Hi fellow hp'ers,
I'm the new owner of a HP8565 SA and think its pretty good. However, the hacker in me is already pondering modding it. In particular, I have been thinking of replacing the storage pcb with a new one, only operating the tube in conventional mode and using the rest of the space to add a digitiser/playback system. Has anyone else attempted something similar? Although digital systems and ADCs are now fast enough to do this - I chose the 8565 because it YIG RF systems still seem current state of art - and I could always digitise the rear outputs with something to avoid having to use the long persistence. I was prompted to write this after reading John Mills email about trying to increase the stability of his 8566 YIG and stated thinking maybe the 8565 could benefit from this? ( by the way - great web site you have!)
The 8565 was at the price I could afford, I would have gone for an 8569 and would LOVE an 8566 - but here in Australia they're expensive - even through ebay - the shipping cost kills any bargains!
But this is a hobby and I like hacking and modding.
Another thought was to route the if signal to a DSO and FFT for greater resolution - would the 8565 LO be stable enough?
Thanks for any thoughts
Tim ( no call sign yet)
