Products > Test Equipment
Suggestions for a good second-hand LA?
mbalmer:
I received a sixth and seventh 16717A board today. I plugged what we'll call Board F into the mainframe as the only board installed, and immediately received an error upon bootup that said that the module failed its' high-speed system clock test, and it claimed that the frame may need service.
However, the board passes all tests with x modtests from within pv.
I then re-ran all tests by setting d=9 (but not r=9).
As it ran the test, once it reached the vramCellTest, it flooded the screen with information, mostly clock numbers and hexadecimal codes which I'm guessing relate to specific VRAM cells, the data sent and the data read back. It sat there counting down clock codes from over 2,000,000 for a good solid 30 minutes before it moved on to the next test. After letting it run, all the tests passed on debug level 9.
I pulled Board F out, and replaced it with Board G. The frame powered up and got to the Workspace system without throwing any errors, so I logged into it via telnet and then ran a suite of module tests through pv.
Sure enough, it fails three tests: cmpTest, calTest, and zoomAcqTest.
This one fails cmpTest in an unusual way, however:
--- Code: --- Check POD1 Thresholds:
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ B BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBB Cal Clk Activity
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
Check POD2 Thresholds:
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 9: B BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBB . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
Check POD3 Thresholds:
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ B BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBB Cal Clk Activity
Check POD4 Thresholds:
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk No Act.
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 8: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Levels
Slot E, Chip 9: . ........ ........ . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
Slot E, Chip 8: B BBBBBBBB BBBBBBBB . ........ ........ Cal Clk Activity
> Slot E: Comparator Test Failed!
--- End code ---
I'm about ready to give up on this boat anchor. This is potentially only one out of seven boards I've received that has successfully passed all of its tests, and even then, the mainframe doesn't fully like Board F since it throws a boot-time error about the system high-speed clock.
RomDump:
--- Quote from: mbalmer on September 12, 2022, 06:42:56 pm ---Where else are you looking? I only really know about eBay and a handful of e-waste folks that happen to deal in test equipment to look at.
--- End quote ---
I don't know any auction sites in the US, (I am in Canada) but the guy bought the TLA6402 from the Auction Mill.
BMI Surplus has a TLA715 with cables (no hard drive) for $900US.
I think a better option for hobbyist if they are going with Tektronix and want it working out of the box would be the TLA5204/B series. Yes I know about the motherboard capacitor issues. The main problem is the price. I have never seen a working one under $1000.
As others have stated the TLA715 has to be used as a controller (being remote control). Whereas the TLA5204/B spec wise has a better processor and is still usable as a standalone unit.
I have a TLA715 btw and I haven't actually used a TLA5000/B so this is just a thought I have. YMMV.
mbalmer:
--- Quote from: RomDump on September 14, 2022, 05:16:55 am ---I don't know any auction sites in the US, (I am in Canada) but the guy bought the TLA6402 from the Auction Mill.
--- End quote ---
I'll keep that in mind. I know of a few local auction places, but especially where I'm at, test gear is an exceptional rarity. I'm much more likely to find power tools, tin signs, and hubcaps on auction sites. |O
--- Quote from: RomDump on September 14, 2022, 05:16:55 am ---I think a better option for hobbyist if they are going with Tektronix and want it working out of the box would be the TLA5204/B series. Yes I know about the motherboard capacitor issues. The main problem is the price. I have never seen a working one under $1000.
--- End quote ---
$1k is out-of-range for me, so it's looking like the TLA 715.
I'm still going to give the 16702B some love (especially because I have a working 500MHz scope module for it) but I am thoroughly frustrated with the failing boards on this thing. It might see some service when I see the 16557D that I had ordered, but for right now, the thing is basically dead in the water for me.
--- Quote from: RomDump on September 14, 2022, 05:16:55 am ---As others have stated the TLA715 has to be used as a controller (being remote control). Whereas the TLA5204/B spec wise has a better processor and is still usable as a standalone unit.
--- End quote ---
As I understood it, the TLA has front panel controls, as well as a keyboard and mouse port, and didn't explicitly have to be controlled over a network. Even so, I intended to hook it to my network, so that shouldn't be much of an issue.
mbalmer:
--- Quote from: Mechatrommer on September 10, 2022, 06:18:40 pm ---we try to make our own flying lead.. if no other cheaper option... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tla7aa4-p6860-probe-artwork/?topicscreen if you need gerber file for the one i've created, you can ask anytime, i will search where i've put it. ymmv.
--- End quote ---
I'm looking at that thread now, it looks like you can just break out the signals to 0.1" header. I wonder if it could be adapted to work with all of these 40-pin HP flying lead sets I've come into possession of. :P
nctnico:
--- Quote from: RomDump on September 14, 2022, 05:16:55 am ---
--- Quote from: mbalmer on September 12, 2022, 06:42:56 pm ---Where else are you looking? I only really know about eBay and a handful of e-waste folks that happen to deal in test equipment to look at.
--- End quote ---
As others have stated the TLA715 has to be used as a controller (being remote control). Whereas the TLA5204/B spec wise has a better processor and is still usable as a standalone unit.
--- End quote ---
IMHO the TLA715 is a much better buy because you can swap (upgrade) the modules. I do have to say though that whatever you run the sofware on, it is going to be slow so having a 'fast' processor in the logic analyser itself or your remote control PC isn't going to help. For some reason Tektronix wrote the software in a very clumsy way that doesn't fully utilise the processor at all. An SSD is the most worthwhile performance update.
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