TSP #169 - Upgrade & Experiments with an Agilent 8445B Auto Preselector - Giveaway! (April 2020)

In this episode Shahriar retrofits a vintage HP 8445B Auto Preselector for testing and characterization of high-performance data converters and oscilloscopes. The Preselector is in essence an electronically tunable band-pass filter with exceptional tuning range and quality factor.

After examining the schematic and block diagram of the instrument the unit is equipped with additional potentiometer, low-band, high-band switch and a voltmeter LCD screen which displays the center frequency. The modifications are applied to the front panel as well as internal circuitry to enable manual control of the preselector without the need for any external devices.

The modified instrument is used to measure the harmonic improvement of a 20GHz synthesizer. Several oscilloscopes are then characterized using the new preselector to determine the absolute performance of their internal data converter.

Finally, it is also time for a new giveaway! A brand new Keysight DSOX1102G scope! Patreon supporters are automatically enrolled. The giveaway is open to all other viewers as well. Just leave a comment on YouTube to be entered.

www.TheSignalPath.com www.YouTube.com/TheSignalPath www.Patreon.com/TheSignalPath ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdVlSvVIGwM