Products > Test Equipment
Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread
xrunner:
--- Quote from: Neper on July 15, 2022, 04:32:59 pm ---Enough already!
--- End quote ---
I agree. All that arguing is why I don't post nearly as much as I used to. I have better things to do. I've been waiting to post an update but not until that crap dies down.
Zucca:
Zoli:
--- Quote from: bd139 on July 15, 2022, 03:02:10 pm ---
--- Quote from: Vince on July 15, 2022, 01:52:59 pm ---
--- Quote from: bd139 on July 15, 2022, 01:32:54 pm ---Hey it's HP. Doesn't matter which side, I'm sure we appreciate it. Apart from med :-DD
Edit: so the whole blowing a PROM thing lead to a rabbit hole where I found the schematics for my old Z80 SBC I built when I was 12 which I never really liked. Mulling ideas around a 6502 variant with FORTH as a bench utility computer. Can probably put one together for less than the price of a BBC at the moment which have reached extortion value. And of course incur hours of glorious fettling.
--- End quote ---
Oh I misunderstood... thought you had your childhood BBC computer still with you, albeit inaccessible packed somewhere.... if you have to buy one of course it's not very interesting financially...
I guess any 8 bit micro would be plenty enough to make a programmer here... aren't they any available in the UK at all ?! :-//
You said you have a programmer for PIC chips is that it ? Can't one buy a PIC MCU currently ?! Has it gotten that bad ?!
I mean could be, I don't know... haven't tried to buy an MCU recently....
Honestly if getting something done with a micro of any sort, is that much trouble.... for only 256 memory locations to program, I would just do it by hand ! :-//
Just put an 8 bit counter to drive the address pins, that you can increment with a push button (or just put a couple coding wheels). Maybe add LED 7 segment displays to it so you can make sure the address bus is indeed at the intended location, then put a coding wheel or dip-switches on the 4 bit data bus and just flick through the 256 memory locations, shouldn't take all that long to program even by hand :-//
Maybe add displays to the data bus as well, so you can then read the PROM to make sure it's been programmed properly.
It's a one-off thing, it only needs to let you program THAT particular chip, and do it once, maybe twice if unlucky the first time, but that's about it...
It's not like you were trying to make something fancy that's universal and super convenient and quick to mass program these because you want to flog them on Ebay by the hundreds... you only need to get that one job done, no more, that's all...
--- End quote ---
Here's how it goes in my head:
1. Buy a wonky Tek 465B because green wiggles FTW.
2. Ok the PROM is bust.
3. Can I buy a PROM? Yes. Order it.
3. Find the PROM supplier is shit when RM lose the package thus not being able to
4. Do some reverse engineering and find the PROM is one of N different types.
5. Discover they are really expensive to buy and the programming is difficult.
6. Knock up an Arduino programmer in my head based on the datasheet.
7. Discover thanks to the chip shortage that the only arduinos that aren't rip offs are based on the new Logic Green clones. argh.
8. Think back to the last time that you had a general purpose computer that could wiggle bits. Oh BBC.
9. Spend way too much time looking at BBCs on ebay.
10. Accidentally stumble across a 6502 SBC PCB and go down a rabbit hole of the old 6502 SBCs and FORTH via TCJ (tggzzz will know that reference).
11. Wonder why the hell I am doing this.
12. Go for a walk.
13. Come back, unpack the SDS1202X-E and stare at it for a bit and think ahhhhhhhhhh that's why I bought you.
14. Stick the 465B back in the cupboard in the repair queue and wait for a mule to appear.
Also, LOL at the price: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225075970394
--- End quote ---
PROM programming in my head:
1. List and print out the binary address/ content.
2. Throw something together with a DIP-12 switch, ATTiny(that's my 555 lately), LED's, passives and a push-button(big, red, with "EASY!" inscription, if possible >:D )
3. Program the ATTiny, then the PROM and note on paper the steps
4. Profit!(in a Ferengi way, nonetheless) >:D :-DD :-DD :-DD
Zucca:
I am the opposite of Ferengi now... burning money like I will die tomorrow.
Vince:
--- Quote from: factory on July 15, 2022, 11:54:52 am ---....
Apologies for the really crap picture of my HP 5055A Digital Recorder, seems to have escaped detailed photography and is currently in storage.
Probably not worth the wait. :-DD
David
--- End quote ---
Oh, interesting ! Was worth the wait for me :-+
I have a growing collection of Nixie tube TE that have a printer output, and I would like to make use of them to log data. Am planning on designing a little gizmo with an 8 bit MCU that I could plug to the back of these TE to read the output, send it to the future lab desktop computer via a serial port, for logging, analysis, plotting graphs etc. Serial port could also be used to configure the gizmo. Gizmo would also have an analog output to drive a chart recorder or XY plotter.
My TE are diverse and use different connectors and probably different control signals as well I imagine, so I would need to study them all to see how I can get the gizmo to work with all of them, and build enough flexibility into it to accommodate future instruments that might have different expectations still.
So... it's cool to see your BCD printers of the day, first time I see one. Datasheet implies that it's designed for not just HP equipment, and that controls signals in the industry / across various manufacturers, are probably not as random / diverse as I feared they might be, which is good and will male the design of my gizmo easier.
I hope you will restore your printer and attach it to some of your TE and post it here. A little YT video maybe... would love that ! :D
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version