Panasonic FFT Analyzer Info./Manual - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Marc M.
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2014, 09:57:15 am
content: I picked up this Panasonic VS-3321A Dual Channel FFT Analyzer a lot of years ago at the hamfest in Grayslake, IL for a couple of hundred bucks. One of the channels was bad which was fixed by reattaching a coax to an input card. I've searched the internet high and low and have never been able to find any information about this equipment, let alone a manual. I'm curious if any of the EEVBlog members know anything about this analyzer, have any material regarding it, or have experience in its use. One major issue I have is the fact it boots off a 3.5" DSDD floppy (try finding these today). I have the boot disk and it still works but I've not been successful in making a copy of it that will load. I use the System Copy function and it successfully copies the disk, but when attempting to boot off the floppy it fails. I'm just waiting for the day that it refuses to boot off the original disk. Any help/advise would be greatly appreciated.

author: Mark_O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2014, 09:27:25 pm
content: Quote from: Marc M. on February 27, 2014, 09:57:15 amBeyond the good suggestions from mojo-chan, all I can add is that often Panasonic devices were co-released under the National brand.QuoteAll that proves is that SystemCopy on the unit doesn't completely copy the entire disk.A rather sad oversight.QuoteSure. Since you know that day will eventually come, I'd advise you not to wait for it.Find a way to make an effective and complete copy now, while you still can. This should be easily possible on a PC, though finding one with such a floppy drive may be another adventure. However, there should still be external drives of this type, connected via USB.[I just did a quick check, and there are multiple sellers on eBay with BuyItNow for 11 bucks.Here's one.]I'm sure there are many image copier softwares out there that would do the job for free, but I already have 010 Editor, which allows me to pull any range of physical sectors off any drive, and write them anywhere (amongst many other abilities). So that's what I normally use when I need a true image copy. Therefore I have no recommendations for the other options.

author: Mark_O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2014, 03:01:33 am
content: Quote from: Mark_O on March 01, 2014, 09:27:25 pmOne thing that just occurred to me, 010 Editor has a free 30-day trial, with all functionality fully enabled. Since this is a 1-shot type of activity, you could use that to produce your Image copy(ies) of the master floppy, at no cost. You'd just need that $11 USB-Floppy peripheral I mentioned. As long as you're OK with Mitsumi, they should be OK.I prefer TEACs, but I may go ahead and buy another of those, as backup to the one I have, just in case. They're super cheap right now, but by the time I need it in the future, they may be pretty scarce.

author: pomonabill221
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2014, 07:09:01 am
content: Have you tried DOS command window and diskcopy a: a: (assuming your floppy is a, this should copy the disk by making a copy of it in ram, then copying the ram copy on a blank disk.) The command should ask you for the source disk first, make a copy, then ask for the destination disk.This is for windows and a command window...

author: Mark_O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 04, 2014, 10:09:29 am
content: Oh, and BTW, I'd also recommend making sure the WriteProtect slider is set, before inserting the floppy in any PC. Just to be on the safe side.