Hello Folks,
I just spent 10 minutes of my limited time digging through whiney messages. So, f### it, Ill invest another ten minutes to point the esteemed quorum at a general fact which, we TMI heads, might not like.
A lot of old TMI is worth less than the sum of its parts. My ex lab gypsy recently experienced this upon trying to import a DANAHER 575 curve tracer to Macao. It was a honest customs official who did not try to pilfer the unit, but had her over for a chat. He at first believed that she had found the mother of all import scams, and was utterly shocked AND very unhappy when she showed him that the 575 will actually see use as it stands.
Same for Nixie tubes. I have, in my lab, two Systron Donner Microwave counters (if anyone sees Artek, nudge him from me - dude, I REALLY need me manual back. Please, please man!!! Its now three years!!!! Ill pay shipping. I pay processing. PLEASE; give it back as I did not make a copy before sending it to you).
If we tear them down, the Nixies are worth more than the whole unit. Actually, I have a design called Nixie-be-gone floating around my head, just never came to it...as nixies are maintenance hogs anyways, why not let customers release the Nixie equity to fools who desire it, and improve TMI dispatch reliability.
Either way, with gold prices at a record high thanks to a dude named after a ceramic lavatory equipment, we should expect a lot more scrapping soon. Sorry to bring the depressed news, but 500USD is less than 10 grams of gold.
Tam
- - - - -
With best regards
Tam HANNA
Enjoy electronics? Join 13500 followers by visiting the Crazy Electronics Lab at
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 07.12.20 04:20, Dave McGuire wrote: On 12/6/20 9:32 PM, Dave Miller wrote:
I am good on a lending library. ? It's a good idea.
I don¡¯t agree with your approach with Pete. ? That is your prerogative.
He has helped many of us out on our quest for nice test equipment. ? I myself have purchased about $10,000 worth of stuff, possibly a bit more, from Pete.? Most of those purchases were good ones.? Not all, but most.? But, importantly, that's not what we're discussing here.
I doubt he got all his stuff for free. ? No one knows how he got his stuff.? But he has claimed to me several times that at much of it did, actually, come for free.
Expecting him to give stuff away for free. ? No one EVER said anything about him giving it away for free.
The value of a item is what the sell and buyer agree to. ? Correct.
Not all the time they agree. ? Correct.? But the line that was crossed was the public threat of destroying the item if his (very high, in this case) price demand was not met.? As I stated earlier, it was inappropriate, uncalled for, and transparent.? I stand by that assertion.
? This is not the first time this has happened, and it's not the first time he's been called out on it.? In fact, it's not even the second, or third time.
I find this a great resource and with my growing collection of HP gear I hope to continue being allowed to read and post but am disappointed with some of the posts today. ? As am I.? Different ones, apparently.
??????????? -Dave
|
Re: HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
That's at 18GHz I believe.
|
Re: HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
The cable is 5ft long, so there is some loss. I want to say it's 1.1dB loss per foot, although I could be slightly off. I can find out the exact number if that's important
|
Re: HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
amirb, thanks for the info on the likely causes! I need to spend some time working through the RF operation, but this should focus my search. The frequencies are very close. Not precisely correct, but they don't look far off. They're pretty stable, but they do bounce around a bit. This is especially noticeable when I set the frequency span low.
Don, the noise floor is exactly as you describe. When I perform a preselector peak I get:
2.2GHz: -1.7dB
4: -1.7
5.7: -3
5.9: -2.8
8: -3
12.4: -5.5
12.6: -14
18.5: -13.5
18.7: -13.5
20: -11.9
That's as high as I can go. I'm not sure if this is normal, but the amplitude moves around a lot during "peaking!". The cable is of high quality, but is only rated to 18GHz.
|
Hi Dave,
I bought a Masters Communications RLB1500 from Amtronix, to use
with my HP8935 you can see it here...
cheers Tim
On 7/12/20 2:34 pm, Dave Ireland wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Is anyone on this group have a return loss
bridge for sale or know where a unit with HP type specs can be
obtained at a reasonable price?
I want to use it for sat-com stuff so the
top end frequency does not have to be above 500MHz but it
would be nice to match it to my spec an (Agilent E4401B) up to
1.5GHz.
Thanks
Dave
|
Re: 9122 and 9122C - HPIB Connected DiskDrives - Scrap or save?
Robert, just for clarification the HP 9122 is a dual 3.5in. floppy drive (360KB per drive) with a GPIB connector. The HP9122C is the same but both floppy drives are 1.2MB.
They were used a lot with the HP ETE and technical workstations in the 1970¡¯s and 80¡¯s. They can be used to load software and sisters onto the older HP ETE.
Don Bitters
|
Re: HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
1) What does the noise floor of the 8566A look like with no signal connected after IP (Instrument Preset).
hint: the top of the noise floor from 2-5.8GHz should be flat and about 65dB down from the top graticule, from 5.8-12.5GHz almost flat and about 60dB down from the top graticule, from 12.5-18.6GHz - tilted up about 4dB and about 54dB down from the top graticule, from 18.6-22GHz - tilted up about 6dB and about 48dB down from top graticule. The gain is stepped up about 6dB for each band from 2-22GHz, which causes the noise floor steps.
2) What happens when you put an external signal from your 8340Bon each of the bands I listed above and then do a PSP (preselector peak - a front panel key)?
Better yet put a signal in at the low, mid, and high ends of each band, but not right at the band edge - 100-200MHz above the lower, and below the upper edges will work just fine.
3) What kind of cable are you using to hookup the 8340 and 8566? Is it rated for 22GHz?
Don Bitters
|
I bought my perfectly in Cal hp 86205a for $200 so...
|
From Kevin Custer of Repeater Builder fame:
|
Thanks
I am never sure of the "real"
performance when buying off ebay but if you have had success with
them I will go and see if I can hunt them down.
Dave
On 7/12/2020 11:58 am, amirb wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I have several of those cheap ones on ebay and the good ones work
perfectly fine up to 1GHz or even more honestly.
there is one made by a Russian seller which I find it the best. it
also comes with metal casing and looks very professional
claims 3GHz but it's really good to 1-1.5GHz unless you can accept
lower directivities when yeah 3GHz is not horribly bad?
also there is? mini circuit zfdc-20-4 (cheap on ebay) that works
fine up to 1GHz
i think it has a 75 ohm version too
i do have a HP 86205A up to 6GHz which is dear to me ;-)?
|
I have several of those cheap ones on ebay and the good ones work perfectly fine up to 1GHz or even more honestly.
there is one made by a Russian seller which I find it the best. it also comes with metal casing and looks very professional
claims 3GHz but it's really good to 1-1.5GHz unless you can accept lower directivities when yeah 3GHz is not horribly bad?
also there is? mini circuit zfdc-20-4 (cheap on ebay) that works fine up to 1GHz
i think it has a 75 ohm version too
i do have a HP 86205A up to 6GHz which is dear to me ;-)?
|
Is anyone on this group have a return loss
bridge for sale or know where a unit with HP type specs can be
obtained at a reasonable price?
I want to use it for sat-com stuff so the top
end frequency does not have to be above 500MHz but it would be
nice to match it to my spec an (Agilent E4401B) up to 1.5GHz.
Thanks
Dave
|
Re: [test-equip-trader] 8671, 8672, 8673 support kit
On 12/6/20 9:32 PM, Dave Miller wrote: I am good on a lending library. It's a good idea. I don¡¯t agree with your approach with Pete. That is your prerogative. He has helped many of us out on our quest for nice test equipment. I myself have purchased about $10,000 worth of stuff, possibly a bit more, from Pete. Most of those purchases were good ones. Not all, but most. But, importantly, that's not what we're discussing here. I doubt he got all his stuff for free. No one knows how he got his stuff. But he has claimed to me several times that at much of it did, actually, come for free. Expecting him to give stuff away for free. No one EVER said anything about him giving it away for free. The value of a item is what the sell and buyer agree to. Correct. Not all the time they agree. Correct. But the line that was crossed was the public threat of destroying the item if his (very high, in this case) price demand was not met. As I stated earlier, it was inappropriate, uncalled for, and transparent. I stand by that assertion. This is not the first time this has happened, and it's not the first time he's been called out on it. In fact, it's not even the second, or third time. I find this a great resource and with my growing collection of HP gear I hope to continue being allowed to read and post but am disappointed with some of the posts today. As am I. Different ones, apparently. -Dave -- Dave McGuire, AK4HZ New Kensington, PA
|
Re: HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
I am not familiar with 8566 but I have repaired quite a few other high frequency SAs by HP
I think most probably the structure is the same for high bands, meaning a pre-selector YIG filter and then a harmonic mixer
so here are my thoughts and suggestions/questions
1-Although the intermittent YTO unlock issue must be addressed and fixed before anything else, but for a moment we can ignore it
if you are reading correct and stable frequencies when you are doing those amplitude measurements. Are you?
if it is not stable and is wobbly, then troubleshooting amplitude problem is useless, the YTO lock must be fixed
but if you happen to have lock at those measurements, then based on my experience your errors pretty much
most likely due to the YTF (yig tuned filter) in the high band and a little less likely but still possible in the harmonic mixer or the high band switch
these three components are the main and usually only pieces causing the problem in high band. I dont know if they are integrated together
in 8566 like in 8563 for example or they are separate. If they are separate, it is easy to follow the RF path and find out where the
signal is losing its amplitude. In most cases that I have dealt with the YTF is the min culprit and then the high band switch.
it could the YTF driver circuit is bad and is not tuning the filter to follow the signal or it could be the YTF itself which would be unfortunate.
Is there a "amplitude peaking"? or pre-tune
or pre-selector peaking .... option in the menus? usually high frequency SAs have a peaking button in menu that tries to maximize (fine tune the YTF)
at the center freq. you can try that, it may be called various names but you will figure it out. But if the filter is way out of tune that?
option cannot bring it to center.?
the only way to really figure out the issue is to open it and follow the signal path with another SA or at least a power meter
|
Someone was looking for a power cord that doesn't plug in, for a repair. I just bought a batch on Ebay, and the seller has one lot left.
which is a lot of 25, 18AWG, eight foot cords for $46.66 including shipping. That's less than $2 each, and they aren't as easy to find as they once were. I figure that by the time I replace all of the worn or damaged cords on my stuff, I might only have a couple left. I just wanted to let the group know there was one lot left, from and old line surplus dealer..
|
8594L is a totally different instrument
|
just to make sure, did you connect the comb output to the rf input for the calibration?
what happens if you connect t he comb output to input and try to just look at it??
|
Re: [test-equip-trader] 8671, 8672, 8673 support kit
I am good on a lending library.
I don¡¯t agree with your approach with Pete.
He has helped many of us out on our quest for nice test equipment.
I doubt he got all his stuff for free.
Expecting him to give stuff away for free.
The value of a item is what the sell and buyer agree to.
Not all the time they agree.
I find this a great resource and with my growing collection of HP gear I hope to continue being allowed to read and post but am disappointed with some of the posts today.
Dave
VE7HR
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On Dec 6, 2020, at 6:02 PM, Dave McGuire <mcguire@...> wrote:
?On 12/6/20 4:56 PM, Bruce wrote:
All-
So here is an idea I've thought about B4 - to turn this discussion in
a more positive direction.
Many of us have stuff like the support kit that is the subject of this
discussion. These are things that we rarely use (unless your business
i service) but that could be life saving for others. I propose that
we consider a kind of lending library - a list of those who have
useful things that they would be willing to lend out (on a you break
it you bought it basis) to help others in the group. In particular
there apparently a couple of guy who might be able to help the person
willing to pay more than double for the 86XXX support kit. I have an
8510B service kit that I would be willing to lend, and will shortly
have a set of extender boards for 8340 CPU and eventually for 4195A. I also have an HP435b that I've modified for working on 84XX power
sensor chopper boards (using it right now but when I finish, it is
available).
Also, I would not ban Pete from the group, I'd just ban him from
ADVERTISING on the group :-)
So - Thoughts - and is anybody else "in" ??? I'm in, 100%, that's a fine idea.
If Pete does it again, he will be both unsubscribed and banned. He has been warned about this before, more than once.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
New Kensington, PA
|
Erkan, your post is hard to understand.? I have, I think, an 8594L that mostly works okay.? Is that similar?
Bob
On Sunday, December 6, 2020, 06:19:38 PM PST, Erkan Erbay via groups.io <erkanerbay@...> wrote:
Hi all, I am reading many posts as an amateur for many years and trying to understand. I am a Medical Doctor and just a hobbiest.
I bought an HP 8592b SA 1 year ago and It was working and all calibration procedures was successful.
I powered it up 1 week ago and got error 0030 and the battery was almost 0v and changed it today. But first the monitor not worked properly digged web and?
after -2001 hz procedure the display occured with? same method the cal amp and freq passed. But the YIG cal is unsuccesfull because of lost comb signal.
As I said I am just an amateur?cannot find any solution. Thanks for kindly reading this message.
|
HP 8566A large amplitude error in 2-22GHz range
Full disclosure: ?I¡¯ve already posted this question but was told this would be a good forum to check.
I recently purchased an HP 8566A on ebay that was listed as functional. I tested this using an HP 8341B synthesized sweeper. Although the range up to 2.5GHz seems to be fine (I haven't tested it much, but the few frequencies I've checked seem to be ok), the higher frequency range shows large, progressively increasing amplitude errors. The amplitude error (using a 0dBm input) at 2.2GHz is about -4dB. At 20GHz the error is around -37dB. Although the 8341B sweeper hasn't been calibrated, I've tested the output power with a calibrated power meter, so the error definitely appears to be with the spectrum analyzer. All cables etc. are of high quality. I've performed the error correction routine using the calibration output, which appears to work fine. I also frequently see YTO unlock messages, even though the instrument has been given adequate warm-up time.
?
The ebay seller insists that the instrument worked when it was sent. I'm skeptical, since the instrument did not have any visual signs of damage when unpacked and I've been extremely careful with it. I've only taken off the cover once to replace a stripped screw and I did this at an ESD-safe workstation. I haven't yet checked and replaced old caps, so I guess it's possible this could be a source of failure that didn't manifest when the seller tested it.
?
Before I do a deep dive into the service manual and start pulling the device apart, replacing old caps and doing other checks, has anyone experienced this behavior or something similar with an 8566A or B? Any advice on how to proceed? Also, I'm happy to post more information and pictures/videos if those are helpful. Just let me know!
|
Dave McGuire
Michael A. Terrell