![agilent technologies 82357b agilent technologies 82357b](https://sigma.octopart.com/146120353/image/Keysight-Technologies-82357B.jpg)
These are glaringly missing from the Prologix one.
#Agilent technologies 82357b driver#
It may be fake, but it is a 1:1 copy, including the GPIB bus driver ICs. In this case, I'd lean toward the cloned 82357b.
#Agilent technologies 82357b software#
Some homebrew software supports the Prologix adapters but don't expect most professional software to do so. Prologix is the exception, they don't have a VISA layer or a GPIB-32.DLL or any other standardized interface. The Prologix adapters can talk to the instruments, but can your software talk to the Prologix adapter? Every other GPIB adapter on the market, from Agilent, NI, or whoever, comes with APIs and DLLs conforming to standards, and this allows compatibility between software and adapters. Unfortunately, most hobbyists such as myself can't afford to pay Keysight's retail price for something like this GPIB adapter, so we're forced to navigate the land of make-believe in hopes of finding the real thing. I now buy components like that only from a trusted source such as Digi-Key, Mouser, etc. Compared to the real ones, the fakes contained only a tiny undersized piece of silicon with no chance of handling their rated current. I went looking around online, and sure enough there are YouTube videos of folks cutting open the metal cases of these things to see what was inside. Had I used them to repair the PSU I was working on at the time, they would have likely fried anything hooked it. Sure enough, though rated for over 15A, the eBay ones consistently blew at just a couple of amps when tested under load.
![agilent technologies 82357b agilent technologies 82357b](https://www.qsl.net/yo4hfu/Files/HP8648_GPIB/Logo_alignment.jpg)
![agilent technologies 82357b agilent technologies 82357b](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5H4AAOSwtZJY-E33/s-l300.jpg)
I still had a few genuine ones from Mouser to compare to, and even the external differences were obvious. I recently ordered some ST-branded 2N3055s on eBay, and they were all fake. On the topic of fakes, it's getting really bad out there with counterfeits, even down to the component level. I hope that I'm proven wrong here, since it would eliminate the easiest method (that I'm aware of) for differentiating the genuine article from the fakes without opening the case. On the less-paranoid side, the differences in paint application from the genuine Agilent branded ones that I've seen may be simply due to slight changes made when the Keysight re-branding took effect. I don't know why, but the impression that I get when I see your second photo is that the paint was sprayed on there 'for show', and may not truly extend to the inside of the device. I've noticed that counterfeiters will often modify their products to make them appear more legit once notable differences from the real thing become known to consumers, even gleaning such information from forums like this one, so. It may be my own 'counterfeit paranoia' talking, but to me something just doesn't look right about the way that copper paint is applied near the screw. Having said that, did you happen to open this one up and see if everything is up to Keysight standards? I'm not entirely clear from your post if this was purchased directly from Keysight or through another vendor. Let me preface this post by saying that I have *not* had occasion to examine a genuine Keysight-branded GPID adapter personally, so take this with a grain of salt please.