Agilent 54835A scope (4 channel 1GHz / 4Gs/s) repair & uphack

[Gerhard_dk4xp]

Maybe someone managed to upgrade to Windows 2K?

That's the one thing I think is impossible. The problem is that there's no 2K drivers for the acquisition controller.

There must be an upgrade kit that consists of one or two RAM modules, an XP license and
obviously, the drivers for XP. So, they must exist somewhere.

N5383A Infiniium Performance Upgrade kit   for 54846B
win98 ? XP pro   256MB ? 512 MB  $495

I have a 54846B that booted increasingly slow and finally the disk showed many read errors.
I replaced the 20 G unit by a 80G unit that I used to have in a Dell Laptop and reserved
some of the space for a Linux Partition. (Knoppix) That made it easy to setup the new Win98.
For the fun of it, I even succeded to run Libre Office on the 54846B, but it was slow as
molasse.  Somewhere I have a screen shot. 

regards,
Gerhard

[Gerhard_dk4xp]

From <  http://www.probe.co.il/Documents/Infiniium%20548xx%20Series%20probe%20accessories%20and%20option.pdf  >

[nctnico]

Maybe someone managed to upgrade to Windows 2K?

That's the one thing I think is impossible. The problem is that there's no 2K drivers for the acquisition controller.

There must be an upgrade kit that consists of one or two RAM modules, an XP license and
obviously, the drivers for XP. So, they must exist somewhere.

N5383A Infiniium Performance Upgrade kit   for 54846B
win98 ? XP pro   256MB ? 512 MB  $495

I have come to the same conclusion. Windows XP runs OK on my 54845 and the software should be compatible as well but the driver for the acquisition card is missing. I have pulled all my Google-fu tricks and then some but I have not been able to find the drivers. I wish someone would make the XP drivers available because Windows XP has better support for USB devices.

[Converter]

From <  http://www.probe.co.il/Documents/Infiniium%20548xx%20Series%20probe%20accessories%20and%20option.pdf  >

It seems this applies to the software for Infiniium 54830, -31, -32. I'm not sure, but I think that it uses advanced ACQ board and faster data transfer interface. It may be that the software for 54830 (1) is not compatible with the oscilloscopes 54825, -35, -45(6). You could check this by installing the disk image for 54830. A link to the archive containing the disk image  I saw somewhere in this topic.

[Jwalling]

Maybe someone managed to upgrade to Windows 2K?

That's the one thing I think is impossible. The problem is that there's no 2K drivers for the acquisition controller.

There must be an upgrade kit that consists of one or two RAM modules, an XP license and
obviously, the drivers for XP. So, they must exist somewhere.

N5383A Infiniium Performance Upgrade kit   for 54846B
win98 ? XP pro   256MB ? 512 MB  $495

I have come to the same conclusion. Windows XP runs OK on my 54845 and the software should be compatible as well but the driver for the acquisition card is missing. I have pulled all my Google-fu tricks and then some but I have not been able to find the drivers. I wish someone would make the XP drivers available because Windows XP has better support for USB devices.

I'm certain that XP was never used in these first generation Infiniium scopes: 54810A through 54825A, 54835A, 54845A, and 54846A.
B versioned scopes are another matter, as are the 54830 and 54850 series...

If you really want better/native USB support, Win ME (yuck) is certainly possible. 

[Tony_G]

From the upgrade PDF these models at some point supported XP:

For models 54830B, 54830D, 54831B, 54831D, 54832B, 54832D, 54833A, 54833D

These models were originally released with the Windows 98 operating system. Newer units and
upgraded older units run Windows XP.

You could try copying the drivers from the ghost image locations for the Win98 bits(c:\windows\system32\drivers and c:\windows\inf directories). If the driver is a full 32 bit driver then there is a chance that it will work under Windows XP. Alternatively you could do the same thing with the WinXP image (c:\windows\system32\drivers )assuming acquisition card didn't change much (the driver might include support for the older cards)

TonyG
[Edited for clarity and my misreading of the PDF]

[nctnico]

You can't use Win98 drivers on XP because the driver model is completely different.

[Tony_G]

You can't use Win98 drivers on XP because the driver model is completely different.

That isn't completely correct.

Windows Driver Model (WDM) was introduced in Win98. The previous driver model was VxD and it is also supported in Win98. That said, the driver in the WinXP image may be based on WDM and may be able to be used on Win98 - WinXP introduced new WDM features so a WinXP WDM driver may not work on Win98/Win2K but a Win98/Win2K WDM driver will work on WinXP.

Of course the driver could also be based on Windows Driver Foundation and thus be basically XP and up (ignoring UMDF & KMDF distinctions).

So there is a chance that the driver from the XP image will work on the Win98 one.

TonyG

[dogbert]

I think the naming scheme used by Agilent/HP for the 54XXX series are confusing (546XX and 548XX has some models that might be mistaken as the other series).

For Infiniiums, 54830 series means 5483X where X is 1 or 2. They are the ones using VP22 motherboard that you can modernize to Win XP.

548X5 is the high bandwidth old Infiniium with the same PC software as the 5481X, 5482X that are hopelessly Windows 98. The 54835 you are talking about belongs to the same class as 54845 and 54855, which has nothing to do with the so-called '54830' series.

Hope it helps.

[Jwalling]

I think the naming scheme used by Agilent/HP for the 54XXX series are confusing (546XX and 548XX has some models that might be mistaken as the other series).

For Infiniiums, 54830 series means 5483X where X is 1 or 2. They are the ones using VP22 motherboard that you can modernize to Win XP.

548X5 is the high bandwidth old Infiniium with the same PC software as the 5481X, 5482X that are hopelessly Windows 98. The 54835 you are talking about belongs to the same class as 54845 and 54855, which has nothing to do with the so-called '54830' series.

Hope it helps.

That's not quite correct. The 54850 series (54853A, 54854A, and 54855A) use the newer VP22 motherboard as well and came with XP. I know, because I just finished a repair on a 54855A for a  customer.

EDIT: I think a good way to tell whether they are first or second generation (or later) Infiniiums, is if it says "Megazoom" on the front panel.

[dogbert]

I don't recall mentioning anything about 54850 series on my post, but I know the difference between the VP22 boards can be removed by upgrading the BIOS supplied by Agilent.

Nonetheless, I agree with you that the best way to tell which generation it is by whether it has Megazoom. Also note that the 54830 series might come with an ADlink motherboard instead of Motorola VP22. The ADlink board has only 3 PCI slots that you have to use the combo card if you don't want to lose the GPIB. The downside is that the combo card does not work on old acquisition board, and it's not easy to tell without trial and error (I don't have a list of serial number ranges to tell which Acq board works with the combo card).

[Converter]

Update on my scope:
USB: My motherboard support 2 USB connections on the motherboard.

I bought this unit: http://electromyne.de/Server-Parts-Supermicro-FPUSB813-Server-Front-Panel-2x-USB-Serial-COM-RS232-Silver-Silber.html
Fit perfectly in the place of the original floppy, com port as well on the front.
It is plug & play and no need to pray, cables, screws all fit perfectly, com2 is now connected to the front panel. 

Manage in the bios to disable the floppy and work without problem with the floppy removed. 

I added as well memory, very cheap from the same shop and was shipped in 2 days door to door from Germany. 

Got the exact colour to repair the little scratches and blemish, now my scope is in a real mint condition.

Install a pdf printer emulator. 

Now hunting for probes. 

I made a plastic overlay for the usb front panel (https://www.ebay.com/itm/202029998994). It was easy and now it looks like the original part. The whole process is shown in the photo.

[Converter]

I recommend using the trackball, as Agilent suggests.
I found this part (with the Compaq logo) at a very low price in China. I bought 2 pcs in almost new condition for 99 yuan per piece (approximately $ 15).
One of them I dyed in the color of the front panel of the oscilloscope, using colors of two shades of gray. In reality, it looks more harmonious than in the photo and most importantly, that it does not require free space on the table.

[Converter]

In the supplied software, the Windows desktop is locked. If you want to have the usual access to the desktop in Windows 98 you can do this only by editing the system registry. You can use the built-in utility Registry Editor. For this go to "start->run" and enter "regedit". You need to change the value of NoDesktop to 0, as on the attached photo. Address in the register: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer\NoDesktop

I have added usb ports to the front panel, so I no longer use a floppy device (drive A, B). However, despite deactivating them in Bios, I've seen drives A and B in the file manager.
You can also hide them, if you do not use them, using the System Registry setting. Address in the register:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer\NoDrives
Depending on the value, different drive letters are hidden, 00 00 00 00 - none is hidden.
Value 1 - hides disk A
Value 2 - hides the disk B
Value 3 - hides disks A and B.

[Gerhard_dk4xp]

My 54846B motherboard also has a normal floppy controller, in addition
to the exotic 120MB combi drive. That could help if the special drive is
defective and cannot be found as a replacement part. The Plug is directly
at the front side of the motherboard.

What drivers do I need for USB sticks under Win98? I could live with
the built-in interfaces on the back side and an external extension cable.
Sticks do not work in my configuration.

regards, Gerhard

[Converter]

I found 2 processor Pentium III 1000 MHz (see photo). One of them is a later release and has a heat-distributing cover. However, they are both with the Coppermine core, so I do not need to modify the socket and change the Bios to switch i440BX to Tualatin.
Both processors excellently bother at a bus frequency of 140 MHz, but not one of them could not work reliably at 150 MHz.

For cooling, I bought a cooler intended for Socket 462 (Socket A). When it was delivered, it was twice the size of what was in my Socket 370, but there was not the slightest obstacle to its easy installation in the motherboard.
It has a bifurcated bracket attached to the 4 protrusions of the socket, in contrast to the radiator for socket 370, which is attached to only 2 ledges. So it seems that this is kept much more stable.

The image from the hard disk was successfully transferred to the IDE SSD and the partition was increased to 16 GB using the alignment operation. This inexpensive drive showed sequential read speed of about 85MB/s, which is 1 order of magnitude greater than the old disc, but the most bottleneck here is Hard Disk Controller - PIO Mode 5/DMA Mode 3 (33.3MB/S).
Probably a better solution is to use a separate expansion card in a PCI slot with a sata controller. But then the loading of an individual BIOS for such a controller will be added during the start of the computer, which can again worsen the start time of the device.

[Converter]

What drivers do I need for USB sticks under Win98? I could live with
the built-in interfaces on the back side and an external extension cable.

Hi,
I used these:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/agilent-54835a-scope-(4-channel-1ghz-4gss)-repair-uphack/msg1347291/#msg1347291

[JanNousiainen]

Well I got mine working again with clean install of 3.5 recovery CD:)

I had to borrow Mac G5 DVD drive that had IDE interface and use Rasp Pi GPIO extender ribbon cable to connect it to scope. After that it was smooth sailing and now my unit runs on Windows 98. I might install later updates if I feel brave someday.

Only problem was in calibration. I used too long BNC- BNC cable (1.5 - 2 m) to connect channels to AUX OUT and calibration would fail. I switched to 25 cm long better quality SMA + BNC adapter - BNC cable and no problems after that.

Now I just need to figure what I want to do with the scope...

[Converter]

Only problem was in calibration. I used too long BNC- BNC cable (1.5 - 2 m) to connect channels to AUX OUT and calibration would fail. I switched to 25 cm long better quality SMA + BNC adapter - BNC cable and no problems after that.

It's strange. I used to calibrate the cables of different lengths and the process is always successful. I know that the instruction requires a short cable, just wondering, for what reason is the cable length important here?

Now I just need to figure what I want to do with the scope...

You, like me, want to convert oscilloscope to Windows XP

[Tony_G]

for what reason is the cable length important here?

The cable length will impact the rise time of the calibration pulses.

TonyG

[tautech]

for what reason is the cable length important here?

The cable length will impact the rise time of the calibration pulses.

TonyG

But more importantly are differing propagation delays between channels with different length cables.. Scopes will detect this and if it's outside predefined parameters the calibration will fail.

[Tony_G]

But more importantly are differing propagation delays between channels with different length cables.. Scopes will detect this and if it's outside predefined parameters the calibration will fail.

Yes - Don't change cables in the middle of the calibration. That is technically known as 'Bad'.

That said, I don't believe that this scope (54845A) uses the calibration signal to perform any analysis of propagation delay. According to the service manual the scope only self calibrates for channel sensitivity, voltage offsets, and trigger parameters (hold-off etc not being dependent on the propagation time through the cable but on the accuracy of the internal time base).

Anyway, as Tautech noted, if the cable is too long it will impact all of these values and cause the calibration to fail even though the underlying scope HW is working correctly.

TonyG

[Converter]

It seems that this depends more on the quality of the cable and the connectors in the impedance matched coaxial line. I have an example when a short BNC connector (0.3m) shows a worse bandwidth than a high quality one with a length of 1.5m (I see it by the result of the rise time). However, all of them give a positive result of HP 54845 calibration. So, if the delay time does not matter and you have a high-quality cable, then this should not be a problem.

[JanNousiainen]

My first cable was thick and black (RG58?) with BNC connectors, from china of course.

Second cable was thin and coppery (RG316?) but also about max 1/5th of length of first one. I think this one was much better quality compared to first one.

[Converter]

Yes, RG58 cable is not good for this case.