[time-nuts] Re: HP / Agilent 53132A

[Bob Camp]

Hi

We ran them in logging systems and on benches. I’d guess the
group was in the 100+ range. At the point the supplies really became
an issue, most of them were well over 20 years old. 

If I’d just kept my mouth shut, I could have pulled the “dead ones” out 
of the pile and hauled them home … (along with the scrap 181’s ).
Some folks just can’t keep from opening they mouth :(

Since the supplies came from an outside source, it is very unclear
which supply went into this or that counter. It is a pretty good bet that
the counters came out of a fairly narrow range of production dates. 

Bob

> On Apr 30, 2023, at 5:51 PM, Michael Wouters via time-nuts <time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
> Curious. We had about eight 5313x counters operating until a few years ago.
> These were in logging systems and cal setups, where they were never powered
> off, some for 20+ years. There were no power supply failures.
> 
> Cheers
> Michael
> 
> 
> On Mon, 1 May 2023 at 4:44 am, Bob Camp via time-nuts <
> time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi
>> 
>> The power supply in the 5313x counters was made by who knows who
>> ( = HP bought it from the low bidder). They are very much the weak point
>> in the device. Will yours fail tomorrow? Who knows …..
>> 
>> The “cheap answer” to the replacement issue is to buy a 53181. They are
>> not a popular item. They don’t fetch much compared to the other counters
>> in the series. They *do* share the same power supply. We  swapped a
>> *lot* of supplies between the 181 and 131/132 counters. (as in dozens …).
>> 
>> Bob
>> 
>>> On Apr 29, 2023, at 3:21 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist via time-nuts <
>> time-nuts at lists.febo.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 4/27/2023 4:34 PM, Brett Fanoga via time-nuts wrote:
>>> 
>>>> equipment leasing company for around $1100 US.  I have only had one
>> problem with mine, the fan failed.  It runs all the time, if the unit is
>> plugged in to power – even if the unit is off on the power switch. Called
>> HP and they do not sell the fan, they want to sell you the whole power
>> supply which they wanted a small fortune for.  But, I found Digi-Key
>> carried the exact fan, and I bought 2 units for just under $50 US about 10
>> years ago.  And now if I am not using the counter,  I unplug it.
>>> 
>>> I worked for the HP Santa Clara Division during the era of these
>> instruments, which were code named "Major League Baseball" (MLB).  I suspect
>>> (based on other HP instruments) that the fan is necessary to keep
>>> the power transformer from overheating due to its own core loss.
>>> And the power transformer is connected to the AC line at all times,
>>> to save the hassle of a line level on/off switch, with all the
>>> safety problems.  Fans running 24/7 are well known not to last for
>>> more than a year or so.
>>> 
>>> And yes, vacuum fluorescents are famous for wearing out.  My N8LP
>>> digital vector wattmeter puts the VF display to sleep after a
>>> few minutes to extend the life.
>>> 
>>> Add on prescalers using dynamic flip flops are fairly fussy about
>>> about broadband noise floor, etc.
>>> 
>>> This reminds me of a humorous anecdote.  I was in a meeting with
>>> the designer of the MLB FPGA and Len Cutler.  The MLB engineer
>>> offered his opinion about some technical issue, after which
>>> he appended it with a self-deprecating remark along the lines
>>> of "of course I've only been here for 30 years".  As if on
>>> cue, Len angrily fired back with "well, I've been here 40 years".
>>> This was classic Len behavior.  I kind of felt bad for the
>>> MLB engineer.
>>> 
>>> Rick N6RK
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