Replacing the HP2100 computer in US Navy test sets

Abstract

The DOD has a large investment in ATE which has become increasingly difficult and costly to repair due to non-availability of parts and trained maintenance personnel. One example is the AN/DPM-22 Guided Missile Components Test Station, a 1970 vintage test set based on the Hewlett Packard 9500 Automated Test System. In order to increase the service life of the AN/DPM-22, the US Navy opted to replace the Hewlett Packard 2100S computer and its peripherals with an IBM-compatible 80486. One requirement was to retain the existing test equipment, which has an assortment of IEEE Standard 488 compatible and peculiar parallel interfaces. Another requirement was to minimize the software changes. This paper addresses the hardware and software designs which were implemented to achieve those goals.<>