HP 66312A as a power supply - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Macro
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 01:33:35 pm
content: Is the HP 66312A a good enough power supply for a beginner? I'd rather get a "proper" supply but even used ones are too expensive here and I managed to find this HP one for relatively cheap.User guide:http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5962-8194.pdfBasic specs are 0-20V, 0-2A, ~40W.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 01:52:16 pm
content: Hell yeah !That is an excellent power source. They dont come much better than this thing.Be warned though that you can have strange side effects with this machine. This thing has a so called down-programmer on board. It can sink current. The machine also responds much faster than you average power source.Read the manual.

author: uoficowboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 05:56:30 pm
content: Quote from: Macro on September 11, 2013, 01:33:35 pmOut of curiosity, just how cheap are you seeing it for? And where are you? As free_electron mentioned, this is not a standard power supply. I would probably not recommend it for beginners. However, it is a somewhat valuable device, so you may be able to resell it and use that money to get a more traditional power supply. Heck, I'd probably be interested if you were selling it... I love DC sources.For a beginner I'd suggest a more run of the mill power supply like an old HP or Power Designs unit. Something with a nice "Made in the USA" sticker on it. I have a Power Designs TW5005W that I still think is among the most practical power supplies ever made.

author: Macro
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 09:45:45 pm
content: Quote from: free_electron on September 11, 2013, 01:52:16 pmThanks for the heads up on the down programmer, I skimmed through the user guide(manual?) but didn't notice that. I'll give It another read.Quote from: uoficowboy on September 11, 2013, 05:56:30 pmLoosely converting It's currently going for about 250 dollars but since It's on one of those auction sites It could go for higher but people don't seem to be showing any Interest for It up till now, hope It stays that way! I'm In Brazil, thought It would be In my profile since It's on the registration but I had to put It up myself, fixed It now. I also thought about buying It to resell since It's at such a great price, especially when you consider how expensive these sort of things are here but I really can't picture anyone buying this sort of thing here for what It's worth. They also have a keithley 2306 up for only 50 dollars more than the HP which Is amazingly great for reselling(value wise) but again I don't have anyone to sell It to. Sucks to be Into exotic hobbies In this part of the world.I'd love to get something of ebay but shipping can get prohibitively expensive for heavy Items and local customs would rape me(customs tax Is 60% on top of the exchange rate which over a factor of two currently) so Importing Is out of question. I just searched the local ebay copy for some power supplies and managed to find a used agilent E3612A for 850 moneys while the 66312A Is currently at 560 moneys. There are also lots of those chinese cheapies going for around 300 moneys but i'd rather stay away from those.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 10:22:25 pm
content: Just posting because you have the same cat picture

author: Macro
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 11:07:17 pm
content: Quote from: marshallh on September 11, 2013, 10:22:25 pmI really like that cat, maybe a little too much.

author: marshallh
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 11, 2013, 11:32:24 pm
content: Quote from: Macro on September 11, 2013, 11:07:17 pmAre you me

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2013, 12:15:15 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on September 12, 2013, 06:29:05 am

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2013, 03:49:07 pm
content: Well, now we know where you like to spend your time, guise.just so we are clear, op is a fag

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2013, 04:10:44 pm
content: Sorry, can't let this go...

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 13, 2013, 01:11:57 am
content: Completely and totally off topic. Now let's have everyone with a Windows scope put cat pictures as the background.