Opinions on HP Logic analyzer?

[bitfixer]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any opinions or experience with HP Logic Analyzers. I saw an HP 1653b logic analyzer for $100 at a local electronics surplus store, and was wondering if anyone had any experience with that model. Looks like it's 100Mhz timing, 25Mhz state, 32 digital channels and a 2 channel oscilloscope. Sold as-is so I would want to test before buying. Does this sound like a good/bad/medium deal?

 

[Chuck(G)]

Depends on whether or not it comes with pods. eBay is littered with analyzers sans pods. Mostly useful as boat anchors in that condition.

If it works and has the complete set of pods, then it's worth something. The 1653 is a good workhorse.

 

[bitfixer]

It had a pouch that was full of various cables, probes, and such. There were a large number of flat cables with probes at the end, with various types of connectors on the other end. I don't have extensive experience with logic analyzers, just a small USB oscilloscope/logic device that I use for projects, so not completely sure how to tell if it is a full set or not. But it did seem to have a lot of cables in the pouch.
It also appeared to have a full set of documentation. I was thinking of testing it with a square wave generator or something of that nature.
Thanks for the information!

 

[atod]

I have an 1630G model but it's similar. If it has PODs that sounds like a good deal. I got mine for $45 + $35 S&H. I thought that was a good deal. So far, I have only had to use a single POD (8 bit channel) for what I'm debugging. I was originally considering the newer USB style LAs that work with a laptop, however I avoided one. I didn't want my laptop falling over or having to keep the PC board dangling above the device under test. The HP units are well made and intuitive. All HP/Agilent T&M equipment is top notch.

 

[dave_m]

But it did seem to have a lot of cables in the pouch.
It also appeared to have a full set of documentation. I was thinking of testing it with a square wave generator or something of that nature.
Thanks for the information!

That sounds like it is complete, but take your time and read enough of the documentation to ensure you have the correct amount of cables/pods and flying lead sets to make the thing useful as Chuck advised.

I think your model has a total capability of 80 channels. For old computers, you may not need that many channels working, but make sure there are enough leads for your needs.

Also check that you have the cables for "Timing Analysis" if perhaps they are different than the ones needed for "State Analysis". Timing analysis gives you waveforms like a multichannel scope whereas State Analysis displays only ones and zeros or hex data which is usually only useful for looking at computer buses.

Make sure the unit passes it Self Test on power up. The two scope channels will be wonderful for looking at analog signals in conjunction with the digital signals.

 

[bitfixer]

Thanks for the help and information -
Went back to the store today to test the unit out, and was disappointed to see that it had been sold already.
I guess it was a pretty good price after all..

 

[dave_m]

Went back to the store today to test the unit out, and was disappointed to see that it had been sold already.
I guess it was a pretty good price after all..

Yes, it was a good price, but you did right. Buying something like this 'As-Is' without checking it out, if you can, is foolish. Most of the units you will find at such a good price, are broken or missing the pods or the flying lead sets that have the connector that fits the pods.

The price varies a lot but if the seller knows what he is doing, a complete working unit would go for at least $200. An older unit almost as good would be the HP 1631. It also has two scope channels in addition to the digital channels.

It takes a lot of careful hunting to find a bargain logic analyzer that is complete and actually works.