HP 5004A Signature Analyzer  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: mickpah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 12:29:11 pm
content: Found this on ebayhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-5004A-Signature-Analyzer-w-Accessories-TESTED-/390629128473I think I can dimly remember see one stuffed at the rear of a storage rack, oh about 25 years ago, never seen one used.What made me smile is this at the bottom of the listingThis item is NOT FOR EXPORT. U.S. SALES ONLY.Diversion is subject to civil and criminal Penalties.Your kidding right - US protecting dangerous tech again ?oh well to all you budding ICMB hobbyist using 70' vintage HP calculators for guidance systems there is one for a third of the price herehttp://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-5004A-Signature-Analyzer-/111143613642?pt=AU_B_I_Electrical_Test_Equipment&hash=item19e0acf4ca

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 12:46:14 pm
content: Useful if you're repairing gear of a certain era.The Sony/Tektronix 308 also does signature analysis and is an 8 channel logic analyzer as well. Sometimes available for less than the HP 5004/5005.

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 12:49:21 pm
content: bit of test gear I'm using has 2 test modes and every pin noted with a signature on the schematics for one of these,i myself even had a failed attempt at simulating one to work out an equivalent circuit to test with.. most scans on the net have some really faded sections...

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 02:03:19 pm
content: I have a 5005 (later model) and it has been quite useful helping to revive some test equipment. The older gp machines listed the signatures in the service manual. Simply follow the test procedure and you can pinpoint the problem down to a single ic...

author: anotherlin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 03:12:19 pm
content: Maybe they (US gov) just happen not to have bothered to lift the ban yet.There was some law regarding supercomputing at the beginning of the 80s banning the foreign sale of computers faster than a certain number of operations per second. By the mid-90s even home desktop attained the banned performance...

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 03:27:39 pm
content: Quote from: PaulAm on August 20, 2013, 12:46:14 pmAre they compatible, though? From what I remember several brands made signature analyzers that would generate incompatible signatures.Quote from: mickpah on August 20, 2013, 12:29:11 pmIt was probably part of a military project (which means it will be tagged as such forever), and then sold to the public. It's not uncommon to have to sign a document that you will not sell the equipment outside the US, and rarely do they actually show up to verify that the instrument is still in your possession. It's not about the equipment as such, but about the project it was used on. A screwdriver used for a secret project would probably not be sold at all.

author: mickpah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2013, 08:17:34 pm
content: Quotegotta love bureaucracy, unless you are on the receiving end of it: mindless devotion to the rule book of course

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 01:38:41 am
content: Quote from: alm on August 20, 2013, 03:27:39 pmI've been told the signature analysis function is completely compatible with the HP models. While I have no reason to doubt that, I need to verify some signatures on a working piece of equipment.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 02:31:34 pm
content: I hooked up an HP 5334b counter in diag mode to my Tek 308. All signatures that I checked match the ones in the service manual, so it looks like it is, indeed, compatible. Nice to verify that.

author: Robert763
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 05:49:22 pm
content: Well,It seems the buyer is correct. The 5004 is a US Munitions List item. Seehttp://www.dlis.dla.mil/webflis/pub/pub_search.aspx?niin=6625010498516&newpage=1and lokk at the demil code.Can't think why though, It's a fairly mundane bit of kit, unless the analysis uses some kind of crytographic technology. Many dealers are becoming very careful, it's a prima-facie crime and the penalties are severe. I know one dealer who has been warned off.Robert.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 05:55:48 pm
content: Same deal with spectrum analyzers with >18ghz bandwidth, if I recall

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 05:58:54 pm
content: Maybe the 5004 was used in the maintenance of a sensitive weapon systems? Just look in the ICBM manual for the correct signatures. I can see some bureaucrat classifying it as technology that enables the use of ICBMs. It's not like fast spectrum analyzers or thermal cameras that they actually have any kind of technical ability that would have a military purpose.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2013, 04:12:33 pm
content: Thanks for this thread, especially the Sony/Tek 308 being compatible. I just bought one.

author: PaulAm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2013, 01:26:56 am
content: Cute, isn't it?I find the logic analyzer handy for small projects.