Katalin Karikó. In the 1990s she pursued research on messenger RNA in the hopes of turning basic biology into medical breakthroughs. Her research is the foundation for mRNA coronavirus vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. While … Continue reading →
With the popularity of our T-Shirts with both the vintageTEK logo and the original Tek Bug, we have produced a similar Mouse Pad which is available on our eBay store.
Continue reading →This is a rompack for the Tektronix 4051 that incorporates the functions of 10 rompacks, including some that were never released. The following functions are included: R01 – Matrix Functions R02 – Binary Program Loader R06 – Editor R07 – … Continue reading →
The 4051 DC300 tapes deteriorate over time. A broken tension band is a likely failure and we have not found a suitable replacement. Also the tape drive can become an issue. If your 4051 is unusable because of a non-functional … Continue reading →
Rick Wills enjoyed a 30 year career at Tektronix, of which the last 8 years he served as Chairman, President and CEO. As he left the company he was presented a special 1 GHz 4 channel MSO4104 oscilloscope – the startup splash … Continue reading →
Our February 2020 Photo of the Month was this image of a destroyed 524AD. We found this article in the February 24, 1961 issue of TekWeek describing the incident. We especially enjoyed the comment about “white paint”.
Continue reading →Tektronix was asked to provide an exhibit in the Beaverton City Hall in honor of their 75th anniversary. The theme of the exhibit is Tektronix Past, Present, and Future. The display area is inside on a major aisle and is … Continue reading →
In celebration of Tektronix 75th anniversary they posted a nice article on their European operations titled Europe is Central to Tektronix’s 75 Years of Innovation. This article features a short interview with Gerrit DeVries who is shown here in Heerenveen … Continue reading →
Our July 2021 Photo of the Month was an an individual working on a 310 oscilloscope. Also on the bench is a 541 30 MHz oscilloscope, a 180 Time Mark Generator, a 105 Square Wave Generator, and a 75A Variable … Continue reading →
The museum found this Type 549 storage CRT production control card. These cards accompanied the CRT to aid in initial setup in the oscilloscope. This particular card was from Week 24, 1969. Although the fiscal year was June to May, … Continue reading →
On July 14, 2021 Tektronix posted a feature article titled vintageTEK Museum Showcases 75 Years Of Company Technology And Inspires Tomorrow’s Engineers. This article features an interview with museum volunteers Dave Brown and Tom Goodapple along with the Executive Director … Continue reading →
We have this aerial photo of Beaverton from late 1957 or early 1958 on our Beaverton Campus page. Building 19 is visible and the rest of the campus is undeveloped. In the circled area is an odd short ramp trestle. … Continue reading →
Tektronix personnel were recently in the crawl space below building 13, the home of the museum and the former home of the Ceramics Operation, for some routine maintenance. They discovered a storage area filled with CRT funnel molds. This must … Continue reading →
In honor of the 75th anniversary of Tektronix the museum created a video slideshow tour of 75 of its exhibits. A slideshow format was chosen to ease creation and editing while the museum is closed due to Covid. Six of … Continue reading →
Mohawk was the development code name for the TG2000 which first shipped in 1996. The TG2000 is a multi-format analog and digital precision signal generator. The TG2000 provides reference-quality test signals in both the analog and digital domains. We’ve been … Continue reading →
Tektronix products were used by many different companies in many different industries. We feature other company’s videos which show Tektronix products on our Enabling Customer Success page. This photo from the May 1962 National Geographic Magazine shows the Telstar development … Continue reading →
Tektronix products were used by many different companies in many different industries. We feature other company’s videos which show Tektronix products on our Enabling Customer Success page. This photo shows at least 12 Tektronix used on the manufacturing floor for … Continue reading →
A museum engineer working on a 468 found a new cartoon of the fan. While we do not know when Tektronix stopped publishing cartoons, this manual is dated 1986 which would likely make this one of the last cartoons published. … Continue reading →
We found this photo of a Type 1100 Storage Display Unit and two things stood out. Tektronix never released a Type 1100 display and the bezel and CRT appear to be a curved face similar to a raster scan CRT, … Continue reading →
One of the accessories for Tektronix instruments were covers and cases. We don’t come across them very often. This page from the 1969 catalog shows the offerings for covers. We have just a couple at the museum.
Continue reading →The 1971 Tektronix Catalog included a short article to customers authored by Howard Vollum. It marks the 25th anniversary of the company and provides Howard’s insights into the key “firsts” for oscilloscopes pioneered by Tektronix. Click on the image to … Continue reading →
The June 1971 Audio magazine featured a story on the 250 pieces of electronic equipment worth more than $375,000 installed in the entertainment center at the Playboy Mansion. The article mentions two pieces of Grass Valley Group equipment along … Continue reading →
The museum does not have any records of production numbers for any Tektronix product. The 1980 Annual Report had this on page 25 noting that Tektronix had shipped it’s millionth oscilloscope. The undated issue 25 of Tek Times, presumably … Continue reading →
The vintageTEK museum recently acquired this Hughes 104 Memo-Scope. This oscilloscope was one of the early storage oscilloscopes for transient capture and display utilizing the Memotron 5″ storage CRT. It was announced in the Control Engineering February 1957 issue. The … Continue reading →
We’ve added two TekWeek articles with group photos on our 4051/2/4 Graphic Desktop Systems page. None of the individuals in the photos are identified. We’ve been able to identify some but we ask for your help in identifying all the … Continue reading →
Hackaday is an internet site that posts articles as entertainment for engineers and engineering enthusiasts. They did a news post on our 200 Series Oscilloscopes page which featured the cardboard models that served as the concept designs for the 200 … Continue reading →
Feb 2023 Update This notice was sent from Amazon. Thanks to all that utilized this program to help support the museum. In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favorite charities. However, after almost … Continue reading →
This July 17, 1968 engineering drawing of the Beaverton and Sunset campuses details information about the building size, power, and water along with the date of construction. What is interesting is it shows building 50A as “To Be” in what … Continue reading →
The September 10, 1965 issue of Life magazine featured a cover article on Control Of Life with a photo of a Type 564 Storage Oscilloscope. Click on the image to view a larger resolution PDF. The inside article features … Continue reading →
Alan Hampel, an electronics engineer and former test equipment service technician in Australia, purchased a 130 LC meter that arrived in poor condition. He decided to do a detailed restoration and wrote an extensive article for Silicon Chip magazine that … Continue reading →
This interesting photo shows a 466 portable storage oscilloscope on the left and a rather unique instrument on the right. This instrument has two CRTs with the mechanical construction, knobs, and graticule lights similar to the 511 introduced in 1947. … Continue reading →
A flurry of memos from early 1962 revealed an interest to include a Tektronix oscilloscope in the Apollo Module. North American Aviation (NAA) was considering a 321 oscilloscope inside the space vehicle to troubleshoot the “In-Flight Test Systems” of the … Continue reading →
Wednesday, October 1, 1958 was Family Night held at the Beaverton Campus. The October 1958 TekTalk issue covered the event which was expected to draw over 5,000 employees and family. We used the “Green Worm” photo from that event as … Continue reading →
