[time-nuts] OT: HP 8590A

Rick Karlquist richard at karlquist.com
Sat Feb 20 22:53:31 UTC 2010


The CRT's went out of production something like 20 years ago.
The factory stock was exhausted long ago.  Of course there
could be NOS forgotten somewhere, like in a barn with a
1957 Chevy with 50 miles on it :-)

Rick N6RK


Lux, Jim (337C) wrote:
> And make sure the CRT has life left.  On a lot of older units, either the
> faceplate is burned with the graticule and noise floor, or they're so dim
> that you have a hard time reading it.  I suspect that replacement CRTs
> cost
> more than the whole used analyzer.
>
>
>
>
> On 2/20/10 11:27 AM, "life speed" <life_speed at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:38:50 -0700
>> Subject: [time-nuts] OT: HP 8590A
>>
>> Since the list members are familiar with lots of test equipment, I'd
>> like to ask what the folks here think about the HP 8590A Spectrum
>> Analyzer. Is this model ok? Are there any particular failures I should
>> be aware of in this 20+ year old equipment?
>>
>> I have a chance to buy one locally. The only option is has is GPIB. I
>> took a preliminary look at it and it passes the simple test/cal
>> procedure from chapter 1 of the Ops manual. This model only goes to
>> 1.5GHz, but would still be useful for Amateur use. I do wish it would
>> go up to 3GHz, however. I have never owned a spec an, but am somewhat
>> familiar with their usage.
>>
>> Thanks for the input.
>>
>> Joe
>> KA5ZEC
>>
>> I personally do not like these low-end spectrum analyzers.  They have
>> poor
>> dynamic range and phase noise performance.  However, I design microwave
>> circuits for a living and can be a test equipment snob.
>>
>> If you think it is adequate for your purposes, I would at least connect
>> it to
>> a calibrated signal generator and verify amplitude accuracy is within 3
>> dB. 
>> Most old spec ans I have seen are way off, even broken.  Still show a
>> signal
>> on the display, but not very helpful.  Also check for spurious across
>> many
>> frequencies.
>>
>> Clay
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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