Re: S-parameter test sets

Joerg wrote:
>
> Hello Mike,
>
> > A major problem with gpib is the interface is wire-or, ...
>
> The main problem I found with GPIB are those unwieldy garden hose type
> cables. Once I unhooked one and sure enough it recoiled, sending my half
> filled coffee mug sailing, crashing and spilling the contents all across
> the lab floor. On top of that it was my favorite mug.

You are missing most of the fun. In the olden days, the cables connected
various 19 inch rack-mounted equipment.

When you had to move stuff to a demo, various ill-formed and smelly people
arrived with dollies to take your precious and delicate instrumentation down 40
flights of stairs into a waiting van. From there, up 10 flights to the demo
area.

It never made it. Vibration turned the 1 inch GPIB cable into a torture rack,
severely distorting any connector that happened to be in the way, and rendering
useless any equipment mistakenly connected during the transit.

> I think Terry's path towards a TUSB uC may be a good one. Just imagine,
> replacing the garden hose with a USB cable from Walmart. Also, the cost
> for a 6ft cable would go from $100 or so to less than $10.

I am in great favor of such moves. The next best thing would be a battery
powered wireless connector that mounted on the rear of a gpib connector. Speff
described such a device recently. The Zigbee. Perfect!

> The only downside with USB is that its EMI performance is, well, not the
> best at times. RS232 would be better but many "modern" PCs don't have
> serial or parallel ports anymore. Oh well, out here we just keep a stack
> of ferrites handy.
>
> Regards, Joerg

Keep looking. There will always be someone who makes AT-compatible interfaces.

I invested in 10 AT keyboards about 20 years ago, and they are still working.

So it is logical to assume I will still be able to buy motherboards that will
connect to them. Otherwise my investment was for nought.

Hehe:)

Mike Monett
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: my lab
    ... Connector slipped off, the garden hose cable ... speed out of GPIB with the early PCs and micros. ... It definitely worked better with the right grade of cables and you ... stacked connector was another way people wrecked kit. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: GPIB: 24-pin Centronix connectors?
    ... Remind me again why you're looking to build your own GPIB cable rather ... No 3-4 foot GPIB hoses in your ... connector everywhere you need one. ... the HPIB cables I've seen had piggy-back connectors - ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: my lab
    ... Connector slipped off, the garden hose cable ... speed out of GPIB with the early PCs and micros. ... It definitely worked better with the right grade of cables and you ... stacked connector was another way people wrecked kit. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: my lab
    ... speed out of GPIB with the early PCs and micros. ... It definitely worked better with the right grade of cables and you could have them custom made to lengths well beyond what the standard allowed and it would still work OK at speed. ... The only thing wrong was that as Joerg mentions the GPIB cable was rigid like garden hose and the heavy connectors were inclined to knock things off the desk if screws came loose. ... Also that the leverage of a multiply stacked connector was another way people wrecked kit. ...
    (sci.electronics.design)
  • Re: my lab
    ... logic analyzer and some other gear I rarely use is from the RS232 ... Modern gear like the DSO is USB. ... I'm so used to GPIB that I'm probably not a good example. ... After replacing the power cord connector with an IEC, ...
    (sci.electronics.design)