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Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: gdgross on February 09, 2023, 09:24:45 pm

Title: HP8566 data?
Post by: gdgross on February 09, 2023, 09:24:45 pm

Shot in the dark here. 

Does anyone know of a way to get actual trace data (ie, a csv file or similar) out of an old HP8566 spectrum analyzer?  I am able to get *plots* via a national instruments GPIB->USB converter and the HP7470A plotter emulator app, but there are only graphical plots.  I'd like to get actual xy data that I can import into excel or matlab and plot on my own.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Geoff

Title: Re: HP8566 data?
Post by: RFMWdude on February 09, 2023, 09:43:35 pm

Look for the 'SATRACE' utility in the KE5FX GPIB Toolkit (http://www.ke5fx.com/gpib/readme.htm (http://www.ke5fx.com/gpib/readme.htm))

Title: Re: HP8566 data?
Post by: 0culus on February 10, 2023, 04:02:13 am

I recommend reading and understanding the 8566B programming manual. I don't quite remember all the specific commands, but there are a lot of BASIC capabilities provided for operating on traces (including getting the contents of a trace memory offboard onto a computer for further analysis). Note that the trace memories are fully digitized post IF...except for the fastest few sweep settings (where it switches to a direct analog sweep), the crt displays the data vector from trace memory.