The more I mess with those bally card rack board they more I do not like them.
I have a few boards that boot but have minor issues so I'm hoping its just one or two bad 4xxx cmos chips.
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The HP 10529a thread
- Thread starter channelmanic
- Start date
I have a few boards that boot but have minor issues so I'm hoping its just one or two bad 4xxx cmos chips.
I received the Comparator yesterday, I'm pretty happy with it and for $200 shipped I think it was a pretty decent deal.
andrewb
Well-known member
Nice!
These used to be like $80, for decades. Now they're 4x that, so $200 is decent.
(Also, I should have told you to check out the BK Precision model 550, as it's actually a little nicer than the HP, IMO.)
www.jammarcade.net
The first thing I did with my HP was to replace the LED's with more modern ones. The old ones are slower and dimmer. New ones are faster and brighter, which make it a little more responsive.
These used to be like $80, for decades. Now they're 4x that, so $200 is decent.
(Also, I should have told you to check out the BK Precision model 550, as it's actually a little nicer than the HP, IMO.)
B&K Precision 550 IC Tester - JAMMArcade.net WIKI
The first thing I did with my HP was to replace the LED's with more modern ones. The old ones are slower and dimmer. New ones are faster and brighter, which make it a little more responsive.
I have the 5011T kit. Includes probe and pulser. Very nice "complete kit", IMHO. 
I've had this for about 25+years now? Can't recall what I paid. Wasn't much. Glad to have it.
Ha, I was using one of my 10529A comparators just yesterday.
I've had this for about 25+years now? Can't recall what I paid. Wasn't much. Glad to have it.
Ha, I was using one of my 10529A comparators just yesterday.
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Glorp
Well-known member
I won a 10529a on eBay for $20.50, but it had a broken wire to pin 3 on the clip. I took it apart and cut off the bad portion of the cable, which fortunately was very close to the tester end and not the clip end; I only lost 2 inches or so.
I had to make a little tool to crimp a new ferrule on the new cut-off end, but it worked out and I now have another working 10529a.
You can see the break (the blue wire to pin 3 was broken) and the little ferrule that goes in the pocket to keep the wire from pulling through:
As I didn't have the proper tool, here's the little homemade tool to crimp the new ferrule (a piece of aluminum tubing 1/8" long) with the vice:
All done. It checks out with the HP tester card and appears to be fully-working now:
I had to make a little tool to crimp a new ferrule on the new cut-off end, but it worked out and I now have another working 10529a.
You can see the break (the blue wire to pin 3 was broken) and the little ferrule that goes in the pocket to keep the wire from pulling through:
As I didn't have the proper tool, here's the little homemade tool to crimp the new ferrule (a piece of aluminum tubing 1/8" long) with the vice:
All done. It checks out with the HP tester card and appears to be fully-working now:
Nicely done!
Oooh. That's nice!I have the 5011T kit. Includes probe and pulser. Very nice "complete kit", IMHO.
I have the probe and pulser, and the current tracer in a soft zipper bag kit. '545A, '546A, and '547A, IIRC. But no '548 logic clip.
And certainly no 10529a logic comparator.
From comparing cases it looks like my 5010A kit would have come with just the logic probe but not the pulser. I wouldn't mind picking up a 10525 probe at some point just to complete the kit.I have the 5011T kit. Includes probe and pulser. Very nice "complete kit", IMHO.
I've had this for about 25+years now? Can't recall what I paid. Wasn't much. Glad to have it.
Ha, I was using one of my 10529A comparators just yesterday.
Current Tracer is nice for finding shorts on a shared circuit. I don't have a data clip either however the universal board can function as one. When I had to fix mine, I was surprised at how little there really is inside of them and how much HP charged for it. Those 74L86s were difficult to find.
banane
Member
Hi guys
Digimon gave me one of his ordered pcbs (thanks once again) for testing. I also found a shop where I could get the 1N270 Germanium didodes kind of cheap.
But now I tried to test it, the lights are going nuts on the comparator.
Could you maybe see just from the look if I did something totally wrong ?
View attachment 459056
Cheerio from Hamburg,
Banane
It turned out the dip switches just need to be turned 180°.
Also I can only recommend to donate a small amount for the gerber files, as helpful activity in the scene is appreciated
Smitty420
Well-known member
Recently picked one of these up and I used it to find a bad chip, which all output lights stayed lit. I clip it to other data shifters in line and they all seem to flash output lights at regular intervals one a little more than the others. Is this flashing normal on good chips or should I be Suspecting these activity as well? Is this intermittent flashing on the 10529A normal for good chips?
Glorp
Well-known member
In my experience, the 10529A is far from a perfect tool- but it can point you in the right direction.
I've found the 10529A most useful for telling you if a good chip is (probably) good.
A good chip may test with the 10529A as bad; that is, the 10529A will flash light(s) anyway because the tested output may be off a tiny bit from the reference chip or perhaps another part connected to the output of the tested chip is affecting the output. The output line may also be shorted to another trace on the board that's pulling it around.
I use it to tell me which pins to look at more closely with an oscilloscope. You can compare a pin of the reference chip in the 10529A on one channel of the scope with the chip on the board on the other channel and see if the difference is significant enough to call the chip bad- but even then, the output may just be shorted somewhere.
I have replaced a few chips with a "bad" output with a brand new part only to have the 10529A give me the exact same reading on the same pin. Since I socket my replacement chips, I'll try again with the questionable pin hanging out of the socket and find the output to return to normal because something was wrong with the rest of the board somewhere that's pulling the output around when it's connected.
So yes, intermittent flashing on the 10529A is quite common for good chips. You have to look more closely to figure out what's going on in those cases. It may just be an insignificant timing issue. The 10529A is also not able to test certain classes of chips effectively. E.g., if it's a buffer that's tied to a bus, then the outputs are normally getting pulled around when the buffer outputs are tri-stated.
I've found the 10529A most useful for telling you if a good chip is (probably) good.
A good chip may test with the 10529A as bad; that is, the 10529A will flash light(s) anyway because the tested output may be off a tiny bit from the reference chip or perhaps another part connected to the output of the tested chip is affecting the output. The output line may also be shorted to another trace on the board that's pulling it around.
I use it to tell me which pins to look at more closely with an oscilloscope. You can compare a pin of the reference chip in the 10529A on one channel of the scope with the chip on the board on the other channel and see if the difference is significant enough to call the chip bad- but even then, the output may just be shorted somewhere.
I have replaced a few chips with a "bad" output with a brand new part only to have the 10529A give me the exact same reading on the same pin. Since I socket my replacement chips, I'll try again with the questionable pin hanging out of the socket and find the output to return to normal because something was wrong with the rest of the board somewhere that's pulling the output around when it's connected.
So yes, intermittent flashing on the 10529A is quite common for good chips. You have to look more closely to figure out what's going on in those cases. It may just be an insignificant timing issue. The 10529A is also not able to test certain classes of chips effectively. E.g., if it's a buffer that's tied to a bus, then the outputs are normally getting pulled around when the buffer outputs are tri-stated.
Smitty420
Well-known member
Thanks for the reply, I was considering all of these, mainly as the one bad chip was showing all outputs lit constantly and the others including the new good chip show the flashing lights. I do have one that seems excessive and I still have some kind of drawing problem. So likely your advice of pulling a pin to check is one I thought of with the original bad chip. I didn't however think about using the scope for comparisons. Good Idea to try, as well as looking for shorts downstream.
Smitty420
Well-known member
making some ic boards for my10529A which are going to take a little longer than I had hoped, but while I wait I find I use this tool more than most of the others I have besides a multimeter and my Oscilloscope. I was hoping to get some questions about the 20 pin testing device. Does it test ls244 and ls245 ? If so I have tried to use the 20 pin Gerber Files on Honor system for sure, but it shows up as only a single sided board so this can't be right. I could use a little help here and if Gerber Files are not available for my use where can I pick up one of these blank boards?
The 20 channel version is just like the 16 channel original, only with four extra channels. As such, it can not test bidirectional chips like the LS245. I just checked the Gerber files and they are good... the ZIP file has all eight files (drill, outline, and two each for copper, silk, and mask).
I was thinking about building the 20 pin version and had a small issue with the Gerber files.. some of the sites PCB Sites do not like the upper case file names. Change them to lower case and see if it fixes the issue you are having with them.. (I think JLPCB didn't like them if I remember..)
Smitty420
Well-known member
I tried PCB way and it said it was a single sided board. Didn't seem right as your other picture show traces on. Both sides. OshPark fails and says no top side copper layer.
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Smitty420
Well-known member
OK so I re-named some of the files notion and it fixed the top layer. I think I can get a board made.
creepykenny
Well-known member
my 10529 is constantly telling lies about the chip under test, much like a couple old girlfriends it seems it can seldom tell the truth.
I usually use it to confirm my suspicions about a particular chip after I have determined it is bad with a scope, dirty i/c legs & lines stuck caused by other bad i/c's make it a somewhat limited & unreliable tool to me
I usually use it to confirm my suspicions about a particular chip after I have determined it is bad with a scope, dirty i/c legs & lines stuck caused by other bad i/c's make it a somewhat limited & unreliable tool to me
