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Re: HP8753ES and speed

 

If you decide you need something new and fast, the best bang for your buck is probably copper mountain.? Their TR1300 2-port to 1.3 GHz runs $4K.? Lighthing fast, good interface, and great dynamic range.
Re: HP 8920B

 

Oh boy your correct I copied my 2600 info one the wrong page! Oh man I¡¯m sitting home with a 101 fever so I blame the meds!?
Re: HP 8920B

 

those options listed are for a Motorola /GD R26XX

Regardless the latest firmware on the 8920B is 6.01
Re: Help figuring out my 8648C Signal Generator?....

 

Hello Jared,

I don't know if someone has suggested this already, but did you check the 8920A CLIP??? It has some similarities to modules in the 8648. See:



Tom

On 11/30/2023 11:04 PM, Jared Cabot via groups.io wrote:
Thanks for the photos!

I can confirm that I do not have options 1E2 or 1E6 as the parts don't exist in my unit. They aren't options I need anyway so no problems there.

The 1EA high power option is intriguing me though. With no reference to special parts in the 'Replaceable Parts' section of the service manuals I have found online, I'm wondering how a repair technician is to ensure that the option still works if the mysterious critical part is inadvertently replaced? How to ensure the part is not replaced with a non option part if there is no differentiation in the manual?

Which has me thinking further, is it just a software option? Maybe it changes the gain settings on the amplifier or attenuator settings to allow more upper range?

I wonder if just using the adjustment software etc to tell the instrument that it has the option installed will enable it?

Worth digging deeper I think, that high power option is a useful one...



Jared.
Re: HP 8640B Attenuator Repair

 

Do you know what mechanism causes the contacts to be "cleaned"??? I wonder if this method would work on other types of contacts that are "fuzzy".?
Re: HP8753ES and speed

 

Re:-

"You cannot put these on your network for security reasons as they're completely prone to viruses and other attacks."

True...?? Also, you don't know what might already have got in and has infested it's OS, just waiting for another LAN and it's residents to "have a go at".

I speak from experience re that.? In a past job, we had a demo HP VNA to evaluate.? I forget the exact model, but avery nice instrument indeed.? The salesman said that it can print measurement results to a network printer...? So we tried.? (Na?ve that we were back then...)

Within 10 minutes, other people in the office were complaining their PC's were running slow and behaving strange.

Again, I forget exactly what it was, but when investigated, that "Demo" VNA was utterly infested with all the (then) current (and plenty of old) common Windows malware, and two of them had "got out"...

(We had AV of course, but our IT people back then had failed to keep it up to date.? Manual updates, we only had dial-up internet access then.)

When we informed HP (UK sales office) they seemed unconcerned (this was a while ago.)? So, I wonder how many other potential customers got hit, or even contributed to the infestation.

"Trust No One", and NEVER connect anything you don't know the the full history of, to your LAN, unless you can sweep it first and verify it is clean.

Take care.

Dave B.
Ex Technical Manager AR UK Ltd, and before that EMV Ltd.

PS:? It's not "Just" a Windows problem either.? Some commodity Network Attached Storage devices, have intentional functionality to reach out and attempt to scan the other LAN residents by default, for whatever reason!?? Some too, have a default "phone home" facility!? (Wherever "home" might be...)

--
Sent from a MicroSoft free zone:
Re: Help figuring out my 8648C Signal Generator?....

 

Thanks for the photos!

I can confirm that I do not have options 1E2 or 1E6 as the parts don't exist in my unit. They aren't options I need anyway so no problems there.

The 1EA high power option is intriguing me though. With no reference to special parts in the 'Replaceable Parts' section of the service manuals I have found online, I'm wondering how a repair technician is to ensure that the option still works if the mysterious critical part is inadvertently replaced? How to ensure the part is not replaced with a non option part if there is no differentiation in the manual?

Which has me thinking further, is it just a software option? Maybe it changes the gain settings on the amplifier or attenuator settings to allow more upper range?

I wonder if just using the adjustment software etc to tell the instrument that it has the option installed will enable it?

Worth digging deeper I think, that high power option is a useful one...



Jared.
4 files uploaded #file-notice

Group Notification
 

The following files and folders have been uploaded to the Files area of the [email protected] group.

By: Wolfgang Schraml <wschraml@...>
Re: Help figuring out my 8648C Signal Generator?....

 

The B/C/D units have the A10 frequency extension board which is on the far side of the card cage and encased in a cast aluminum housing (the first photo showing the barcode). I don¡¯t think the A10 is used for the A models.
Re: Help figuring out my 8648C Signal Generator?....

 

Here are some photos I took of the inside of my unit. Maybe these will help. The pulse option (1E6) is the gold block next to the reverse power protection unit. The modulation option (1E2) is a board mounted underneath the RPP/Pulse sub-chassis. I can¡¯t find a description of where the high power option (1EA) is from the manual but I assume maybe it¡¯s integral to the A10 board? The manual doesn¡¯t have anything that jumps out at me about it, though I¡¯ve only given it a cursory overview.?
Re: 11807E Radio Test Software on PCMCIA Cards for the 8920B

 

I have NA FM Tests but would be interested in an AM Tests card for an 8924C.

Mike

11807A-E-Option-003-Reference-Guide-11807-XXXX AM tests.pdf
11807A-E-Option-003-Reference-Guide-11807-XXXX AM tests.pdf

Re: 11807E Radio Test Software on PCMCIA Cards for the 8920B

 

A flashed card would be great just let me know how much and how I can pay.

Andrew
Re: 11807E Radio Test Software on PCMCIA Cards for the 8920B

 

And if you don't want to DIY, I can do you a Flash card for small fee...

DIY requires a copy of Memory card Explorer, a PC with a PCMCIA slot (including 12V supply unless your Flash card is 5V) and a linear Flash card.

PM me if you want one.
Re: 11807E Radio Test Software on PCMCIA Cards for the 8920B

 

Yes - I wrote up what I did over on EEVBlog (just an FYI, I don't have an 8920B myself, I got one for my Dad back in Aus and did the RFTools stuff while I had it here so, unfortunately, I can't test anything other than flashing to the card):



TonyG
Re: HP8753ES and speed

 

Thank you Scott. We are staying with the 8753ES. Better the devil we know that is fast enough.
If the need arises for a faster system I think it will have to be something current but it will be expensive and probably not repairable.
Peter

On Thu, Nov 30, 2023 at 7:56?AM Scott Vance via <scott_l_vance=[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Peter,
A quick search on e-bay revealed the following:

1)??E5071C 6.5 Ghz ENA ($4200 - possible issue with output that you may need to verify or rectify).
2)??E8358A Network Analyzer PNA 300KHz to 9GHz (will require a new hard-drive and image, so this will be a little work, but looks like a good machine).? Currently on bid and will probably go for 4K or less.
3)??Agilent E5061A going for $2300.? Only goes up to 1.5 GHz, but if that's all you need then a reasonable option.

A note of warning:? All of these new machines should be considerably faster with similar or perhaps even better dynamic ranges BUT they use early versions of windows.? You cannot put these on your network for security reasons as they're completely prone to viruses and other attacks.? They boot terribly slow (relative to your HP8753 or any recent machine), but once they're up and running they should be much faster for running your actual tests.

I have repaired only a single Agilent machine - an N5230A PNA.? Plenty fast, but also boots slow.

The normal disclaimers:? do your own research before you buy, look for buyers who accept returns, don't buy anything that you can't fix, etc.

Good luck!

11807E Radio Test Software on PCMCIA Cards for the 8920B

 

Is it still possible to acquire this card and software??


Drew
Re: HP 8640B Attenuator Repair

Robert Ross
 

Great description Don, thanks for sharing.
Bob
On Wednesday, November 29, 2023 at 11:31:45 PM CST, Don Brown, N3DEB <dbawatsonville@...> wrote:


For those interested, I have had great results repairing this 8640B output attenuator.? Symptoms were non linear attenuation, and signal drop out on some levels. Drop out could be restored by switching levels back and forth. Looked like typical bad contact at a pad switch, and I excluded the attempt of replacing specialized components of these hand tuned units.

Certainly locating a donor unit might provide an alternative, but I was hoping to reuse this attenuator to avoid potential re-calibration considerations.

Removed bottom cover to view pads, nothing visibly burned. Applied 10ma constant current DC from attenuator input to output and rotated knob through ranges a few times. I found this suggestion somewhere in this group I think and thank that person for the tip. Note that one DC contact point has to be behind the visible capacitor in series at the output. The other just clip to input connector solder point.

Reinstalled - much better but not quite right. Removed, repeated, reinstalled. Result is as perfect of a result as I could expect, or at least as good as my spectrum analyzer can measure.

For long term protection I added two part epoxy to the wiper contacts on the rear vernier assembly. I have seen these fall out and go missing on others.

Inspecting the acrylic cams inside the attenuator found some were cracking. Applied proper "Weld-On #3" acrylic cement with applicator needle to each cracked cam. (On another unit I drove the cams off the shaft, reamed out the shrinking hole to prevent future contraction cracking, and glued back one cam that completely separated. I think this is the best course.)

Probably by now most ALL units have cracking cams from shrinking with age - I am at four out of five that I have worked on. Applied a little silicone grease that is safe for the acrylic / polycarbonate lobes, hoping to minimize rotation stress where the shaft meets the cams. This is the stress point that finally breaks the cam in two.

I am no engineer or repair professional, but I am persistent and mechanically inclined. There is more that can be done to these 8640Bs as other postings discuss, but this fix got the unit back on the bench for use.

Hope this helps someone.
Re: Looking or HP 4191A "Performance Test Program" disk

 

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I would find that useful too¡­ Could be adaptable for the 4192A which we have¡­

Regards

Nigel

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of vk2bea via groups.io
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2023 2:22 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] Looking or HP 4191A "Performance Test Program" disk

?

I'm looking for a copy of the files on the "Performance Test Program" disk that comes with the service kit for the 4191A RF Impedance Analyzer.
If anyone has this disc and can make the files available please let me know.
thanks
? Michael

Looking for HP 4191A "Performance Test Program" disk files

 

I'm looking for a copy of the files on the "Performance Test Program" disk that comes with the service kit for the 4191A RF Impedance Analyzer.
If anyone has this disc and can make the files available please let me know.
thanks
? Michael
Re: HP 8640B Attenuator Repair

 

On Wed, Nov 29, 2023 at 09:31 PM, Don Brown, N3DEB wrote:
Hope this helps someone.
Hi N3DEB, Don
Great!
Thanks for the attenuator repair notes!
We have some of these 8640B... some need mechanical repair... or attenuator repair...and I'd like to get them working.
So very glad to read about your experience.
Best regards.
Roy
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