Thanks for the suggestions guys, but I already have the Agilent manuals.
The problem is, the manuals are not detailed enough to answer my questions.
I was hoping to find an HP 8640B Guru.
I know there are guys out there that go nuts over these old signal
generators, and one day I would like to chat with such a person.
- Stan
K7SJB


"Stan Shankman" wrote in message
...
Questions: HP 8640B signal generator . . .

Greetings all,
I picked up a used HP 8640B signal generator off of eBay. I have always
wanted one, and now I have one.
Mine seems to work okay, but the tuning cavity only requires use of the
clockwise most portion of its range. Much of the counter-clockwise range
is just not needed - even though the frequencies seem to be okay. Is this
normal? I have never used an HP 8640B before so I cannot say.
Also, I noticed that when I remove the top-most counter board (the board
that contains the digital readout segment displays), I see a smaller
compartment that contains the pre-scalar. Judging by the missing screws,
and the overall appearance, it looks like there could have been a lid on
that compartment. Was there in fact such a lid? Or, is this locations
reserved for an option? Also, after removing the top lid from the unit, I
see two strong "RF boxes" the smaller one, in the front, is the frequency
counter (with the 7-segment readout as described above), and the other
box, the big one in the middle right-most side (looking form the front),
is presumably the frequency multipliers. Now my question is, behind these
two boxes, is another (much smaller) open-lid box that contains a few
plug-in cards. But when looking closely at this box, I see that it too
might have had a lid. Can anyone say for sure if such lids were in fact
present when the unit was new? If so, can anyone provide such spare parts?
Oh, and while I'm at it, can anyone say if it is possible to add
option-002 (the frequency doubler option)? Can such parts be obtained -
perhaps from a dead unit? Or am I better off just finding a unit that has
the doubler option already installed and parting with my current unit?
Thanks,
- Stan Shankman
K7SJB