The early repair of Agilent 54810A

[GGMM]

Hello,

Well, now my Agilent 54810 is starting to work.
Power pb is set (Short circuit capacitor reminder on -12v on main acquisition board)
The keyboard works and I can enter the setup
The hard drive that seemed strange to me works (Loads a windows 95), I disconnected and put aside. Save to be do after.

I still have a problem with the backlight.

The SVGA board operates both an external monitor (ok) and an internal LCD monitor. (Nok)
If I look at the control signals of the backlight board, it is in OFF mode  (See picture)
Normally the backlight should work as soon as the power is turned on.
So something is blocking on the SVGA board. I wonder if there is not an info to check in the setup to activate the 2 modes?
I checked the fuse specs on this board everything is good.
The LCD screen must work immediately when power on (See example)
I did the test by removing the cable that is common to both cards, it’s the same.

And idea?
cdt

cdt

[GGMM]

Hello,
After some investigations i found the documentation of the screen
to be see
I Have to verify my flat cable (cut?)
All fuses( VGA card and screen) e are OK

if anyone had this scenario
cdt

[GGMM]

Hello,
Can someone put his advanced setup settings of the Atlas 757 motherboard of an Agilent 54810A, I do not understand that my LCD screen does not work. As if disabled(?)
Yet I apply to the letter the instructions of the manual service for the set-up.
There is something that seems limited to the SVGA screen.
Bizarre.
Thanks

[GGMM]

hello,
I just did another test:
Only on the motherboard CPU  Atlas 757 and the video PCI card (66525).
The additional video module card (66502) is present, but not inserted into a PCI slot, and is only used to interface the power button with the acquisition board to the power.
The wire of the connector to the black light  pin 5 is diconnect from the VGA card  and grounded brings up the LCD screen
At this time the LCD screen works

So the chips 65550 on the video card don't seem to send the signal to ground to active the back light.
why???

[coromonadalix]

normally this  card is seen as an external  video card, upon boot  it is supposed to set itself correctly unless i forget something

when windows boot   it is supposed to see the video card  lcd as the first  display / peripheral,  and thru windows  you are able to select the second vga / display port

and in windows  you need its related driver to be installed

have you seen this document
https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/9018-40076/service-manuals/9018-40076.pdf


you are supposed to leave it inserted in the pci slot,    while your translation is not perfectly good


take a full photo of the card and it's  hp  number(s) on it,  it is supposed to be this number
HP Agilent 54810-66502 or  54810-66503     

if  it is the right one,  does the battery is still good ?

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix,

I would like to make a few clarifications.
The LCD screen seems to me it must be active from the start.

If we look at this picture of ebay (and one I put before in the posts), we see that the bios is displayed well before the start of windows.

Regarding, the other card that is supposed to be connected with the PCI VGA card, I think it only transcribes the formatted scan data with the program running windows  to the PCI VGA card and displayed.
I do not touch the battery (still good 3.2v), I think where are some data as  calibration. (?)

I specify that the set-up of the Atlas motherboard has no effect on this problem.

I am thinking of doing the following tests:
The same when changing PCI port for VGA card
Testing with other memory (you never know), I have stock
And as a last resort, test with other more recent motherboard (I have stock), + the famous card VGA card + alim ATX, and connect the front to see that happen on  the LCD screen.

NB: I have contacted the society Humgar, they said that the LCD must work at power ON

cdt

Example picture Ebay:
https://www.ebay.fr/itm/186482101844?itmmeta=01J1N036574SVAVF6J2GVGR7NW&hash=item2b6b330e54:g:v2oAAOSwDk5mYzHI&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4LPe2AI%2BOlt916d8eXKGX9CuTHjcruBXW8%2FNWdfD8KBdPE1dku3fx8hIOATFonDaot9TTlYOyj5DblgjCcqnUzvIovgFAIHKYUtk5I11%2BRvFHN0RkQQGYa9WoSJulkqpAjkccGpvV%2FrknxbOY7sKOQKgZIUcAQW3yH7cDQJXsHj215RIIQyTnfLIebbws2S5ONvHh1c%2FvCRpklWrCyPB%2F9TMQJG9lpyY58hNIWS0ZKN9t%2FEsM%2F9DI7l2Z68%2F4Xgt%2FNNfOZsg6oujTZAB4%2BbZnxrt68ouAc%2FTzIWFRkH0mVxZ%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR9jijKCNZA

[coromonadalix]

normally   the internal or external  vga   setting in bios where put later on following motherboard generations / chipsets

you have choice like internal video card and external .....  something like  pcieg  pcig ...  for sure the lcd must be active on boot to see  the bios  post   ....  and press DEL  to enter bios

ok i found the vga  section / card   i dont see under this card,  is the voltage on the yellow tantalum is there / ok ?



the ebay link  do show a keyboard error /  keyboard not present is normally a bios setting, the computer will not boot further because the keyboard is missing

Is the computer motherboard battery  died ?   it could explain some configuration errors


if you can enter in the bios   try default settings if this option exist

this is the chips 65550 datasheet     check where the backlight control originate

https://www.versalogic.com/wp-content/themes/vsl-new/assets/resources/support/pdf/65550.pdf

you have in it  7 instance of backlight  informations,   unless the chip registers have been changed or got corrupt ??  or the eeprom / bios on the card got corrupted ?
 

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix,

I agree with you.
As already said, I did a lot of tests with the BIOS (Total erasure, various tests of configurations..)
A priori without result.
The pictures are  examples that prove you have the bios on the LCD screen at power on

For me:
The VGA card is like "forced" to have a backlight blocked to NO.
I think like you said  a register of CHIPS 65550 may have been modified.
The Windows 95 system is sensitive to card locations relative to the PCI port number.
Let’s imagine, that this VGA card comes from another device and/ or moved slot.
Maybe a start to the end of the application infinivision will "reactivate"?

In any case I have a temporary solution by forcing the signal to 0v for the LCD screen to work.
I will make a small connector to switch from card to ground easily.

For the capacitor, I tested the multimeter,  RAS, but I can remove it.
Q3 which is an NPN has also been replaced.

Now, I would like to save the disc, I will see if I can connect a burner DVD CD, for the power supply just solder a cable.
I think I have exhausted the solutions, and I think the history of the registry seems to be the right direction. I hope
cdt

[GGMM]

If you have time to read the datasheet of the Chips 65550, some informations page 269.
It's become very technical... LOL

.........

 Activity Timer Action
0 When the activity timer count is reached, the ENABKL pin is activated (driven low to turn the
backlight off)
1 When the activity timer count is reached, Panel Off mode is entered.
5 Reserved (R/W)
4-0 Activity Timer Count
For a 37.5KHz power sequencing clock, the counter resolution is 28.1 seconds. The minimum
programmed value of 0 results in 28.1 seconds delay, and the maximum value of 1Eh results in a delay of
about 15 minutes. A value of 1Fh results in no delay.
This register controls the activity timer functions. The activity timer is an internal counter that starts from
a value programmed into this register (see bits 0-4 below) and is reset back to that count by read or write
accesses to graphics memory or standard VGA I/O. Reading or writing extended VGA registers does not
reset the counter. If no accesses occur, the counter increments until the end of its programmed interval,
then activates either the ENABKL pin or Panel Off mode (as selected by bit-6 below). The timer count
does not need to be reloaded once programmed and the timer enabled. Any access to the chip with the
timer timed out (ENABKL active or Panel Off mode active) resets the timer and deactivates the
ENABKL (or Panel Off mode) pin. The activity timer uses the same clock as the power sequencing
logic. The delay intervals below assume a 37.5 KHz clock. If using a 32KHz input, scale the delay
intervals accordingly.

[coromonadalix]

if you have 95  in this  upgrade to 98se ...  you had 95a 95b  and supposedly an 95c called OSR 2.5     they updated many things

98se was better  on most hardware  ... my 2 cents

the video card bios  is supposed to contain the lcd resolution / vertical / horizontal  sizes and refresh rates ...

some chips and technology "chipsets" had some software  to help configure the vga card  ... i'm not sure if this apply to this chips 65550 variant

found some drivers ----  attached

and yes as you wrote  it could be as simple as  the card position in the motherboard slots,   just try this card alone    remove the other(s)  just to do the tests like a normal computer without the scope part(s)

unless this card as problems ??  but you wrote it works if you play with the backlight on / off signal,  personally  to make the tests i would force the backlight on and try to install everything to see if the scope works as intended, or you have more problems waiting ...

on ebay there is some at 100$ USD,  but you need  to be sure of the scope model  since the resolutions are coded in the bios eeprom  of the card ....

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix,

Thanks for the information.
I will no longer focus on making a backup of the disk for now.
I modified the wiring of the back light to have it either directly to the ground (Active forced) or via the VGA interface (normal mode)
Then I’ll see if there’s anything we can do.

I out  my old motherboards, it’s really a shame because they are bigger side of the slots.
I could have put a motherboard more modern as seen on this forum
Anyway I will make a complete uc, exploded mode to clone and save.
Anyway, I would have to put back the VGA card of the 54810A because the connection to the IBM disk is not standard.
I need a little time to do all this junk again. Lol

cdt

[coromonadalix]

well   your motherboard as isa and pci slots,  so far you have 2 (vga and scope interface) who are pci,   do  you have other cards like  gpib or else who are ISA slots ?

on theses the gpib is an isa model,  wich can be changed into an pci if you need external control, if not   put it aside



you have some compatible motherboards with more punch and peripherals  ...

a thread with  upgrades / mods  ...
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/agilent-54835a-scope-%284-channel-1ghz-4gss%29-repair-uphack/

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix,

I prepared a motherboard
It is an Asus P5A with K6 500mhz.
There are 4 pci slots and 2 isa +AGP
I will do a burst mount, the purpose is to recover the data from the IBM disk
As this one is not standard in terms of connectivity, I will put the PCI vga card of  the oscillo for connections.
Before I will put a 80 GB disk and  install unXP.
I have on USB key all the cloning softs and the drivers.
Then I will quietly transfer to an SSD.
The card will not fit in the oscillo because too wide side connector slots.
We have to find an ATX baby if I want to improve.
It’s a return to the 2000s. LOL. It will rejuvenate us.

cdt

[GGMM]

Hello Coromonadelix,

I prepared a 64GB SSD with an IDE adapter loaded with windows XP on an another PC.
I sacrificed an old power supply to recover the cable +5v, +12v and I soldered it.
The setup of the oscilloscope recognizes a hard disk, but does not load because cannot read.
In fact, it recognizes anything as a model (80 GB instead of 64GB)
I think we need to change the setup, a story of number of heads I think.
Good to see.
see pictures
cdt

[coromonadalix]

normally the IDE AUTO mode  should place everything for you  ...

but a motherboard could reject more modern ssd drive(s)

some  oldies  use  IDE SSD  with no trim support  since  some OS'es  dont like trim features

you could have tried  some ide to  compact flash,  or IDE DOM  (disk on modules), they snap directly on ide plugs male or female ...  they offer speed and good compatibility, and come with an 5v  cabling, i use them  in old P3 era   pick and place machines with XP ...

they exist in sata mode too ... SATA DOM ...

[Wallace Gasiewicz]

coromonadalix:     

Just my 2 cents.....     
My 54810Windows 98     
48 MB RAM     
Space on disc 29603 of total 30601 MB   
Generic IDE 47 Driver     

My SSD was partitioned by the fellow I bought it from, Have not looked at the disc itself.     
I think the machine cannot use a larger disc.

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix, Wallace,

As the xp was prepared on a other PC , it would crash because some drivers are incompatible. (i think)
By the way, it bundles XP, but then crashes even with 64GB partition. I reduced it to 8 GB, it’s the same.
I will put a CDROM drive and use hiren, I have already used it. This allows to make a mini XP and adapt the drivers with the new motherboard.
Note that the motherboard has signs of weakness, remains on black screen, or booted once out of 10.
I tried other ram, same.
I’ll take it apart and clean all the contacts, same for the pentium.
A machine that combines all possible breakdowns. LOL

to be continued....
cdt

[coromonadalix]

i would say you have chances it work,  if the 1st pc has/had an intel chipset and the mobo scope has an intel chipset, 

same for amd chipsets from one to another,  not amd to intel


for sure it will need drivers, the  main one is the intel inf chipset drivers, this one goes first ...  you have good chance to start it ...

but no offence  i do question some of the choices  or decisions on how you try to start your rig ....   remove all the scope cards and focus on the pc side,    i do have doubts on what peripherals this mobo can accept,  mostly  the ssd technologies involved

sadly i dont have this scope  but i would have started a new, fresh install, maybe a new motherboard,   but i would have done psu checks, capacitor checks  etc ...

no offence once again, but you're trying too many things at the same time

you need to find  old ide drives to start the scope, and to recover the drive,  it's an ide 44 pins, many adapters / docks / usb to 40-44 pins ide can be used ...


you do battles with oldies as i did on a TEK 7404

took me 2 weeks just to find floppies, tons of cd-roms, some 2.5" drives  etc ...   originals cd's  (not engraved, they where rejected) ....  usb and ide interfaces, and i have a few ...  but i succeeded, it was a pain in the b #%$#

[GGMM]

Coromonadelix,

I will not spend more time on this vintage Atlas 757 motherboard.
First, it starts when its wants, its sometimes takes 10 stops Power on for it to decide. (Even without any card in the slots).
It will not please the acquisition board too much. LOL
In addition, there is only 32MB of ram, it must take the mini 64MB for an XP.
The ram will cost me more than a more modern motherboard.
We find them with the processor and the ram  (++1Go) for 10/15 euros.
I have to find a Baby-AT style model for it to fit.
So il will need to change the power connector for the board
I see adapters, but it’s more ATX (20 pins)  to AT (P8 P9) not the other way around. (If you find one, I want the link)
I can cut and solder a 20 pin connector. (I have already sacrificed some power to power the cdrom and SSD)
A "official " schematic  would please me, although one can reason with examples of adapter in other sense.

We don’t do new things with old , but we try. LOL

cdt

[coromonadalix]

loll

if you switch psu at for atx, or find any temporaries ones with 20 pins ...

the main psu connector a 20 pins will work in a 24 pins to do your tests, the 4x supplemental pins where added for more current,  unless you do find a mobo who reject that, witch i never found

you could do some interface cables if you remove your AT connectors on the Atlas and fit them to the atx psus, i had atx mobos and removed the 20 or 24 pin connectors and did a interface cable ...

the big change is the new "added 4 pins" for the cpu connector floating cable ...   new atx psus now have an supply line for video(s) too

sure the Atlas is way overdue,  check intel 945 series  they had a tons with more or less pci isa,  pci only, no isa  slots .....  tons of models at very low prices, some will come with cpu and ram ??

so far  no isa  would mean :  you loose your gpib interface for sure,  i dont recall other isa card in this scope serie

pci gpib card are now very expensive   thks china

btw  i'm an oldie of 53 years  loll  i've seen a lot 

[coromonadalix]

and  if you don't want to put any more time on this ....     don't start another thread on the same subject with a title variation

this is your main thread ....