11 Oct
2011
11 Oct
'11
12:31 p.m.
This may be a bit off-topic, although the instrumetn in question is
certainly well over 10 years old, it includes a classic microprocessor
(68B09, along with a a 6829 MMU, I've never seen one before), and is
certainly suitable for repairing classic computers...
Anyway, I've been given a really nice toy -- an HP1530D Logic Analyser.
The -D model ahs 16 timing channels (which can be confgured in blocks of
8 as state channels) and a further 27 state channels. HP got a lot right
in the design of this instrument -- the fact that the pods can only be
disconnected after rmeoving a cover plate means that the pods are unlikely
to get spearated from the unit and lost, for example.
Anyway, given it's a -D (and not a -G), is there anyting I should know
about it? Any fun tricks that are not immediately obvious from the
manuals (I don't have these on paper :-(, I've been looking at the ones
vey kindly provided o nthe Agilent web site)
-tony
11 Oct
11 Oct
2:37 p.m.
Tony Duell wrote about the HP 1630 logic analyzer:
the fact that the pods can only be
disconnected after rmeoving a cover plate means that the pods are
unlikely
to get spearated from the unit and lost, for example.
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the
value of what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do
in fact show up routinely without pods.
3:02 p.m.
I think I have one burried around here somewhere, but no idea on the pods.
Paul
On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 4:37 PM, Eric Smith <eric at brouhaha.com> wrote:
Tony Duell wrote about the HP 1630 logic analyzer:
the fact that the pods can only be
disconnected after rmeoving a cover plate means that the pods are unlikely
to get spearated from the unit and lost, for example.
Nope. ?You underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the value
of what they're reselling. ?I don't know why they do it. ?These do in fact
show up routinely without pods.
6:27 p.m.
On Tue, 11 Oct 2011, Eric Smith wrote:
Tony Duell wrote about the HP 1630 logic analyzer:
Seconded. Every single one I've run into at hamfests and swap meets is
missing the pods, software and documentation. Clueless &)(*^)^s
--
the fact that the pods can only be
disconnected after rmeoving a cover plate means that the pods are unlikely
to get spearated from the unit and lost, for example.
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the value of
what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact show
up routinely without pods.
12 Oct
12 Oct
1:57 p.m.
Nope. You
underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the value of
what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact show
up routinely without pods.
Seconded. Every single one I've run into at hamfests and swap meets is
missing the pods, software and documentation. Clueless &)(*^)^s 
3:18 p.m.
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods lives reasonably close to Seattle, we
should talk. I have a 1630G that I love (and I have all the pods) but the screen is
starting to dim.... -- Ian
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of
Tony Duell [ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 1:57 PM
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Subject: Re: OT(?) : HP1630D Logic Analyser
I must be very lucky, then. The one I was given came with all 5 pods
(already connected), the right input cables sets for the pods and a bag
of grabber clips. Oh, and a US mains lead. The only original electrical
part it was misisngw was an HPIL cable (apparently one was included as
standard), but I've got a box of those, so no problem.
-tony
Nope. You
underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the value of
what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact show
up routinely without pods.
Seconded. Every single one I've run into at hamfests and swap meets is
missing the pods, software and documentation. Clueless &)(*^)^s 
4:08 p.m.
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods lives
reasonably close to
Seattle, we should talk. I have a 1630G that I love (and I have all the
pods) but the screen is starting to dim.... -- Ian
Do you still use it, Ian? It would be cheaper (and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
better to use, since is a newer instrument with more support and tools) to
get a 16500A/B/C (C recommended). CRTs are incredibily expensive in USA. In
Brazil they are so cheap...
Since this is a monochrome tube, you can use mostly any monochrome tube
that fits its place, incluiding B/W televisions and old computer monitors.
Been there, done that.
7:58 p.m.
Maybe I should visit Brazil and buy a new CRT. :-) I use it for a number of reasons: I
have it and it works; I am familiar with it and it works; it's the same vintage as the
systems on which I use it; and *it works*. The tube still has some life to it, but before
everyone throws away their "useless," podless 1630s, I figured I should fish for
spares.... -- Ian
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of
Alexandre Souza - Listas [pu1bzz.listas at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 4:08 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: OT(?) : HP1630D Logic Analyser
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods lives
reasonably close to
Seattle, we should talk. I have a 1630G that I love (and I have all the
pods) but the screen is starting to dim.... -- Ian
Do you still use it, Ian? It would be cheaper (and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
better to use, since is a newer instrument with more support and tools) to
get a 16500A/B/C (C recommended). CRTs are incredibily expensive in USA. In
Brazil they are so cheap...
Since this is a monochrome tube, you can use mostly any monochrome tube
that fits its place, incluiding B/W televisions and old computer monitors.
Been there, done that.
8:14 p.m.
I'd be willing to part with mine, but shipping fron 61853 might be high.
Paul
On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com> wrote:
Maybe I should visit Brazil and buy a new CRT. ?:-) ?I
use it for a number of reasons: I have it and it works; I am familiar with it and it
works; it's the same vintage as the systems on which I use it; and *it works*. ?The
tube still has some life to it, but before everyone throws away their "useless,"
podless 1630s, I figured I should fish for spares.... ?-- Ian
________________________________________
From: cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org [cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org] On Behalf Of
Alexandre Souza - Listas [pu1bzz.listas at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 4:08 PM
To: General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts
Subject: Re: OT(?) : HP1630D Logic Analyser
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods
lives reasonably close to
Seattle, we should talk. ?I have a 1630G that I love (and I have all the
pods) but the screen is starting to dim.... ?-- Ian
? ?Do you still use it, Ian? It would be cheaper (and WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY
better to use, since is a newer instrument with more support and tools) to
get a 16500A/B/C (C recommended). CRTs are incredibily expensive in USA. In
Brazil they are so cheap...
? ?Since this is a monochrome tube, you can use mostly any monochrome tube
that fits its place, incluiding B/W televisions and old computer monitors.
Been there, done that.
13 Oct
13 Oct
1:07 p.m.
but before everyone throws away their
"useless," podless 1630s, I
figured I should fish for spares.... -- Ian
Are podless ones 'useless'? OK, the original HP pods contain a ceramic
thick-film hybrid circuit, but the interface to the analyser is
differneital 10K series ECL signals. And while the genuine pods have
adjustable threhsolds 9which complciates matters a lot), I suspect you
could make TTL-only pods using 10124 interface ICs. I can't rememebr what
power voltages are on the pod conenctors, but you can take +5V from the
BNC o nthe rear of the instruemtn if you have to.
I did somethign similar for my first logic analyser, a Gould K100D which
came podless. Still use it...
-tony
12 Oct
12 Oct
4:14 p.m.
On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 3:18 PM, Ian King <IanK at vulcan.com> wrote:
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods lives
reasonably close to Seattle, we should talk. ?I have a 1630G that I love (and I have all
the pods) but the screen is starting to dim.... ?-- Ian
I have an HP 54201D logic triggered scope. I wonder how much it
shares in common with the HP 1630 series logic analyzers? The cases
and front panels look basically the same. The 54201D comes with (3x)
10271A PODs, same as used by the 1630 series.
This site as some nice pictures and info:
http://azur-electronics.com/hp_1630d.aspx
http://azur-electronics.com/operating_hp_1630d.aspx
I have never used an HP 1630 series. I have used the 16500 and 16700
series. Just picked up my first 16900 series today. Need to install
a hard drive before I can try it out.
(Ian, if your 1630 dies and you might be interested in a 16500B or a
16700A send me an email off list and maybe would could work out a deal
locally. I have some I don't really need.)
-Glen
13 Oct
13 Oct
12:55 p.m.
If anyone with one of those HP1630s with no pods lives reasonably
close to Seattle, we should talk. I have a 1630G that I love (and I
have all the pods) but the screen is starting to dim.... -- Ian
As I am sure you know, the display on the HP1630 is a raster-scanned CRT
monitor. There's conventional-ish video circuitry on the CPU board, using
a 6845 as the iming chain.
The monitor itself seems to have been 'bought in', not designed by HP.
It's the only section for which there isn't a schematic in the service
manual (No, I don't have this on paper, but you can download it fro mthe
Agilent web site [1] :-)).
The monitor looks conventional too. A dism dispaly is most likely to be a
failing CRT, but it could be one of the electrode votlages falling. That
reminds me -- I should measure and record the voltages in my 1630 to use
as a reference if I ever have display problems. When I do this I can post
the results so you can see if yours are at elast reasonable.
I assume you've done the obvious, namely cleaned the screen. Sorry, but
that caught me once...
There are some presets o nthe monitor CPB, and those are documetned in
the service manual. Some instruments have separate brightness presets for
nromal and half-bright text, others have just one control. There's a
procedure for setting them up in the manual which needs a photometer (!),
but it then goes on to say that if you don't have such an instrument,
just do it so it looks good :-). I suspect tweaking these presets might
get a bit more life out of an old CRT.
If you do need to replace the CRT, cmall monochrome tubes are pretty
generic. If it'll fit, has the right deflection angle (90 degrees I
think) and heate voltage (most likely 12V or so) then it'll work. I'd
ratehr take a CRT from a CCTV monitor or something than raid an HP1630
for parts.
[1] YEs, I do prefer manuals on paper, but a web-based manual is much,
much better than no manual at all. Agilent should be aplauded for
supporting their old instruments in this way.
-tony
12 Oct
12 Oct
4:52 p.m.
On Wed, 12 Oct 2011, Tony Duell wrote:
I must be very lucky, then. The one I was given came with all 5 pods
(already connected), the right input cables sets for the pods and a bag
of grabber clips. Oh, and a US mains lead. The only original electrical
part it was misisngw was an HPIL cable (apparently one was included as
standard), but I've got a box of those, so no problem.
You lead a charmed life, Tony!
--
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are
to destroy the value of
what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact show
up routinely without pods.
Seconded. Every single one I've run into at hamfests and swap meets is
missing the pods, software and documentation. Clueless &)(*^)^s
16 Oct
16 Oct
11:55 a.m.
On Wed, 12 Oct 2011, Tony Duell wrote:
I must be very lucky, then. The one I was given came with all 5 pods
(already connected), the right input cables sets for the pods and a bag
of grabber clips. Oh, and a US mains lead. The only original electrical
part it was misisngw was an HPIL cable (apparently one was included as
standard), but I've got a box of those, so no problem.
I finally got lucky in the logic analyzer dept. Picked up a Tech-Tools
DigiView DV1-100 100Mhz. 18-ch. unit at a hamfest on Saturday. Attaches
via USB to Windows box. $45! Haven't had a chance to play with it yet,
but it's a reasonably recent unit and the company is still around.
Anyone worked with one of these?
Steve
--
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are
to destroy the value of
what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact show
up routinely without pods.
Seconded. Every single one I've run into at hamfests and swap meets is
missing the pods, software and documentation. Clueless &)(*^)^s
12 Oct
12 Oct
1:43 p.m.
Tony Duell wrote about the HP 1630 logic analyzer:
Do they cut the pod cables or remove the cover and unplug them? And do
they then lose the cover?
Anyway, I thought one regualr here [1] has told us not to moan about the
antics of scrap dealers and resellers...
[1] The one who sent me on a wild goose chase recently...
-tony
the fact that the pods can only be
disconnected after rmeoving a cover plate means that the pods are
unlikely
to get spearated from the unit and lost, for
example.
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the
value of what they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do
in fact show up routinely without pods. 
11:04 p.m.
Nope. You underestimate how determined resellers are to destroy the value
of what
they're reselling. I don't know why they do it. These do in fact
show up routinely without pods.
Same situation here (Austria). I'm looking for an affordable analyzer for
quite some time already, but often run into units without pods. Not really
useful, at least for me. I don't need a high spec analyzer, but I do need
pods with it.
Regards,
Wolfgang
13 Oct
13 Oct
2:06 p.m.
On Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:04:52 +0200
Wolfgang Eichberger <oe5ewl at gmail.com> wrote:
Same situation here (Austria). I'm looking for an
affordable analyzer for
quite some time already, but often run into units without pods.
In 1998 I got may
hands on a Dolch Logic Instruments LAM4850A logic
analyzer. -- Without pods, das usual. I phoned the support of the
company and eventually a kind person emailed me the pinout of the pod
connectors. Basicly it was -5.2 V and 5 V ECL / TTL supply voltage,
threshold voltage, GND and four differential ECL inputs for the
signals. I ordered the last dozend TTL to ECL level shifter ICs that a
supplier had in stock and build my own pods. Now I am limited to
(LS)TTL imput levels, but that is all I need. Maybe somthing similar is
possible for the HP units.
BTW: I am looking for active probes for my HP 54720D DSO. I have three
54712A Y-plugins with fixed 50 Ohm inputs. Probes like the 54701A are
available, but to expensive at around US$ 150. I can build something
myself, but I need schematics. Designing somthing that can do an
impedance transformation fom 1 MOhm to 50 Ohm at DC to at least 1 GHz
is far bejond my skils.
--
\end{Jochen}
\ref{http://www.unixag-kl.fh-kl.de/~jkunz/}
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16 comments
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participants (9)
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ard＠p850ug1.demon.co.uk -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
glen.slick＠gmail.com -
IanK＠vulcan.com -
jkunz＠unixag-kl.fh-kl.de -
oe5ewl＠gmail.com -
pu1bzz.listas＠gmail.com -
snhirsch＠gmail.com -
useddec＠gmail.com