SN clarification Was: Re: Semi-OT: Question about HP 130C O-scope

From: Joe <rigdonj_at_intellistar.net>
Date: Fri Feb 26 23:50:20 1999

At 08:37 PM 2/26/99 -0500, you wrote:
>Upon the date 06:58 PM 2/26/99 +0000, Joe said something like:
>>At 05:21 PM 2/26/99 -0500, Chris wrote:
>>>Upon the date 12:40 PM 2/26/99 -0800, Sellam Ismail said something like:
>>>>
>>>>Does anybody know when Hewlett-Packard made the Model 130C oscilloscope?
>>>>Its tube based. The serial number is 503-03353.
>>>
>
  <lots sniped>

>
>1960 added to the first two digits

   ONLY if it's a four digit prefix! Look at the serial number on Sam's
scope, do you think it was made in 2010? (1960 + 50) Use only the first
digit if it's a three digit number, as Sam's is.

        is the number stated in an HP document I
>recall from way back when which is yet another way HP instructed customers
>how to decipher the SN.
>
>>
>>and the second pair is (usually) the week of
>>>production. Numbers after the hyphen are the serialized number.
>>>1834A-xxxxxx is some unit built around 34th week of 1978, for example.
>>
>> That's ALLMOST true. Actually the dates on most (all?) items are offset
>
>The week digits are the week date the number was assigned to the production
>item.
>
   Not if you read the service manuals. All of the ones that I've read that
give the date break down specificly state that the actual production date
is 8 weeks ahead of the date in the serial number.

  Joe
Received on Fri Feb 26 1999 - 23:50:20 GMT