Re: Anyone out there fix a partially working 334A I need desperately to get it up and running!
No problem. I only remembered it because I have two 331A too repair and they are in the same family. The 333A/334A have the auto nulling, where the 331A/332A don't. I've used a 334A in production test, but I could get a manual null faster on a 331A. All four versions are nice Distortion analyzers.
On Wed, Apr 8, 2020 at 8:11 AM Chuck Harris < cfharris@...> wrote: I'm sorry Michael, I misremembered.? Before I looked in the
manual, I remembered lamps, of some sort, and CdS photoresistors,
and it registered as a choppers.
It is actually a Wien Bridge.? Three of the four legs are CdS
photoresistors.? One lamp feeds two of the photoresistors, and
the other feeds a single photoresistor.
The last time I worked on 334's was about 1984.? I am surprised that
I remembered as much as I do.
-Chuck Harris
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
> The 334 has an Automatic Nulling (A6 board) circuit which uses lamps and a
> single detector. I see no chopper.
>
> On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 12:04 PM Jeremy Nichols <jn6wfo@...> wrote:
>
>> Purely out of curiosity, what is the purpose of a chopper in a 334
>> distortion analyzer? HP used choppers in a lot of their DC voltmeters to
>> convert the DC to AC. They’d run the AC through some amplifiers and then
>> convert back to DC to run the meter. That took care of the old DC amplifier
>> drift problems. Since a distortion analyzer is already working with AC, I
>> would think a chopper wouldn’t be necessary. Obviously there’s something
>> I’m missing.
>>
>> Jeremy
>>
>> --
>> Jeremy Nichols
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Hmmm.. 250 to 800 MHz sounds pretty wide for a suckout. Too bad the OP can't go beyond 1 GHz to check for periodicity.
Daniel, I have a 5343A and can test up to 20 GHz. IFAIK, mine is working perfectly. Let me know if you want me to check signals at any point.
Jim Ford
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------ Original Message ------ From: "Dave McGuire" <mcguire@...> To: [email protected]Sent: 4/10/2020 11:43:56 AM Subject: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] 5343A troubles On 4/10/20 1:48 PM, Daniel Sheen wrote:
I have a rather bizarre problem with a 5343A counter. Observed symptoms
are that the high frequency input works reliably up to about 250MHz,
reads garbage from around 250MHz-800MHz, and then seems to work fine
from 800MHz upward through 1GHz (I only have an 8640B handy atm so can't
really test higher than that). Cranking up the input power a bunch seems
to reduce the dead band to closer to 400MHz-600MHz.
The counter initially failed troubleshooting step 4 in the service
manual. That was resolved by replacing the A10 board (from another
counter with a blown sampler). It now passes step 5 and is marginal on
step 6 (sensitivity is a little lower than it ought to be but it seems
to work).
The one other observation I've made is the IF amplitude into and out of
A11 drops off rapidly if an input is tuned into the range of frequencies
that it's insensitive to, but I'm struggling to find a plausible
explanation for why that could occur given my understanding of the
counter design (that wouldn't also make higher frequencies not be detected).
If anyone has any thoughts or has run into this before, suggestions
would be appreciated. That almost sounds like the "suck-outs" that are typical of a damaged
or loose hardline cable. I would check the input connectors and, if
there's the standard SMA-terminated 0.141" hardline on the inside, look
for hairline cracks around the solder joints around the connectors, or
similar damage.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Re: Seeking advice on a precision DVM
Ha!? I love my freebie Harbor Freight DMM!? Nice feature is the On/Off switch; why do I have to turn the darn dial back to Off every time, when 99 times out of 100 I'm just going back to Ohms anyway?!? Some of my other DMMs don't have that nice feature.
I'm considering getting a couple of 34401A's since I've used them before at work, they are nice instruments, and they are all over the place.? I remember using the high impedance ohms mode when working down in the nanoamp range and getting weird results with a "normal" handheld DMM.? It didn't take me long to figure out the bias and offset currents of the normal DMM were higher than what I was trying to measure.
I figure one 34401A for a dedicated connection to my 432A microwave power meter bridge circuit, GPIB to the computer, and let it calculate the RF power.? Another 34401A for general bench use.? Last time I checked the 'bay, there were seventy 34401A's for sale!
Jim Ford
------ Original Message ------
Sent: 4/9/2020 3:24:06 PM
Subject: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Seeking advice on a precision DVM
I'd vote for the HP3455A and HP3456A. I have about three of each, and I did have to repair some of them initially (which is why they were quite cheap) - mostly the usual bad power supply cap replacement. I prefer the 3455A user interface, even though the 3456A is supposedly a little newer and better.
If you're moving from 4.5 to 6.5 digits, it will be like a breath of fresh air. You? may be able to just not worry about calibration yet, since even if old, they will likely still be much better than your old gear. During a design, you can probably get by with less than ideal equipment, and no standards to compare. For the time being, it appears you mostly need more resolution, not necessarily absolute accuracy. As you get to the end, then you can worry about the exactness.
BTW I have one old DMM that's very cool, I think, because of its exceptional resistance measurement capability. It's a DANA 5900, which at first glance is just another old 1970s lab grade DMM, with 5 digits plus 60% over-range. What's cool is that it utilizes those digits well - it includes 100 meg and 10 ohm FS ranges, which are outside those of typical DMMs. Indeed, they're out of its own auto-ranging capability, and have to be selected manually. At the high end, it tops out at 160 megs with 1 k ohm resolution. At the bottom, it can read to 16 ohms with 100 micro-ohm resolution.
I picked this up years ago at a flea market for somewhere around free to five bucks, as I recall, and it worked when I checked it out. I was considering junking it out, since it's old and beat up, and I have plenty of DMMs, until I discovered the ohms ranges. I saved it set it aside just for high megohm use. I recently had need to use it, and found it had crapped out. I've been working on it on and off over the last couple of months, trying to save it. It's almost OK now. If not for those ohms, it would be long gone.
This goes to show that even if you have good, working stuff, it can still let you down, resulting in repair or replacement projects. This will of course tend happen when you need it the most.
Anyway, I'd recommend not looking for "a" new DMM, but "some" new DMMs, if it's for a mission-critical need. I keep the HPs on the shelf in reserve or for high grade measurements, my bench DMMs are old Fluke 8400As (5+ digits), but mostly I use my pile of Harbor Freight freebie DMMs.
Ed
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Re: Racks for older equipment
Working for the HP on-site cal teams years ago, we transported Metro Carts 4Wx5Hx2D (ft) on 5” solid rubber casters loaded with test equipment, estimated 800-1000 lbs., for 10 yrs., almost 2x every week and never encountered a problem.
The real metro carts metal is 2 to 3 times a thick as the cheap ones from ie. Home Depot, which will also hold > 400lbs.
Don Bitters
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Re: non-profit engineering
On 4/10/20 9:06 PM, John Griessen wrote: On 4/10/20 7:07 PM, Dave McGuire wrote:
?? Well that's for the museum, not for my company, but yes.
?? Anymore, in this society, if I'm walking down the street and pass a
guy wearing a tie, I check to see if I still have my wallet. I'm thinking of doing a 501-c for everything I do...
What big profit was I making as sole proprietor anyway? Ahhh. Well that would be pretty tough for me to get away with; I run it as a company and this is how I feed myself and my family. Though the way things have been since Der Trumpf's damn tariffs, it may as well be registered as a "non profit". I can design stuff for people, but now nobody has any cost-effective way to get it manufactured! This has stopped the Pittsburgh tech startup scene (my core business) in its tracks. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
On 4/10/20 7:07 PM, Dave McGuire wrote: Well that's for the museum, not for my company, but yes.
Anymore, in this society, if I'm walking down the street and pass a
guy wearing a tie, I check to see if I still have my wallet. I'm thinking of doing a 501-c for everything I do... What big profit was I making as sole proprietor anyway?
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
HEIC is an Iphone filetype. Microsoft is supposed to have a free codec for Windows, but I couldn't get the link to work.
On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 12:46 PM Daun Yeagley < daun@...> wrote:
What is a ".HEIC" file?? I can't open it.
Daun
Daun E. Yeagley II, N8ASB
On 4/10/2020 12:05 PM, bownes wrote:
The
other thing that works well is the wire rack rolling carts.
They will hold a lot of weight and an outlet strip fits well
behind the handle. I keep the gear on a set of wire rack
shelves, roll the cart over, pull off what I need for a given
exercise, roll the cart back to the bench, and off I go.
On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 9:08
AM ArtekManuals < manuals@...>
wrote:
Wally
Depends on largely on
1) The size of the castors ( wheels), bigger wheels are
generally easier
to deal with and actually less likely catch and tip
2) The floor surface they are rolling on
Weight? can be a factor, put? heavier on the bottom -Lighter
on the top
) think low center of gravity
Though things have changed in my current set up and I have
long since
abandoned the racks, you used to be able to find racks that
were 36"?
high. I really like these if you have the room as the make
great rolling
"table tops" with a power supply in the bottom
Dave
NR1DX
On 4/10/2020 7:09 AM, wallydoc via
wrote:
> I have a bunch of old HP and other equipment and am using
a Tek scope
> stand for some of it. I was wondering if anyone had any
suggestions
> about rolling stands for TE, Do the rolling racks?that
musicians use
> for their audio equipment work well enough? They are 19
inch racks.
> Any suggestions would be helpful.
>
> Wally KC9INK
>
--
Dave
Manuals@...
--
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus
software.
|
Re: Craigslist HP 8566B Indianapolis
A 'working' 8566B went locally (Seattle area) for $300 recently including cables.? It looked like the display unit memory was dead in the ad, but other?than the OCXO and display unit calibration which was all over the place, it actually works OK.
On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 11:17 AM Dave Daniel < kc0wjn@...> wrote: Hmmm...it took me something like eight years to find a working 8566B pair, with cables, at a reasonable (meaning what I could afford) price ($1100). That was maybe five years ago, and I’ve paid attention somewhat to the prices since. I’ve just never seen anything in the $20 ballpark, or $150 ballpark for that matter. It just surprised me that got one so inexpensively.
Thanks for the information.
Maybe I should renew my effort to find an inexpensive, working 8753C.
DaveD
> On Apr 10, 2020, at 13:30, Paul Amaranth <paul@...> wrote:
>
> It varies considerably.? I paid around $150 each for the display and SA and
> then fabricated the cables.? ?If I ran across somebody selling them for $20
> a piece I would have bought a ton (probably literally).? If you buy them for
> "parts only" the price can go down significantly.
>
> Considering it comes with the cables, that Craigslist price was pretty good.
> If you can dicker down, it would be even better.
>
> Had a project that required an SA a little while ago and just loved using it.
>
>? Paul
>
>> On Fri, Apr 10, 2020 at 01:20:30PM -0400, Dave Daniel wrote:
>> What do you mean by “sections”? RF and display sections, or something else? I was curious so I looked on ebay and 8566Bs (with both sections) are still listed for anywhere between ~$850 and ~$2500.
>>
>> DaveD
>>
>>> On Apr 10, 2020, at 09:15, paul swedberg <paulswedb@...> wrote:
>>>
>>> I have a few of these units all operational and yes they are seriously heavy. This unit is nice as it appears to have the interconnect cables. It is a really nice SA.
>>> There was a flood of units some 7 years ago and another person and told me how nice they were. Well at less then $20/section I picked up a few hoping to make one good one. Turns out far more than 1 were operational. I had randomly picked up the interconnect cables some years before that. Just because...
>>> Good luck and I would see if you can get a slightly better deal.
>>> Regards
>>> Paul
>>> WB8TSL
>>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Paul Amaranth, GCIH? ? ? ? ? ? ?| Manchester MI, USA
> Aurora Group of Michigan, LLC? ?|? ?Security, Systems & Software
> paul@...? ? ? ? ? ? ? |? ?Unix & Windows? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
>
>
>
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
On 4/10/20 8:05 PM, John Griessen wrote: ?? We are this close? --> <-- to getting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit
registration Congrats on that Dave, should work well for non-corporate anti-suit
style engineering.
Well that's for the museum, not for my company, but yes. Anymore, in this society, if I'm walking down the street and pass a guy wearing a tie, I check to see if I still have my wallet. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
On 4/10/20 6:12 PM, Dave McGuire wrote: We are this close --> <-- to getting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit
registration Congrats on that Dave, should work well for non-corporate anti-suit style engineering.
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
Worst case would be a 19" relay rack.? I got one years ago for free from an estate- the guy had stacked up 60's HP gear on it, but only two were attached to the rack.? I actually ended up doing the same thing- the rack is for long term storage only, but it does move easily, even with a full stack sitting on it. Two or three are attached for stability.
-Dave
On Friday, April 10, 2020, 03:28:28 PM PDT, Jim Ford <james.ford@...> wrote:
I'd be concerned about the weight.? Audio gear tends to be a lot lighter than microwave gear.? They were throwing away some 19 inch server racks at work a month ago or so, and I would have grabbed one, but I figured it wouldn't hold the weight of my stuff.? Be careful and stay safe, both physically and biologically.?
Jim Ford?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message -------- From: "wallydoc via groups.io" <wallydoc@...> Date: 4/10/20 4:09 AM (GMT-08:00) Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Racks for older equipment
I have a bunch of old HP and other equipment and am using a Tek scope stand for some of it. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about rolling stands for TE, Do the rolling racks?that musicians use for their audio equipment work well enough? They are 19 inch racks. Any suggestions would be helpful. Wally KC9INK
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
On 4/10/20 7:08 PM, Stephen Hanselman wrote: In answer to your question, a person who has tried to give them away and
had no takers. Sort of like our excess 6ft tech benches Hey, I want a few of those so badly I can almost taste it, both for my lab and for the restoration workshop around the corner at the museum. I just can't afford to have them freighted up here. We are this close --> <-- to getting our 501(c)(3) nonprofit registration, though, so maybe you'll still have them after we start applying for grants. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
In answer to your question, a person who has tried to give them away and had no takers. Sort of like our excess 6ft tech benches Regards, ? Stephen Hanselman Datagate Systems, LLC
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Show quoted text
On Apr 10, 2020, at 15:26, Dave Seiter <d.seiter@...> wrote:
?
Condition can be an issue; about two years ago a local Japanese-style place was remodeling and offered about 15 racks of different sizes for free, but most were either too big for my use and/or were too rusty near the bottom.? I only got one because they were almost impossible to disassemble.? A few weeks later most were still there.
-Dave
On Friday, April 10, 2020, 11:45:35 AM PDT, Dave McGuire <mcguire@...> wrote:
> I found one of those carts in a dumpster once; turned into a very handy
> project cart for my shop.
? What kind of idiot would dumpster one of those?? Jeeze.
? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Re: Craigslist HP 8566B Indianapolis
In response to Dave D
The fellow who is selling the unit said it came from a working shop but that the display section did not work. He said he thought the lower section was tested with another display and it worked. He also said that he could get output from the RF section.?
Isn't there another fellow in Houston on this site selling one for $500, working?
To Dave M, re: Marconi 2380
I have almost all HP equipment also.
I received a great deal of help from some guys on the Marconi Groups io when I needed advice on repairing mine. I think at least two of them seemed to have worked for Marconi and seemed extremely knowledgeable about the unit. I do not think I have ever received more expert advice, if you have problems with your Marconi, I would recommend joining the group.
I changed the input on mine from 75 ohms to 50 ohms. Then had a problem with the keypad "bouncing" e.g. putting up 22 when I just hit 2 once. If that is your problem, I have all my notes. Also the thread was relatively recent and should be easily found.?
Wally KC9INK
Wally KC9INK?
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
On 4/10/20 6:41 PM, Dave Daniel wrote: I inadvertantly tested ?measuring 4’w x 18”d x 72”h with large HD
casters by overloading it with books stacked vertically, a row of stacks
on each side of the shelving unit. The shelves distorted a bit. But I
went to roll it, one of the caster threaded inserts broke through the
leg pipe. So, yes, pas attention to shelf loading and caster loading. Many years ago, I dated an architect for a few years. She was a commercial architect. She told me about a car dealership with a second-floor showroom and a library that she designed. The weight load of the library floor was about 3x that of the car showroom floor. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
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Re: Racks for older equipment
On 4/10/20 6:28 PM, Jim Ford wrote: I'd be concerned about the weight.? Audio gear tends to be a lot lighter
than microwave gear.? They were throwing away some 19 inch server racks
at work a month ago or so, and I would have grabbed one, but I figured
it wouldn't hold the weight of my stuff.? Be careful and stay safe, both
physically and biologically.? Hmm, methinks you've never had to move a few kW worth of stage amplifiers. ;) -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 10, 2020, at 18:41, Dave Daniel < kc0wjn@...> wrote: I inadvertantly tested ?measuring 4’w x 18”d x 72”h with large HD casters by overloading it with books stacked vertically, a row of stacks on each side of the shelving unit. The shelves distorted a bit. But I went to roll it, one of the caster threaded inserts broke through the leg pipe. So, yes, pas attention to shelf loading and caster loading.
Nothing really bad happened. I was able to block up the end with broken leg until I coukd unload the books. I’ll have to get a new leg and threaded insert. For now, it’s glued back together with JB Weld.
DaveD I'd be concerned about the weight.? Audio gear tends to be a lot lighter than microwave gear.? They were throwing away some 19 inch server racks at work a month ago or so, and I would have grabbed one, but I figured it wouldn't hold the weight of my stuff.? Be careful and stay safe, both physically and biologically.?
Jim Ford?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message -------- Date: 4/10/20 4:09 AM (GMT-08:00) Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Racks for older equipment
I have a bunch of old HP and other equipment and am using a Tek scope stand for some of it. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about rolling stands for TE, Do the rolling racks?that musicians use for their audio equipment work well enough? They are 19 inch racks. Any suggestions would be helpful. Wally KC9INK
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
I inadvertantly tested ?measuring 4’w x 18”d x 72”h with large HD casters by overloading it with books stacked vertically, a row of stacks on each side of the shelving unit. The shelves distorted a bit. But I went to roll it, one of the caster threaded inserts broke through the leg pipe. So, yes, pas attention to shelf loading and caster loading.
Nothing really bad happened. I was able to block up the end with broken leg until I coukd unload the books. I’ll have to get a new leg and threaded insert. For now, it’s glued back together with JB Weld.
DaveD
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Apr 10, 2020, at 18:28, Jim Ford < james.ford@...> wrote: I'd be concerned about the weight.? Audio gear tends to be a lot lighter than microwave gear.? They were throwing away some 19 inch server racks at work a month ago or so, and I would have grabbed one, but I figured it wouldn't hold the weight of my stuff.? Be careful and stay safe, both physically and biologically.?
Jim Ford?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
-------- Original message -------- Date: 4/10/20 4:09 AM (GMT-08:00) Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Racks for older equipment
I have a bunch of old HP and other equipment and am using a Tek scope stand for some of it. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about rolling stands for TE, Do the rolling racks?that musicians use for their audio equipment work well enough? They are 19 inch racks. Any suggestions would be helpful. Wally KC9INK
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
I'd be concerned about the weight.? Audio gear tends to be a lot lighter than microwave gear.? They were throwing away some 19 inch server racks at work a month ago or so, and I would have grabbed one, but I figured it wouldn't hold the weight of my stuff.? Be careful and stay safe, both physically and biologically.?
Jim Ford?
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-------- Original message -------- From: "wallydoc via groups.io" <wallydoc@...> Date: 4/10/20 4:09 AM (GMT-08:00) Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Racks for older equipment
I have a bunch of old HP and other equipment and am using a Tek scope stand for some of it. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions about rolling stands for TE, Do the rolling racks?that musicians use for their audio equipment work well enough? They are 19 inch racks. Any suggestions would be helpful. Wally KC9INK
|
Re: Racks for older equipment
Condition can be an issue; about two years ago a local Japanese-style place was remodeling and offered about 15 racks of different sizes for free, but most were either too big for my use and/or were too rusty near the bottom.? I only got one because they were almost impossible to disassemble.? A few weeks later most were still there.
-Dave
On Friday, April 10, 2020, 11:45:35 AM PDT, Dave McGuire <mcguire@...> wrote:
> I found one of those carts in a dumpster once; turned into a very handy
> project cart for my shop.
? What kind of idiot would dumpster one of those?? Jeeze.
? ? ? ? ? ? -Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Michael A. Terrell
Dave McGuire