Re: microscope / high magnification camera options for soldering, faults, and other examinations/inspections
I agree with Steve Hendrix, stereo or binocular zoom microscopes are key to good eye hand coordination which requires depth perception lacking on 2D displays used with digital microscopes.
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Joe
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Re: Threads for screws on 8656 Siggen
p. 6-36. 4 * MP101, 6-32.
G?ran
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Dear Bill,
Many thanks for the update.?
My 8643A has displayed this fault code from time to time.
I will check the connectors carefully when I take it out of the rack for oven power supply repair.
Using tinned connectors was very poor form for HP, but of course the detail was not very visible.
By contrast, as a young engineer working on things for the US Gov’t, I was surprised to see that our heatsink blocks were gold plated on all surfaces. There was no electrical or thermal reason for this, so I naively asked my superiors why we spent so much money doing this. This resulted in pitying looks, smiles and the explanation- “When the sponsor visits it helps him to see that he is getting value for money on the contract.” Another lesson learned.
Regards,
Alwyn
_____________________________________________________
Alwyn Seeds, Director
SynOptika Ltd.,
114 Beaufort Street,
London,
SW3 6BU,
England.
SynOptika Ltd., Registered in England and Wales: No. 04606737
Registered Office: 114 Beaufort Street, London, SW3 6BU, United Kingdom. _____________________________________________________
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hp8970a recallibration attenuator help
hello all
I have a hp8970A meter that has been turned off for a long time. I turned it back on and I know that the internal attenuator needs to be recalibrated with the special command function SP 33.0. I re-entered the ENR table of the head but I don't remember if the temperature also needs to be entered or not just for the recalibration of the attenuator does anyone remember?
thank
iw5bsf Roberto
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Re: Threads for screws on 8656 Siggen
On 2025-03-17 12:25 AM, Wayne Eckert via groups.io wrote: Hi can someone tell me what thread the screws are that hold the back panel on? HP8656. I am assuming they are 5/32 as 3mm and 4mm metric are either too small or too big. or wrong thread There's also a 3.5mm standard thread, used on IEEE-488 connectors, that might be a possibility. Steve Hendrix
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Re: microscope / high magnification camera options for soldering, faults, and other examinations/inspections
On 2025-03-17 12:02 AM, Radu Bogdan Dicher via groups.io wrote: Having done enough (red) eye cracking smd soldering jobs or inspections in case of suspected failure (cold joints, etc.), I've decided to invest a bit on a better optical setup.
There's plenty of cameras on the marketplaces and retailers out there, but what are some better choices? Good experiences with some specific models? I have used a stereo zoom microscope from Titan Tools for several decades, for soldering mostly down to 0603, sometimes 0402, and occasionally 0201. Stereo, because you really need the depth perception for that sort of soldering. Zoom, because you need the lower magnification to give enough field of view for ease of routine hand-soldering, but higher magnification when hunting a cracked trace etc. This unit goes from 7x, where it stays most of the time, up to 40x, and has an alternate pair of eyepieces to double the magnification, and an auxiliary objective lens to double again, so it actually completely covers 7x to 160x. For years I used a simple light bulb clamped to the stand for illumination; a couple years ago the LED ring illuminators came down in price and they're way better. YMMV of course! Steve Hendrix
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Re: microscope / high magnification camera options for soldering, faults, and other examinations/inspections
Radu,
I picked up a Tomlov brand digital microscope that is handy for soldering and board inspections. There are several styles available on Amazon for prices as cheap as $70.
The advantage to it is that it has a self-contained LCD display so is a single compact unit to use without having to connect wires and cables to other equipment. It even has the ability to record to a USB drive if needed.
The model I have is a DM201 with a 7" HDMI display. If I can recall I paid around $130 for it. It looks like it has now been replaced by the slightly higher priced model DM202. But there are many other models available. You might take a look at them
Greg
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Re: Threads for screws on 8656 Siggen
It is likely that they are imperial 6-32 pan head pozi-drive ( looks like a Phillips head, but slightly different.) The outside dia. of a 6-32 screw is about 0.138 inch (~3.5mm) and 32 threads per inch.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2025 at 12:25?AM Wayne Eckert via <Wayne.Eckert= [email protected]> wrote: Hi can someone tell me what thread the screws are that hold the back panel on? HP8656. I am assuming they are 5/32 as 3mm and 4mm metric are either too small or too big. or wrong thread
Are the UNF , UNC or something else? imperial thread screws are not common in Australia, and I have lost all teh screws out of the back of my sig gen.
?I think the ones i ordered were bsw and of course don't fit
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Wayne?
VK2WDE
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Re: microscope / high magnification camera options for soldering, faults, and other examinations/inspections
With all the amazing improvements to the optics and imaging electronics over the years, I don't think you'll have much trouble there, except for assessing and deciding. Even in low-light conditions the modern cameras do well, so all I can say is to go by the specs and cost, considering the application. One basic thing I think that is in common with vision and photography is to maximize f-stop (smallest aperture or iris possible) with good lighting so you get good depth of field. It makes things much more pleasant for viewing. Good luck.
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Ed
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Re: HP 8643A and Capacitors
My 8643 failure message indicated 5V supply failure. Voltage at test point measured 4.9 volts. I replaced all the capacitors in both switching supplies of the 8643A. Both supplies checked out OK before capacitor changes, and OK after capacitor changes. But I'm happy it has new capacitors.
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The battery voltage was OK, but being old and not interested in leaks, it has a new set of 3xAAA in little plastic holder.
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After reading about tinned Molex connectors developing voltage drops I sprayed DeOxit on pins of the power supply connector, and both input and output connectors of the power filter board. And of course the cable pins that plugged into those connectors. Power supply and filter board input connectors were tinned pins. Pins on the output end of the filter board were gold. Did the best I could, but it wasn't as good a job as I would like to have done.
NONE of the connector bodies were discolored. There was maybe 1/4 volt drop, and not that many hours of use, before I took it apart. Probably not enough time and heat to discolor the Nylon.
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Applied power, and test point now measures 5.10 volts. So looks like it was voltage drop in the tinned Molex connectors. ?No error message. While I haven't checked exhaustively to verify everything is working, but I expect it's OK again.
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THANK YOU GUYS FOR POINTING TO THE CONNECTORS
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Regards - Bill W7AAZ
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Re: HP 3403C True RMS Voltmeter display fault
Nice. I hope mine works as well when I eventually get back to it.? Ed
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Threads for screws on 8656 Siggen
Hi can someone tell me what thread the screws are that hold the back panel on? HP8656. I am assuming they are 5/32 as 3mm and 4mm metric are either too small or too big. or wrong thread
Are the UNF , UNC or something else? imperial thread screws are not common in Australia, and I have lost all teh screws out of the back of my sig gen.
?I think the ones i ordered were bsw and of course don't fit
?
Wayne?
VK2WDE
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microscope / high magnification camera options for soldering, faults, and other examinations/inspections
Having done enough (red) eye cracking smd soldering jobs or inspections in case of suspected failure (cold joints, etc.), I've decided to invest a bit on a better optical setup.
?
There's plenty of cameras on the marketplaces and retailers out there, but what are some better choices? Good experiences with some specific models??
?
Also, what to watch for? Specs, minimal magnification that crosses over a good threshold?
?
I have a couple of large screens at my bench - I'm thinking this will be best done by shooting this over to one of those. USB, HDMI?...?
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Lighting/LEDs making a significant difference?
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Thank you for your input.
Radu.?
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Thanks for posting a follow-up. Glad your 8643A is working.
Tony
AD0VC
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My 8643 failure message indicated 5V supply failure. Voltage at test
point measured 4.9 volts. I replaced all the capacitors in both
switching supplies of the 8643A. Both supplies checked out OK before
capacitor changes, and OK after capacitor changes. But I'm happy it has
new capacitors.
The battery voltage was OK, but being old and not interested in leaks,
it has a new set of 3xAAA in little plastic holder.
After reading about tinned Molex connectors developing voltage drops I
sprayed DeOxit on pins of the power supply connector, and both input and
output connectors of the power filter board. And of course the cable
pins that plugged into those connectors. Power supply and filter board
input connectors were tinned pins. Pins on the output end of the filter
board were gold. Did the best I could, but it wasn't as good a job as I
would like to have done.
NONE of the connector bodies were discolored. There was maybe 1/4 volt
drop, and not that many hours of use, before I took it apart. Probably
not enough time and heat to discolor the Nylon.
Applied power, and test point now measures 5.10 volts. So looks like it
was voltage drop in the tinned Molex connectors.? No error message.
While I haven't checked exhaustively to verify everything is working,
but I expect it's OK again.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR POINTING TO THE CONNECTORS
Regards - Bill W7AAZ
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My 8643 failure message indicated 5V supply failure. Voltage at test point measured 4.9 volts. I replaced all the capacitors in both switching supplies of the 8643A. Both supplies checked out OK before capacitor changes, and OK after capacitor changes. But I'm happy it has new capacitors.
The battery voltage was OK, but being old and not interested in leaks, it has a new set of 3xAAA in little plastic holder.
After reading about tinned Molex connectors developing voltage drops I sprayed DeOxit on pins of the power supply connector, and both input and output connectors of the power filter board. And of course the cable pins that plugged into those connectors. Power supply and filter board input connectors were tinned pins. Pins on the output end of the filter board were gold. Did the best I could, but it wasn't as good a job as I would like to have done.
NONE of the connector bodies were discolored. There was maybe 1/4 volt drop, and not that many hours of use, before I took it apart. Probably not enough time and heat to discolor the Nylon.
Applied power, and test point now measures 5.10 volts. So looks like it was voltage drop in the tinned Molex connectors.? No error message. While I haven't checked exhaustively to verify everything is working, but I expect it's OK again.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR POINTING TO THE CONNECTORS
Regards - Bill W7AAZ
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Re: HP859x Power Supply Schematics
thanks Chris for the superb job !
adri
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----- Messaggio originale -----
Inviato: 07/03/2025 16:16:31
Oggetto: Re: [HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment] HP859x Power Supply Schematics
Anyone who downloaded my schematics of the Output Regulator should update them with those I have just uploaded to the files section, along with the schematics of the other two boards. I found a couple of errors, and I have updated some signal names to better reflect their function.
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Chris
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Re: Keysight 23522a Binary Arb Files
Hi Tom, ? There is some information about this format here: ? Yves ? 
? ? Hello Community, I got a 33522a Arb Signal Generator. I'm still looking for a file format description of the binary arb file format ( *.barb ). I found some information about this format and I still can create this files with the basic Parameters I found some information about the ASCII Version of the file format ( *.arb ) and there are some more parameter i can set. The problem ist for using the whole 16M space i do need the binary file structure. Finally there are several 32bit or 64bit int / float values which are unknown for me. IT seems to me this unknown values could set a lot of interesting Parameters. Is anyone in this group who has a full description of the *.barb file format for the 33522a series? Alternative could be someone who hast the keysight sw benchvue with Wave Form Option for creating such binary arb Files. He could create a Set of Files with different settings. This could analyzed by my sw.
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Re: HP8510C CalKit file .CK_ format
Hi Marcus,
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Thank you for your idea! I followed your idea of sending commands to 8510c let it generate a binary file.
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I ended up writing a very small and primitive XML parser that's good enough to understand the Keysight .xkt file, generates GPIB commands and convert some of the newer Keysight parameters so that the 8510C will take.
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Thank you again.
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Regards,
Calvin
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Re: 3" disks for 8566A/B, 8568A/B on HP 9000 Series 200 Computers - Any interest in images?
I am using an old Toshiba Portege 7200 laptop which has the slim floppy
drive in the docking station and it runs WinXP.
This laptop has a P3 CPU/128MB RAM/64GB PATA IDE SSD. Never had issues
with it reading/writing floppy disks.
I especially kept it for work with floppy disks and parallel port
communication.
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On 16/03/2025 20:10, Ed Marciniak via groups.io wrote: Your PC must support 256 and 512 byte sectors and the number of sectors
per track used by LIF formats to successfully read/write disks. “Super
IO” chips that implement PS2 keyboard/mouse, IDE, a parallel and one or
two serial ports plus a floppy interfaces should have no problem(usually
80486 and earlier Pentium). Somewhat newer systems that had the parallel
port and floppy, serial/parallel/keyboard via the LPC interface also
usually have no trouble(late 486 or earlier Pentium to later pentium
maybe P2/P3 typically). Anything Pentium 4, core, core2 and newer you’re
probably going to be out of luck. There might be some exceptions, like
certain servers that had an LPC interface for a parallel port (for
license dongles) that also happen to retain a floppy interface.
In principle, a USB device could support non DOS formats but most likely
do not. There are some specialized hardware out there .. flux something
or another intended to read raw media that could do the job via USB.
Something like an old D630, or more generally D600 to D630 and D800 to
D830 that can have a floppy, CD-R, DVD or battery in a hot swap bay
that’ll do it as well.
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I contacted them, reply was that a search of email folders didn't show this sender.
Use this email address, from their website.
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regards, Ron
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G?ran Krusell
Roberto
Bill Carver