The Keysight MXA are interesting spectrum/signal analyzers. I evaluated one about 8 years ago, when it just came out with RTSA option. At the time the firmware that started RTSA mode from sweeping SA mode was a bit weird. If you switched modes, it would default the start/stop/span freq settings and not carry them over from mode to mode. There was a workaround, using some sub menus. I opted to buy a Rohde and Schwarz FSVR7, a 7 GHz SA that had 40 MHz RTSA and would seamlessly switch modes and keep the setting, so you could compare sweeping vs 1024 parallel FFT mode. The FSVR has been very reliable and useful all these years and it is lighter to lift than the M9020A.
Last month I had to buy a new SA for another project at work, and the Keysight N9021B or N9030B are competitive with R&S FSW, their flagship. These all have RSTA options, which I need. I chose 160 MHz RTSA bandwidth that can capture a signal in a few microseconds within that BW. I looked at new and used instruments, as it is difficult to get a new one in less than 2 months right now. I found one instrument from another company that had export controlled RTSA, that would capture high RT bandwidth but could only do it in 15 microseconds. I asked if that option could be removed and the reply was no.
I find surprising that the SSB phase noise of the Keysight MXA still are not up to the level of the R&S. You have to buy options to get it close, whereas the R&S comes without options with superior LO. Why does this matter? If you are using a spectrum analyzer to check oscillators, VCOs, or digital signal processors that generate an RF carrier, you want the test equipment to be at least as good as what you are measuring or better. Otherwise you are just measuring your SA's own source performance. R&S now has the FSWP that is specifically improved to be even better. All of these specs below are with the same test conditions, measured with 10 KHz offset for 1 GHz carrier.
MXA N9020A?? -113 dBc/Hz
MXA? N9021B? -129 dBc/Hz
PXA? N9030B?? -129 dBc/Hz , optional DDS LO gives -134
FSW8???? ? ? -136 dBc/Hz
FSWP???????? -166 dBc/Hz
Everything else was fairly comparable. Another thing to watch for, some of the MXA and the FSVR/FSW are old enough to have Windows 7 embedded. While this is good now, at some point it might become a support problem if you try to put the instrument online. They all seem to have Win10 in current productions.
John
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This is why we keep parts units.
Glenn
On 4/20/2024 6:24 AM, howdyrichard
wrote:
What are they = expensive! I am currently bringing three 8601A's
up to spec and decided to try this company to purchase some misc
parts for them. Well, I saw your post and decided to request a
quote for your parts. Attached is the quote I just received
(yesterday).
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417
Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv@... AMSAT LM 2178
QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI, FRA, NRA-LM ARRL TAPR
"It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class
of the Amateur that holds the license"
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Re: Can anyone recognize this HP Computer? Workstation?
Sound great, let me know! And no worries on the VAX memory boards of course. We're pretty well set for most types of VAX memory.
-Dave
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Show quoted text
On 4/20/24 17:47, Michael A. Terrell wrote: I'll see if I can get some help to get them out of my storage building I also have an unopebed IOMega 20NB Floptical drive.? A friend wants the National Semicnductor VAX memory boards for his system or I would offer them as well.
On Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 11:27?AM Dave McGuire via groups.io <> <mcguire@... <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
On 4/20/24 04:26, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
> Would you have any use for a pair of Intel Multibuss rackmount
cages?
> There may be some boards in them, I haven't looked at thenm for
20 years.
? ?Yes, we'd definitely give those a home at the museum.
? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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Re: Can anyone recognize this HP Computer? Workstation?
I'll see if I can get some help to get them out of my storage building I also have an unopebed IOMega 20NB Floptical drive.? A friend wants the National Semicnductor VAX memory boards for his system or I would offer them as well.
On 4/20/24 04:26, Michael A. Terrell wrote:
> Would you have any use for a pair of Intel Multibuss rackmount cages?
> There may be some boards in them, I haven't looked at thenm for 20 years.
? ?Yes, we'd definitely give those a home at the museum.
? ? ? ? ? ?-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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Re: HP 8568A YTO UNLOCK repair
Thirty Kay,
The RF sections of the 8568 and 8566 are 2 different beasts. There is very little the same in the RF paths. The control, sweep, and tune circuitry is similar in some respects, but different in other respects. Do check the RF block diagrams. This will greatly aid you in troubleshooting your problem.
Don Bitters
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Re: still possible to buy manuals from Artek media
It seems Gmail is getting worse and worse all the time. :-(
-Dave
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On 4/20/24 14:54, Radu Bogdan Dicher wrote: Mystery solved! The file came as a notification directly from Dropbox, which got filtered?by my email service...
Thanks, Ms. L!
Radu.
On Sat, Apr 20, 2024 at 1:41?AM Adrian Nicol via groups.io <> <Adrian@... <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
__
I ordered a manual set for an 8018A a few days ago and got the
download link about 3 hours later
On 20/04/2024 04:08, Radu Bogdan Dicher wrote:
I thought I'd append my recent order to this conversation - I
ordered a manual on their website a few days ago, so not so much
reason for concern yet.
What's the reaction time seen these days to orders?placed on
their?website? I wonder if it'd help if I send an email?...
Radu.
On Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 2:49?PM Peter Gottlieb <hpnpilot@...
<mailto:hpnpilot@...>> wrote:
I just bought the CLIPs for my 8562E from them.
Peter
On Mar 25, 2024, at 4:13?PM, Peter Hansen <oz1lpr@...
<mailto:oz1lpr@...>> wrote:
?
Hello Are the business still running so it is possible to buy
manuals there ?
best regards Peter
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
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Re: still possible to buy manuals from Artek media
Mystery solved! The file came as a notification directly from Dropbox, which got filtered?by my email service...? Thanks, Ms. L! Radu.?
I ordered a manual set for an 8018A a few days ago and got the
download link about 3 hours later
On 20/04/2024 04:08, Radu Bogdan Dicher
wrote:
I thought I'd append my recent order to this
conversation - I ordered a manual on their website a few days
ago, so not so much reason for concern yet.
What's the reaction time seen these days to orders?placed
on their?website? I wonder if it'd help if I send an
email?...?
Radu.?
On Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at
2:49?PM Peter Gottlieb < hpnpilot@...>
wrote:
I just bought the CLIPs for my 8562E from
them.?
On Mar 25, 2024, at 4:13?PM, Peter
Hansen <oz1lpr@...>
wrote:
?
Hello Are the business still running so it is possible
to buy manuals there ?
best regards Peter
|
On 4/20/24 13:20, factory wrote: Don't they realise the quote vastly exceeds the value of the counter? You could buy many working counters for their silly price quote. The NSN statement on the quote explains it, and indicates the market they're serving. If you need that component to satisfy a military contract, buying a counter on eBay isn't an acceptable way to get one. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
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Don't they realise the quote vastly exceeds the value of the counter? You could buy many working counters for their silly price quote.
David
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Re: Re-capping an HP-130 Scopes
Variacs do no limit the current, if one of the electrolytics decides to pass a lot of current while reforming, the fuse will hopefully blow instead of burning the transformer winding. There was an axial capacitor that decided to short in mine.
If this is the 130A mentioned in the other thread, it's a 1950s scope, treat it like a unknown condition 1950s TV, lamp limiters are much better for reforming & limiting the current and it'll be obvious if a short suddenly happens. Start with a low wattage lamp and monitor the HT rails, increase the wattage gradually over many hours to bring it up slowly & avoid cooking the capacitors.
Also like an old TV, pull the EHT oscillator valve while working on the lower voltage power supplies & using the lamp limiter, then once the power supplies are functioning properly, start working on the EHT section.
David
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On the other hand, Keysight repair prices often exceed the price to buy another unit surplus.
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On 4/19/2024 4:42 PM, F1EKU via groups.io wrote: If you had a name of a serious seller, it would be a lot easier. Indeed, when you search, there are so many... And most of them only show one photo with no description. So it's impossible to know what options are installed.
On the other hand, I once had the experience of buying a tel N5020A (which I didn't buy), even though it was sold from Korea and had ALL the options installed. Worse still: it went up to 26.5 GHz, whereas according to the serial number (according to my friend at Keysight) it was only a 13.5 GHz model. I was ready to buy it... except that when I asked the seller to provide me with a Keysight verification report with the unit, he told me he couldn't send it to Keysight because all the options and modifications were unofficial.
However, the serial number label on the back of the unit did indeed show 526 and all the other options.
So you need to know: if this type of device breaks down, it won't be possible to get it repaired by Keysight.
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Re: Can anyone recognize this HP Computer? Workstation?
On 4/20/24 04:26, Michael A. Terrell wrote: Would you have any use for a pair of Intel Multibuss rackmount cages? There may be some boards in them, I haven't looked at thenm for 20 years. Yes, we'd definitely give those a home at the museum. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
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Re: Field test 11970 harmonic mixers
Mike
Thank you very much for your reply.
Armed with your practical experience I very cautiously measured my 11970A and obtained 0.72V in got directions. I checked it afterwards and all is well, great sign of relief ;-)
Once again many thanks
73 de G8KHU
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Re: 5342A: sometimes counts, sometimes not
The 500 MHz - 18 GHz input is the tricky part of the 5342A. I happen to own 2, plus a parts mule in my cellar. The high input range uses HP custom built circuits making repair uncool at best, impossible at worst unless you find a parts mule.
Wilko
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Re: Field test 11970 harmonic mixers
Dave – I have done exactly what you describe with the DVM in the diode mode on the IF port. Typically, I got close to 0.77 volts in both directions. ?Going to the LO port will not work as it has a BPF in the path. 73 – Mike ? Mike B. Feher, N4FS 89 Arnold Blvd. Howell NJ 07731 908-902-3831 ?
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From: [email protected] < [email protected]> On Behalf Of Dave G8KHU Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2024 3:58 AM To: [email protected]Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Field test 11970 harmonic mixers ? Vewr occasionaly at rallies I've come across 11970 series harmaonic mixers at very good prices - assuming that they are working.....
If they are dead they are a very expensive reminder of caveat emptor :)
Is it safe to field test them with a DVM on the diode test setting measuring the IF output port (and being very careful about static discharge)?
Measuring my DVM it produces 2.3V open circuit and has a short circuit current of 0.8 mA. As the mixer maximum imput level is +20 dBm, and I believe a 4:1 impedance transfor in the waveguide input, that would equate to 100 mW into 200 Ohms giving 4.4 V rms and 22 mA rms. Just looking at the numbers it seems to me that it should be OK - BUT I'd really appreciate the input of those with more knowledge about these mixers that I have.
Dave G8KHU
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What are they = expensive! I am currently bringing three 8601A's up to spec and decided to try this company to purchase some misc parts for them. Well, I saw your post and decided to request a quote for your parts. Attached is the quote I just received (yesterday).
|
Re: Re-capping an HP-130 Scopes
On 4/20/24 07:49, Bepi wrote: I am jumping in this discussion because I am trying to restore a 130 scope too and , being unexperienced, I need advice.
I have just started testing by powering the scope slowly with a variac. All went well up to 70 to 80 V when the main fuse blew, a 2 A fuse. Started again and now the new fuse seems to hold for hours with a total consumption of roughly 1 A at 115V, it's nominal line voltage. Does anybody know what the blown fuse was likely due to? Capacitors? I have been warned that capacitors are the main cause for failures after long periods of inactivity. No sign of a CRT luminous spot. I checked the AC voltages at the transformer secondaries and they are all ok. What's next? I imagine the DC HV voltages. Any special precautions other that the obvious ones? They all seem in the hundredths of V from the schematics. I still worry about the blown fuse, do I have to check insulations at low voltage before powering up? Are the PS capacitors the ones I need to be particularly cautious about? Should I check them separately at low voltage? Fuse fatigue. Fuses do simply wear out, as with most everything else. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
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Re: HP54501a oscilloscope repair. Bad display
hello Wilko,
thanks for the tip. Changing the manufacturer's name did not solve the issue (none of the 7 available worked), yet removing the "check ID" option did result in the programer reading the content.
So, back to square 1, looking for a better explanation for this scope failure.
have a good one
Pierre
Did you select the correct vendor & partnumber? EPROMs can be identified by a programmer using their electronic ID. The programmer can make use of that info to optimise (= speed up) programming for example. An ID check error in my experience
smells like the wrong part/vendor has been selected in the programmer software.
Wilko
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After a bit more playing about, I think some of the fast and slow ripple is due to the limitations of the Vrms measurement that I have done with the scope. The accuracy of this is limited by the scope itself and also by the 5GSa/s sample rate. The scope can compute Vrms on a cyclic basis or on the display data and both methods have their accuracy limitations in this case. The impact of this is fairly minor though. The rest of the ripple will be a combination of ripple in the probe and some minor mismatch uncertainty in the test setup.
I think the reason I'm getting good results is because I'm using a scope with >1GHz bandwidth.
The input of a typical scope isn't 1Meg Rp in parallel with (say) 15pF Cp at RF frequencies. The 1Meg Rp only applies at very low frequencies. At RF frequencies the Rp will fall as the frequency increases. Cp will also change with frequency. It generally falls up at higher frequencies. Different scopes will show a different Cp and Rp vs frequency characteristic. This will make it harder to achieve consistent probe compensation up at UHF especially if you use an old and relatively slow scope like a Tek 2465A to test a 500MHz probe. I've not measured Rp and Cp for a 2465A but it isn't going to look the same as the Cp and Rp of a much faster scope that has lower Cp to begin with.
That's partly why I think it going to be better to look at a pulsed waveform using a decent pulse generator as I demonstrated earlier. My fastest homebrew pulser probably has a rise-time of about 400ps and it is adequate for testing a 500MHz scope probe. I've got another one that has a rise-time of about 2ns. I've got a faster BJT based pulser but it doesn't give a flat square wave output. The rise-time of the 2465A is going to be about 1ns and I think this scope would still be able to demonstrate how much better a genuine 10073C probe performs compared to (say) a Tek P6139A when using the pulse test method. By better, I mean how much flatter the pulse waveform looks after the initial rising edge has finished. The 10073C has the advantage that it is a 2.2Meg probe and this makes it easier to compensate across LF-UHF when compared to the 10Meg P6139A probe.?
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Re: Re-capping an HP-130 Scopes
I am jumping in this discussion because I am trying to restore a 130 scope too and , being unexperienced, I need advice.
I have just started testing by powering the scope slowly with a variac. All went well up to 70 to 80 V when the main fuse blew, a 2 A fuse. Started again and now the new fuse seems to hold for hours with a total consumption of roughly 1 A at 115V, it's nominal line voltage. Does anybody know what the blown fuse was likely due to? Capacitors? I have been warned that capacitors are the main cause for failures after long periods of inactivity. No sign of a CRT luminous spot. I checked the AC voltages at the transformer secondaries and they are all ok. What's next? I imagine the DC HV voltages. Any special precautions other that the obvious ones? They all seem in the hundredths of V from the schematics. I still worry about the blown fuse, do I have to check insulations at low voltage before powering up? Are the PS capacitors the ones I need to be particularly cautious about? Should I check them separately at low voltage?
I just received from Ebay an original manual (mod 25 to 724) with schematics which are completely readable, in the fine print parts too, which is not the case for the one I found on the web. If anybody needs them i'll be more than happy to make copies, in fact I think I'll post a new high res copy on this group. I still have the problem to find out which modifications have occurred in my model which is N 2482, if anybody knows I would be happy to find out, thanks, Bepi
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Dave McGuire
Michael A. Terrell
factory
howdyrichard