Re: HP8594E : What is really needed when lost of cal data with dead battery?
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Hi,
This sounds as something that should not be to difficult to automate with your favorite programming language.? As long as you have a signal generator and power meter on GPIB, together with the SA, and as long as the SA accept setting these cal constants over GPIB.
I'm using Python for the few GPIB programs I have made.
It will of course probably take you as long time to research the GPIB commands, write the program and test it. But it would very easy if you have to redo it at a later time. And if you share your program, it could save people a lot of time. Of course other may have different generators and power meters, so then they would have to update the program.
Regards, Askild
Hi Nicolas,
I can report from my calibration experience with an HP8593E. I assume there is no big difference in procedures to your HP8594E.
I purchased a used HP8593E to find that is was only calibrated to 18GHz. For the frequency range 18...27GHz there were no correction coefficients, so level readings were way off.
Calibration required a stable generator for the frequency range in question, a high quality splitter and an accurate power meter. You have to take a level measurement with the SA at every single correction grid frequency (there are many!) and write it down. You find those lists in the manual.
Then you have to enter all those numbers point by point into the instrument. I used the front panel keys to do that.
This may be automated via GPIB, but you still need to get the numbers into a computer.
It was very tedious and I refrained from re-calibrating the range below 18GHz. I do not ever want to do this again.
That's why in the same pass I replaced the CMOS memory battery. Now, I should be safe for another 10 years.
Best regards,
Tom
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