[volt-nuts] HP 3458A Mem test 1 hight. How do you read 32K memory chips?

[John Phillips]

Thanks


On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 7:08 PM, J. L. Trantham <jltran at att.net> wrote:

> John,
>
> I don't think I would worry too much about messing up the 'CALRAM'.  If you
> 'mess up' the 'CALRAM', and your meter is, otherwise, OK, you will spend
> about $500 with Keysight for a 'Keysight' calibration, which I would
> recommend.
>
> If they get your meter and it is not 'suitable' for calibration (meaning
> that, in some way, it's 'broken'), you will be notified and offered the
> option of having them 'repair' the meter (for about $2700, which includes
> the 'Keysight' calibration) or returning the meter to you for your repair
> at
> a cost of half the calibration charge, IIRC.
>
> The key point about reading these NVRAM's is to, first and foremost, let
> the
> chips cool after removal before trying to read them.  I learned about that
> the hard way.
>
> Second, make sure your programmer specifically supports the chip you are
> trying to read and program.  If so, reading then archiving the data should
> be straight forward and programming a new chip should be equally straight
> forward.
>
> I am not familiar with the 'Mem test 1 high' issue but I suspect the
> Assembly Level Repair Manual or the Component Level Repair Manual should
> address the issue.  I agree with others that this likely means that, in
> some
> way, your meter is 'broken'.  If you can chase that down to a simple
> problem
> and repair it, getting the calibration with Keysight would be the next
> order
> of business.  Once it passes calibration, you would be able to purchase the
> 'Repair Agreement' for a couple hundred dollars per year, with a discount
> for multiple year purchases up to a maximum of 5, IIRC, which gives you a
> meter with a 'factory warranty' for that time period.
>
> Personally, I would look for a 'professional' programmer rather than one of
> the 'cheaper' ones, especially if you are anticipating getting into vintage
> equipment and programming EPROM's, etc.  BP Micro, Advin, DATA I/O, Elnec,
> etc., would ones I would look for.  I'm sure others on the list would have
> their own recommendations.  The prices on theBay right now are particularly
> ridiculous but good deals can be had.  The majority of these units use
> parallel port connections and need WinXP as the OS.  The later versions,
> starting around $500 will connect via USB and be able to utilize Win7 or
> Win8.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
> Behalf Of John Phillips
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 8:41 PM
> To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] HP 3458A Mem test 1 hight. How do you read 32K
> memory chips?
>
> I do have a ni gpib-usb-hs
> http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/201586
> I was hoping to remove the chip, read the data with a usb programer and
> wright the data back into a new chip before installing it.
> Then do a full calibration.
> If the 16k chip has the cal vars what do the other 32k chips have?
> Thanks for the input.
> I should be able to read to read the data from a good meter with the MREAD
> and wright it with a programer.
>
> I have been using excl to read program 3458As  I will see if I can get
> MREAD
> to work there.
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2014 at 5:33 PM, Mark Sims <holrum at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > You REALLY don't want to mess with that 24 pin NVRAM chip... it
> > contains the calibration memory.  If you bugger the data in it,  you
> > get to spend a couple of grand getting the meter back into working
> > order.  I know a couple of people that did just that.
> >
> > The solution is to first make a backup copy of the memory contents
> > using the (undocumented) MREAD command over the GPIB bus.
> > Poul-Henning Kamp figured out how to do it... buy the man a beer... even
> better a case of
> > beer...   Search the archives for details.
> >
> > I just backed up all the memory in my 3 HP3458A's for when the inevitable
> > BIG BAD DAY comes and the backup batteries go bye-bye.   If you happen to
> > have a NI GPIB-232CV-A (or possibly a Prologix) RS-232 to GPIB
> > converter and can run a DOS or WIN98 program,  I have a program that
> > dumps the memory chips.  It has code for the Prologix in it,  but I've
> > only used it with my a Prologix compatible unit I built... I don't
> > have a real Prologix to test it with.
> >
> >
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> >
>
>
>
> --
>
> *John Phillips*
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-- 

*John Phillips*