HP82169A usefull in anno 2022?

[Garth Wilson]

HP-IB, or GPIB, or IEEE-488 (all the same thing) was used for interfacing lab instrumentation for measurement, data acquisition, automation, etc.. Think:

• signal generators
• programmable power supplies
• relay boxes
• DMMs
• frequency counters
• fiberoptic test equipment
• RF power meters
• network analyzers
• spectrum analyzers
• oscilloscopes
• pulse generators
• telecommunications test equipment
• ...and lots more.

I have not kept up with what's being done in this field in 2022, as my work has gradually evolved in a little different direction regarding test & measurement and control; but I have in front of me the 1986 HP catalog that's 1.5" (4cm) thick, full of such instrumentation, and on the shelf, more from other manufacturers including Wavetek, Keithley, Gould, Krohn-Hite, Kikusui, and more. This goes far, far beyond office and home equipment like mass storage and printers. The HP82169A could be used by even the HP-41 to interface to nearly every piece of IEEE-488 equipment, and dozens at a time, of the hundreds and probably thousands of models out there. Most people on this forum are totally unaware of the vast extent. This equipment was well built, and much of it that's even many decades old is still in service.