00 Sofia User Manual
Contents
1. 8 12 THE MEASURE CONTROL 8 13 8 6 2 FUNCTION BUTTONS ito cei toit det sete 8 13 8 6 2 OPERATING WITH THE QC CONTROL 8 14 8 6 3 THE OG SETUP FILE uitio aa a 8 14 864 THE OC SESSION REPORT FILE iioii 8 15 SOFIA S MAIN CONTROL 9 1 INTRODUCTION Etats 9 1 MAIN CONTROL PANEL 2 9 1 lt lt 10 1 INTRODUCTION 10 1 MATG EGON TROL PAIN BE 10 1 10 21 FUNG THION BUT TONS Mie oes 10 1 MATCHING STRATEGIES AND SOME EXAMPLES 10 2 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1 GENERAL CONDITIONS AND WARRANTY THANKS Thank you for purchasing your SOFIA system We hope that your experiences using SOFIA will be both productive and satisfying CUSTOMER SUPPORT Audiomatica is committed to supporting the use of the SOFIA system and to that end offers direct support to end users Our users all around the world can contact us directly regarding technical problems bug reports or suggestions for future software enhancements You can call fax or write to us at AUDIOMATICA SRL VI2. 4 1 SOFIA S USER 4 5 1 GENERAL rsen rsen rer ren 5 1 MENUS ERR ET ETT 5 2 CONTROL PANELS 35 seo 5 2 HODKEYS x custo a itt e ttt o ol aia A vala ole 5 4 DISK MENU oa 6 1 INTRODUCTION eo 6 1 DATA FILE 5 8 8 6 1 Korm 6 1 6 2 MGIE 3 ire ER CEU ea ieee ei PEEL PO aaa 6 2 6 3 ERD RAE 6 3 6 3 SOFIA S SOFTWARE SETUP 2 7 1 INTRODU O TION a r r a a Err a E a 7 1 THE DISK Setup CHOICE paina erener eneren quitas ced onca Egara a Cen epe Iaa ieai 7 1 TON PRINTERS eea ee todo m dpa ied pedem edad nbn E S 7 1 7 4 8 1 8 2 8 3 8 4 8 5 8 6 9 9 1 9 2 10 10 1 10 2 10 3 72252 SOMO RS agis ete eror 7 1 73 32 SERIAL
3. nee 4 Tupei4 ere s2 Tupeis eTe 84 TUBE PTE About Export Exit FILE DIRECTORY eee FIGURE 10 2 The Pair matching strategy As you can see the software produces a list of couples oftubes ordered by their matching factors that are displayed nearby the best couple is listed first and then the others in a descending order The first couple is the best among all tubes the second is the best among the remaining tubes when you subtract the first two and so on Chapter 10 Match Menu Page 10 2 If you select the Quartet matching strategy you get the situation illustrated in Fig 10 3 SOFIA MATCHING TOOL NAME 1 NAME 2 4 NAME 1 TUBE1 6 PTE TUBEZ PTE TUBES PTE TUBES PTE 55 TUBE11 PTE TUBE12 PTE TUBES PTE 82 10 TUBE14 FTE TUBES PTE TUBES PTE 181 oo po o Oooo oo 22 oOo TUEE12 PTE TUBE15 PTE TUBE4 PTE TUBE PTE Calc Hatch Pair Quartet Dual About Export Exit FILE NONAME DIRECTORY 6550 FIGURE 10 3 The Quartet matching strategy To explain how Dual affects the aforementioned strategies lets now assume that we measured 32 6SL7 twin triodes and that we saved their curves in the fi
4. VFIL 6 3 Volts IFIL 0 33 Amperes IFTOL 10 131 AUTODETECT 0 O off 1 HEAT INGDELAY 1 s DATA VGRID V VANODE V IANODE mA IATOL VSCREEN V ISCREEN mA ISTOL 4 190 14 20 0 0 0 5 195 7 20 0 0 0 The following syntax has to be strictly used semicolon Begins acomment line Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 14 COMPANY First of the two title lines TITLE Second of the two title lines VFIL Heater voltage to be set in volts IFIL Heater current to be measured in amperes if zero no measurement takes place IFTOL Heater current tolerance AUTODETECT Turns the autodetect mode on if 1 or off if 0 HEATINGDELAY Delay time needed to warm up the tube in seconds DATA Initiates a declaration part where it is defined a table of measuring points each point is defined with the grid plate and screen voltages in volts that has to be set and with the anode and screen currents in milliamperes that has to be measured with respective tolerances 96 if any current is defined as zero the measurement doesn t take place 8 6 4 THE QC SESSION REPORT FILE The QC session report file is automatically generated to help the user track a QC work session This file has a REP extension and is structured in the following three parts A header reporting the date and the QC setup measurement data Abodyreporting all the measurements done The difference in percentage with the set
5. 7 1 TRIE SETUP RILE acetate Rara seen 7 1 MEASURE MENU 52 trees eee 8 1 INTRODUCTION cuoi testi cosi cotidie 8 1 MEASURE PLATE CONTROL PANEL eene emen 8 1 82 1 FUNCTION BUTTONS iioii etin deret 8 1 8 2 2 THE STATUS AREA etd nte d iue piombo NE 8 2 8 2 3 THE TUBE DATA DIALOG BOX 8 3 8 24 THE MEASUREMENT SETTINGS DIALOG 8 5 HOW TO MEASURE A TUBE 1 3 xt neat 8 6 8 3 1 INPUT OF ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL DATA 8 6 8 3 2 CONNECTION OF TUBE TO SOFIA S TERMINALS 8 6 8 3 3 MEASUREMENT CARRYING OUT AND MANAGEMENT 8 7 8 9 84 1 NORMAL onte sp eai 8 9 94 2 DUAL late iat ue ee tb teo sinha Mu alge 8 9 84 3 PSEUDO TRIODE np oig ente soi a evite edad 8 10 842 ULTRA LINEAR iet 8 10 tameu di Mas dede 8 11 8 5 1 8 11 85 2 TRIODES 8 12 8 5 3 TETRODES AND PENTODPES S 2
6. wait for the parameters to be stable in this condition Tells Sofia to automatically save the measurement to disk in the current work directory Files are saved with progressive names as TUBExxxx PTx where xxxx is an ascending number first file will be TUBEI PTx and so on If there are already autosaved files in the directory the program will search for the first available free number and use it Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 5 8 3 HOW MEASURE A TUBE CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT This guided example explains the basic steps involved in measuring a vacuum tube Input of the electrical and mechanical data in the tubes archive Connection of the tube to Sofia s terminals Measurement carrying out and management 8 3 1 INPUT OF ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL DATA Provided you have a vacuum tube in your hands the first thing that you have to do is to tell Sofia its main electrical and mechanical data see also 8 2 2 suppose you are dealing with an EL34 or an equivalent 6CA7 beam pentode Ifyou take a look to the list of data files supplied with the distribution disk you may want to use the EL34PENT TBE one as in fig 8 2 or take a technical manual like Sylvania one and either control that the data in the existing file are correct or write anew one and save it to di
7. Copyright 1995 96 by AUDIOMATICA SRL All Rights Reserved Edition 1 01 April 1996 IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 1 GENERAL CONDITIONS AND WARRANTY 1 1 REGISTRATION eck feed end ceu ctn ete cei Fete eia Feo Xr nto a denda 1 2 THE SOFIA VACUUM TUBES CURVE TRACER 2 1 A GENERAL LOOK AT THE HARDWARE OF 2 1 dunt epe sen rer Ces roe tus c apo PED BUY 2 1 ACCESSORIES SUPPLIED 2 2 SOFIAS SYSTEM SOFIWARRE 5 27 re oou 2 2 TECHNICAL 2 2 INSTALLING AND USING SOFIA 3 1 PG CONFIGURATION raiione deco cde i a ot eom d eem d e c e tet 3 1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION 3 1 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION oet ra cae ca ev oben ected cen tc c ee 3 1 RUNNING SOFIA FOR THE FIRST 3 2 TETTI EAEE deste ot roe a el e En Datel Er Lo Fo Des V 3 4 PC COMPATIBILITY 4 1 HARDWARE 4 1 SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY 2 80
8. TUBE15 PT2 sem TUBE17 PT2 TUBEZS PTI 590 TUBEZS PT2 990 FILE NONAME DIRECTORY FIGURE 10 4 The Dual option with Pair matching strategy Chapter 10 Match Menu 657 10 4
9. The Measure Plate control panel NOTE When saving or loading files from disk in this control panel always remember that the file extension connected to this measurement are PTE PT1 and PT2 These extensions will be used automatically when you are working from within the Measure Plate control panel 8 2 1 FUNCTION BUTTONS Start Starts anew tube measurement See paragraph 8 2 4 fora description of how to measure a tube Fil Turns the heater on NOTE to obtain the maximum precision of the filament voltage it is recommended to turn the filament on ONLY AFTER having inserted the tube in its socket this is due to the current sensing mechanism involved during the warm up time If you insert a tube in its socket with the filament on the voltage may be slightly different if its filament current is different from the filament current of the previous tube heated 8 Measure Menu Page 8 1 Dual Tube About Over Setting Exit 2 Turns the Dual mode on See paragraph 8 2 5 Used to access the Tube Data dialog box See paragraph 8 2 2 Used to insert or display a text comment describing the present measurement The comment will be saved with the measurement Activates the overlap mode allowing for the overlaying of multiple curves The visualised curves will be managed within a 2 location FIFO first in first out buffer Enters the measurement settings dialog box Exits the Measure Plate con
10. are ready to start a QC session CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT When you debugging a QC setup file you may wantto access the Tube Data dialog box andthe Main control panel that are directly recallable from within the QC control panel with F1 and F4 After having started the measurement Sofia displays the HEATING message and wait for the time in seconds given with the appropriate file command after this time the measurements at the defined measurements points are performed the results are displayed in real time If all the measurements selected are within the specified limits the GOOD message appears otherwise BAD appears Allthe measurement session counters are then updated and automatically saved in the QC session report file see 8 6 4 8 6 3 THE QC SETUP FILE This file is a plain ASCII file that describes what tests will be done during the measurement session it can be easily created with any text editor pay great attention to its particular syntax Follows the sample file contained in the distribution disk that serves as an example for creating others DATA MJOB1 6DJ8 QC file THIS IS A SAMPLE QUALITY CONTROL SETUP FILE QC EXTENSION COMPANY AUDIOMATICA SRL TITLE 6DJ8 Quality Control
11. refer to section 7 3 3 to properly setup the serial link We will now deal with a guided example that shows how to connect and measure a tube The first assumption is that you have a tube in your hands we will think that it is a common 6DJ8 or an equivalent 6922 or ECC88 or E88CC etc etc twin triode Make sure that SOFIA s connection system is free from any connecting chord and insert the tube in the noval socket press M and then lt ENTER gt you will see for the first time the Measure Plate Chapter 3 Installation Page 3 2 control panel Fig 3 2 now press F1 the Tube data dialog box will appear Fig 3 3 and you have learnt the usage of the F1 Hot Key refer to chapter 5 4 for a list of all the other active Hot Keys from the list of available tubes data files select the 6DJ8 TBE one either double clicking on it or first selecting it and then pressing L to load it the pin description available for this tube will lead you in the proper manual configuration of the connection system let s start from turning on the tube take the two chords with white plugs and as described in the PIN 4 and PIN 5 fields FIL stays for filament SOFIA PLATE CURVES m butone may write HEATER or whatever make x the following connections 000 ong HEATER gt Bm HEATER gt B500 5 Now press O for Ok the Tube data dialog box meme j disappears and the Sta
12. software handles tube directories containing all the manufacturer s mechanical data and electrical measurement limits Automatic pass fail QC control routines makes easy and quick any tube selection process Automatic best match between couple or more tubes within a batch is also included 2 4 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS DC GENERATORS Type 4 channels voltage generator Resolution 16 bit Plate voltage range 0 700 V Grid screen voltage range 07700 V Filament voltage range 0 24 Filament max supply current 5 Grid voltage range 10 150 V Chapter 2 The SOFIA Vacuum Tubes Curve Tracer Page 2 2 DC ANALYZERS Type 3 channels milliamperometer Resolution 16 bit ROUTING SYSTEM Type manual with supplied cords Test sockets furnished Octal Noval Four Transmitting seven PC CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED 80286 or more 640 Kbytes RAM or more VGA video adapter or more Hard Disk Free RS 232 port Co processor required MISCELLANEOUS Dimensions approx 44x24x12 cm Weight 7 Kg AC voltage 110 120 220 240 V AC power consumption 200W Chapter 2 The SOFIA Vacuum Tubes Curve Tracer Page 2 3 3 INSTALLING AND USING SOFIA NOTE PLEASE REFER TO CHAPTER 4 FOR POTENTIAL PROBLEMS REGARDING THE COMPATIBILITY OF SOFIA WITH YOUR PC EITHER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE 3 1 PC CONFIGURATION SOFIA can be connected to any IBM or compatible personal computer with the following mimimum system requirements 286 process
13. strategy See 10 3 Quartet Selects the Quartet matching strategy See 10 3 Chapter 10 Match Menu Page 10 1 Dual Selects the Dual matching strategy Itis a particular case of the Pair or Quartet strategies when we are dealing with twin tubes measured with the Dual measuring mode See 10 3 About Used to insert or display a text comment describing the present measurement The comment will be saved with the measurement Export Used to export the present measurement in ASCII text format Exit Exits the Match control panel 10 3 MATCHING STRATEGIES AND SOME EXAMPLES It has to be clearly understood that the program works during the matching process with ALL tube measurement files PTE PT2 present in the currently selected working directory Lets now assume that we measured sixsteen 6550 tubes and that we saved their curves in the files named TUBEI PTE TUBE2 PTE and so on until TUBEI6 PTE and that we are working in their directory named 6550 Asa preliminary one has to perform the calculation of the reciprocal matching factors with the Calc button this calculation may take some time signaled by a progress indicator We can then match our tubes either in pairs or in quartets If you select the Pair matching strategy you get the situation illustrated in Fig 10 2 SOFIA MATCHING TOOL 1 NAME 2 1 NAME 2 ERR NAME 1 TUBE16 PTE TUBEB PTE TUBEZ PTE TUBES PTE TUBE 1 PTE TUBES PTE
14. A FAENTINA 244 G 50133 FLORENCE ITALY PHONE 39 055 575221 FAX 39 055 5000402 AUDIOMATICA ON LINE For having technical support to get a list of international distributors for any inquiry and to know the latest news about SOFIA and other Audiomatica s products we are on the Internet to help you E MAIL audiomatica a mclink it WWW http www mclink it com audiomatica AUDIOMATICA S WARRANTY Audiomatica warrants the SOFIA system against physical defects for a period of one year following the original retail purchase of this product In the first instance please contact your local dealer incase of service needs You can also contact us directly as outlined above or refer to other qualified personnel WARNINGS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY Audiomatica will not assume liability for damage or injury due to user servicing or misuse of our product Audiomatica will not extend warranty coverage for damage of the SOFIA system caused by misuse or physical damage Audiomatica will not assume liability for the recovery of lost programs or data The user must assume responsibility for the quality performance and the fitness of Audiomatica software and hardware for use in professional production activities 5 and AUDIOMATICA are registered trademarks of Audiomatica SRL Chapter 1 Introduction Page 1 1 1 2 REGISTRATION CARD AUDIOMATICA REGISTRATION CARD MAIL OR FAX TO US SOFIA SERIAL NUMBER SOFTWARE VERSION
15. Data determine how the measurement will be done and managed Before starting the actual measurement the tube has to be turned on this is done by pressing the Fil function button thus delivering current to the tube heater NOTE it is good practice before starting the measurement to take a look at the tube and be sure that the filament is correctly powered after the normal heater warm up time usually given in technical manual you should see the reassuring red light coming from the heated element WARNING ifyou are not sure that the filament ison DO NOT PROCEED with measurement this could lead permanent damage to the tube and eventually to Sofia The following procedure is recommended should you be in troubles at this point Turn the filament off by pressing the Fil button Replace the cord from the HEATER terminal with the splitting cord Turn the filament on again and measure with a voltmeter the filament voltage between the and the GROUND terminals refer to Fig 8 5 for connections HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE GROUND TO VOLTMETER FIGURE 8 5 Connections to verify filament voltage NOTE to obtain the maximum precision of the filament voltage it is recommended to turn the filament on ONLY AFTER having inserted the tube in its socket this is due to the current sensing mechanism involved during the warm up time If you insert a tube in its socket with the filamen
16. PURCHASE DATE NAME JOB TITLE COMPANY ADDRESS ZIP OR POST CODE PHONE NUMBER FAX NUMBER Chapter 1 Introduction Page 1 2 2 THE SOFIA VACUUM TUBES CURVE TRACER 2 1 GENERAL LOOK AT THE HARDWARE OF SOFIA Sofia is housed in a stand alone box and is powered from the mains On the top panel the most widespread tubes sockets are present together with the routing system Fig 2 1 shows Sofia s panel 9 POWER OFF WARNING POWER ON LETHAL VOLTAGES PRESENT WHEN LIT HAZARD Sofia VACUUM TUBES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CURVE TRACER O BY SERIAL De PLE OCEA AUDIONATIGA HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE GROUND FIG 2 1 Sofia s top panel Heart of the system are four high resolution 16 bit voltage generators for filament plate grid screen grid and three high resolution 16 bit milliamperometers used to resolve the currents involved in this kind of measurements The achieved resolution together with gain control facilities for voltage and current allows to measure tubes curves with enormous dynamic range State of the art circuitry and sophisticated digital control greatly enhance reliability a main topic in high voltage devices A microprocessor handles both the RS 232 link to the PC and the internal logic requirements The flexible manual routing system makes easy the connection of tubes that don t fit in the sockets p
17. a U 0 00 FIGURE 8 2 The Tube Data dialog box NOTE When saving or loading files from disk in this control panel always remember that the file extension connected to this measurement is TBE This extension will be used automatically when you are working from within this dialog box WARNING Audiomatica will not assume liability for the contents of the Tube Data files supplied in the distribution disk These files are only meant as EXAMPLE files and descend from Audiomatica s experiences applied to tubes testing ALWAYS refer to manufacturer s technical manual for exhaustive tube characteristics Load Save Ok Cancel Pin 1 9 Mode Npin Chapter 8 Measure Menu Loads the selected tube data file from disk Save the current tube data to disk Exits the tube settings dialog box accepting the displayed data Exits the tube settings dialog box without accepting the displayed data Description of the tube pins useful to make the right connections on the SOFIA front panel Selects the kind of tube from within the following see also 8 4 Diode Triode Pentode also included are tetrodes Pentode in pseudo triode configuration Pentode in ultra linear configuration See paragraph 8 4 for a detailed description of how Sofia behaves when these choices are made Tube number of pins Page 8 3 Heat V Heater nominal voltage 0 24 V HeatI Heater nominal current 0 5 A Vamax Plate maximum test
18. ation of the tube on the screen you will learn later how to measure both Sorte PLATE cums sections of the tube together using the Dual 000 measuring mode and a particular connection 000 Rp LK hnl FIGURE 3 4 3 5 ADVICES We suggest you to take some time for reading the User Manual and familiarize with SOFIA s functionality Particular attention has to be paid to paragraph 5 4 HOT KEYS learning the hot keys will save you time during your job and enhance your productivity FIGURE 3 5 Chapter 3 Installation Page 3 4 4 PC COMPATIBILITY 4 1 HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY Provided the availability of a standard RS 232 serial port Sofia has not showed at the moment any problem regarding compatibility with IBM PC or compatibles personal computers 4 2 SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY A brief note is due regarding the Windows95 environment The Sofia software program is NOT a Windows application the performances and characteristics described in this manual are guaranteed under the assumption that the program is run under a DOS session Chapter 4 PC Compatibility Page 4 1 5 SOFIA S USER INTERFACE 5 1 GENERAL INFORMATION SOFIA s user interface has been created by embodying many modern concepts relating to the design of graphical user inter
19. e measurement screen and it is used to present useful messages to the user that help to enhance the understanding of the measurement For example these status messages include such things as the file name the input overload status the cursor s position as well as many others Chapter 5 SOFIA s User Interface Page 5 3 5 4 HOT KEYS These are the keyboard keys that are always active from within any menu or control panel They are a quick and convenient way to execute many of the most commonly used operations They are not visible and therefore may not be selected with the mouse After frequent use these keys should become easy to remember Let us now take a look at them in detail F1 Recalls the tube data dialog box F2 Saves the measurement on disk and activates the Save menu option See section 6 4 F3 Loads a measurement and activates the Load menu option See section 6 3 F4 Recalls the instrument control panel FS Usedto change the working directory activates the Chdir menu option See section 6 6 F6 Creates a new directory on disk activates the Mkdir menu option See section 6 5 Alt P Prints the executed measurements from within any control panel To select the print options refer to the SOFIA SETUP chapter Chapter 5 SOFIA s User Interface Page 5 4 6 DISK MENU 6 1 INTRODUCTION As you might expect from its title this chapter deals with the functions that result in read or write access to and from the hard d
20. easurement CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT Press S the measurement is now running and after about 30 seconds you will be prompted with the output plate characteristics of your tube Fig 3 4 You can now freely inspect this family of output curves by means of the cursor dragging it with the mouse the software will calculate in real time and display in the status area at the right of the measurement screen the values of Gm Mu Rp Voltage Current and Power of the selected point Now press F2 you can save the measurement to a file on the hard disk to recall it later use F3 Chapter 3 Installation Page 3 3 Cunt j To complete 6DJ8 measurement we have to age measure the second triode section press F1 and 3041 check for the following connections Rp LK hnl 341 PLATE gt EEN GRID o For gt Bg FILE NAME TEST 1 J Before starting the new measurement press spas this will activate the Overlay mode so that both families of curves will be displayed simultaneously press S to measure the second triode of your tube the final situation should be like in Fig 3 5 with the complete characteriz
21. ected directory will be automatically selected 6 7 Setup Refer to Chapter 7 SOFIA SETUP for a detailed explanation of this choice 6 8 Exit This command ends the SOFIA work session Chapter 6 Disk Menu Page 6 3 7 SOFIA S SOFTWARE SETUP 7 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter explains how to correctly configure the SOFIA system software in order to obtain the best results when performing tubes parameters measurements Section 7 2 will deal with some software configuration issues related to the SOFIA board that will affect all measurements Section 7 3 will cover various aspects of configuration that arerelated to the PC platform eg printer devices and are usually found inall software products 7 3 THE DISK Setup CHOICE After choosing Setup from within the Disk command presented on the menu bar one enters the Setup dialog box whichis shown in Fig 7 1 Itispossible to configure your printer on screen colors as well as SOFIA s serial connection from the various parameters displayed in this dialog box SETUP PRINTER COLORS SERIAL PORT HP PALETTE 1 43 EPSON 3 PALETTE COM 2 PALETTE 3 BITMAP FILE PALETTE 4 Fornfeed PALETTE FIGURE 7 1 The Disk Setup dialog box 7 3 1 PRINTERS Itis possible to select one ofthree popular printer families Hewlett Packard HP Epson and IBM otherwise the printout can be redirected to a standard Windows BMP blac
22. espect of the quiescent Vgs voltage that is a percentage of the variation of plate voltage in respect of the quiescent plate voltage Va0 The Ultra Linear percentage is defined in Ultra field while the quiescent plate voltage is defined inthe Va0 V field in the Tube Data dialog box both parameters are saved in the corresponding Tube Data file Fig 8 7 shows the same EL34 pentode of the example described in paragraph 8 3 measured in Ultra Linear configuration Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 10 SOFIA PLATE CURVES Gn 2 Usc 450 0 05450 0 Rp 1 MARKER Moltaqe CWI 25112 Current Cm Power CHI FILE MAME EL34ULTR TUBE NAME 84 562 V 656 Start Fil Tube About Over settinas FIGURE 8 6 EL34 measurement in ultra linear 8 5 CONNECTIONS Follows a description ofthe connections to be manually done when measuring the most common kind of tubes also specified are the different measuring modes ADVICE use matching colorcords when connecting i e insert the red banana plug for plate connection in matching red terminal and so on this will help you identifying one cord when handling its free end NOTE itis sometimes useful to twist the Grid and the Cathode cords together this has the desired effect of increasing coupling and when measuring certain tubes prevents Sofia to show undesired behaviour
23. faces for programs running on personal computers Many of these ideas have been implemented in products such as the Microsoft Windows graphical environment which has enjoyed a high degree of acceptance by computer users With such a philosophy as an inspiration which today is a commonly recognized standard the SOFIA program should be easy for the user to comprehend and operate SOFIA ELECTRON TUBES TESTER ZOFIA COPYRIGHT CC 1994 95 AUDIOMATICA VERSION 1 00 FIGURE 5 1 SOFIA s startup screen and user interface Fig 5 1 shows SOFIA s initial screen Aside from normal graphical user interface objects such as menus scroll bars dialog boxes radio buttons etc SOFIA s user interface furnishes a comfortable work area via a control panel This has been developed to make the PC screen as similar as possible to a traditional instrument see section 5 3 and the contents of each control panel will change depending on the particular task that is to be carried out NOTE What has just been said does not mean that SOFIA is a Windows application SOFIA is a native DOS application and cautions should be taken when running it under Windows refer to chapter 4 for any detail aboyut this topic Let us now move on to describe in detail the most important user interface objects that one will meet when working with SOFIA Chapter 5 SOFIA s User Interface Page 5 1 5 2 MENUS Menus allow a number of
24. g box dedicated to those files belonging to the current subdirectory will open see also the F3 hot key As shown in Fig 6 1 this dialog box displays a list of files all of which have the same extension and a series of buttons is used to select the extension or rather the kind of measurement These buttons are found on the bottom part of the window and LOAD FILE 6DJ amp 8 PTE E88CC PT1 E88CC PTZ2 FIGURE 6 1 The Load File dialog box Chapter 6 Disk Menu Page 6 1 the Load and Cancel buttons are located towards the right hand side The file name extensions that can be used are Pte measurement files obtained through the Measure Plate menu Ptl measurement files obtained through the Measure Plate menu in Dual mode Pt2 measurement files obtained through the Measure Plate menu in Dual mode To load the desired file select it by using either the arrow keys on the keyboard or the mouse Then either click the Load button press the underlined letter L or give a double click with the mouse on the selected file name in the file list It is possible to load in sequence files of all types and these will be plotted once the related control panel has been accessed 6 4 Save In Fig 6 2 we can see the Save File window The mode of operation is the same as that described for the Load File window As might be expected the filename extensions are also the same You will automatically be prompted for the name of
25. isk Setup and Exit functions although not logically tied to disk operations are also present in this menu as they are of such common use Before we begin examining each item on this menu we strongly recommend that you read through the chapter describing the use of SOFIA s hot keys Amongst other things the hot keys allow the Load and Save commands to be quickly accessed from every other menu in the program 6 2 DATA FILE ORGANISATION The SOFIA program is organised in a rather rigid structure on the hard disk and this does not allow the user to wander around the directories Data files containing measurements obtained by the user are gathered under the DATA subdirectory which must in all cases be named as such and under further subdirectories which the user may define whose prototype is the JOBI directory also obligatory The JOB1 subdirectory is automatically created by the installation program At the same level as that of the JOB1 directory other directories may be created from within SOFIA by means of the Mkdir menu option found under the Disk command on the main menu bar After a new directory has been created it may be made current through the Chdir menu option All data files will be loaded or saved within the current directory Last but not least it is not possible to remove any kind of file and load or save on files on floppy disks from within the program 6 3 Load By selecting this choice the Load File dialo
26. k and white bitmap file It is also possible to set an option via a check box to send a form feed command after each measurement is printed 7 3 2 COLORS This option lets the user select from one of five different color choices NOTE Palettes 4 and 5 have been developed for use with monochrome displays 7 3 3 SERIAL PORT It is possible to configure the serial port COMI COM2 to which SOFIA is connected 7 44 THE SETUP FILE All the above mentioned software configuration items are saved in a setup file called SOFIA STP Chapter 7 SOFIA Setup Page 7 1 that is saved in the main SOFIA directory This file will be loaded automatically every time SOFIA is started thus re configuring it to the last used state NOTE If for any reason you want to return to a known default condition you can delete the SOFIA STP file This will cause the SOFIA software to load a built in default configuration Chapter 7 SOFIA Setup Page 7 2 8 MEASURE MENU 8 1 INTRODUCTION By selecting the Measure command from the main menu bar it is possible to carry out tubes measurements and quality control 8 2 MEASURE PLATE CONTROL PANEL Fig 8 1 shows the layout of the Measure Plate control panel SOFIA PLATE CURUES Gn mAV BD 28 84 Hm rKOhmi 3 60 MARKER Uoltage CWI 169 30 qm 2 04 FILE NAME TEST_1 TUBE NAME 6DJ8 FIGURE 8 1
27. les named TUBE1 PT1 TUBEI PT2 TUBE2 PTI TUBE2 PT2 and so on until TUBE32 PTI and TUBE32 PT2 and that we are working in their directory named 6SL7 After having calculated the matching factors if you select Dual together with the Pair matching strategy you get the situation illustrated in Fig 10 4 As youcan see the tubes are listed starting from the one that has the two internal sections best matched and reaching the worst one Ifyou select Dual with the Quartet matching strategy you can match two twin tubes the displayed screen will be like the one in Fig 10 3 but the first two curves will belong to one single twin tube and the third and the fourth ones will belong to a second matched twin tube Chapter 10 Match Menu Page 10 3 NAME 1 ERR SOFIA MATCHING TOOL 2 TUBES2 PT1 TUBES2 PT2 TUBEZS PT1 TUBEZ3 PTzZ TUBE14 PT1 TUBEZZ PT1 TUBE22 PT2 TUBE1S PT1 Tupeio rT2 TUBE4 FT1 z TUBE14 PT2 TUBE1S PT2 5 0 5 2 4 5 a TUBE4 PTZ 25 TUBE13 PT1 TUBE18 PT2 21 TUBEZ1 PT2 3063 TUBE1 PT1 TUBE1 PT2 3 TUBEZ FT1 2 2 145 TUBES PT 1 TUBES PTZ 181 24 TUBES TUBEZ4 PT2 196 UBES PT2 UBE12 P UBE12 P TUBES P UBES PT TUBE P UBE13 P TUBES PT1 UBE15 PT1 TUBE17 PT1 2 gt 2 2 2 UBES PT
28. loaded QC setup file see 8 6 2 Fig 8 1 shows the layout of the Measure Plate control panel SOFIA QUALITY CONTROL AUDIOMATICA SRL 5038 QUALITY CONTROL TEST INSERT TUBE 17 04 96 cud Ifil CAI 0 23 cud 21 cud Ia 1 6 2 cud Isc mA 0 Start AutoDetect Sound FILE 60 18 FIGURE 8 7 The Measure QC control panel NOTE When saving or loading files from disk in this control panel always remember that the file extension connected to this measurement is QC This extension will be used automatically when you are working from within the Measure QC control panel 8 6 2 FUNCTION BUTTONS Start Autodetect Setup Sound Exit Starts anew tube measurement Selects the autodetect mode In this operating mode Sofia senses the presence of a tube and automatically starts anew measurement whenever the tube is inserted in the socket Recalls a new QC setup file See 8 6 2 When active the measurement is guided with sounds signaling the start end and waiting for a tube situations Exits the Measure QC control panel Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 13 8 6 2 OPERATING WITH THE QC CONTROL PANEL When operating with this Sofia s control panel you need first of all to load a setup file the first time you are prompted to choose one then you have to make the usual connections for the particular tube under test at this point you
29. mally possible to check results of a measurement through the use of an on screen cursor This can be directly activated with the mouse dragging is possible by keeping the left button pressed The numerical values associated with a given point on the graphical plot will usually be written on the status line see above FUNCTION BUTTONS These are found immediately under the measurement screen and they represent the buttons that might normally be present on the instrument s panel Each button has a label that serves to describe its function By selecting these buttons it is possible to execute the measurement and check parameters These function buttons may be pressed by positioning the mouse pointer on top of the selected function button and then clicking the left mouse button It is also possible to make a selection by pressing the key on your keyboard that corresponds to the underlined letter on the button label There are two different kinds of buttons The most common one immediately returns to the starting position after being pressed and this kind of button serves to confirm an action The other type of button remains active when it is pressed and changes colour to confirm that a particular operational mode has been selected To deactivate such buttons it necessary to press them a second time THE STATUS AREA This is located either between the function buttons and the end of the graphics window or at the side to the rigth of th
30. n Sofia s operating mode When in normal mode the four voltage generators operate independently the software assumes that the proper tube terminal is connected to its corresponding voltage generator let s see a typical connection of a triode section one of a 6DJ8 twin triode fy SY CN P s N X 7 M M 7 Ney 5 2 2227 HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE GROUND FIGURE 8 5 Typical connections in normal mode 8 4 2 DUAL Whenthe Dual operating mode is activated see 8 2 1 Sofia thinksthatatube with two identical sections is connected and operates in a way that permits the simultaneous measurement of the two sections Dual mode is particularly useful when you have to measure common twin triodes and full wave rectifiers To measure both sections simultaneously Sofia uses the Screen voltage generator for the plate ofthe secondsection and in case oftriodes drives both grids together you have to use the splitting cord when connecting the cathode ofthe second section is connected to the Suppressor or Ground terminal let s see how to connecta 6DJ8 twin triode to measure both sections together note the use ofthe splitting cord between the Grid and terminal 7 Nac Nau Me Nep 5 2 HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE GROUND FIGURE 8 5 Connection of a twin triode in dual mode NOTE After the meas
31. op button is pressed The panel displays several informations including Filament current Anode current Anode power dissipation Screen current Screen power dissipation Gm Rp Chapter 9 Sofia s Control Panel Page 9 1 10 MATCH MENU 10 1 INTRODUCTION By selecting the Match command from the main menu bar itis possible to carry out matching of tubes characteristics measurements 10 2 MATCH CONTROL PANEL Fig 10 1 shows the layout of the Match control panel SOFIA MATCHING TOOL NAME 1 MAME ERR 1 NAME ERR NAME 1 FILE NONAME DIRECTORY 0081 Quartet Dual About Export Exit f FIGURE 10 1 The Match control panel NOTE When saving or loading files from disk in this control panel always remember that the file extension connected to this measurement are These extensions will be used automatically when you are working from within the Match control panel 10 2 1FUNCTION BUTTONS Calc Calculates thereciprocal matching factors ofall the measurement data files in the working directory It is always the first thing to do when matching a certain quantity of tube data files after this operation the files will be matched using the Match button following the desired strategy Match Finds the best matches and displays them starting from the best one in a descending order Pair Selects the Pair matching
32. operational choices to be gathered into specific subject categories They are structured in a hierarchical upside down tree manner as are the directories of disk SOFIA s main window which is a menu in itself is at the highest level equivalent to the root directory of a disk Measure Match Choices may be made by either positioning the mouse or by entering underlined letter means of keyboard or by moving the highlighted bar with the arrow keys and making the selection with the Enter key It is possible to exit from all menus by simply pressing the Esc key 5 3 CONTROL PANELS Fig 5 3 shows a typical control panel title cursor SOFIA PLATE CURVES Om rp CKOhnmd non status area MARKER Uoltz LU 5000 Current mA 00 00 Power H 15 00 FILE NONAME TUBE amp DJ8 measurement screen function buttons FIGURE 5 3 A typical control panel In general the screen will be divided into three physically and functionally distinct areas Within the graphical window whose title gives the name ofthe control panel the following regions are present Chapter 5 SOFIA s User Interface Page 5 2 THE MEASUREMENT SCREEN This represents the screen of a traditional instrument and it occupies the major part of the window and presents the results obtained from the measurement that was executed NOTE It is nor
33. or one free RS 232 serial port available 640 kB RAM hard disk VGA video board MS DOS Version 3 2 or later A math coprocessor is highly recommended although not necessary 3 2 HARDWARE INSTALLATION This installation is as simple as connecting the SOFIA cabinet to the AC mains and to a free serial connector of your PC with an appropriate serial cable WARNING before connecting SOFIA to a wall AC outlet make sure that your unit is properly set for AC voltage in case of any doubt refer to your local assistance WARNING depending on the connector of RS 232 portuse either the supplied 9 to 9 pins serial cable or a 25 to 9 pins serial cable or a 25 to 9 pins BIDIRECTIONAL RS 232 adaptor DO NOT use 9 to 25 pins mouse adaptors the connection would not work CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT 3 3 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION The SOFIA software is provided on a 3 5 1 44 MB diskette named PROGRAM DISK The software has to be installed on the hard disk of your PC The installation procedure is carried out by running the INSTALL BAT batch file that is supplied on the program disk This will create a SOFIAxx directory and one subdirectory called DATA xx denotes the software version number For this edition the actual version number is 1 0 so a SOFIA10 directory will be c
34. reated To install the SOFIA software do the following 1 Insert the PROGRAM DISK in your PC 2 Type the following command INSTALL optional source drive optional destination drive lt ENTER gt Chapter 3 Installation Page 3 1 where optional drive is for example A or D and lt gt indicates that you should press the Enter key on your keyboard As an example INSTALL B D installs SOFIA from drive B to drive D if you only specify INSTALL without arguments SOFIA will assume A source drive and C destination drive The DOS PATH should not contain the C SOFIA10 path SOFIA has not to be run from outside the SOFIA 10 directory SOFIA requires at least 575K of conventional memory use the appropriate DOS command to check this requirement before running SOFIA 3 4 RUNNING SOFIA FOR THE FIRST TIME Ifyou have successfully completed the preceding installation procedures you are ready to run SOFIA SOFIA ELECTRON TUBES TESTER Disk Heasure OFIA COPYRIGHT CC 1994 95 AUDIOMATICA VERSION 1 00 FIGURE 3 1 SOFIA s main window Switch SOFIA on and in order to run the software just type SOFIA and ENTER You should see SOFIA s main window Fig 3 1 Afterhaving answered the initial prompt you are ready to make your first measurement Should there be any problem with the installation the program will display a warning message In the eventthata warning message does occur please
35. rovided furthermore allows several circuital configurations cascode srpp to be evaluated as a single tube 2 2 SOFIA 5 TOP PANEL As you can see from Fig 2 1 Sofia s top panel comes with the following features Four tube sockets four seven octal noval internally wired to the numbered terminals A manual routing system composed by several connecting cords The coloured output terminals of the four voltage genarators and grounds The RED HAZARD LED and the two yellow serial leds Chapter 2 The SOFIA Vacuum Tubes Curve Tracer Page 2 1 The power switch CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT The two yellow serial leds signal the occurring serial data transfer 2 2 ACCESSORIES SUPPLIED Sofia comes with the following User s Manual and System Software 7 coloured connecting cords 1 splitting cord 1 AC mains cable RS 232 9 to 9 pins connecting cable 2 3 SOFIA S SYSTEM SOFTWARE A powerful WindowsTM like software with a mouse oriented user interface allows an immediate control over all the measure processes Refer to the following chapters for a detailed description of its functionality Basic tubes parameters as transconductance plate resistance and amplification factor are shown in real time for any operating area within the displayed curves Sofia s system
36. rt Fil and Dual function buttons are now active note also that the Tube Name box shows the correct 6DJ8 name press F NONAME 8 oe ne 1411 thefilamentfunctionbuttonis now active andthe Eee tube should be heated you should see the serial FIGURE 3 2 leds flashing for a few seconds and then areassuring ligth coming from the filament of your tube PLATE GURUES shuold this not happen check all the procedure 000 again starting from the beginning TUBE DATA 822 Md pln NIS We have now to connect remaining tube terminals press again the pin description tells us to make the following connections with the chords with red green and black plugs Heat U Pin 2 Heat I Al Pin 3 Va max CUI 00 L7 TBE j maxim 5 86 TBE Gance1_ ugs Pin 6 Igsnmax nal Pin 7 P max H Pin Triode Ug U O Pentode Maer ae PLATE Ultra x O ultra adis GRID gt CATHODE gt 38 75 112 150 188 225 Ua U 262 300 ee Tube About Over Exit Press lt ESC gt we re now ready to start the first FIGURE 3 3 m
37. s 8 5 1 DIODES HEATER HEATER PLATE CATHODE And when in Dual mode HEATER HEATER PLATE SCREEN CATHODE Chapter 8 Measure Menu 2222 2222 filament terminal 1 filament terminal 2 plate terminal cathode terminal no if directly heated filament terminal 1 filament terminal 2 platel terminal plate2 terminal cathode terminal no if directly heated Page 8 11 8 5 2 TRIODES HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID CATHODE And when in Dual mode HEATER HEATER PLATE SCREEN GRID GRID CATHODE HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE Chapter 8 Measure Menu 2222 Uug 8 5 3 TETRODES AND PENTODES QOO O00O0 0 filament terminal 1 filament terminal 2 plate terminal grid terminal cathode terminal no if directly heated filament terminal 1 filament terminal 2 platel terminal plate2 terminal grid terminal grid2 terminal with splitting cord cathode terminal no if directly heated filament terminal 1 filament terminal 2 plate terminal grid terminal screen terminal suppressor terminal only pentodes cathode terminal no if directly heated Page 8 12 8 6 MEASURE QC CONTROL PANEL With this control panel Sofia performs quality control over large production batches by means ofa file driven measurement session all the tests performed are described in the pre
38. sk Your experience will guide you to the best interpretation of the data in manuals so that all potentiality of Sofia will be applied to tube testing NOTE The impulsive technique exploited by Sofia when measuring families of curves lets usually extend the maximum dissipation beyond the value encountered in technical manuals the power dissipation data in manuals are usually given in continuous drive conditions WARNING Audiomatica will not assumeliability for the contents ofthe TubeData files supplied in the distribution disk These files are only meant as EXAMPLE files and descend from Audiomatica s experiences applied to tubes testing ALWAYS refer to manufacturer s technical manual for exhaustive tube characteristics 8 3 2 CONNECTION OF TUBE TO SOFIA S TERMINALS The second step required is the electrical connection of the tube to Sofia this 1s done first inserting the tube in the appropriate socket and then manually making the connections with the supplied connecting cords Fig 8 4 shows the connection for the EL34 pentode LEN HEATER HEATER PLATE GRID SCREEN SUPPRESSOR CATHODE GROUND FIGURE 8 4 EL34 connections Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 6 8 3 3 MEASUREMENT CARRYING OUT AND MANAGEMENT Should the first two steps be carried out one is now ready to perform the tube measurement The measurement settings described in 8 2 3 and the status of the control panel function buttons together with the previously loaded Tube
39. t on the voltage may be slightly different if its filament current is different from the filament current of the previous tube heated Ifyourtube is correctly heated you are ready to startthe measurement pressing the Start function button CAUTION SOFIA IS ABLE TO GENERATE VERY HIGH VOLTAGES THAT MAY CAUSE YOU SEVERE INJURIES PAY ATTENTION TO THE RED HAZARD LED WHEN THE HAZARD LED IS LIT DO NOT TOUCH THE INSTRUMENT A complete measurement usually takes several seconds should you have any doubt and want to stop it press lt ESC gt the measurement is immediately stopped Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 7 SOFIA PLATE CURVES Gm mA U Rp CKOhnI HARKER Moltaqe CWI pl Current Cm Power CHI FILE MAME EL34PEHT TUBE NAME EL34PEHT FIGURE 8 6 EL34 measurement If everything has gone ok you should be finally prompted with the awaited result as in Fig 8 6 The arrow keys and the cursor that can be dragged keeping the left mouse button pressed help you inspecting the measurement refer to 8 2 2 If you want to save it press F2 and if you want to print it press Alt P Chapter8 Measure Menu Page 8 8 8 4 MEASURING MODES Follows a brief description of hardware related arguments in order to better understand how Sofia is behaving in different situations the next paragraph 8 5 gives a detailed description ofthe connections involved 8 4 1 NORMAL This is the most commo
40. the file to be saved SAVE FILE DIRECTORY 2081 FILENAME FIGURE 6 2 The Save File dialog box Should there already be a file with the same name and extension you will be asked to confirm the save operation The directory in which the file is saved is the current active directory see the Chdir and Mkdir menu commands for further details Aside from the measurement itself additional relevant information will also be saved This includes a comment that can be added by means of the About button as well as several settings related to the measurement 6 5 Mkdir This command creates new work subdirectories that will be put under the DATA directory All new directories are at the same level as the JOBI directory which is created by the installation program Therefore itis possible to place sets of measurements into different subdirectories When the SOFIA program is first loaded the default directory where measurements and files ofall extensions are saved is JOBI Chapter 6 Disk Menu Page 6 2 6 6 Chdir This command is used to change the current directory where all measurements and files with different extensions will be saved to or loaded from In order to be able to change to a particular directory it must of course exist and it will usually have been created using the Mkdir command When exiting from SOFIA the current directory will be saved in the SOFIA STP file When the SOFIA program is re loaded the last sel
41. trol panel By pressing the arrow keys or clicking on the corresponding buttons it is possible to change the displayed graphic scale for voltage and current CtrlCtrlc These keystroke combinations lets you ZOOM the displayed curves changing the left scale 8 2 2 THE STATUS AREA Located to the right side of the Measure Plate control panel gives the following information Real time calculation of Gm and Rp related to marker position Real time display of voltage current and power related to marker position Name of measurement data file Name of Tube Data file 8 Measure Menu reference 289 IkKOhn1l 360 MARKER Moltage CW 8930 Current CmAl ID TI Power LH 2 04 FILE NAME TEST 1 TUBE NAME 5008 8 2 8 2 3 THE TUBE DATA DIALOG BOX From this dialog box is possible to manage edit and display all the electrical and mechanical data of the tube under test TUBE DATA Load ELS4PENT SUPPRES20R 6C33C TBE Keta L2AKT TBE Ufil ru1 6 30 i 2 00 Ifil CA 60 18 TBE 700 00 TBE max CU 8417PEHT THE SAT7THIU THE Ia maxEmn1 250 00 8417ULTR TBE Cancel 200 00 EF86 TBE Usc cud EL34PENT TBE EL3ATRID TBE HODE IscmaxEmn1 250 00 30 00 CATHODE P max H Iriode Pentode Pseudo ultra Diode Ug max U 0 00 Ug min U 20 0 Ultra 0 00 U
42. up data is displayed and when itis outoftolerance limits BAD indicates thatthe measurement was not passed A footer reporting the total number of tubes tested with statistics regarding good a bad ones DATA JOB1 6DJ8 REP file DATE 22 04 96 VF V IF A IFT 6 23 0 33 20 VG V VA V IA mA IAT 4 190 14 20 5 195 7 20 TUBE No 1 5 64 3 0 38 FLS VG V VA V IA mA 4 190 12 15 5 195 8 1 16 TUBE 2 VF V IF A IFT 6 3 0 32 3 VG V VA V IA mA IAT 4 190 LOLS 25 BAD 5 195 4 3 39 BAD TOTAL 2 GOOD 1 BAD I Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 15 9 SOFIA S MAIN CONTROL PANEL 9 1 INTRODUCTION The Sofia s main control panel is recallable from within any measurement with the hot key F4 and gives you instant control over the instrument and its functionality Figure 9 1 shows this control panel SOFIA ELECTRON TUBES TESTER Disk Measure Match SOFIA CONTROL PANNEL mal GM Plate U 0 00 Screen U I Scr mA Grid 000 000 Fil cul I Fil CAI rp CKOhnI 0 000 0000 000 000 Stop FIGURE 9 1 Sofia s main control panel 9 2 MAIN CONTROL PANEL OPERATION Itis possibleto inputthe desired voltage values that each single generator has to supply Allthe voltages are generated continuously as soon as the Start button is pressed and until the St
43. urement is completed both families of curves are displayed together and the Overlay mode is activated NOTE When saving files in Dual mode the program creates two data files with extension PT1 and 2 The files can be recalled later separately as a common file generated when saving in normal mode Chapter 8 Measure Menu Page 8 9 8 4 3 PSEUDO TRIODE The Pseudo Triode is a special measuring mode for pentodes and tetrodes it is selected from within the Tube Data dialog see 8 2 2 box and is saved with the corresponding Tube Data file The tube is connected as in normal mode but Sofia drives the Plate and Screen generators at the same voltage thus nulling the effect of the second grid Fig 8 6 shows the same EL34 pentode of the example described in paragraph 8 3 measured in Pseudo Triode configuration SOFIA PLATE CURVES Gm LEnnz u1 Rp K hn 080 MARKER Moltaqe CWI Current Cm Power CH FILE MAME EL34TRIO TUBE NAME EL34TRIO 94 562 Ua Cl 556 Start Fil Tube About Over settinas FIGURE 8 6 EL34 measurement in pseudo triode 8 4 2 ULTRA LINEAR The Ultra Linear is a special measuring mode for pentodes and tetrodes it is selected from within the Tube Data dialog see 8 2 2 box and is saved in the corresponding Tube Data file The tube is connected as in normal mode but Sofia drives the Screen generator with a variation in r
44. voltage 0700 V Iamax Plate maximum test current 0 270 mA Vsc Screen test voltage When in Ultra Linear mode reference screen quiescent voltage see 8 4 2 0 700 V Isc max Screen maximum test current 0 270 mA max Total test power dissipation Plate Screen 0 80 W Vgmax Grid maximum test voltage 7107 150 V Vgmin Grid minimumtest voltage 7107 150 V Ultra Percentage of the Ultra Linear mode see 8 4 2 0 100 95 0 Reference plate quiescent voltage in Ultra Linear mode see 8 4 2 07500 V Please note that referring to the parameters ranges the zero value is never allowed as input except for Vgs Igs and 0 in these cases input a value grater than zero Chapter8 Measure Menu Page 8 4 8 2 4 THE MEASUREMENT SETTINGS DIALOG BOX Is used to input some settings useful during the measurement Speed NumCurve Autosettle Autosave SETTINGS Os a 11 Autosettle O FIGURE 8 3 The Measurement Settings dialog box Selects the measurement speed A different speed is obtained taking a different number of measurement points the slower the speed the more accurate the curve measured Selects the number of curves that are measured displayed and saved Tells Sofia to do the following things before starting a new measurement wait for a stable filament current force the tube to a situation of maximum dissipation in respect of what saved in the tube data
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