Tektronix WCA280A WinXP image plus advice welcome - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: ProfTesla
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 03:39:45 pm
content: Hi all,I decided to take a plunge recently with an ebay gamble, and won a Tektronix WCA280, the price was fair but with a caveat, the operating system is incomplete and the device functionally untested, the Tektronix Software is essentially missing and its running Win98.I am on the far side of the world, so I don't have the unit with me just yet, but I'm positive someone must have the operating system image for Win98 or WinXP for this unit. Its probably on a mini-IDE drive that I'd like to upgrade to something solid state using CF to IDE perhaps.My hope is to just have a functional spectrum analyzer at the end of the day, calibration be damned, and eventually figure something out to get it back to tip top shape.From what I've read, this is quite a beast of a machine with a Pentium 3 in it, though I don't need to use it as a communications analyzer, I would have great use of it if it just worked as a nice real time spectrum analyzer.If there are any tips or pit-falls to avoid, I'd be much obliged to learn them.Thank you.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2023, 05:51:45 pm
content: https://www.tek.com/en/support/software/application/rsa3000b-and-rsa3000a-series-firmware-v420009https://www.tek.com/en/support/software/firmware/wca-rsa-maintenance-release-4free registration required .... WCA200A series ??

author: ProfTesla
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 28, 2023, 04:30:37 pm
content: Hi, thanks for checking in.I have been there, these are not actual firmwares/OS-images, they are small updates just 41Mb big.I contacted Tektronix support and they are very reluctant to send out complete operating system images, insisting instead I ship the entire unit to a specific facility in the USA, its not an option in the least.Its also a bit on the silly side I reckon, Win98/XP era tech ought not be guarded so vehemently, not least, because they are only harming customers who wish to restore such equipment to working order.I was inspired by the resolution athttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/unbrick-tektronix-rsa3308-rsa3303-wca280/to give this a go.@NikiG is perhaps still on the forums, as he appeared to have an image to share then.

author: ProfTesla
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 03, 2023, 03:10:39 pm
content: Small bump, still hopeful someone has a drive image of this device.

author: Nx-1997
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 04:49:54 am
content: Multiple WCA280A were sold on eBay where the listing said the SA Software was deleted lol.Backup of my Tektronix WCA230A HDD, may or may not help you.https://mega.nz/folder/Njx0UDrB#7q1w3VegHRMu0qDBKm5tIg

author: ProfTesla
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 04, 2023, 06:35:23 pm
content: Awesome, thank you very muchThe more tools I have the better.I'm still waiting for the thing to get shipped, really breaking the bank account, I did not realise it weighs something like 20kg, but as the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained.I wonder if there is a bit of a scam going on, where they are sold as broken software, but its actually broken hardware. At the least, I figured, since its rated for DC, its not DC damage.I suppose there's a really good chance this image works, probably main thing I'm hoping for is that the "calibration" partition is still intact on the built in drive and I do a bit of magic combining them.Thank you again