Keithley 197A

[Brian of Romsey]

Hi,

I have a newly acquired Keithley 197A. Does anyone know if there are any people or groups working on improving the firmware?

I have the schematics for the 197 but not for the 197A, anyone able to help out with this?

Thanks, Brian.

[trobbins]

There are a few threads for 197/197A on https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/

[Marconi_MPT4]

Hi,
Yes as stated in previous post, Eevblog is a good place to start when researching Keithley related test gear.

Another site which has a library of firmware images, that you may have seen already, is xDevs here https://doc.xdevs.com/article/keithley-instruments/. Not much on 197A though.

From all accounts the 197A firmware is embedded and read protected in the processor, unlike the 197 which uses conventional EPROM.

No luck so far on schematics.

Cheers
Rich

[PETERg0rsq]

Another site which has a library of firmware images, that you may have seen already, is xDevs here https://doc.xdevs.com/article/keithley-instruments/. Not much on 197A though.

Great site, which I never knew existed.

[Brian of Romsey]

Originally Posted by Marconi_MPT4

Another site which has a library of firmware images, that you may have seen already, is xDevs here https://doc.xdevs.com/article/keithley-instruments/. Not much on 197A though.

From all accounts the 197A firmware is embedded and read protected in the processor, unlike the 197 which uses conventional EPROM.

That is an interesting site. I'll contribute my 197A manual. And, if I get around to it, my 197A's EPROM image (27C64). Which sort of indicates that, like the 197, it had external program storage. Might even have a poke at it with the disassembler.

My interest is in getting data to pour out of it using RS-232C serial rather than IEEE-488. My theory is that it could be achieved with an Arduino nano. (Maybe later an ESP8266 and make it a BT device.)

From my inspection of my 197A with reference to the 197's chip & component layout diagram and schematic there's very little difference. One DIP-8 is rotated, everything else seems to be as per.

And FYI, the differences between 197 and 197A are: display back light, case colour, and IEC inlet. At least that is the situation according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1F1f-ajyjY

Thanks, Brian.

[Brian of Romsey]

Originally Posted by Brian of Romsey

That is an interesting site. I'll contribute my 197A manual. And, if I get around to it, my 197A's EPROM image (27C64).

After talking to friends I haven't been able to find an EPROM reader. Before I lash one up, is there anyone in the Cambridge UK area who could help read an EPROM please?

Thanks, Brian.