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Date
Re: HP instrument sticky case panel surface

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

The sticky stuff is likely plasticizer that has separated from the vinyl coating on the panels. I have had good success using denatured alcohol and a rag to scrub? off the residue.

?? Bruce Gentry, KA2IVY

On 11/11/24 22:50, Calvin Guan via groups.io wrote:

Hi,
I have a HP8515a that developed sticky surfaces on the top and bottom panels. It feels like leftover glue. I try to clean it with light soap water or gluegone but it doesn't seem to work at all.
?
What causes it and how to I clean it?
?
Regards,
Calvin
Re: Application and Service Notes on HPWiki - Update

 

On 11/11/24 07:06, Wolfgang Schraml via groups.io wrote:
It's been a while since I provided a status update on the ongoing Applications and Service Notes project.
Application Notes:
<>
There are close to 2,400 now. I pretty much exhausted all known (to me) online archives to collect more.
Service Notes:
<>
After another sync with Keysight's repository over the weekend, HPWiki has almost 5,800 notes now.
Please contact me if you have any documents that haven't been published yet (especially service notes for older HP equipment). I am sure there are vast, untapped archives in someone's basement.
Amazing work as always, Wolfgang.

Remember, HPWiki is accessible via the hpwiki.org domain as well.

-Dave

--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
HP instrument sticky case panel surface

 

Hi,
I have a HP8515a that developed sticky surfaces on the top and bottom panels. It feels like leftover glue. I try to clean it with light soap water or gluegone but it doesn't seem to work at all.
?
What causes it and how to I clean it?
?
Regards,
Calvin
Re: Fitting rack ears to ageing HP equipment

 

Thanks all for the advice which gave me the encouragement to persist. In the end a combination of heat and a very thin bladed screwdriver did the trick. My next step was to use acetone but I didn't have any in the house and in the event it was not needed. As always even a cosmetic addition to a piece of HP gear was built like a tank!
?
Tim K9VB
Re: Another dead 8753D YTO

 

Marcus-
Fascinating and wonderful solution.? I still have a few questions for you or anyone else who cares to answer.? Please forgive my ignorance:
?
1)? The YIG listed on your original link is an Avantek ASF-8347M.? The picture shows something that is 4-8 GHz.? First of all, what do all of those part numbers mean?? I was looking on ebay and I'm seeing a fair number of Avantek YIGs that are 4-8 GHz, but they have numbers like S09-1358 or SF6-0997M.? So my questions:
? a)? Do you need to start with an ASF-8347M, or do the other 4-8 GHz models work in the same way?
? b)? The VNA goes from basically 0-6 GHz.? Why does the YIG go from 4-8 GHz?
? c)? Could one use a YIG with a larger range, such as 2-8 GHz instead?? Would the cal proceedure adjust the instrument so that it just didn't use part of the range?? For instance, S080-0686 or Y084-1215 seem to be available.? Are there drawbacks to this approach, such as reduced frequency stability?
? d)? The origional HP part appears to be 5086-7834 and appears to go from 3.8-7 GHz.? From this perspective the 4-8 GHz replacement kind of makes sense, but does the lack of ability to function at 3.8 give you any issues?
? e)? Are the first two digits of the part the production year?? I'm seeing a lot of 080, 83, 84, etc., in these numbers which looks to me like parts coming from the early 1980s.
?
Very cool that there are people here smarter than me who have figured out how to make this work.? I looks like the original replacement parts (5086-7834) run around $800 USD, whereas these replacements are sometimes sub $100.
Can an 8444A be used with an 8569B?

 

?Hello everyone.?

?I have an 8569B and was wondering if the HP 8444A tracking gen can be used with it??
?
?Only asking as have found no info online.

?Thanks in advance


?James
Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

Hi Burt,

It has the 004 time base however I have all of the gear synced to gps.??

Using the 3586 as a sig gen - tuned frequency on front display matches the output sig on the back panel.

When inputting a frequency to the unit's front panel, the units fx readout is around 20 hz high.

I have several of 3586s around the shop - that I have not worked on as yet.? The third one I opened up I pulled out the A22 board and it worked fine.??

Now to play around with trouble shooting the A22 board!?

Check out my QRZ page!

73,

Bill Riches, WA2DVU
Cape May, NJ

73,

?

On Monday, November 11, 2024 at 07:47:55 PM EST, Burt K6OQK <biwa@...> wrote:


There are? two crystals that provide the injection, or carrier, for
the upper and lower sideband product detectors, and as I recall, the
1800 Hz tone is a function of the product detector/s, . They are not
used for any of the conversions.? The conversion oscillators are
derived from the time base, which is a separate crystal
oscillator.? Do you have the "Precision Oscillator" in your unit?

I was going to suggest that you try using an external reference input
to your 3586B to see if that resolves your problem.? It's possible
that the internal reference may be off frequency. I don't have my
3586 book in front of me, so I don't off hand recall which board the
standard internal reference is located.

Burt, K6OQK

Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, California U.S.A.
K6OQK



--
Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, CA 91201 U.S.A.
K6OQK





DB SHOP 2018.JPG

Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

There are two crystals that provide the injection, or carrier, for the upper and lower sideband product detectors, and as I recall, the 1800 Hz tone is a function of the product detector/s, . They are not used for any of the conversions. The conversion oscillators are derived from the time base, which is a separate crystal oscillator. Do you have the "Precision Oscillator" in your unit?

I was going to suggest that you try using an external reference input to your 3586B to see if that resolves your problem. It's possible that the internal reference may be off frequency. I don't have my 3586 book in front of me, so I don't off hand recall which board the standard internal reference is located.

Burt, K6OQK

Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, California U.S.A.
biwa@...
K6OQK



--
Burt I. Weiner Associates
Broadcast Technical Services
Glendale, CA 91201 U.S.A.
K6OQK
Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

Thanks for that, Paul! I may just do some retro-fitting.

On 11/11/24 17:56, paulswed via groups.io wrote:
Quite sometime ago maybe 10 years a Ham in Canada did indeed make a BFO replacement that was synthesized. I built up a unit and it worked very well. I suspect I might have the details around still.
The link still exists
<>
So there you go.
Paul
WB8TSL
Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

Quite sometime ago maybe 10 years a Ham in Canada did indeed make a BFO replacement that was synthesized. I built up a unit and it worked very well. I suspect I might have the details around still.
The link still exists

So there you go.
Paul
WB8TSL
Re: A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Oh, and a sad tear for the damaged Watkins Johnson Receiver. Very good equipment.

?

I used a few WJ-8999s and worked on one to repair it, too. Now, that is a very packed receiver. Both boxes are really packed with little room to spare.

?

?

Ross

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of si_emi_01 via groups.io
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 3:46 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

?

That happened in my McIntosh MAC4200 Stereo Receiver I purchased off of ebay. When I checked it out, the 3 AA size NiCd Battery Pack had failed. It ate the paint under the Battery Holder plus the Paint and Primer down to the Bare Metal. It had also crept for at least 1¡± beyond the foot print of the Battery pack. And yes, the leaking wicked down the lead wires onto a circuit card causing connector damage, it ate a couple of traces and left crud on the board. Lots of FOD and work to clean it all up and fix it.

?

I replaced the whole NiCd Battery Pack with a 4 Farad 5.5V Super Capacitor. It was mounted to a G10 Prototype board. I pre-charged the Capacitor before connection. I also replaced the charging Resistor with a higher value and wattage for when it had power disconnected for long periods or a power outage for days (which I tested ¨C our power is very stable, maybe a power loss for a couple of hours per year).

?

There was already a reverse current Diode in the circuit so, I didn¡¯t need to add one. The Memory-Hold Voltage Range was 3.0V minimum ¨C an important data point because a Capacitor discharge curve is different than a NiCd, but similar enough to allow the change. I also made sure the +5V Power source was healthy (Bridge Rectifier, Regulator, well heatsinked and new 105C Bulk Capacitors) to avoid any future concerns.

?

Not original, but has worked well now for almost 5 years, it is designed to be reliable and safe. I know it won¡¯t happen again.

?

Here is a picture of the modification before I cleaned everything up.

?

?

?

?

?

All of the above items need to be investigated to make sure that what you are doing is in the best interest of any equipment modification and safety. Some people, as it has been stated before, replace rechargeable battery packs with other types of batteries (I have seen NiMH packs or Alkaline packs blindly replacing NiCd Packs before), again, you need to understand what you are doing.

?

?

Relocating the pack, packaging it, isolating the lead wires and doing the other provisions mentioned in the original post and other response posted are really good ideas.

?

?

Ross

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Roy Thistle via groups.io
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 12:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

?

On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 04:59 AM, greenboxmaven wrote:

When you replace ANY memory battery...leaked electrolyte

Ya...

I've seen that leakage... and destruction... when people have balked at replacing the battery with the speced battery.

The speced battery is usually expensive... often seemingly unreasonably so... especially compared to an 'equivalent.'

But, the 'equivalent' battery... often... has not gone through product testing... and subsequent validation... especially with regard to the purported product specifications.

And some manufactures... well... IMO... they just lie.

?

To bad about the WJ... nice rcvr.

?
Re: A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

That happened in my McIntosh MAC4200 Stereo Receiver I purchased off of ebay. When I checked it out, the 3 AA size NiCd Battery Pack had failed. It ate the paint under the Battery Holder plus the Paint and Primer down to the Bare Metal. It had also crept for at least 1¡± beyond the foot print of the Battery pack. And yes, the leaking wicked down the lead wires onto a circuit card causing connector damage, it ate a couple of traces and left crud on the board. Lots of FOD and work to clean it all up and fix it.

?

I replaced the whole NiCd Battery Pack with a 4 Farad 5.5V Super Capacitor. It was mounted to a G10 Prototype board. I pre-charged the Capacitor before connection. I also replaced the charging Resistor with a higher value and wattage for when it had power disconnected for long periods or a power outage for days (which I tested ¨C our power is very stable, maybe a power loss for a couple of hours per year).

?

There was already a reverse current Diode in the circuit so, I didn¡¯t need to add one. The Memory-Hold Voltage Range was 3.0V minimum ¨C an important data point because a Capacitor discharge curve is different than a NiCd, but similar enough to allow the change. I also made sure the +5V Power source was healthy (Bridge Rectifier, Regulator, well heatsinked and new 105C Bulk Capacitors) to avoid any future concerns.

?

Not original, but has worked well now for almost 5 years, it is designed to be reliable and safe. I know it won¡¯t happen again.

?

Here is a picture of the modification before I cleaned everything up.

?

?

?

?

?

All of the above items need to be investigated to make sure that what you are doing is in the best interest of any equipment modification and safety. Some people, as it has been stated before, replace rechargeable battery packs with other types of batteries (I have seen NiMH packs or Alkaline packs blindly replacing NiCd Packs before), again, you need to understand what you are doing.

?

?

Relocating the pack, packaging it, isolating the lead wires and doing the other provisions mentioned in the original post and other response posted are really good ideas.

?

?

Ross

?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Roy Thistle via groups.io
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2024 12:34 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

?

On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 04:59 AM, greenboxmaven wrote:

When you replace ANY memory battery...leaked electrolyte

Ya...

I've seen that leakage... and destruction... when people have balked at replacing the battery with the speced battery.

The speced battery is usually expensive... often seemingly unreasonably so... especially compared to an 'equivalent.'

But, the 'equivalent' battery... often... has not gone through product testing... and subsequent validation... especially with regard to the purported product specifications.

And some manufactures... well... IMO... they just lie.

?

To bad about the WJ... nice rcvr.

?
FTGH: 98629A balanced test connector

 

Found in the pile: a balanced test connector type 98629A.
I have no use for it, so for P&P only it can come your way.
Re: Fitting rack ears to ageing HP equipment

 

Worst case, acetone will soften/loosen the adhesive, but be careful not to spill it on sensitive areas of the instrument and don¡¯t drink it!?

A little acetone will return stickiness to old trim strips, if you have a need to put one back, or fresh double-side foam tape will also work.?

Jeremy?


On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 12:33?PM factory via <bobradios11=[email protected]> wrote:
I've always used an old hairdryer to soften the adhesive, an old flat blade dining knife of the type that was commonly made in Sheffield or Manchester can be used to pry, these days they sell the blade without a handle under the name 'spudger'
?
Alternately if you can access the other side, use a small screwdriver to push the strip from the back, while heating, there are some holes in the cast frame, the same ones that the handles attach too.
?
David
Re: Fitting rack ears to ageing HP equipment

 

I've always used an old hairdryer to soften the adhesive, an old flat blade dining knife of the type that was commonly made in Sheffield or Manchester can be used to pry, these days they sell the blade without a handle under the name 'spudger'
?
Alternately if you can access the other side, use a small screwdriver to push the strip from the back, while heating, there are some holes in the cast frame, the same ones that the handles attach too.
?
David
Re: A Caution- leaking and fuming batteries

 

On Mon, Nov 11, 2024 at 04:59 AM, greenboxmaven wrote:
When you replace ANY memory battery...leaked electrolyte
Ya...
I've seen that leakage... and destruction... when people have balked at replacing the battery with the speced battery.
The speced battery is usually expensive... often seemingly unreasonably so... especially compared to an 'equivalent.'
But, the 'equivalent' battery... often... has not gone through product testing... and subsequent validation... especially with regard to the purported product specifications.
And some manufactures... well... IMO... they just lie.
?
To bad about the WJ... nice rcvr.
?
Re: HP8568B HT BASIC and GPIB NI

 

Andrea

Have a look at :?

The documents are in german, but you have a set of softwares (based on HT Basic) to drive test gears, and some set up with various GPIB interface (including NI 488).

The attached document gives you a description of this set of softwares.

Best regards

Jacques

Le?mar. 1 oct. 2024 ¨¤?17:31, Andrea Liverani via <andreal1967=[email protected]> a ¨¦crit?:
I am trying to figure how to set HT Basic to interact with a National gpib interface and with mu 8568B.
HT basic is installed, the NI interface is seen by windows, but i don't understand how to see the instrument by HT Basic.
Any advice?

Art_VHF-com_MESSZEIT.pdf
Art_VHF-com_MESSZEIT.pdf

Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

On 11/11/24 11:14, Chuck Harris via groups.io wrote:
Thanks John, I knew that someone would recall the issue
with better clarity. At first I recalled it was only the BFO,
but then I talked myself into it being other mixers too...
My recollection is the error becomes significant when you use
the 3586ABC for things like the ARRL contest where hams everywhere
try to determine W1AW's operating frequency with the greatest
accuracy. The 3586ABC has won the contest in the past, and I
think the BFO was an important consideration.
I used the 3586 in several of the FMTs and was worried about the BFO. It turned out that the stability was just fine. However, you didn't want to derive the measured frequency from the beat note as there could be a Hz or two error due the crystal aging. I used what I called the "delta f" technique where I injected a known frequency close to the unknown one, and measured the difference between the two. In that case, the BFO frequency drops out of the equation.

Some others pull the low IF directly out of the receiver and measure the signal from that. That also takes the BFO out.

John
Re: HP 3586 counter reading high

 

Thanks John, I knew that someone would recall the issue
with better clarity. At first I recalled it was only the BFO,
but then I talked myself into it being other mixers too...

My recollection is the error becomes significant when you use
the 3586ABC for things like the ARRL contest where hams everywhere
try to determine W1AW's operating frequency with the greatest
accuracy. The 3586ABC has won the contest in the past, and I
think the BFO was an important consideration.

-Chuck Harris


On Mon, 11 Nov 2024 10:30:07 -0500 "John Ackermann N8UR via groups.io"
<jra@...> wrote:
The only part of the 3586 frequency chain that is not locked to the
10 MHz reference is the BFO. Two 2 MHz range crystals are divided
down to serve as injection oscillators at the final very low
frequency (around 20 kHz?) IF.

While the BFO frequency might be off by a Hz or so, in the units I've
had the audio note drift during operation is negligible. I don't
remember the details, but the required frequencies weren't
particularly straightforward to synthesize, and even for use in
frequency measuring tests the crystals were stable enough that it
wasn't worth the effort to replace them.

John
----

On 11/11/24 00:08, Chuck Harris via groups.io wrote:
As I recall, one of the interesting things about the 3586ABC is
with all of its synthesizer capability, it uses separate crystal
oscillators to handle internal mixers. This is a known accuracy
flaw in an otherwise beautiful instrument.

My recollection is that with a little hardware acumen, one can
build a board to recreate their frequencies all phase locked to
the main reference, and drastically improve the frequency
performance.

For your purposes, look at the various crystal oscillators in the
system... one of them is off frequency, or not warmed up.

-Chuck Harris


On Sun, 10 Nov 2024 20:12:58 +0000 "Bill Riches via groups.io"
<bill.riches@...> wrote:
My HP 3586's counter reads about 24 Hz high on any input frequency.

The rear panel fx output reads whatever is input to the front
panel.

It passes all TF tests with the exception of TF-13 - 3-2 (counter).

I swapped A22 from a parts donor and that fails the test also. (
That A22 could be bad also!)

Any suggestions>

73,

Bill Riches, WA2DVU
Cape May, NJ
Re: I did it again - Damaged spectrum analyzer 8563EC

 

Hi Roy,
?
It was a while ago, but I recall it being a microcontroller's output - so a few milliwatts.
?
I've been conversing with Vladan here lately, and of me running through its operation. The thinking is that there is some IF leaking in, but we're not yet sure which IF.
?
I'll try to do another video sometime today, focusing on changing the span to show resolution bandwidth changes.
?
?
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