Folks, there's a seller on ebay who has a few Data Proof 160A low thermal emf relay scanners (with either binding posts or wires). I just bought one with "make an offer" for quite a bit less than the asking price. http://www.ebay.com/itm/200884982172 http://www.ebay.com/itm/251219202428 I've sent an email to Data Proof inquiring about a manual / programming guide / specs etc, until they respond, anybody know anything about these? How similar are they to the 160B? Will be great for automated testing while burning in references, etc. Andy Bardagjy bardagjy.com

The GPIB board is a discrete logic mess of monostables and RC time constants. The old version 160A works with ancient HP and TEK computers but usually not with modern GPIB controllers. Timing issues? commands A01 = channel 1 line A ON B05 = channel 5 line B ON A00 = line A reset etc. 2013/3/4, Andy Bardagjy <andy@bardagjy.com>: > Folks, there's a seller on ebay who has a few Data Proof 160A low thermal > emf relay scanners (with either binding posts or wires). I just bought one > with "make an offer" for quite a bit less than the asking price. > > http://www.ebay.com/itm/200884982172 > http://www.ebay.com/itm/251219202428 > > I've sent an email to Data Proof inquiring about a manual / programming > guide / specs etc, until they respond, anybody know anything about these? > How similar are they to the 160B? > > Will be great for automated testing while burning in references, etc. > > Andy Bardagjy > bardagjy.com > _______________________________________________ > volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts > and follow the instructions there. >

I just uploaded the 160A manual to K04BB's site. I still use a 160A at my place of employment and it does work with a newer NI GPIB-USB adapter. Programming is fairly simple. Command "A##" where ## is the number of the relay will turn off any other relays on the 'A' line and actuate relay '##'. Sending '00' for the number will turn off all relays on the 'A' line. Command "B##" will do the same for the 'B' line. All commands are terminated with a CR-LF.

Guys, thanks for all the great tips. I'll be sure to post a lengthy teardown of the 160A soon, it's insides are pretty fascinating. For example, the relays are not soldered to the PCB, just pressed into gold plated vias - presumably to minimize thermal EMFs. I've contacted Data Proof who've been very helpful with providing old manuals (with schematics!) and programming support. They offer an upgrade for the GPIB interface for $265 - I'll try to get it to work with my NI-GPIB-PCI before upgrading. Thanks again! Andy Bardagjy bardagjy.com On Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 7:55 AM, Jason Watson <watson.jason@gmail.com> wrote: > I just uploaded the 160A manual to K04BB's site. I still use a 160A at my > place of employment and it does work with a newer NI GPIB-USB adapter. > Programming is fairly simple. Command "A##" where ## is the number of the > relay will turn off any other relays on the 'A' line and actuate relay > '##'. Sending '00' for the number will turn off all relays on the 'A' > line. Command "B##" will do the same for the 'B' line. All commands are > terminated with a CR-LF. > _______________________________________________ > volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts > and follow the instructions there. >