Ping: Phil Hobbs

Nice! Didn't know there was one that could. Mine is pretty agile. When I see some peak I didn't expect I can set a marker on it and click on listening mode, then hunt it down. The speakers of my little netbook are not so great but it worked.

Yes. I can set it from 100usec to 10sec while in zero span. That's full screen, not per division, and you can see microsecond stuff. You can set a trigger level or have it trigger externally. You can also display modulation but that I've never done.

There is a ton of stuff I haven't even touched yet, like broadcast masks, harmonics viewer, phase noise plots or Smith charts.

But the best thing: This analyzer comes with a sort of open source philosophy. They give you the keys to the internal functions so you can write your own specialized software. Like this:

Now can your Advantest do that? :-)

I could try some snake oil :-)

So far I've managed to keep it alive using Hammond oil and stuff like that. But one fine day it'll seize up on me and Murphy says that'll be during an EMC job. So I'll have to fix it some day.

For a while now I also have a computer-based receiver (with a standalone console though), the Icom R-1500. It is also pretty good but no 300Hz crystal filter. It has found some EMI issues that big expensive spectrum analyzers simply could not see. Aircraft EMC is a whole 'nother ballgame versus the usual civilian stuff, you've almost got to be able to hear the grass grow.

My Advantest has the ability to run programs written in basic.

The problem with the 600 series is that they (the earlier models?) don't offer peak detect. You'll miss narrow low frequency pulses. I have peak detect on for 99.9999% of the time. In Tek speak envelope is not the same although other manufacturers use the term 'envelope' for peak detect.

This one?

$3650 + $300 (ouch!) shipping to the US from Israel.

Got to love this one. "good working condition" and "7 day warranty" yet they list it as "No returns or exchanges."

Better hope it passes SPC, and that the "lab technition" knows what he's doing! :)

This one is nicely optioned. Do you feel lucky Phil?

The C models did not have that particular problem, though.

That is good. But they probably won't give you the keys to let one of the internal LOs do a tarantella dance around a signal :-)

You _did_ have to slashdot that. ;)

It's on my watch list, but I don't know. It would probably be worth asking the Tek scope group. It isn't too clear how it could pass POST without being able to trigger!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Maybe operator error? Its a pity the seller is so patriotic about the buyer being in the US. Its Ebay, not the presidential election.

Interesting, thanks. I've made a note in my wants list to go for the C versions!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I would like to know what to expect of the arbitrary waveform capabilities.

Aha. I think I'll put it on my list. Last year I sold my HP3314 when I bought a Lecroy LW420. Still the LW420 is a bit big to put on the bench for just a sine wave. I keep my test gear on a shelf and populate one of my two 'desk areas' as necessary.

If you are space-cramped over there consider one of the USB generators. Many have arb functions. Velleman, Pico, and so on.

You could also move to Friesland and buy a big farm house. Or move to America, lots of space out here :-)

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Let me know if you find a source other than ebay. I emailed Joerg's site. No prospect of stock, And sent one off to y-caltek.com in China. (no response yet.)

George H.

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Sorry...

Here - I'll delete it. That ought to help. :)

If the TDS500, 600 and 700 series of scopes have a trigger problem, they'll usually still pass the POST - especially if someone has set the internal DIP switch #3 on the processor board to the off position. This forces the scope to skip most of the POST. However, they will almost always fail SPC. What I *do* wonder though is if he actually ran SPC rather than just checking the status of the test of the last time it was run.

In any case, the scope is likely to go for much less than it normally would due to this description, whether right or wrong. Hey, at least he offers returns, although what you'd get for "exchange" is up for grabs. Sheesh. That's plain silly, unless he has another one!

Could be. I wonder if he even had a signal source attached? Looking at his other scopes for sale, and the scopes he's sold in the past, he never connects a source to them. This leads me to believe that he doesn't know what the hell he's doing, an often enough occurrence with many Ebay dealers.

My source is Ebay :-) However, I regulary do business outside Ebay after the contact is made through Ebay. It often helps to get a better deal.

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OK thanks Nico, I'll try making contact through ebay. A US distributer would be nice. (at least for me.)

George H.

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Went for short money just like I thought it would. Anybody here get it?

I put in a low-ball snipe of $1200 or so, just in case it went for dirt cheap.