HP 8640B Part 1: initial state
Introduction I recently acquired a HP 8640B signal generator. A quick summary of the specs shows why this is an interesting piece of equipment:
500kHz to 512 MHz (option 2 adds a doubler, extending the range to 1.024 GHz) Available power range is -145dBm to +19 dBm, within +0.5dB across the full frequency range Extremely low phase noise (less then -130 dBc at 450 MHz, 20kHz from the carrier) Fine tuning (when in locked mode): >+/-20ppm Integrated counter, switchable between the internal generator and an external input FM and AM modulation Beautifully engineered (but that’s just an opinion) The retail price in the mid seventies was around 12.000 USD (which in 2017 would be about 90.000 USD).
