FieldFox N9912A Firwmare Update from "A.01.00 Developer"?

[ke5gdb]

Enough parts finally arrived from eBay to bring an N9912A back to life, but it has version A.01.00 Developer firmware on it. The functionality is exceedingly crippled in terms of being a spec an or VNA, and all indications are that the measurements are waaaaay off. I suspect it has no decent cal values.

Current Keysight docs don't even reference firmware going back to A.01.00; the oldest I have found starts at A.03.00.

Do y'all think I'm SOL or is there something worthwhile here? Any ideas on how to make this a usable instrument?

[TheSteve]

Wow, by far the earliest firmware I've ever seen or heard of. Does it have a firmware update option in the menus?

The hardware may not support newer firmware.

[ke5gdb]

I believe it's the standard "CPU1" kit based on pics of other boards on eBay. I do not see any firmware update options in the menus. It definitely gives R&D unit vibes.

[TheSteve]

I'm sure the processor board is the standard one - but the main board that it connects to had several updates(I've seen many with wires and even extra chips added).

You are probably correct that there will be no real cal data as well.

The firmware is stored/booted from the processor board but does have to update the main/digital IF board and the RF board. So even if we got the processor board updated the other boards would need to support the automated update process.