HP 16600/16700 Agilent Logic Analyzers
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1998-2000 |
| Period | Maturity (III) |
| Series | Scientific |
| CPU | PA-7300LC 32-bit 150 MHz |
| Caches | 64 KB |
| Memory | 160-256 MB |
| Design | LASI |
| Drives | 1 SCSI 1 FD (1 CD) |
| Expansion | 1-2 Emulation 1-5 Measurement 0-204 Probes Expansion frame |
| I/O | Fast or Ethernet SCSI serial parallel display PS/2 I/O and control |
HP 16600A and 16700A are logic analyzers based on PA-RISC processors, sold by HP and Agilent in the late-1990s. They were based on PA-RISC HP 9000 workstation architecture integrated into Agilent laboratory equipment. HP/Agilent 16600A and 16700A were successors to the popular Agilent 16500 series analyzers, used in engineering and science for measurements, logic analysis, prototyping and verification.
In electronics and microprocessor design, these systems were able to analyze buses (AGP, ISA, CAN, PCI, HP-PB, SCSI, USB, DIMM memory and many others) and emulate microprocessor families (ARM, IBM PowerPC, Pentium, Motorola PowerPC and MPC, CPU32, M-core, Toshiba, MIPS, Intel 960, Motorola 68000 and 88000).
HP 16600A and 16700A variants are based on the 16700A or 16700B main logic board built into different chassis’, with a technical system architecture closely based on HP Visualize B132L workstations with some custom Agilent I/O hardware for measurement. They ran mostly-standard HP-UX with some Agilent software extensions.
- 16600A: Small base system with integrated channel probes, one measurement slot and one emulation slot.
- 16700A: Base system in a modular frame, with five measurement slots and two emulation slots.
- 16700B: Updated 16700 base system with modular frame and faster mainboard.
- 16701A/16701B: An
expansion frame
to extend the 16700 series systems with space for five more measurement and two more emulation slots. - 16702A: Same system board as the 16700 in a compact case as integrated Logic Analysis System with 10.3″ 800×600 LCD screen display. With five measurement slots and two emulation slots.
- 16702B: Updated version of the integrated 16702A with faster mainboard and components and a different case with integrated 12.1″ touch screen. It lost the integrated keyboard on the front and one emulation slot at the back for an integrated CD drive.
Apparently, Agilent E4406A Vector Spectrum Analyzer (VSA) were also based on the same PA-RISC logic board as HP 16600A and 16700A:
- E4406A: Vector Spectrum Analyzer (VSA) apparently used for mobile protocol and device development and debugging (GSM, CDMA, EDGE) running HP-RT booting off a flash memory board. Apparently used the same processor boards as 16600/16700
Another Agilent PA-RISC product, HP 16505A Prototype Analyzer, was a HP 9000 712 workstation that connected to an Agilent 16500A series logic analyzer via special hardware and software and provided an X11 interface to measurement and probes.
- HP Agilent 16600A were introduced in 1998 for $10,040-25,740
- HP Agilent 16700A were introduced in 1998 for $9,990
- HP Agilent 16700B were introduced in 2000
- HP Agilent 16702A were introduced in 1999 for $11,500
- HP Agilent 16702B were introduced in 2000 for $11,990
Around 2004, Agilent moved away from PA-RISC and HP-UX to Windows and Intel.
System
HP 16600 and 16700 series were an Agilent system design with individual boards:
- CPU board: The main logic board with PA-RISC processor, main ASICs, memory, backplanes and system slots
- PCI board: Bridges the PCI backplane from the CPU board to the instrument backplane for measurement modules. Extends the I/O circuitry from the CPU board and connects the Interface board
- Interface board: Distributes the signals from CPU and PCI boards throughout the system and connects to the measurement backplane, to which the measurement and emulation modules connect
- Module interface board: Connects the measurement and emulation slots and buses to the Interface board
- Expansion frame: Extends the measurement backplane to a separate frame with more slots
Processors
| System | CPU | Speed | L1 cache |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP Agilent 16600A | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 150 MHz | 64 KB on-chip |
| HP Agilent 16700A | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 150 MHz | 64 KB on-chip |
| HP Agilent 16700B | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 150 MHz | 64 KB on-chip |
| HP Agilent 16702A | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 150 MHz | 64 KB on-chip |
| HP Agilent 16702B | PA-7300LC PA-RISC 32-bit | 150 MHz | 64 KB on-chip |
Chipset
- HP LASI integrated chipset
- Integrated NCR 53C710 8-bit single-ended SCSI-2
- Integrated Intel 82596CA 10 Mbit Ethernet controller
- Integrated HP Harmony CD/DAT quality 16-bit stereo audio
- HP Dino GSC-to-PCI bridge
- HP Phantom PseudoBC GSC+ port
- (probably) HP Visualize-EG onboard graphics with 2 MB frame buffer memory (4 MB with the performance option 003)
- 30 MHz on-board crystal oscillator VCK
- PLL clock distribution IC
- Various ICs for the bridges and measurement and emulation ports
- FPGA1 (16700 BP protocol) on the PCI board
- FPGA1 (instrument BP protocol) on the PCI board
- Serial EPROM on the PCI board
- Intercard-controller on the Interface Board
- PLL, expansion frame cicuitry, clock distribution on the Interface board
Display
- 16702A Integrated 10.3″ 800×600 LCD display
- 16702B Integrated 12.1″ 800×600 LCD touch panel
- All could optionally be ordered with a VGA monitor
- Supported 1280×1024 VGA monitors, 1600×1200 with option 003
Input
- 16702 Build in input keys and devices
- 16702A Integrated front-panel keyboard
- 16702B Touch screen, knobs and dedicated hot keys
System buses
- GSC bus
- Optional PCI-32/33 bus for I/O devices and measurement and emulation modules
- IMB Inter-Module bus
- Protocol bus
- Measurement Module Backplane, Agilent 16500-compatible, connects via IMB, protocol bus to interface board
- Emulation Module Interface, connects via IMB, protocol bus to interface board
- SCSI-2 Fast-Narrow single-ended bus
Expansion
Memory
- All logic analyzers had factory installed RAM that could be upgraded with factory options
- 120-pin memory expansion boards
- Apparently some memory is onboard
- 16700A and 16702A 64 MB to 160 MB internal RAM (with performance option 003)
- 16700B and 16702B 128 MB to 256 MB internal RAM (with performance option 003)
Expansion cards
- 16700A/16700B and 16702A/16702B expansion slots:
- Five measurement module slots
- Two emulation module slots
- 16702B Only one emulation module slot
- 16600A expansion options:
- One measurement module slot
- One emulation module slot
- Channel probes on the front
- 16600A: 204 channels
- 16601A: 136 channels
- 16602A: 102 channels
- 16603A: 68 channels
- 16701A and 16701B expansion slots, requires 16700 or 16702:
- Five measurement module slots
- Two emulation module slots
Storage
- SCSI 3.5″ Fast-Narrow SE 50-pin factory-installed internal SCSI disk
- 3.5″ Floppy drive
- 16700A/16702A 4 GB SCSI drive
- 16700B/16702B CD-ROM drive
- 16700B/16702B 9 GB SCSI drive
- E4406A flash memory board
Ports
- Ethernet LAN RJ45 and BNC
- 16702B 100BaseTX (Fast-Ethernet)
- SCSI-2 50-pin single-ended
- Serial RS232C DB9
- Parallel DB25
- VGA monitor
- Two PS/2 connectors for keyboard and mouse
- Target Control Port
- Port IN and Port OUT
- 16700/16702 Connector for 16701A expansion frame
Operating systems
- HP-UX with HP LOGIC and Agilent software
- They might run PA-RISC Linux and OpenBSD but not sure (the hardware is similar to already supported systems)
- E4406A HP-RT
Pictures
More detailed pictures:
- 16700 Chassis Pictures at bitsavers.org, 2024 bitsavers
- 16700 PCB Pictures at bitsavers.org, 2024 bitsavers
Options
HP Agilent 16600 and 16700 series could be ordered with factory options.
| Option | 16600A | 16700A/16702A | 16700B/16702b |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 17″ 1280x1024 monitor | 17″ 1280x1024 monitor | 17″ 1280x1024 monitor |
| 003 | 160 MB system RAM, 4 MB video RAM | 160 MB system RAM, 4 MB video RAM | 256 MB system RAM, 4 MB video RAM |
| 004 | External CD-ROM drive | External CD-ROM drive | |
| 008 | 18 GB external SCSI drive | 18 GB external SCSI drive | |
| 009 | External removable hard drive | ||
| 010 | Two 17-channel probe leads | ||
| 012 | Multiframe module |
Documentation
Most HP and Agilent documentation is only available at archive.org and other archives, with most official sources, articles and journals having disappeared in the 2010s.
- HP 16700 Series Logic Analyser Page, Dave Partridge, n.d., with information on HP-UX 10.20 on Agilents
- Great series of articles on HP 16700A logic analyzer from
Keith
(2013: techtravels.org) - Agilent Technologies 16700A/16702A Service Guide (PDF) (2000: Agilent Technologies Company, mirror 2023) bitsavers
- HP 16600A and 16700A Series Logic Analysis System Mainframes Product Overview (1998: HP, 5966-3107E) bitsavers
- 16700 Series Logic Analysis System Product Overview (2003: Agilent) bitsavers
- Installation Guide HP 16600A Seriesi HP 16700A HP 16702A Measurement Modules (PDF) (1999: Hewlett-Packard Company) bitsavers
- Training Kit for the Agilent Technologies 16700-Series Logic Analysis System (PDF) (2001: HP) bitsavers
- Agilent Technologies E4406A VSA Series Transmitter Tester Service Guide (PDF) (2006: Agilent Technologies bitsavers
- Processor and Bus Support for Agilent Technologies Logic Analyzers (PDF) (2001: Agilent Technologies) bitsavers
- Don’t be illogical when choosing logic-analysis tools Dan Strassberg (1999: EDN Network)
- HOT PRODUCTS OF 1998: Part 3 (1998: EDN Network)