New subject: TU-58 tape drives and melted capstans (was Re: HP Protocol Analyzers)

11 Sep 2002

Hi
 I know someone that re-tires phono idlers. Contact me
off list and I'll give you the info on him. He said
he'd give re-tiring a capstan a try if someone want
to experiment.
Dwight

...
 From: Joe &lt;rigdonj(a)cfl.rr.com&gt;

Ethan,

At 09:02 AM 9/11/02 -0700, you wrote:

--- "J.C. Wren" &lt;jcwren(a)jcwren.com&gt; wrote:
  	I acquired a pair of HP-4952A protocol
analyzers.  One has version
 1.00 1986 software, the other A.02.00 1989 software...

 	Also, I'm looking for a copy of the terminal emulator that came with
 these.  I know the diskettes can't be copied on the unit, but I'm sure
 they could be copied on a *nix box. 
Can't help you with floppy-based HP analyzers, but it leads me to ask
about my own - I have a pair of portable HP protocol analyzers (I
*thought* the numbers were 4951A and 4951B, buit they do not use 3.5"
floppies (that's the 4951C, AFAIK); instead, they use the same sort of
tapes as a DEC TU-58). 

   I have a 4951. It uses the same tapes as the HP-85, HP 9825, etc. IIRC 
they're DC-100 tapes and you can use the same (40MB?) tapes that were used 
in PCs. You can also reformat and use DECTapes.  But check your drive first, 
you'll probably find that it has the same problems (melted tape drive 
roller) as the HPs usually do.
...

I did find this PDF on a Google search:

  http://www.helmut-singer.de/pdf/hp4951c-4952a-4954a-4955a-4972a.pdf

Doesn't solve any problems, but it's a nice feature reference.

We did lots and lots with ours, including simulating an IBM 37X5 (PU T4)
up to and including the BIND, with enough RR traffic to fool our PU T2
product into thinking it was logging onto a real system.  It's harder
than it sounds, especially given that the menu-based "programming 
language" does not allow much creative latitude.  I suspect that newer
analyzers (like yours), especially those mentioned in that PDF file,
would have better SNA support.  In any case, they were stunning for
BISYNC traffic.  Not sure we ever used them for async monitoring, but
they _will_ do it.

Are there any other HP analyzer owners on the list?  I'd love to swap
any information. 
     My 4951 is in storage but I'm pretty sure that there's a operators 
manual with it.
...

    Joe

-ethan

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