The HP 185A oscilloscope[1], 500 MHz bandwidth, was $2000 in their 1960 catalog[2]. That would be $22,000 in today's dollars. (The brochure doesn't say MHz but uses MC meaning megacycles.) It would be fun to compare the specs to a cheap hobbyist level scope today.
I’m sure someone has done this, but it would be interesting to study the overall tech landscape and compare which technology has sort of retained its value, depreciated, or increased in value—and how long those phases take. Even as far back as things like cast-iron printing presses and such. I mean also value in terms of usage not necessarily monetary.
The cycles we go through where a new tech supplants an old one, people thinking it’s the way of the future, and the old processes maybe forgotten for a while. Some might come back, others completely obsolescent. Still others the old tech might be superior to new—but more expensive (like old hard-wood window panes) and not sustainable.
mitthrowaway2 11 days ago [-]
I remember finding HeNe laser interferometers in an old HP catalogue from the '70s and being surprised that buying the equivalent system today from KeySight actually costs much more, even adjusted for inflation.
bandoti 10 days ago [-]
Interesting—I guess build quality and certain technologies that don’t change much makes supply-and-demand takes over.
godzillabrennus 11 days ago [-]
Historically, technology has been deflationary.
msgodel 11 days ago [-]
I think I have this scope or a very similar one. I got it for free from someone else. (currently in storage.) It's a great hobbyist scope although mine doesn't have a DFT function which can be annoying. I've been borrowing a friend's modern digital scope when I've needed one. I think he only paid a few hundred for it. It's a little faster and has some more modern functions.
EDIT: Oops nope. Looked at the model number rather than the brochure. That's definitely an older analog scope while mine is digital.
pidgeon_lover 11 days ago [-]
I thought it would be an HP computer driver archive, as HP are notorious for taking down the driver downloads for older models. Does anyone know of such a driver archive?
If the website didn't use some annoying click tracking redirection or javascript, try the old standby: https://archive.org
darthcloud 11 days ago [-]
I worked for almost 10 years at HP/HPE in the 2010s on embedded systems. I don't remember if it was a memo from Dave or Bill, but it was about never sacrificing quality for a deadline. Needless to say, we loved to dig up that old memo whenever PMs pushed too hard to get things released too early.
indrora 11 days ago [-]
My father did a stint at HP long ago, before my time.
The thing that I wish he had snagged more of (which HP actively encouraged engineers to do) was the HP branded prototyping boards that fit DIP package ICs nicely and had power/ground rails with detached shared signal busses.
markneub 11 days ago [-]
I rescued an HP-200A audio oscillator from the basement of a relative who’d passed away, thinking it looked interesting. Anyone know if it has any value? I’m guessing it’s nothing too special with a serial number of 30211.
CamperBob2 11 days ago [-]
200A sounds interesting, as that was their very first model number. Your relative didn't have anything to do with Disney, did they?
markneub 10 days ago [-]
Not that I know of. Why do you ask?
CamperBob2 10 days ago [-]
Disney was Hewlett and Packard's first customer in 1939, or was at least among the very first. The 200A oscillators were used to calibrate theater sound hardware for presentations of 'Fantasia' (although https://www.hewlettpackardhistory.com/item/a-deal-with-disne... says the Disney versions were designated 200B.)
Does it look like the one in the photo on that site? Sounds like a very cool artifact. You can't always tell much from the serial number -- for example, notice that they started their model numbers with '200,' just to make the company look bigger and more reputable.
markneub 10 days ago [-]
Interesting HP/Disney history! My unit looks similar-ish. Photo of the front:
It does look a little newer than the oldest examples I've seen photos of, but it's hard to say what the range of possible production dates would have been. You might be able to find a date code on an electrolytic capacitor or some other internal component.
There are a few HP 200As listed on eBay in the $100-$300 range. Not sure if they're actually selling for that, though.
11 days ago [-]
TruffleLabs 11 days ago [-]
FYI they say "Computers and calculators are not the focus of this archive website."
adrian_b 11 days ago [-]
While the HP computers and calculators were well documented and their design process was also frequently described in HP Journal or other HP publications, the most valuable HP publications were about their measurement instruments.
Many of the ancient service manuals for HP measurement instruments were much better for learning electronics engineering than most university manuals.
whartung 11 days ago [-]
I understand, but that’s a shame.
Way back, talking 1980 or so, my father got a newsletter cum magazine of sort from HP. Marketing material to be sure, but not just raw marketing. Some corporate organ that could easily been called something like “HP Today”.
But inside was, at the time, a science fiction story about handheld computers in the future. It was a fascinating bit of “snapshot in time” that I would enjoy seeing again.
burnt-resistor 11 days ago [-]
In the off-topic calculator department: hpcalc.org :)
I have an HP 48 (series of graphing calculators) overhead projector display (InVision 48) that may need refurbishment to work, but I just found the manual at hpcalc.org.[0]
If HP and Sun had merged, I wonder if HP-UX would become HP-SUX.
hawflakes 11 days ago [-]
It’s in the Jargon file. Your comment made me remember this bit:
Hackers at HP/Apollo (the former Apollo Computers which was swallowed by HP in 1989) have been heard to complain that Mr. Packard should have pushed to have his name first, if for no other reason than the greater eloquence of the resulting acronym.
In the 00's, the CS program at my undergrad university had computer clusters with all of the above +Linux +MINIX -Apple -DEC. It was de rigueur then to write portable C/C++ code and (non-GNU) Makefiles.
Also, lest not forget the contentious one: SCO - SCO -> Sun -> Oracle
https://spectrum.ieee.org/loss-of-hewlettpackard-archive-a-w...
[1] https://hparchive.com/Brochures/HP-185A-Brochure.pdf
[2] https://hparchive.com/Catalogs/HP-Catalog-1960-Short-Revised...
The cycles we go through where a new tech supplants an old one, people thinking it’s the way of the future, and the old processes maybe forgotten for a while. Some might come back, others completely obsolescent. Still others the old tech might be superior to new—but more expensive (like old hard-wood window panes) and not sustainable.
EDIT: Oops nope. Looked at the model number rather than the brochure. That's definitely an older analog scope while mine is digital.
The Sony Vaio line of computers had a similar problem, and community members launched the Vaio Library (https://vaiolibrary.com/index.php/Welcome_to_the_VAIO_Librar... / https://archive.vaiolibrary.com/)
The thing that I wish he had snagged more of (which HP actively encouraged engineers to do) was the HP branded prototyping boards that fit DIP package ICs nicely and had power/ground rails with detached shared signal busses.
Does it look like the one in the photo on that site? Sounds like a very cool artifact. You can't always tell much from the serial number -- for example, notice that they started their model numbers with '200,' just to make the company look bigger and more reputable.
https://imgur.com/a/jRw5pXK
There are a few HP 200As listed on eBay in the $100-$300 range. Not sure if they're actually selling for that, though.
Many of the ancient service manuals for HP measurement instruments were much better for learning electronics engineering than most university manuals.
Way back, talking 1980 or so, my father got a newsletter cum magazine of sort from HP. Marketing material to be sure, but not just raw marketing. Some corporate organ that could easily been called something like “HP Today”.
But inside was, at the time, a science fiction story about handheld computers in the future. It was a fascinating bit of “snapshot in time” that I would enjoy seeing again.
I have an HP 48 (series of graphing calculators) overhead projector display (InVision 48) that may need refurbishment to work, but I just found the manual at hpcalc.org.[0]
0. https://literature.hpcalc.org/items/1290
https://github.com/calmsacibis995/irix-6517-src
DEC - Ultrix/Digital Unix
Apple - A/UX, macOS
HP - HP-UX
SGI - IRIX
Sun - SunOS, Solaris
IBM - AIX
HPE - ULTRIX, Tru64/OSF1/DIGITAL UNIX, HP-UX, IRIX
Apple - A/UX, macOS
Oracle - SunOS, Solaris
Hackers at HP/Apollo (the former Apollo Computers which was swallowed by HP in 1989) have been heard to complain that Mr. Packard should have pushed to have his name first, if for no other reason than the greater eloquence of the resulting acronym.
https://zvon.org/comp/r/ref-Jargon_file.html#Terms~HP-SUX
Also, lest not forget the contentious one: SCO - SCO -> Sun -> Oracle