Rescued test equipment manuals from dumpster

[Jeff_Birt]

I saw out custodian sorting out the paper recycling bin this morning and I snatched up about 30 different test equipment manuals. Mostly Tektronix, Keithly, HP stuff. Most of it is spiral bound so it could be scanned (if it was not available by PDf from the MFG already). Personally I like to have a hardcopy of a manual when I need to refer to it often rather than trying to page through a PDF. I'm not sure if there is an interest in such manuals. If there is let me know and I will catalog them and scan the ones there is no PDF available for already.

[tautech]

Good find Jeff but you'll need to list them in order to see if there's any interest.
Many of course can nowadays be found on the www but you may be lucky and have found a gem.

Any you don't want/need can be easily sold on eBay for a few bucks beer money. Be greedy with pricing and they won't sell.

[Cubdriver]

Good save!!     It's a shame when this sort of stuff gets canned.  A lot of it is scanned and available on the web, but many of the scans have crummy, unreadable copies of the schematics and board images.  Nothing beats having a hard copy of the manual in your hand.

Let us know what you saved from the recyclers.

-Pat

[tggzzz]

If you do scan them, be aware there are techniques for getting good quality scan and OCR results while minimising the file size.

I've seen a description of the techniques and they seemed plausible, but I haven't used the techniques myself.

[nctnico]

The best thing would be to scan them in color. Filesize doesn't matter nowadays. Lots of original manuals are printed in -sort off- color or have grey-scale images of scope screens etc. Not so long ago I had to hunt for a hard copy manual because the one Keysight offered for download just wasn't clear enough.

[bitseeker]

Thanks for your rescue effort, Jeff. It's always good to get a hold of original manuals to make fresh scans. A lot of scanned manuals for older gear that manufacturers made are horrendous by today's standards. Some schematics are nearly useless as a result of low resolution and/or using only 1-bit per pixel. Even if a PDF already exists, I'm sure a new scan would be worthwhile.

[tggzzz]

Filesize doesn't matter nowadays.

I've seen too many 300MB scans with barely legible schematics. Maybe you think that is acceptable; I don't.

[nctnico]

Filesize doesn't matter nowadays.

I've seen too many 300MB scans with barely legible schematics. Maybe you think that is acceptable; I don't.

Ofcourse you'd have to be sensible with the settings when scanning but that should go without saying.

[tggzzz]

Filesize doesn't matter nowadays.

I've seen too many 300MB scans with barely legible schematics. Maybe you think that is acceptable; I don't.

Ofcourse you'd have to be sensible with the settings when scanning but that should go without saying.

And of course neither of us have any concept of whether the OP knows what can be achieved and what "sensible settings" might be.

It would be a great shame if he generously donated his time and energy only to produce unnecessarily poor results.

[David Hess]

The best thing would be to scan them in color. Filesize doesn't matter nowadays.

I agree about using grey scale or color as appropriate however file size does matter because newer file viewers perform worse when large amounts of data are involved no matter how much system memory is available.  I am getting real tired of PDF viewers that lock up for seconds while they do garbage collection after a page change.  The hardware is getting faster, more memory is available, and software performance is getting worse.

Lots of original manuals are printed in -sort off- color or have grey-scale images of scope screens etc. Not so long ago I had to hunt for a hard copy manual because the one Keysight offered for download just wasn't clear enough.

There are ways to fix it so that the grey scale or color scans reproduce the original colors without being excessively large but people rarely bother to put that kind of work in.

[TerraHertz]

Great to see paper manuals being saved from destruction. I'm another who thinks most of the electronic 'copies' around have quality somewhere between disappointing and completely unusable.

It would be good to see a list of your manuals find, before jumping in and discussing scanning them. They might not be ones anyone would want. If there _are_ rare ones worth the effort, I can give some advice on scanning techniques.
30 manuals is 30 lines of list, assuming no duplicates. Not much effort.
Please include manufacturer, instrument number and brief name, and the serial number range it's applicable to, if stated in the manual.

Every time this topic comes up, I _still_ shudder to recall the Manuals Plus disaster.

[nctnico]

Every time this topic comes up, I _still_ shudder to recall the Manuals Plus disaster.

Didn't someone got most of the usefull manuals from there? At some point a pile of uninteresting manuals will end up in the bin because the equipment they describe is long gone, there are many copies circulating already or there is a good scan for download.

[Jeff_Birt]

Here is a list of all of them

HP Manuals
33120A - Function Generator Service Guide, (Feb. 1996 Edition 4), Very close to new condition
34401A - Multimeter Service Guide, (Feb. 1996 Edition 4), Very close to new condition
34401A - Multimeter User's Guide, (Feb. 1996 Edition 4), Very close to new condition
Infinium - Programmers Quick Reference Guide, (September 1997), Close to new condition
Infinium - Programmers Reference (has floppies), (September 1997), Close to new condition
Infinium - Users Quick Start Guide, (May 1998), Close to new condition
35670A - DSA Supplemental Operators Guide, (October 1996), Close to new condition
HP-IP Programmer's Guide (September 1992), Close to new condition some scuffing on front cover
The Fundamentals of Signal Analysis (Application Note 243, 1994 vintage), Close to new condition
4193A - Vector Impedance Meter Operation and Service Manual, (August 1983), Close to new condition
35670A - Installation and Verification Guide, (July 1994), Has floppy, Close to new condition
16099A - Test Fixture adapter Operating Note, (June 1995), Like new condition

Agilent Manuals
34401A - Multimeter User's Guide, (March 2000, Edition 5), Very close to new condition
54621A/22A/24A/41A/42A & 54621D/22D/41D/42D - Scopes Programmers Guide (has floppies), (September 2002), New condition
54621A/22A/24A/41A/42A & 54621D/22D/41D/42D - Scopes Users Guide, (September 2002), New condition

54621A/22A/24A and 54621D/22D - Scopes Programmers Guide (has floppies), (August 2000) New condition
54621A/22A/24A and 54621D/22D - Scopes Service Guide, (December 2002), New condition in shrink wrap


Magtrol
5100 Single Phase Power Analyzer User's Manual, (Unknown date), Writing on cover and bent corner


Keithley
DDA-08/16 - (DAQ card for PC) Users Guide, (November 1994), Like new condition
DDA-08/16 - (DAQ card for PC) Function Call Driver User's Guide, (February 1995), Like new condition
DAS-1800HC - (DAQ card for PC) User's Guide, (September 1995), Very good condition
DAS-1800HC/ST/HR - (DAQ card for PC) Series Function Call Driver User's Guide, (July 1996), Very good condition


Tektronix
TPS2000 - DSO User Manual, (August 2004), Very good condition
TDS200, TDS1000, TDS2000 & TPS2000 - DSP Programmers Manual, (~August 2004), Still in shrink wrap
P5205 - HV Diff Probe Instruction Manual (2 of these), (Not dated), Very good condition
2212 - DSO & Analog Scope User Manual, (April 1992), Very good condition
2212 - DSO & Analog Scope Quick Reference, (1992), Very good condition
A6302 - Current Probe Instructions, (April 1991), Very good condition
P6028 - Scope Probe Parts Diagram (March 1969!), Good condition was folded
P6103B - Passive Probe Instruction Manual, (January 1993), Very good condition
P6007 - Passive Probe Instruction Manual (2 of these), (September 1990), Very good condition
AM503B & AM5030 - Current Probe Amplifier Reference, (December 1993), Good condition
1101A, 1102, 1103 - Power Supplies Instruction Manual (2 of these), (?Date), Still in shrink wrap
TDS310, TDS320, TDS350 - Scope Instruction Manual, (February 1994), Very good condition
TDS Family DSO - Programmer Manual (has both 5.25" and 3.5" floppies!), (1995), good condition

[bitseeker]

Jeff,

Those all look good. The following are of interest to me. I've added notes if I have a version already so you can compare with what version your originals are.

HP/Agilent Manuals

• 33120A Function Generator Service Guide: I have the Agilent-branded version in PDF. Edition 6, March 2002 (144 pages). It includes schematics in good condition.
• 34401A Multimeter Service Guide: I have the Agilent-branded version in PDF. Eighth Edition, May 2012 (162 pages). It includes schematics in good condition.
• 34401A Multimeter User's Guide: I have the Agilent-branded version in PDF. Eighth Edition, May 2012 (236 pages).
• HP-IP Programmer's Guide (1992 Vintage): HP-IP or HP-IB? I haven't seen a PDF of this.
• The Fundamentals of Signal Analysis (Application Note 243, 1994 vintage): The online Agilent version (67 pages) appears to be pretty good.

[TerraHertz]

Those mostly look like they will be of interest. Lots of those gear go on ebay for good prices, so the manuals should be in some demand.

Ones I'm interested in:

33120A Function Generator Service Guide (Feb. 1996 Edition 4) Very close to new condition
  An instrument on my 'to get' list, so also want the manual.


HP-IB Programmer's Guide (1992 Vintage)  Definitely want a paper copy!
  This online copy is OK:
  http://ridl.cfd.rit.edu/products/manuals/Agilent/signal%20analyzer/programmingHPIB.pdf
  HP-IB programmer's guide. HP part number 5960-5708  printed Sept 1992

The Fundamentals of Signal Analysis (Application Note 243, 1994 vintage)   Have a paper 2/85 copy.
  This is online: http://www.hpmemoryproject.org/an/pdf/an_243.pdf
  But it's a 1995 rewrite in B&W, not nearly as nice looking as the paper blue & black 1985 version.

  While looking for that, I came across this sad news at http://www.hpmuseum.net/
  Vale Jon Johnston - It is with great sadness that we advise that Jon Johnston, the founder and
  curator of the HP Computer Museum, tragically lost his life in April 2016 while on a
  mountaineering expedition in Tibet.

  Dammit. I had some unfinished business with him, trying to find a schematic for a HP minicomputer PS.
  A good friend of mine died climbing in Himalayas, and another good friend nearly killed himself and
  me with a stupid bit of carelessness while we were climbing together. I quit climbing at that point.
  Have kids. Also read that of people who repeatedly climb in the Himalayas, over 50% die doing it.


4193A Vector Impedance Meter Operation and Service Manual.
  Very interesting! I have a 4815A, 8405A & 3575A, but had never heard of that one.
  Found it on Pg 334 of the 1986 HP catalog. It seems to be a later equivalent of the 4815A.
  I'd like to get that manual for historical interest.


P5205 HV Diff Probe Instruction Manual (2 of these)
  Hmm, another one I hadn't heard of, that's now on my want list.

However, at the moment I'm unable to afford anything. Will let you know if that changes.

[Jeff_Birt]

Thanks for posting links to the soft copies of these manuals, that reduces my search time. I have added dates to everything now. I was surprised by the date of the Tektronix P6028 Scope Probe parts like, it is from March 1969! I also found one more manual - 16099A - Test Fixture adapter Operating Note, (June 1995), Like new condition.

When I have time I'll look for soft copies of the remaining manuals and see if the ones that I have that are easily scanned are in better shape then what is currently available.

[bitseeker]

@TerraHertz: Thanks for those links. I hadn't yet found a soft copy of the HP-IB one.

@Jeff_Birt: Even if there are good soft copies already available, documentation and/or schematics that cover a different version, serial number range, etc. are still valuable to scan.

[smps]

Hello,

for 35670A - Installation and Verification Guide, (July 1994) with floppy disk, is the floppy disk still available? could you upload the software ?
Thank you very much.

best regards
Peter