85053B Data File

[clockspectrum]

I have a 85053B verification set that I need to get the data off of the original HP backup tape. I believe the tape was originally used with the 8510 VNA. I really don't want to send the set in for calibration because this is more exploratory in nature. I was wondering if anyone out there had the ability to pull the data off this tape for me.  Also, any cal data that you may have would be better than anything. Any help would be much appreciated.

Matt
Raleigh, NC

[TheSteve]

My 85053B included the tape and floppy disks. It took some effort but I was able to get all of the data from the floppy disks(in LIF format). Not only do you need someone with a matching tape drive but they will also need a way to store the files in another format once they can read them. Or buy yourself a HP tape drive from ebay and try to read the tapes via GPIB manually.

[clockspectrum]

Ive considered buying the display processor (85101) for the 8510 for a couple hundred dollars and try to pull the data. What external HP tape drives were produced that could read these tapes?

[rf-messkopf]

Ive considered buying the display processor (85101) for the 8510 for a couple hundred dollars and try to pull the data. What external HP tape drives were produced that could read these tapes?

The tape cartridges are these: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=265.

Quote from that website: "For years now, reading data from these old tapes has been almost a lost cause. The last mainstream computer that HP made which used these tapes was obsoleted in 1987 (the 85B). It is extremely rare to find a drive that will read one of these tapes unless that drive has been refurbished. [...] In our experience, fewer than 15 percent of these old tapes are readable."

Probably it is not worth investing in trying to read them.

I have a HP 85053A verification kit that came with a tape and three disks in LIF format. I had them read by a helpful user in the German mikrocontroller.net forum, see this thread here: https://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/470073 (in German).