Agilent E1301A good replacement for an old HP 3852A? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 08:15:26 pm
content: Just recently saw on Ebay those Agilent E1301A VXI mainframes...sometimes with built-in voltmeters...Are those a good replacement for an old HP 3852A or HP 3497A? And/or do they offer a wider spectrum of pluggable cards?

author: samofab
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:03:34 pm
content: I owned one. I think the number of card options is limited. I had the DMM, multiplexer and arbitrary waveform generator. Most of the VXI modules out there are different size (C-size).It's possible to control most of its functions via serial port.I left some code to control it here:https://github.com/samofab/E1300B

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:10:02 pm
content: I've looked now for a while at different VXI mainframes...Seems most cards for the bigger mainframes with C-size slots are for telecom applications....hmm..wasn't there a VXI card which is supported by VSA software?

author: samofab
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:28:10 pm
content: I think that this is the most complete list of cards that actually work in e1300:http://www.keysight.com/upload/cmc_upload/All/arb_dc.htmlNothing RF there except some relays....

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:37:45 pm
content: Wow...great list :-)Ah found which card it was...the Agilent E1439A ADC card....so this would call for a C-size VXI frame...Hmm....but is there a combined GPIB/Ethernet controller for that? 95Msamples/sec is way out of GPIB capabilities...

author: gslick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2015, 02:29:03 am
content: Quote from: davorin on October 27, 2015, 09:37:45 pmI have a National Instruments VXI-1394. According to the datasheet it has a 12 MB/s sustained throughput across FireWire and VXI.

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2015, 05:21:59 pm
content: So basicallly I could also just go for a E1401B, a add a E1406A command module, a E1411B DMM, some multiplexers and I'm done?

author: gslick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 30, 2015, 09:19:37 pm
content: Quote from: davorin on October 30, 2015, 05:21:59 pmAn E1401B is fairly large. If you don't have a lot of room on a bench for one and you don't think you would ever need many modules installed you might want to look at something smaller like a 6-slot E1421B instead.I had an E1406A GPIB command module and an E1412A 6.5 digit DMM in an E1401B for a while a few years ago. I never had any VXI multiplexer modules and couldn't really justify keeping that setup around.

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 30, 2015, 09:49:07 pm
content: Is the E1421B less deep than a E1401B as the power supply sits in the side?Otherwise there wouldn't be a benefit as space is no problem....as I currently have a 3852A and HP 3497A sitting around (o;What I like are those high-density SMB RF multiplexer cards...

author: gslick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 31, 2015, 12:19:01 am
content: If depth is your primary concern there wouldn't be any real difference.E1401B:Mechanical Specifications mm inchesHeight without bottom feet: 310 12.2Height with bottom feet: 323 12.7Width: 426 16.8Depth without rear feet: 574 22.6Depth with rear feet: 590 23.2Weight: 21 kg / 46 lbsE1421B:Mechanical Specifications mm inchesHeight without bottom feet: 221.5 8.72Height with bottom feet: 233.4 9.19Width without side feet: 425.5 16.75Width with side feet: 447.8 17.63Depth with rear feet +power supply handles: 558.8 22.00Weight: 13.9 kg / 30.6 lbs

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 31, 2015, 02:02:37 pm
content: Yes...not much difference....few millilmeters deeper than my 3456A in my Ikea shelf (o;The advantage of the E1401B/E1421B is that the connectors of the VXI cards are in the front and I can easily rewire without the need to pull out for example a E1301A from the shelf (o;Only concern might be the high inrush current of the E1401B when powering on...

author: davorin
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 12, 2015, 09:00:30 pm
content: Has anyone any idea how much power the E1401B mainframe would draw without any cards installed?Just curious if it would blow the main fuse when I power it on (o;