Agilent 168xx and 169xx 60 pin connectors / pin layout - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: timbocgn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2025, 05:16:58 pm
content: Hi Agilent LogicAnalyzer Pros,I have picked up a 16803A and with the help of this forum I got it upgraded to 4GB Ram and a fast SSD.All self tests are working okay and the system is functional….however: although otherwise stated, the cables and pods were missing. I ordered some from eBay and additionally asked the seller of the device to provide the ones which were missing….but this will take a while - shipment, tarifs stuff…I would like to check if the signal acquisition in general is working. Does anyone of you know the pin layout of the 60-pin connectors of the instrument?Best regards,Tim.PS: or is living in Germany around Cologne and can borrow me a cable/pod…..?

author: ZGoode
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2025, 05:33:08 pm
content: This guide should have what you need. It's what I refer to for my 16902Ahttps://assets.testequity.com/te1/Documents/pdf/logic-analyzers-probe-selection-guide.pdf

author: timbocgn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 12, 2025, 06:07:19 pm
content: Hi ZGoode,Thanks for mentioning that document! I used it to figure out which probes and problems cables are really compatible (before ordering at eBay).Getting these cables get difficult (at least in Europe), so knowing the pin layout of the instrument / card side would be nice. I found some pictures of opened connectors and these guys also figured out the connector type…but no pin layout.Cheers,Tim.

author: MarkL
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 12, 2025, 09:04:49 pm
content: I don't think the chassis-side 60-pin signal pinout is documented anywhere. Below are my notes. The connectors may be difficult to find.Be careful connecting anything home-brew to this connector. Integrated into the pods is a 10x isolation network, and the lossy coax in the ribbon provides some additional protection. It would be easy to destroy the inputs by going direct.If at all possible I would wait to get the proper cables and termination pods.60-pin connector (chassis side for 40-pin cables)Chassis side connector: Fujitsu FCN-215Q060-G/0 (male)Cable side connector: Fujitsu FCN-214J060-G/0 (female)Pin assignments, looking into the chassis connector."|" indicates location of tab. The tab is at the top.Even Pod Pin Odd Pod------- ------ -------+5V 2 1 +5VGND 4 3 GNDD0 6 5 D0GND 8 7 GNDD01 10 9 D01D02 12 11 D02GND 14 13 GNDD03 16 15 D03D04 18 17 D04GND 20 19 GNDD05 22 21 D05D06 24 23 D06GND 26 25 GNDD07 28 27 | D07D08 30 29 | D08GND 32 31 | GNDD09 34 33 | D09D10 36 35 D10GND 38 37 GNDD11 40 39 D11D12 42 41 D12GND 44 43 GNDD13 46 45 D13D14 48 47 D14GND 50 49 GNDD15 52 51 D15Unused 54 53 UnusedGND 56 55 GNDGND 58 57 GNDCLK 60 59 CLKEDIT: See post below regarding "Unused" pins.

author: timbocgn
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2025, 08:40:11 am
content: Hi Mark,Thanks for your reply and the pinout. I already had the feeling that leveraging this connector would be a bad idea….and you strongly confirmed that.Thank you for the advice, I will wait for the cables to arrive :-)Cheers,Tim.

author: MarkL
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 13, 2025, 04:20:29 pm
content: No problem - hope you get your cables and pods soon.When you do, I would make sure all the signals work from the very tip all the way into the analyzer by watching and verifying all the received signals, including CLK. Over the years I've encountered about a half dozen bad flying leads, which can be replaced individually, and about the same number of bad ribbon cables. The comparators in the front end of these analyzers can also fail, so it's good to check end-to-end.I think the ribbon cables are a target for abuse and I think people pull them out by the ribbon and it can cause the center nichrome wire to snap on the inside of the coax ribbon runs. And sometimes the signal can be intermittent, so it's worthwhile flexing the cable, especially near the connectors, to make sure the signal is stable during your acceptance testing.If you know your analyzer is 100% working, you can just verify the pods and cables by using a DMM to check the resistance to ground at each tip. It should be 100k.I just had another intermittent cable a few days ago. It can really drive you nuts when you're in the middle of concentrating on something else.

author: MarkL
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 16, 2025, 06:36:32 pm
content: In the 60-pin pinout I posted a few days ago, I identified pins 53 and 54 as "Unused".I want to clarify that they are "unused" when connecting flying leads and termination adapters, but those pins do go somewhere, at least on the 1671x, 1674x, and 1675x analysis cards. They support an I2C interface, with pin 53 being SCL and pin 54 being SDA. In order to get a functional I2C interface, you have to use both the even and odd connections.On the 1675x cards, it is implemented through a multiplexer, U3 (SN74CBT3257), and then to an I2C controller U14 (PCF8584T). The MUX switches the I2C interface between the Pod1/2 and Pod3/4 connectors.The ribbon cable transports the I2C signals to the 40-pin pod connectors where they exit on pin 5. On the flying lead set, this is a N/C (the blank in the black ground lead).I don't possess anything that uses the I2C signals, but that doesn't say I2C isn't used. Possibilities include a special probe adapter, some types of analysis probe, diagnostics, or maybe an unimplemented future capability.It doesn't really matter for the purposes of this thread, but since I posted the table I want to be accurate for future searchers for this information.

author: Uup
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2025, 04:38:49 am
content: Quote from: MarkL on February 16, 2025, 06:36:32 pmThat's both interesting and useful to know.Thanks for taking the time to detail it here.