[time-nuts] OT: HP 8590A

Joseph Gray jgray at zianet.com
Sun Feb 21 02:35:27 UTC 2010


Thanks to all for the advice. I agree with Said that a 8560E would be
much nicer. However, I may be able to get this 8590A very
inexpensively. Considering the price difference between this unit and
a newer/better SA, I'm inclined to go with this one. I'm thinking of
this as "training wheels". Once I gain some hands on with a SA, I'll
know better what I want in a future purchase.

Joe
KA5ZEC

On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 5:20 PM, Bob Camp <lists at cq.nu> wrote:
> Hi
>
> There are "drop in" replacement video sections for some of the older instruments. It's not a duplicate of the original, but a form / fit / function sort of thing. I have no idea if there is one for the 8590.
>
> They still cost more than most of these gizmos sell for used.
>
> Bob
>
>
> On Feb 20, 2010, at 5:53 PM, Rick Karlquist wrote:
>
>> 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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>>
>>
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