[time-nuts] HP 3048A Alternative to HP3561A?

[John Allen]

Hello all - I have always wanted an HP 3048A system.  I have acquired a
11848A, but need an HP 3561A or equivalent.
 
Is there any substitute to the 3561A?
 
Also, are their other spectrum analyzers that are acceptable other than the
ones listed here?
 
http://www.geocities.jp/etm_llc/pub/HP3048A/3048A.html
 
Thanks!  John, K1AE
 
John Allen - PC Support Solutions  
www.pcsupportsolutions.com 
PC On Site Service and Training - Computer HW/SW/Network debugging,
installation and upgrades.  Dell Premier Partner sales.
  Check me out on Yelp!
  mailto:j...@pcsupportsolutions.com M:
508 361-6229
 


---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
___
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

Re: [time-nuts] HP 3048A Alternative to HP3561A?

[Dan Rae]

On 9/4/2015 8:07 PM, John Allen wrote:

Hello all - I have always wanted an HP 3048A system.  I have acquired a
11848A, but need an HP 3561A or equivalent.
  
Is there any substitute to the 3561A?
John the problem is that all the software is specific to the 3561A so 
unless you are going to write your own version, you're stuck with the 
instruments that the 3048 software will address.  One exception is the 
Voltmeter, the later meters like the 34401A will work with the hpib 
commands for the 3478A.
  
Also, are their other spectrum analyzers that are acceptable other than the

ones listed here?
  

The same applies to spectrum analyzers for the HF segment.

There are 3561As around, after a lot of searching I found not one but 
two, however both needed some work to get them running perfectly.


Personally I have had much more trouble getting the computer part of the 
system to work than I had with the  hardware, and I still have not 
managed to generate my own calibration files...


John Miles has some excellent pages on his site concerning the 3048A.

Dan





___
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

Re: [time-nuts] HP 3048A Alternative to HP3561A?

[John Miles]

> Hello all - I have always wanted an HP 3048A system.  I have acquired a
> 11848A, but need an HP 3561A or equivalent.
> 
> Is there any substitute to the 3561A?

Nope.  It's the 3561A or nothing.

> Also, are their other spectrum analyzers that are acceptable other than the
> ones listed here?
> 
> http://www.geocities.jp/etm_llc/pub/HP3048A/3048A.html

No, it needs to be one of those.  The 3585A (or 3585B) is the best option but 
the others will work too.

You can get by without any RF spectrum analyzer at all, but the 3561A is 
mandatory.

-- john, KE5FX


___
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

Re: [time-nuts] HP 3048A Alternative to HP3561A?

[Bob Camp]

Hi

Given that the unique stuff is in the 11848A and the rest of the system is not 
all 
that unique - there is a solution: 

One could re-write the code (more likely write the code from scratch). Yes, 
that 
has been suggested a lot of times. It is a pretty major undertaking. Some of 
the 
interface to the 11848 is documented only in the 3048 code. The code we 
have now dates *way* back. 

I bugged the original author about an update back in the 90’s. Computer upgrades
had already started showing issues with the code. Even then it was a “not going 
there” sort of thing. I even think I bought lunch. We are now > 15 years past 
that.  

With enough tweaks, the right cards, and a really old slow computer, the 
software
will still run. There are 3048’s still in use on a daily basis in a number of 
factories. 
More or less, you want:

1) A junk video card. Nothing fancy, nothing with acceleration. The idea is to 
slow everything down
as much as possible.  Low resolution works fine with the 3048 code. 

2) Very little memory. Again, the idea is to cramp the OS as much as possible 
so it slows down. If
the computer seems sluggish, that’s what you are after. 

3) An original HP or National Instruments card from the 1990’s. Do not try to 
get it running
with anything other than the bare drivers. There are a few more modern cards 
that 
you can get working, that gets into voodoo tricks with this and that driver in 
some cases. 

4) The oldest OS you can stand. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 would be ideal. The 
code
started to show problems when Win 95 came out. It can be run on more modern 
OS’s. The
tricks  and computer selection just gets a bit more involved. 

5) A single core processor with a slow clock. When this was new the idea of GHz 
applying
to CPU clocks was not even on the horizon. 

Yes there is more in the same line of thinking that applies to specific setups. 
That should
be enough to get you headed in the right direction. 

Bob
 

> On Sep 4, 2015, at 11:07 PM, John Allen  wrote:
> 
> Hello all - I have always wanted an HP 3048A system.  I have acquired a
> 11848A, but need an HP 3561A or equivalent.
> 
> Is there any substitute to the 3561A?
> 
> Also, are their other spectrum analyzers that are acceptable other than the
> ones listed here?
> 
> http://www.geocities.jp/etm_llc/pub/HP3048A/3048A.html
> 
> Thanks!  John, K1AE
> 
> John Allen - PC Support Solutions  
> www.pcsupportsolutions.com 
> PC On Site Service and Training - Computer HW/SW/Network debugging,
> installation and upgrades.  Dell Premier Partner sales.
>  Check me out on Yelp!
>  mailto:j...@pcsupportsolutions.com M:
> 508 361-6229
> 
> 
> 
> ---
> This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
> https://www.avast.com/antivirus
> ___
> time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
> To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
> and follow the instructions there.

___
time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com
To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts
and follow the instructions there.