TM 11-66252980-14
BUILDING A SYSTEM
Family Compatibility
Mechanically, the plug-in modules are very similar
to other TEKTRONIX product families. However, they
are not electrically compatible. Therefore, the TM 503
interface has barriers on the mating connectors between
pins 6 and 7 to insure that incompatible plug-ins cannot
be inserted. See figure below. A compatible module will
have a matching slot between pins 6 and 7 of its main
circuit board edge connector. This slot and barrier
combination is the primary keying assignment.
Another identifier for TM 500-compatible plug-in
modules is the white color of the release latch.
Customizing the Interface
The modularity of this instrumentation system
provides for a host of functions to be performed by the
plug-in modules. Specific functions are grouped into
families or classes, of which there may be several plug-
in module members. For instance, some classes are
Power Supplies, Signal Sources, Measurement and so
forth. Each modular member of a functional family will
have a second slot peculiar to its family assignment
located in its edge connector. The TM 503 user can
"program" one or more compartments to accept only
members of that family by installing a second barrier in
the interface connector to match the module's slot
location. Entire TM 503's could be "programmed" in this
manner to set up instrumentation systems for specific
work functions.
Jumper wires can be used to further specialize the
interface. Compartments can be made to "talk" to each
other by connecting jumpers on the back side of the
interface board, using pins 14 through 28, A-side and B-
side both, of the interconnecting jacks. See the following
description of Option 2. Refer to each plug-in module's
Manual for the I/O assignments of each pin at the rear
interface. Once having made interconnections of a
specialized nature, it is recommended that barriers be
installed on the interconnecting jacks to insure module
compatibility with the customized wiring.
Rear Panel
The rear sub-panel is punched for BNC and multi-pin
connector mountings. Customer- or factory-installed
connectors and wiring (see following description of
catalog Option 2) This could provide external access to
the interface for external I/O control. This feature makes
the TM 500 Series Modular Instrumentation System
very flexible in bench-top or rackmounted systems.
Option 2. This factory-installed option adds 25-mil
squarepin connectors to the rear of the interconnecting
jacks at all pin locations from pins 14A and B through
pins 28A and B. This will keep the interface flexible by
making it easy and fast to change customized wiring
using prepared wires with squarepin receptacles and
long-nose pliers or tweezers. It also protects the circuit
board from damage by repeated soldering and
unsoldering of jumper wires. This option also adds three
BNC connectors and one 50-pin connector to the rear
panel. These connectors are not pre-wired in order to
give a system designer as much flexibility as possible.
Instead, prepared jumpers, coax cables, and
interconnection jack barriers are included in a kit.
Stacking and Rackmounting
TM 503's with their cabinets and feet in place may
be stacked on top of each other. The feet provide
clearance for the lower unit's handle and at the same
time give adequate spacing for the necessary
ventilation.
The TM 503 is designed to be half-rack width. Field
conversion kits with slide-out tracks are available to
mount one or two TM 503's in a standard 19-inch rack.
Vertical space needed is 5 1/4 inches.
A-5
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