Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs

Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs


What is so special about the drive?


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs



What is so special about the drive?



Most likely a proprietery format known only to HP. Other than labview
you are left to using a real plotter?


Adam

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:43:05 -0400, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs

Can you do a GPIB dump and run the data into GnuPlot? National
Instruments has a GPIB package, combined with a ethernet to GPIB
converto box, that allows you to do GPIB calls via command line. We
use this technique to do data dumps or screen grabs from various
instruments. A batch file to grab data and run gnuplot makes this task
easy.

---
Mark

"qrk" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:43:05 -0400, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs

Can you do a GPIB dump and run the data into GnuPlot? National
Instruments has a GPIB package, combined with a ethernet to GPIB
converto box, that allows you to do GPIB calls via command line. We
use this technique to do data dumps or screen grabs from various
instruments. A batch file to grab data and run gnuplot makes this task
easy.

---
Mark

Also there are several people around with programs that emulate HPGL
Plotters that can take the data from a GPIB dump.

Here is one but he doesn't list your instrument. It may still work. And I've
seen others around.

http://www.thegleam.com/ke5fx/gpib/7470.htm

Robert

Adam Stouffer a écrit :
Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs



What is so special about the drive?



Most likely a proprietery format known only to HP.


The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)


--
Thanks,
Fred.

"Fred Bartoli"
r_AndThisToo wrote in
message ...

The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Well said. There should be a newsgroup in the comp.periphs hierarchy where
people really know about diskette drives. If a plain PC drive doesn't work,
it's probably a very minor matter of jumper settings or something. BTW, is
it 360K, 720K, or 1.4MB?

Fred Bartoli wrote:
Adam Stouffer a écrit :

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V
curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs




What is so special about the drive?



Most likely a proprietery format known only to HP.



The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)


Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a pre-PS/2,
pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density, for a start,
because of the drive limitations.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

qrk wrote:


Can you do a GPIB dump and run the data into GnuPlot? National
Instruments has a GPIB package, combined with a ethernet to GPIB
converto box, that allows you to do GPIB calls via command line. We
use this technique to do data dumps or screen grabs from various
instruments. A batch file to grab data and run gnuplot makes this task
easy.

---
Mark

I'd be perfectly happy with a scope camera, for that matter. This gizmo
_boots_ off the floppy, so without it, it's completely flatline.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

Hello Phil,


The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single
density, for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Can't help you with a spare but I'd go out on EBay and look for a few
dilapidated units that are cheap. Busted CRT, whatever. These drives
were used in lots of HP gear. There is also a "bone yard" vendor that
sells parted out HP and Tek spares but I don't remember the name. Pretty
much like finding an alternator for an old Studebaker.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Joerg wrote:

Hello Phil,


The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single
density, for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Can't help you with a spare but I'd go out on EBay and look for a few
dilapidated units that are cheap. Busted CRT, whatever. These drives
were used in lots of HP gear. There is also a "bone yard" vendor that
sells parted out HP and Tek spares but I don't remember the name. Pretty
much like finding an alternator for an old Studebaker.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com


Even if the interface is different, some proprietary drives are built
on common drive chassis and you might be able to transplant the PC
board. I have revived a number of oddball 3.5" drives by carefully
cleaning the old lubricant and replacing it with the molly grease for
VCRs or Lubriplate for the thinner lubes.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Phil Hobbs wrote:
qrk wrote:


Can you do a GPIB dump and run the data into GnuPlot? National
Instruments has a GPIB package, combined with a ethernet to GPIB
converto box, that allows you to do GPIB calls via command line. We
use this technique to do data dumps or screen grabs from various
instruments. A batch file to grab data and run gnuplot makes this task
easy.

---
Mark

I'd be perfectly happy with a scope camera, for that matter. This gizmo
_boots_ off the floppy, so without it, it's completely flatline.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

I always heard the floppy is essential. However, you can't get one from
HP/Agilent?

Phil Hobbs a écrit :
Fred Bartoli wrote:
Adam Stouffer a écrit :

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V
curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs




What is so special about the drive?



Most likely a proprietery format known only to HP.



The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)


Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single
density, for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Do you have the 4145B schematics?
I don't know how much it's different but it probably shares a lot with
modern drives' interface.
Even the 4145A of which Win did send me the FDC board drawing could be
easily made to work with a modern 5.25" HD drive. And I guess with a
3.5" drive too.

Or maybe, if you have one at hand, you could try some of the 9121-9122
floppy drives.


--
Thanks,
Fred.

Phil Hobbs hath wroth:

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a pre-PS/2,
pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density, for a start,
because of the drive limitations.

The disk format is called LIF. There are flakey conversion tools for
reading the LIF floppies such as LIF2DOS and LIFUTIL. I've only used
it once. However, I couldn't find any info on whatever hardware HP
used to create the LIF floppy. I'm fairly sure it's NOT a proprietary
interface, but might be wrong. The LIF format is used on a
substantial number of HP boxes and not just on the HP 4145B. If you
can't find a replacement drive for the HP 4145B, try one of the other
models that supports LIF.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Michael A. Terrell" writes:

Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

I didn't see the entire thread but how sure are you that the drive is
toast? Maybe it just didn't like its diet.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
...
Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Ive heard this tale a few times here now, I'm surprised no one has emulated
one with a micro and 1.44mb flash chip.

Colin =^.^=

Phil Hobbs wrote...
Fred Bartoli wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left
it running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would
last after the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown
at the lab, it indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what
always break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used
something else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's
a pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--
single density, for a start, because of the drive limitations.

Sounds like you're describing the 4145A drive; the 4145B drive
looks much more advanced to me, and will format today's ordinary
high-density floppies. I can't say, not having the 4145B manual
service section (know where to get a copy?), just for the 4145A.

Anyway, this may be a good time to encourage you to join the
growing effort to eliminate the 4145A and 4145B disk drives
entirely. In the case of the 4145A, which goes to the floppy
for every little thing (ker-chunk... wait...), not to mention
the dead drives, it's a very big deal, but even for the 4145B,
where you can't startup without the floppy, it's still a deal.

My idea is to replace the floppy and the controller, using the
simple 8-bit interface to the floppy-controller IC, where one
could program a uC to simulate the controller and its responses
"from the floppy drive"...

Why not contact Fred and enlist him in this,

F. Bartoli Consultant
98, rue du Charrat
F38960 St Etienne de Crossey
Tel : (33) 08.70.77.82.07


--
Thanks,
- Win

colin a écrit :
"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
...
Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Ive heard this tale a few times here now, I'm surprised no one has emulated
one with a micro and 1.44mb flash chip.


Currently working on one for the 4145A.
If Phil (or others) has some info I don't have about the 4145B, I'll
look at how to make it working with both units. I just have the
operating manual found on agilent's site so any schematics scan is welcomed.


--
Thanks,
Fred.

"Joerg" wrote in message
.. .
Hello Phil,


The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density,
for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Can't help you with a spare but I'd go out on EBay and look for a few
dilapidated units that are cheap. Busted CRT, whatever. These drives were
used in lots of HP gear. There is also a "bone yard" vendor that sells
parted out HP and Tek spares but I don't remember the name. Pretty much
like finding an alternator for an old Studebaker.

Were automotive alternators used in Studebakers? Weren't they using
generators with commutators?

Bob

On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 22:43:05 -0400, Phil Hobbs
wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs

Somebody should do a nice little USB curve tracer, with optional
capacitance and junction temp measurement.

Ditto RLC bridge, spectrum analyzer.

Somebody makes a really cool RF power meter like that, just a bump in
the end of a USB cable.

John

Hello Bob,


The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density,
for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Can't help you with a spare but I'd go out on EBay and look for a few
dilapidated units that are cheap. Busted CRT, whatever. These drives were
used in lots of HP gear. There is also a "bone yard" vendor that sells
parted out HP and Tek spares but I don't remember the name. Pretty much
like finding an alternator for an old Studebaker.


Were automotive alternators used in Studebakers? Weren't they using
generators with commutators?


Sorry, used the wrong word. I guess almost all cars from that era were
using commutated generators. And woe to those who let the brushes go
down too far. Been there :-(

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
...

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a pre-PS/2,
pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density, for a
start, because of the drive limitations.

On a 3.5"? The only one I know like that is the Brother sewing machine
drive - 90K and later 180K IIRC.

They sell for mucho $$$ on eBay.

"Phil Hobbs" wrote in message
...
Fred Bartoli wrote:

Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a pre-PS/2,
pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single density, for a
start, because of the drive limitations.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs

Sounds like the early HP 150 style used with their pre-Mac / early PC era
computers (early 1980s).

As I remember, these were made for HP by or with Sony.

gb

On Tue, 12 Sep 2006 18:37:54 +0200, Fred Bartoli
r_AndThisToo put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Phil Hobbs a écrit :
Fred Bartoli wrote:
Adam Stouffer a écrit :

Michael A. Terrell wrote:

Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V
curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs




What is so special about the drive?



Most likely a proprietery format known only to HP.



The disk format is not dictated by the drive unit but by the FDC
controller and software. And it'd be surprising that HP used something
else than a common disk drive.

I'd simply try any ordinary 3.5" drive and it should work.
Guess this won't break your budget too much :-)


Nah, the electrical interface is completely nonstandard. It's a
pre-PS/2, pre-Macintosh drive. The disc format is weird--single
density, for a start, because of the drive limitations.


Do you have the 4145B schematics?
I don't know how much it's different but it probably shares a lot with
modern drives' interface.
Even the 4145A of which Win did send me the FDC board drawing could be
easily made to work with a modern 5.25" HD drive. And I guess with a
3.5" drive too.

Or maybe, if you have one at hand, you could try some of the 9121-9122
floppy drives.

If it will help you, I can scan the 360KB and 1.2MB FDD circuits from
the original IBM PC AT Tech Ref manual. The manual also has the
circuit for the HDD/FDD adapter, as well as a basic command reference.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Phil Hobbs wrote:
Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs

Phil,

I'd definitely ask in the hp_agilent_equipment discussion group, at
http://www.yahoogroups.com . I'd also ask in the TekScopes group,
there (with a polite apology for being OT), since that group is older
and better-established and has some "extremely*-knowledgable people who
frequent it.

If you wanted to find an identical, used unit, or several at once,
possibly dirt-cheap, and anywhere from "unused" to DOA with no
foolproof way of knowing before you bid, you'd start scanning
http://www.govliquidation.com , and hope that any available ones are
within a half-day's drive, or (especially if you're not in the USA and
not near one of their foreign sites) that someone you know can pick
them up and ship them to you. I think the minimum bid has been raised
to $45. But that might be for more than one unit, depending on which
site they're at and which warehouse manager makes up the lots. (Or, of
course, they may not be dumping many/any of those, at this time.)

Other possibilities include http://www.ebay.com (go to My Ebay and
initiate an "auto-search", or whatever they call it, so you'll be
automatically emailed whenever anything matching your search comes up
for auction), and, as a long-shot, periodically check
http://www.labx.com .

Another pretty-good possibility:

If you can get the official HP part number off of the drive, someone
with several gigabytes of downloaded HP service manuals (e.g. me) could
automatically search all of the PDF files and, with any luck, give you
a partial list of other HP equipment that used the identical part, so
that you might have an easier time finding another unit from which to
scavenge one.

You could also check for service manual(s) at places like
http://bama.sbc.edu/hp.htm , and at http://www.agilent.com . And there
is a (more-or-less) searchable archive of MANY complete older
test-equipment catalogs, in the Reference Library section, at
http://www.testmart.com/advice/advicetmp.cfm, where you might be able
to get some clues about what equipment used that drive.

And yet-another possibility:

If you have the HP part number of the drive, someone with the Federal
Logistics (FedLog) database (e.g. me) could check to see if there is
any cross-reference information, possibly with the original supplier's
or manufacturer's name, and their part number. (Chances might be slim,
in this case. But if it has any info at all, it'll probably have more
than you want to know.)

I'd be happy to do those two searches (i.e. PDF HP manuals and Fedlog
database) for you, if you post (or email me) the HP part number (My
email address is tomg at fullnet.com .). If possible, also include ALL
other indentifying info that might be on the drive, and on its PCB.

Good luck!

- Tom Gootee

http://www.fullnet.com/u/tomg

"He who lives in a glass house" should not invite "he who is without
sin".

----------------------------------------

wrote:
Phil Hobbs wrote:

Well, it finally happened: the floppy disc drive on my HP 4145B
Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer ate itself for lunch. I'd left it
running for months, because I wasn't sure how long it would last after
the previous repair, and with the Labor Day shutdown at the lab, it
indeed came up very, very sick.

Those floppy drives are tough to find, because they're what always
break. Does anybody know of a place to get one?

Alternatively, given that I've already spent my capital budget for the
year, any suggestions on a simple way of making nice accurate I-V curves
without using Labview?

Thanks,

Phil Hobbs


Phil,

I'd definitely ask in the hp_agilent_equipment discussion group, at
http://www.yahoogroups.com . I'd also ask in the TekScopes group,
there (with a polite apology for being OT), since that group is older
and better-established and has some "extremely*-knowledgable people who
frequent it.

If you wanted to find an identical, used unit, or several at once,
possibly dirt-cheap, and anywhere from "unused" to DOA with no
foolproof way of knowing before you bid, you'd start scanning
http://www.govliquidation.com , and hope that any available ones are
within a half-day's drive, or (especially if you're not in the USA and
not near one of their foreign sites) that someone you know can pick
them up and ship them to you. I think the minimum bid has been raised
to $45. But that might be for more than one unit, depending on which
site they're at and which warehouse manager makes up the lots. (Or, of
course, they may not be dumping many/any of those, at this time.)

Other possibilities include http://www.ebay.com (go to My Ebay and
initiate an "auto-search", or whatever they call it, so you'll be
automatically emailed whenever anything matching your search comes up
for auction), and, as a long-shot, periodically check
http://www.labx.com .

Another pretty-good possibility:

If you can get the official HP part number off of the drive, someone
with several gigabytes of downloaded HP service manuals (e.g. me) could
automatically search all of the PDF files and, with any luck, give you
a partial list of other HP equipment that used the identical part, so
that you might have an easier time finding another unit from which to
scavenge one.

You could also check for service manual(s) at places like
http://bama.sbc.edu/hp.htm , and at http://www.agilent.com . And there
is a (more-or-less) searchable archive of MANY complete older
test-equipment catalogs, in the Reference Library section, at
http://www.testmart.com/advice/advicetmp.cfm, where you might be able
to get some clues about what equipment used that drive.

And yet-another possibility:

If you have the HP part number of the drive, someone with the Federal
Logistics (FedLog) database (e.g. me) could check to see if there is
any cross-reference information, possibly with the original supplier's
or manufacturer's name, and their part number. (Chances might be slim,
in this case. But if it has any info at all, it'll probably have more
than you want to know.)

I'd be happy to do those two searches (i.e. PDF HP manuals and Fedlog
database) for you, if you post (or email me) the HP part number (My
email address is tomg at fullnet.com .). If possible, also include ALL
other indentifying info that might be on the drive, and on its PCB.

Good luck!

- Tom Gootee


Thanks, guys. That gives me some leads. Also, a kind lurker of this
group who happens also to work at IBM offered to send me a *brand new
spare*. When that shows up, I'll probably be good for a few more years.

Cheers,

Phil Hobbs