Author Topic: Flood of new Agilent 82357B GPIB-USB adaptors on eBay the real deal? (Read 160576 times)

HighVoltage · « **Reply #25 on:** August 06, 2015, 08:40:37 am »

I have several original of these Agilent adapters, some bought directly from a German distributor and they all look exactly like this one. As was said before, they are probably original Agilent, made for the Asian market bot not a clone of any kind.

PTR_1275 · « **Reply #26 on:** August 06, 2015, 10:24:33 am »

I had seen these but was skeptical too. After hearing on hear others had bought them and they were as described, I offered $100us and got a counter offer of $110us. Counter offer accepted, paid and will await it's delivery.

I have been looking to get some gpib interfaces for my test gear to play around and see how it works for a while now. Next thing is what software etc... I'll add it to the pile of things to play with and work out how to do it

Cheers for the responses above about this adapter too.

nctnico · « **Reply #27 on:** August 06, 2015, 10:34:26 am »

I'll just wait until the price drops to $50 or so.

anotherlin · « **Reply #28 on:** August 06, 2015, 01:30:59 pm »

Quote from: nctnico on August 06, 2015, 10:34:26 am

I'll just wait until the price drops to $50 or so.

Why wait ? Just make on offer at $50 and see what's the answer

More seriously, I didn't expect we would be doing so much talking about an USB to GPIB interface.

Mine has just been shipped, I'll open it and put photos in this thread when it arrives.

There are photos of the Beiming 82537 here : http://sigrok.org/wiki/Beiming_S82357
Along with a USB information dump : http://sigrok.org/wiki/Beiming_S82357/Info
In particular, Beiming is specified as manufacturer and Agilent as vendor.

I suspect Beiming is the actual OEM of Agilent 82537.

linux-works · « **Reply #29 on:** August 06, 2015, 01:55:32 pm »

I also got a counter offer at 110.

still a bit pricey for me. but if you need this, it sounds legit.

Ryano · « **Reply #30 on:** August 06, 2015, 07:58:50 pm »

Is there any advantage to get one of these new in the box with CD and manual vs used without for about half the price?

pascal_sweden · « **Reply #31 on:** August 06, 2015, 08:03:31 pm »

100 USD is indeed expensive!

A GPIB-USB adaptor is not rocket science at all.

You can probably build one yourself at a fraction of the cost using the links below

www.1000bit.it/support/manuali/download.asp?id=882

ftp://ftp.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/documents/projects/ieee-488/index.html

http://6502.org/users/andre/cbmhw/ieee488/index.html

dadler · « **Reply #32 on:** August 06, 2015, 08:05:53 pm »

Quote from: pascal_sweden on August 06, 2015, 08:03:31 pm

100 USD is indeed expensive!

A GPIB-USB adaptor is not rocket science at all.

You can probably build one yourself at a fraction of the cost using the links below

www.1000bit.it/support/manuali/download.asp?id=882

ftp://ftp.zimmers.net/pub/cbm/documents/projects/ieee-488/index.html

http://6502.org/users/andre/cbmhw/ieee488/index.html

My time to build such a device is worth so much more than $100. Maybe as a learning experience-but most people don't get their jollies by building interface hardware like this. Would much rather build something more interesting.

rfeecs · « **Reply #33 on:** August 06, 2015, 09:47:54 pm »

Or you could buy a new one from Keysight for $553.

http://www.keysight.com/en/pd-851808-pn-82357B/usb-gpib-interface-high-speed-usb-20

I wonder if this glut of ebay units is related to the Agilent - Keysight split. Maybe there was a warehouse full of excess inventory Agilent labeled units (with Agilent logo molded into the case), and Keysight decided they didn't want to deal with them, so someone is dumping them?

lukier · « **Reply #34 on:** August 06, 2015, 10:27:13 pm »

I believe these adapters (genuine, fake or Beiming) are just NAT9914, CY7C68013A, GPIB drivers (75160, 75162) and small I2C EEPROM that holds Agilent's USB VID/PID. Firmware for the EZ-USB is uploaded by the PC.

Not really rocket science, just slightly more complex than FT2232 based JTAG and $100 is still a bit much (at least for me). Agilent's price is just bonkers.

rfeecs · « **Reply #35 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:09:03 pm »

I just opened up a genuine 82357B and had a look.

It contains:
Agilent 1822-0639 GPIB controller, MPN 14063-501 from AMIS semiconductor (now ON Semiconductor)
Cypress CY7C68013A-128AXC USB controller
ATMEL 24C08A 8K serial EEPROM

pascal_sweden · « **Reply #36 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:23:34 pm »

5-10 USD in BOM parts versus 553 USD for a new unit from Keysight.
Go figure!

rfeecs · « **Reply #37 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:25:27 pm »

Quote from: rfeecs on August 06, 2015, 11:09:03 pm

I just opened up a genuine 82357B and had a look.

It contains:
Agilent 1822-0639 GPIB controller, MPN 14063-501 from AMIS semiconductor (now ON Semiconductor)
Cypress CY7C68013A-128AXC USB controller
ATMEL 24C08A 8K serial EEPROM

Crappy cellphone picture attached.

dadler · « **Reply #38 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:28:22 pm »

I will open my eBay-special unit after work tonight and post similar pictures. Perhaps then we can decide once and for all if they are genuine or impeccable counterfeits.

ywara · « **Reply #39 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:41:55 pm »

Quote from: pascal_sweden on August 06, 2015, 11:23:34 pm

5-10 USD in BOM parts versus 553 USD for a new unit from Keysight.
Go figure!

These things have never been and will never be worth $553. I have had a many of these fail in fixed installations unexpectedly on legacy systems I am responsible for. Occasionally the failure can be traced to bad contact on the internal USB connector and can be fixed with acetone and sandpaper, but usually they start failing on startup for no discernible reason. I will likely continue using them for compatibility, but any new systems I am responsible for will use something far cheaper and more reliable.

Prologix offers a comparable (not drop-in, unfortunately) replacement for $150. These are, in my experience, far more reliable. $553 for a USB interface to an archaic, low-speed bus is bordering on insanity.

rfeecs · « **Reply #40 on:** August 06, 2015, 11:59:55 pm »

How about National Instruments GPIB-PCI for $597?
http://sine.ni.com/nips/cds/view/p/lang/en/nid/203786

It is basically just one ASIC (Which they also sell, for unit price of about $30):

lukier · « **Reply #41 on:** August 07, 2015, 12:41:12 am »

Here you have a schematic for a clone:

http://www.mikrocontroller.net/topic/276715#2910910

I think the difference is that NAT9914 clock is generated from CY7C68013A.

pascal_sweden · « **Reply #42 on:** August 07, 2015, 01:33:58 am »

Quote from: dadler on August 06, 2015, 11:28:22 pm

I will open my eBay-special unit after work tonight and post similar pictures. Perhaps then we can decide once and for all if they are genuine or impeccable counterfeits.

Maybe it's empty inside, or maybe filled with bubble foam, or even Chinese sand

PA0PBZ · « **Reply #43 on:** August 10, 2015, 08:53:54 am »

Ordered one a week ago, arrived today! Free shipping with DHL Express, they must make good money on these

ElectroIrradiator · « **Reply #44 on:** August 10, 2015, 12:41:20 pm »

Mine also arrived today via DHL Express. I took a lot of photos while unboxing it, stickers and everything, and it did come in what appears to be a sealed Agilent box. If this isn't the real thing, then somebody went to a *lot* of trouble to make it look like it is.

Haven't tested it yet, nor cracked it open. Not sure I will open it, unless there is a good reason to do so. But I do have photos of the packaging paraphernalia if we need them.

Le_Bassiste · « **Reply #45 on:** August 10, 2015, 03:53:17 pm »

Quote from: EEVblog on August 05, 2015, 03:07:32 pm

US$138 for me:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261397671097

mine arrived through DHL, just one week after placing the order for two of these. excellent stuff, seems to be unused and original Agilent. Driver CD with lots of circular scratches, perfectly readable though. works like a charm on my PM6304 w/ GPIB.

Be aware of hilarious German customs "adder" of almost 29%, including 12 EUR as "Kapitalbereitstellungsprovision". holy cow, angela!

dadler · « **Reply #46 on:** August 10, 2015, 07:13:32 pm »

Ah I totally forgot to break my open and post pictures. Got distracted with life.

I'll try to do so ASAP.

rfeecs · « **Reply #47 on:** August 10, 2015, 09:59:13 pm »

Just received mine from here http://www.ebay.com/itm/201392178689.

Packaging and everything looks OK. I plugged it in and looks OK, but didn't do any real testing. Opening it up, it looks terrible on the inside. Looks dirty, flux everywhere, parts look hand soldered. Some are mis-aligned. The three main parts all have the authentic part numbers. The Cypress part looks like it was replaced and hand soldered.

Seems like something fishy is going on.

Well, I'll do more testing. If it works functionally, I'm satisfied with the price at least.

skennedy · « **Reply #48 on:** August 10, 2015, 10:14:52 pm »

I ordered one too to see what they were like. It certainly looks like the real deal and a lot cheaper than almost any real alternative. Compatibility seems to be the name of the game for these GPIB controllers.

I bought a Beiming clone earlier in the year and was a little shocked how rough the soldering is but seems to work just fine. Interestingly the Beiming website seems to have disappeared. Maybe they have found a skip full of agilent molds. I'm pretty sure they shipped DHL too.

rfeecs · « **Reply #49 on:** August 11, 2015, 12:11:50 am »

Did a little more testing. Still seems to work OK.
You can look up your serial number here:
https://service.keysight.com/infoline/public/details.aspx?i=COV&pn=&sn=&lc=&cc=
Mine says it was first shipped in 12/8/2009. Warranty expired in 12/8/2010.
Looks like the Cypress chip has a date code of 2013, so that doesn't add up for a "new in box" unit with "2 year manufacturer's warranty".

A few other differences from the genuine unit: The genuine one has a metallic coating on the inside surface of the case. The eBay unit is plain plastic. Genuine unit has a torx screw holding on the cover, eBay unit is a Phillips screw. Both PC boards say "rev 2" but they are clearly different quality.

This is looking more and more like a straight up counterfeit.


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Author Topic: Flood of new Agilent 82357B GPIB-USB adaptors on eBay the real deal? (Read 160576 times)

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