Keysight 85097-60002 / 85097B E-CAL interface box info

[TheSteve]

I recently purchased an HP 8753E VNA and already had an Agilent 85093C E-Cal module so I thought it would be nice to interface the two.
The details on how to do it are a little scattered so I thought I'd add some information here.

The interface used to connect to the two is an 85097-60002 / 85097B interface box. The interface unit supports connecting two E-Cal units at the same time. The older interface boxes show the parallel port connection going to a PC and then the PC connecting to the VNA via GPIB on the top label. Later units show the interface box connecting directly to the parallel port on the VNA. The older interface boxes work just fine with the direct connection, no PC is needed.
The interface box can be found from several sellers on ebay but they are all missing the power supply and cables.
For E-Cal units with a 25 pin female connector the cables needed are two DB25 male-male straight through cables. One from the parallel port on the VNA to the interface box and one from the interface box to the E-Cal unit. These are just standard off the shelf cables.
The interface box itself requires 24 volts DC and uses a rather non-standard 8 pin mini DIN style connector. The factory power adapter is rated at 1 amp. The connector itself has 4 pins tied together for negative and 4 tied together for positive. A normal mini DIN isn't quite the correct pin-out as some pins are shifted. An S-video style connector does seem to be the correct match though. I was able to take an old 6 pin connector and snap off the alignment pin, it then plugged right in. Using 6 of the 8 contacts is just fine.

The interface itself has several switching supplies internally and sends +5, +12, -12 and +24 volts down the DB25 to the E-Cal module when a valid module is detected. In my modules case I believe it only needs the 5 volts as it can also run directly from USB.

Once it is connected the E-Cal unit needs 700-900 seconds to warm-up, when ready the green LED turns on. A full 2 port calibration takes only 10 seconds. It auto detects which port of the VNA connects to which E-Cal port. A total joy to use compared to my mechanical cal kit.

Here are some pics:

[TheSteve]

And a shot of everything connected:

[eb3frn]

Hi,
can you share a copy of the 85097 software? I'm looking to purchase one unit for my 8510c, but all the ebay ones are without software.

Thanks!
73! Iban
eb3frn

[TheSteve]

The software to control it is built into many of the VNA's. My 8753E controlled it directly, I've never had any other software.

[xmo]

https://groups.io/g/HP-Agilent-Keysight-equipment/message/112596

[joeqsmith]

And a shot of everything connected:

Looks like a very nice setup. 

[TheSteve]

And a shot of everything connected:

Looks like a very nice setup.

It was a very nice setup. It has since been replaced with something much more portable. I now use an N9918A for all of my VNA needs along with an N4691A ECAL. My last project was seeing just how cheaply I could make horn antenna's that worked well.
This is my testing of WR42(18-26.5 GHz) horns. The horns were all 3D printed of course, I then experimented with various ways to metallicize them.

[eb3frn]

I Have a 8510c and it can not control the ecal modules, then with the 85097-60002 is possible to do using a PC with Windows. All the units of the 85097-60002 available on ebay come without the software and in the Keysight website not is possible to download anymore. For the reason I'm looking for the software.

73! Iban
eb3frn

[TheSteve]

I've never seen the software. The part # of the two floppy disks is 85097-10001. Someone has to have a copy somewhere. Maybe ask on the HPAK mailing list.