have been through this a couple of times in last 20 years, That was all very interesting - particularly that a 1M-ohm mat was susceptible to fluorescent light e-m. Two points that are worth making to clarify: 1. The reason that Al foil is bad is that any static charge on a device comes out instantly - and the high peak current that flows (even from a few pF on the gate of a FET) is so high that thermal damage occurs. A resistive mat is essential to make sure that charge bleeds out slowly enough to prevent this. 2. It is possible to subtly damage devices without destroying them totally - leading to change in characteristics, noise and/or lifetime. The only solution is to follow a good protocol. I put that in place after I destroyed a rare double FET while repairing a 'scope. Craig
|
have been through this a couple of times in last 20 years,
a. Using a static mat from 3M or one of the top companies that supply
to HP and others is the best recommendation, those mats allow
static discharge at the best rate. Dont use an aluminium sheet to ground
as some people have tried.
b. If you have overhead fluoros then might need to reduce the mats 1M to 100K,
in my case the 1M meant the mat wasnt draining the field from the fluoro and
we blew many mosfet gates (the ones without protection zeners). If you are not
going to be handling anything without protection zeners then dont bother.
c. Have a region of interface between the static mat region and where you walk from
so some static can dissipate before you get to the mat. Like a 3m area which
is floor treated, floor mat is ideal but I find that carpet is ok if its treated twice a
year with some spray on static treatment.
d. If you are handling a lot of very sensitive devices in most other places in the lab
where they might be stored but not worked on then a static controlled fan might
be helpful, cant recall the name but it has a ion source either mildly radioactive
or a power operated type. I dont use one myself but depends what you are handling,
others might comment on that.
cheers
mike
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
At 11:50 AM 3/12/06, you wrote: There was a discussion regarding workbenches on this reflector back in
October and I'd like to ask for some follow up advice.
I'm planning to replace an old workbench. Is there a top I can put on my
new workbench that is ESD safe? Right now I have an ESD mat that I place
on the workbench surface when appropriate.
Inasmuch as I'm going to be more or less starting from scratch, I
thought I'd at least ask the question about an ESD-safe work surface.
Thoughts or advice out there?
Thanks.
Steve K8JQ
|
All computer items (the Proliant and the Suns) are now spoken for.
The plotter is still available.
Thanks much.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
Blue Feather Technologies --
kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"
|
FREE Equipment in WA State (Kent)
Fellow Techies,
I've said it on my web site, and I'll say it here: Scrounging is not so much ongoing acquisition as it is a 'flow-thru' of goodies. Any tech-scrounger will eventually hit the point where they Just Need To Move Stuff Out.
Such is the case with me right now, so I'd like to take a moment here to feed back to the same 'techie food chain' that I've benefited from for so many moons.
Specifically: I've got the following FREEBIES available for PICKUP ONLY, NO SHIPPING in Kent, Washington (southeast of Seattle). The only condition I place on the stuff is that whoever takes it needs to be taking it to USE IT, not to sell it for scrap.
--HP DraftMaster SX Plus large-format pen plotter, in excellent condition. Includes a whole slew of pens (condition unknown, but they've been kept capped in an indoor environment) and two packages of big paper (including a pack of Size D sheets). This item is not that heavy, and it is on wheels, but it is bulky and tall. You will need at least a small pickup truck with an open bed to move it properly.
--Compaq ProLiant 6500 server with twin Pentium Pro 200's. This was the box that was originally running my FTP archive (I've since upgraded to a later model of ProLiant). Working condition, 512MB RAM, and I think I could find a pair of rack slides and maybe even enough 4 gig drives to make a small array if you twist my arm enough.
--A pair of Sun SPARC-10 systems with at least 50MHz HyperSPARC CPU modules installed. These used to run part of my Internet presence before I upgraded to HP NetServers, so I know they work. RAM and hard drives included (though I will need to wipe the drives before they're taken as they still contain security-sensitive data).
If you'd like any or all of the goodies (hopefully all in one swell foop?), just drop me a line. If, for whatever reason, your E-mail bounces you can give me a buzz on 253-639-2996.
Thanks in advance for helping me find this stuff a good home.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
Blue Feather Technologies --
kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"
|
Re: HP1652B Logic Analyser - system disk, how to create?
...And a mirror of these files will soon be available on the Blue Feather FTP archive. Keep the peace(es). * REPLY SEPARATOR * On 27-Nov-06 at 20:38 Warren Guinn wrote: Andreas,
The HP utility to create the disks was saved by one kind owner who has
it on a web site available to download.
Try
Regards,
Warren
Andreas Troschka
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy, Blue Feather Technologies -- kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m "If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"
|
There was a discussion regarding workbenches on this reflector back in October and I'd like to ask for some follow up advice.
I'm planning to replace an old workbench. Is there a top I can put on my new workbench that is ESD safe? Right now I have an ESD mat that I place on the workbench surface when appropriate.
Inasmuch as I'm going to be more or less starting from scratch, I thought I'd at least ask the question about an ESD-safe work surface.
Thoughts or advice out there?
Thanks.
Steve K8JQ
|
Re: OT fluke 8060A battery eliminator
Thanks for the responses and advice guys.
Upon closer inspection, the writing on the meter does say A81. Thanks for that clarification.
I thought that isolation might be an issue with the run-of-the-mill wall warts.
I'll most likely use an on-hand wall wart for lower voltage measurements, which is what I use the meter for mostly when it's on my workbench. Over the past few years I've often forgotten to turn it off and end up using enough 9V batteries to make it worthwhile to consider powering it from AC.
Wonder what size or type of plug fits the battery eliminator jack on the meter?
Thanks again!
Steve K8JQ
jbarnes wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Steve,
I understand the situation.
In the hand held meters like the 8060A the battery eliminator jack is connected to -ve input terminal. This means that whatever you connect the input terminals on the meter appears can appear on eliminator jack.
In the bench meters such as the 8050A, the transformers were potted and have an isolation voltage of 4kV.
I suspect that the fluke eliminator was of similar construction, probably heavier than normal insulation on the leads and a molded plug.
The manual for the 8060A is available for free from www.fluke.com
IF you are measuring low voltage, less than 50V you can use any wall mart with the right voltage and polarity.
If you are above 50V use the battery.
I would also recommend the fluke 8050A for bench use. Very good value on eBay. Make sure that you get one with a good LCD.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
John VE3XRY
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Steve <steveac@...>
Reply-To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:51:22 -0500
Hi John,
Thanks for the help.
I have a Fluke 8060A multimeter that I'd like to power with external DC when I'm using it on my workbench.
The instrument has a jack with the following text printed next to it: BATTERY ELIMINATOR JACK CAUTION OPERATIONAL HAZARD EXISTS IF BATTERY ELIMINATOR OTHER THAN FLUKE ASI IS USED.
Or maybe that's AS1.
Did Fluke make that model of battery eliminator? I don't find it on eBay.
What would be the "operational hazard" if I powered the meter from a wall wart? What size/type plug does it take and how should I wire it?
Thanks.
Steve K8JQ ________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at aztec-net.com
Yahoo! Groups Links
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
James,
The TCL scripting language has good support for GPIB. It is pretty easy to
write a script in TCL that reads the 5328A once every so often and writes
the result to a text file. The text file can then be read by Excel for
further processing.
Jeff
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: James Hickox [mailto:jameshickox@...]
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 11:37 AM
To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] Need logging help with hp 5328a
Hello all,
I have a 5328A counter with the HP-1B option 011 digital I/O init
installed.
I wish to record the frequency output of a oscillator over a long
period of time (several hours to several days) and I need some way to
interface the output from the counter to a PC, and some way to copy
the input to the pc to an excel spreadsheet for data logging, etc.
BTW, I am NOT an engineer, just a ham radio operator trying to get a
stable ransmitter on the air.
Hny Ideas, suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks,
James Hickox, AA5AO
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.3/562 - Release Date: 12/1/2006
1:12 PM
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.4/563 - Release Date: 12/2/2006
9:59 AM
|
Need logging help with hp 5328a
Hi James:
Spark Fun has the GPIB-USB Controller.
In addition to the EZ GPIB software there's also a "Plotter" program at:
that's designed to process time interval data (like you would measure with the HP 5328) and from that get Allan plots.
Note for high stability work you don't have time to make frequency measurements and instead make Time Interval measurements, typically comparing a GPS timing receiver's 1 PPS with a 1 PPS derived from you oscillator.
You might also consider joining the Time Nuts mailing list
Have Fun,
Brooke Clarke, N6GCE
--
w/Java
w/o Java
|
Re: OT fluke 8060A battery eliminator
Steve,
I understand the situation.
In the hand held meters like the 8060A the battery eliminator jack is connected to -ve input terminal. This means that whatever you connect the input terminals on the meter appears can appear on eliminator jack.
In the bench meters such as the 8050A, the transformers were potted and have an isolation voltage of 4kV.
I suspect that the fluke eliminator was of similar construction, probably heavier than normal insulation on the leads and a molded plug.
The manual for the 8060A is available for free from www.fluke.com
IF you are measuring low voltage, less than 50V you can use any wall mart with the right voltage and polarity.
If you are above 50V use the battery.
I would also recommend the fluke 8050A for bench use. Very good value on eBay. Make sure that you get one with a good LCD.
I hope this helps.
Regards,
John VE3XRY
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
---------- Original Message ---------------------------------- From: Steve <steveac@...> Reply-To: hp_agilent_equipment@... Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:51:22 -0500 Hi John,
Thanks for the help.
I have a Fluke 8060A multimeter that I'd like to power with external DC
when I'm using it on my workbench.
The instrument has a jack with the following text printed next to it:
BATTERY ELIMINATOR JACK CAUTION OPERATIONAL HAZARD EXISTS IF BATTERY
ELIMINATOR OTHER THAN FLUKE ASI IS USED.
Or maybe that's AS1.
Did Fluke make that model of battery eliminator? I don't find it on eBay.
What would be the "operational hazard" if I powered the meter from a
wall wart? What size/type plug does it take and how should I wire it?
Thanks.
Steve K8JQ ________________________________________________________________ Sent via the WebMail system at aztec-net.com
|
Hi John,
Thanks for the help.
I have a Fluke 8060A multimeter that I'd like to power with external DC when I'm using it on my workbench.
The instrument has a jack with the following text printed next to it: BATTERY ELIMINATOR JACK CAUTION OPERATIONAL HAZARD EXISTS IF BATTERY ELIMINATOR OTHER THAN FLUKE ASI IS USED.
Or maybe that's AS1.
Did Fluke make that model of battery eliminator? I don't find it on eBay.
What would be the "operational hazard" if I powered the meter from a wall wart? What size/type plug does it take and how should I wire it?
Thanks.
Steve K8JQ
jbarnes wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Steve,
What do you need to know? I have a collection of Fluke instruments and some experiences to share.
I do not know of a reflector. Fluke questions are some times asked on Tekscopes with an OT designation.
Regards,
John VE3XRY
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Steve <steveac@...>
Reply-To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Date: Fri, 01 Dec 2006 21:43:07 -0500
Anyone know of a reflector for Fluke test equipment? How do I get to it?
Thanks.
Steve
K8JQ
________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at aztec-net.com
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
Here are my $0.02 on the subject:
The first step will be to get the data out of the counter, and that will require a GPIB controller of some sort.
There are 3 basic types that I am familiar with.
1) The plug-in card type, with the older AT style plug-in card being fairly cheap on eBay ($5 to $10 for most), but not many computers have suitable slots, or the more recent PCI type, but these cards are still relatively expensive on eBay ($50 to $150). One problem with the plug-in cards is that you will need the computer fairly close to the equipment because GPIB signals don't travel too far, and the cables are bulky and expensive (see below)
2) The USB type, with the Prologix adapter () being the least expensive "new" USB controller you can buy ($125), and considerably more expensive models from National Instrument or Measurement Computing. The Prologix type has the advantage of working with John Miles' software, and hopefully soon with my own software. USB has the advantage of being able to operate farther from the computer, and most USB controllers don't require a separate power supply. The Prologix controller also has the advantage of plugging directly to the back of the instrument, so you save the GPIB cable, but you need the clearance in the back of the unit. The USB controllers also work well with laptops.
3) the RS-232 type, with models from Black Box, IOTech and National Instruments and probably others, which can be bought fairly cheap on eBay, but you may have to wait a little, as they are not very common. I paid anywhere from $20 to $50 for those, and I have several. In general, serial-GPIB controllers have non-standard protocol, so you must write software for the model you have. I have models from BlackBox and IOTech. The BlackBox is a medium size enclosure that requires a 9-10V DC supply to operate, the IOTech Micro/488 is much smaller and runs from power stolen from the serial port, pretty neat (however, it will not work if there are several unpowered instruments on the bus). Be careful that BlackBox sells two similar models, one is a true controller, that's the one you want, the other is an adapter and has limited functionality, and would be useless for your purpose (it is intended to drive plotters and such). The difference between the two is in the EPROM and the silk-screen on the front panel, the hardware is the same. I like the serial adapters because they are inexpensive and don't require to go inside the computer. They can easily be swapped from one computer to another and work well with laptops, which cannot use an AT or PCI internal controller.
Then you will need a GPIB cable, cheap on eBay. Industry standard GPIB cables are very stiff and expensive when new, but cheap (yet, still stiff...) when bought on eBay. Personally, I have bought several cables on eBay, but I also make cables using ribbon cable and IDC connectors from Digikey (male connector is PN: MDC24K-ND, female connector is MDF24K-ND, they cost about $5.50). It's not much cheaper than true GPIB cables from eBay, but much easier to daisy-chain from instrument to instrument.
Finally, you need some software. Let's quickly pass over National Instrument's LabView, which is definitely not priced for the hobby market.
You can try a free program called EZGPIB by Ulrich Bangert which includes a scripting engine which may allow you to do what you want without having to buy a visual studio development system or some other compiler. While you won't need a compiler, you will still be required to write code using the scripting engine that's built into the program. There may be other such free software, but I have not come across any. I am not sure which GPIB controllers are supported, but I am pretty sure it includes the Prologix.
I have started working on software to take advantage of the GPIB ports on my instruments, and while not quite ready for prime time, it is buggy but usable (at least for me). For now, this software only supports the BlackBox and IOTech RS-232-GPIB controllers, but I am working on the Prologix controller. This software supports a number of instruments (right now, HP 8656A, HP 8657B, HP 3478A, HP 5316B, HP 5334B, HP 5370A, HP 8672A, HP 8673M, HP83640, HP 3586A, Fluke 8860, HP 59306A, HP 59307A, HP 436A, HP 437B) with more coming. Functions that are supported are of two types: Plotting (such as sweeping the frequency of a signal generator and measuring power with the HP 436A or the HP 3586A for instance) and Logging, where data from a voltmeter, HP 3586 or counter is collected at a given periodicity (from a fraction of second, when practical, to many minutes). Logging supports the counters and voltmeters listed above. Logging can also automatically scan the HP 59306A or HP 59307A switches to log multiple channels with a single instrument. I believe it would be simple to add the 5328A once I look at the commands.
If you get one of these serial controllers, or if you get a Prologix and are patient, I'll be glad to let you try my program.
Didier KO4BB
James Hickox wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello all,
I have a 5328A counter with the HP-1B option 011 digital I/O init installed.
I wish to record the frequency output of a oscillator over a long period of time (several hours to several days) and I need some way to interface the output from the counter to a PC, and some way to copy the input to the pc to an excel spreadsheet for data logging, etc.
BTW, I am NOT an engineer, just a ham radio operator trying to get a stable ransmitter on the air.
Hny Ideas, suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks,
James Hickox, AA5AO
|
Anyone know of a reflector for Fluke test equipment? How do I get to it?
Thanks.
Steve
K8JQ
|
This is a general announcement to the TekScopes, HP gear, and TestGear mailing lists.
I will be updating Blue Feather's DNS this weekend, including some IP address changes. This may affect those of you who access the FTP archive.
The initial changes should be in place shortly, though it could take up to 36 hours for them to propagate fully through DNS. This could mean an inability to reach the site for a time.
Thanks in advance for your patience.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bruce Lane, Owner & Head Hardware Heavy,
Blue Feather Technologies --
kyrrin (at) bluefeathertech do/t c=o=m
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped with surreal ports?"
|
E4411B Spectrum analyzer - front panel keys stopped working :-(
Hello Folks,
I picked up an ESA portable spectum analyzer (well, it has a handle)
used this summer and the front panel keys have just stopped
functioning. Nice.
Reading the service notes for this guy I see E4411B-04 which ID's a
problem with green flex circuits making the front panel not work.
Darn, I opened mine up and I've got green flex circuits alright.
I was hoping someone in the Santa Rosa service center might be reading
this group and help me repair this thing. An Agilent repair part
number and a phone contact for the service engineer incharge of ESA
products would be wonderful.
The Agilent repair fee is much more than I paid for this whole thing
and I was laid off from Agilent over a year ago, I'm working on a low
cost antenna analyzer and really need this darn thing to work.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Lee Carlton
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
You can probably use the QUERY.EXE console application from my GPIB Toolkit
suite to do this. I also include specific example programs for the 5370B
and 5345A counters, so even if QUERY.EXE doesn't work with the 5328A
directly it would probably be easy to adapt. See
for more info on that.
Ultimately you may want to build a program to output CSV (comma-separated
variable) files, but that's just two or three more lines of C code.
-- john, KE5FX
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-----Original Message-----
From: hp_agilent_equipment@...
[mailto:hp_agilent_equipment@...]On Behalf Of James Hickox
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 10:37 AM
To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] Need logging help with hp 5328a
Hello all,
I have a 5328A counter with the HP-1B option 011 digital I/O init
installed.
I wish to record the frequency output of a oscillator over a long
period of time (several hours to several days) and I need some way to
interface the output from the counter to a PC, and some way to copy
the input to the pc to an excel spreadsheet for data logging, etc.
BTW, I am NOT an engineer, just a ham radio operator trying to get a
stable ransmitter on the air.
Hny Ideas, suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks,
James Hickox, AA5AO
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
I think there is these days. Run SpectrumLab, Argo, Spectran or one of the
other "waterfall" programs under Windows on a PC and input the receiver
audio to the soundcard. If your receiver drifts you may need to put a stable
crystal controlled singal on screen as well and this system will plot your
vfo drift all day if you like and give you a reading on how good your
central heating is. I can run 24/7 with rx errors of less than 1Hz on 160m
These programs written for very narrowband receive modes are great bits of
test equipment, and all for free.
73 de Alan G3NYK
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
----- Original Message ----- From: Pete <peterawson@...> To: <hp_agilent_equipment@...> Sent: 01 December 2006 23:00 Subject: Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] Need logging help with hp 5328a James,
I know what you need to take readings from your 5328A with your PC; but it
may not
be as simple as you'd like. Software is the hard part since I don'y know of any public
domain instrument interface; I have a copy of HP/Agilent's VEE which runs
fine, but
is probably not freely availavble. NI Labview should work fine also & older copies are
easier to find.
Next you need a GPIB(HPIB) board for your PC; a PCI/GPIB interface is
simplest & they
are readily available. Finally you need a GPIB cable from the counter to the PC. After that,
it's all downhill.
There must be a simpler way than this; let's hope a later answer is better.
Regards,
Pete Rawson
Yahoo! Groups Links
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
James
A couple of options for the hard part- the hardware to do the GPIB
interfacing. See attached URLs for USB/GPIB devices. There are others.
Shifting the raw data into excel should not be an issue.
DaveB
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
----- Original Message ----- From: "James Hickox" <jameshickox@...> To: <hp_agilent_equipment@...> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 7:37 AM Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] Need logging help with hp 5328a Hello all,
I have a 5328A counter with the HP-1B option 011 digital I/O init
installed.
I wish to record the frequency output of a oscillator over a long
period of time (several hours to several days) and I need some way
to
interface the output from the counter to a PC, and some way to copy
the input to the pc to an excel spreadsheet for data logging, etc.
BTW, I am NOT an engineer, just a ham radio operator trying to get a
stable ransmitter on the air.
Hny Ideas, suggestions would be a great help.
Thanks,
James Hickox, AA5AO
Yahoo! Groups Links
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.430 / Virus Database: 268.15.3/562 - Release Date:
1/12/2006 13:12
|
Memory card for 859X Spectrum Analyzers
I recently picked up an 8591E spectrum analyzer it came without the memory card. Who might possibly sell them? I never seem to see them available used.
Thanks,
Larry Benko
|
Re: Need logging help with hp 5328a
James,
I know what you need to take readings from your 5328A with your PC; but it may not
be as simple as you'd like. Software is the hard part since I don'y know of any public
domain instrument interface; I have a copy of HP/Agilent's VEE which runs fine, but
is probably not freely availavble. NI Labview should work fine also & older copies are
easier to find.
Next you need a GPIB(HPIB) board for your PC; a PCI/GPIB interface is simplest & they
are readily available. Finally you need a GPIB cable from the counter to the PC. After that,
it's all downhill.
There must be a simpler way than this; let's hope a later answer is better.
Regards,
Pete Rawson
|
Bruce Lane