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Re: Looking for an 8640B manual
John Miles
I just noticed that Manuals Plus is running a 50% off sale on their original
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hardcopy manuals (not reprints). That makes some of their more-expensive manuals and sets a lot more affordable. -- john, KE5FX -----Original Message----- |
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HP system and data diskettes; be warned!
Andreas Troschka
During the last months, here, on this mailing-list as on other HP equipment related forums I could read of some guys suggesting to use DSHD (Double Side High Density, 1440KBytes) type floppy diskettes as system and data media for some equipment like the HP1652B (but other are mentioned too).
Be aware of the fact that every older HP floppy unit mounted into measurement equipment that has originally used DSSD (Double Side Single Density) also known as 720KByte floppies *cannot be used* for writing/reading DSHD media. The reason for this limitation has to be searched in the different resulting track width and magnetic magnitude on the disk caused by the physical dimensions of the writer/reader heads and the frequencies used for the signal cancelling/writing signals used. Yes, it is sometimes possible to read from a DSHD written by that DSSD floppy drives but this only for a short period of time after writing. After a longer time passes, the magnetic field on the DSHD decreases due to typical magnetic substrate characteristics, and the data is then no more correctly readable. Again, don't be fooled from the initial success in reading from DSHD floppies while the diskettes has been just written! There is no chance this disks last to be read for a long time. Regards Andreas Troschka vy 73s de IK2WQI - JN45ol |
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Re: HP PCB's in England - free to a good home
Hi Robert
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If they are still looking for a home, email me a list to: starmux64@... Regards, Steve ----- Original Message ----
From: Robert Atkinson <robert8rpi@...> To: hp_agilent_equipment@... Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:57:03 AM Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] HP PCB's in England - free to a good home Hi, I've recently lost some of my storage space and am looking for a home for a small collection of PCB's from various items of HP test equipment. They are mostly from earlier solid state equipment. Collection preferred, I'm in Christchurch Dorset, or postage at cost. Anyone interested please contact me off-list Robert G8RPI __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around |
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Re: was HP 5342A board, now IC sockets vs soldering
A little off topic:
In the 1980's, I worked at a company that had a policy of putting all IC's in high quality sockets. This came in handy because some of the techs didn't really know how to troubleshoot broken pc boards. They just kept swapping IC chips until the pc boards started working. Of course, there was always the occasional pc board which defied all attempts at repair, and these semi-skilled technicans didn't want their boss to know they had failed to fix it. So, when the boss wasn't around, they would toss the "unrepairable" board up through a hole in the 12 foot accoustical drop-ceiling, where a panel was missing, as if to pretend that the board never existed. Unbeknownst to their boss, this clandestine activity went on for a couple of years. Finally, on one fateful day, another board was tossed through the magical ceiling hole. This board was "the straw that broke the camel's back". One of the ceiling panels slowly started sagging and finally broke in half. At that point, a shower of defective pc boards began raining down from the sky! Ouch! There's no way to hide that from the boss! |
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Re: was HP 5342A board, now IC sockets vs soldering
DON CRAMER
Yes, its a tough call either way. FWIW, when I worked at Tektronix some 25 years ago they had an internal design interconnect handbook that recommended against IC sockets if at all possible. Their data showed the ICs were more reliable than the sockets. And if there were infantile reliability or spec problems, it was cheaper and better overall to prescreen/burn-in the ICs rather than sort them in production via sockets.
An exception to the no-socket recommendation is where firmware PROMs were likely to be upgraded. And in a rare instance, I've heard of memory tester boards that wouldn't work properly if the sockets weren't present (!). But outside of special cases like these, the ease of servicing advantage is outweighed by the socket reliability. Even a premium socket inserts an unnecessary interconnection. Save them for breadboarding. I haven't read anything along these lines since, but of course the industry has moved to SMT where soldering in the ICs is by far the norm. Don From: d.seiter@... Reply-To: hp_agilent_equipment@... To: hp_agilent_equipment@... Subject: Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] HP 5342A processor board Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:36:05 +0000 I would replace a supect socket with a good quality one rather than solder the IC in. If the IC is bad, it just means more work and possible damage to remove it again. |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
I would replace a supect socket with a good quality one rather than solder the IC in. If the IC is bad, it just means more work and possible damage to remove it again.
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-Dave -------------- Original message --------------
From: Didier Juges <didier@...> Good point, I guess with 20 years old gear, you are not worried about having to upgrade the software :-) I am seriously thinking of doing that with my HP 5370A if the problem comes back. Alternately, I could put in good quality machined sockets, those in there right now look downright cheap. Didier DON CRAMER wrote: Many years ago with microcomputers which came with low quality sockets, I |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
Didier Juges
Good point, I guess with 20 years old gear, you are not worried about having to upgrade the software :-)
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I am seriously thinking of doing that with my HP 5370A if the problem comes back. Alternately, I could put in good quality machined sockets, those in there right now look downright cheap. Didier DON CRAMER wrote: Many years ago with microcomputers which came with low quality sockets, I had an assembler remove the sockets and solder the ICs in directly. That eliminated intermittent crashes in some 24/7 applications we were using them in. Something to consider in the general case. |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
Didier Juges
Jim,
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There is a possibility that one of the ROMs might be bad. You may be able to get the code from Blue Feather Tech and burn new ROMs. If the CPU is getting it's clock and the reset is good, you should see the CPU clocking away at random code, pretty much continuously and if so, the address lines will have lots of digital garbage on them. If the address lines don't move, the CPU is toast. I have a defunct Tek 7L5 CPU card, the processor is a Tek 155 0198 00, which I believe is a 6800. Someone on the list may be able to confirm. It is in a socket, so if you need the chip, let me know. Didier Jim Miller wrote: --- Didier Juges <didier@...> wrote: |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
DON CRAMER
Many years ago with microcomputers which came with low quality sockets, I had an assembler remove the sockets and solder the ICs in directly. That eliminated intermittent crashes in some 24/7 applications we were using them in. Something to consider in the general case.
Don Cramer Beaverton, OR From: Didier Juges <didier@...> Reply-To: hp_agilent_equipment@... To: hp_agilent_equipment@... Subject: Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] HP 5342A processor board Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:13:01 -0600 Jim, Have you tried the obvious of pulling and re-inserting the CPU and ROMs (and any other chip on socket)? My 5370A has needed that treatment at least 3 times, in spite of Deoxit ProGold. Each time it's been a different chip. I have had problems on on the ROM card (twice) and the last time on the CPU card (with a little PLD, probably used for address decoding). The fix is simple, simply pulling the chips and putting them back fixed the problem, but the last time I put some Deoxit on the chips of the ROM card and the ROM card seems to be working solid now. I have had a similar problem with a Marconi sweeper, but none of the other HP gear I have has given me these problems. Maybe it was a bad batch of sockets? Didier KO4BB Jim wrote: Hi,traced the problem to the CPU board by trading cards with a known good unit.failure, ROM failure? The processor is a socketed MC6800L and there are threesoldered ROMs. Is there anything special about the "L" revision of the 6800 other thanthe ceramic/gold package? |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
Jim Miller
--- Didier Juges <didier@...> wrote:
Have you tried the obvious of pulling andHi Didier, Thank you for the suggestion! I had already tried removing/reinserting the CPU which is the only socketed chip. I had even painted its legs with deoxit gold before reinsertion. Several iterations of remove/reinsert produced no results. I am getting clock signals on the test points and the RESET line looks as it should which is why I am suspecting CPU or ROM failure. Jim N8ECI __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around |
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Re: HP 5342A processor board
Didier Juges
Jim,
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Have you tried the obvious of pulling and re-inserting the CPU and ROMs (and any other chip on socket)? My 5370A has needed that treatment at least 3 times, in spite of Deoxit ProGold. Each time it's been a different chip. I have had problems on on the ROM card (twice) and the last time on the CPU card (with a little PLD, probably used for address decoding). The fix is simple, simply pulling the chips and putting them back fixed the problem, but the last time I put some Deoxit on the chips of the ROM card and the ROM card seems to be working solid now. I have had a similar problem with a Marconi sweeper, but none of the other HP gear I have has given me these problems. Maybe it was a bad batch of sockets? Didier KO4BB Jim wrote: Hi, |
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HP 5342A processor board
Jim
Hi,
I am repairing a 5342A counter that has a bad A14 processor card. I have traced the problem to the CPU board by trading cards with a known good unit. Are there any common failure modes with this processor assembly? EG CPU failure, ROM failure? The processor is a socketed MC6800L and there are three soldered ROMs. Is there anything special about the "L" revision of the 6800 other than the ceramic/gold package? Thanks in advance, JIm N8ECI |
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Re: HP8568B Display Intensity?
gleamfollower
That's a good point... or an HP 1332A display might work as well,
considering that's where the 85662A's CRT was originally employed. You can also use SSM () with any 8566/8568, if a laptop or other PC is handy. It will lock out the analyzer's keyboard while it runs, though. Definitely not a great substitute for a working CRT. As far as rejuvenation goes, I just added another 'case history' to the page at which (so far, at least) has worked as well as the first one did. See the correspondence near the bottom. -- john, KE5FX --- In hp_agilent_equipment@..., k6yaz@... wrote: usually use an external Tektronix X, Y, Z display. Because the 8568B generates it'sown graticule, the display is accurate. |
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Re: HP8568B Display Intensity?
The display on my 8568B has been weak since I purchased it. I usually use an
external Tektronix X, Y, Z display. Because the 8568B generates it's own graticule, the display is accurate. This may not be a great answer to the problem, but it's an inexpensive solution to using the instrument. Stuart K6YAZ Los Angeles |
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Re: BAMA scaling back
I just found the following on Usenet from BAMA's owner.That is not as a result of storage limitations, it is due to the site owner changing jobs and losing access to a super-fast internet connection. So he can't tear submissions off, reformat them and upload. As I understand it, this is temporary - but in the meantime he is handling his own bandwidth limitation by restricting the site to non-test-equipment uploads. Craig |
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BAMA scaling back
Fellow techies in all groups (that I subscribe to),
I just found the following on Usenet from BAMA's owner. It seems that storage is becoming a problem for him. I'm posting this to all four groups I subscribe to because it could potentially affect anyone who's searching for documentation on older gear. 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?" |
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Re: HP8568B Display Intensity?
John Miles
You can play with the INT LIMIT control on the Z-axis board, but it will probably not help much. That is a classic weak-CRT symptom. Does it look like the first photo at ?
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-- john, KE5FX ----- Original Message -----
From: "david_woodhead" <david_woodhead@...> To: <hp_agilent_equipment@...> Sent: Saturday, December 16, 2006 4:49 PM Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] Re: HP8568B Display Intensity? --- In hp_agilent_equipment@..., "david_woodhead" |
Bruce Lane
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