The Fool for the 8656A Sig Gen Declares “Victory”–
Four score and seven months ago……..
![Smiley :)](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
I started trying to get an old EBay Sig Gen back into service. While I wouldn’t ever claim that it’s ready for a real Lab at this point, I’m pleased to report that for the time being, this thing is doing what I need it to do. That’s victory to me! As is often the case with projects, the journey never goes exactly as one might expect. Such was definitely the case with this one.
Thanks so much to all of you folks who weighed in on this effort! -bdunham7, swainster, et al. It’s great to know that there’s a community of like minded brothers and sisters out there who appreciate the efforts to keep this old stuff alive. Special shout out to Tony_G for his particularly comprehensive and consistent feedback on the project. The journey benefited from his input immeasurably. I encourage all following this thread to check out Tony_G’s work on You Tube. He has a number of thoughtful and knowledgeable videos worth watching. -
https://www.youtube.com/@tgsoapbox/videosThe first attached photo shows the 8656A outputting a 90 MHZ, -20dBm signal into my 100 MHZ frequency counter. Second shot shows the counter display. I think I’m good with this for now. I tested the output down into the audio range, which is where I’ll most likely be using the thing honestly. This is, of course, well below its specified bandwidth. I’m very pleased to say that it was very stable and accurate down into the lower ranges as well.
As for the Calibration on it, I could do a few of the maintenance adjustments with the gear I have, but not all of them. At the moment, I’m going to move on to my bloated project queue, before I worry about trying to eek another digit out of the HP. Simple priorities at work there. That said, I welcome any inquiries about my 8656A experience, if I can help anyone out with their own efforts by way of photos or observations. etc.
On to the next boat anchor........
Later,
JRH