Hewlett-Packard Application Notes

Introduction by John Minck

In a real sense, Hewlett-Packard sold MEASUREMENTS as well as products. According to one marketing professional, when you go to a hardware store to buy a 5mm drill bit, what you really want is a 5mm hole. So, likewise, as HP developed their massive line of innovative measurement instruments, the customers often had to be educated in the newer processes of the new measurement techniques, permitted by the newest product.

In-depth discussions of important techniques developed by HP engineers and written by them are published in the Hewlett-Packard Application Note Series. In the HP numbering and archiving strategy, Application Note titles were assigned to generic measurement tutorials, which might cover multiple instrument numbers.

Another category of technical notes were called Product Notes. Product Notes were instrument-specific and although a wide range of topics were permitted, in general, PNs expanded on instrument performance characteristics beyond the Technical Data Sheet of product descriptions and specs.

Application Notes (even old ones) are being posted by the Agilent Technologies Company. Starting from the Agilent's web site home page, select "Technical Support" and "Application Notes" then, filling the search box with the AN number you are looking for, you can get results that include vintage application notes.

The listing gives the following information:

• AN-Nbr - The original numerical classification made by HP.
• DATE - When their is one appearing somewhere in the application note.
• Related Instr - The instrument for which the application note has been edited (if any).
  Or the instrument typical of the AN subject. XX number completion is frequently used and
  the "++" notation stand for "reference to the overall product line of the instrument listed"
• TITLE - The exact title and sub-title if any of the application note..

Application Notes

The original source of the Introduction and most of this information was the multi-page list at:
     http://www.hpmemoryproject.org/ressources/resrc_an_01.htm (Not associated with the Hewlett-Packard Company)
That list has not been updated since 2014, when Curator Marc Mislanghe passed away.
Where PDF copies exist at HP Memory Project, they are linked via columns 1 & 4.

Here the list has been converted to a single-page, tidied-up html format by TerraHertz, and updated with further AN titles as they are found. URL: http://everist.org/spacejunk/want/HP_Application_Notes.htm

Other sources of scanned HP Application Notes:

• VintHPcom group, files section

I take the view that it is important to preserve the paper originals of technical documents such as the HP Application Note series. For multiple reasons, including trust of information veracity and typographic/image quality. Contemporary scanning utilities and file formats (eg PDF) are inadequate for preserving the spirit as well as the raw content of such works. Not to mention that most people undertaking scanning, have combinations of resources, skills and objectives that usually result in file visual quality ranging from mediocre to appalling. In general very disrespectful to the creators of the original document. Some even destroy the paper original during or after scanning. For convenience of scanning, or by reasoning "Now it's in digital form the paper original is a waste of space."

In contrast, I collect these works to preserve the genuine articles for posterity (and for my own reference.) I also experiment with practical methods of achieving higher quality/utility digital copies, with the aim of eventually publishing a combined 'how to' tutorial and tools. Plus scanning my collection of technical and cultural works, using those methods.
A few such experiments are linked in the table above; see #64-3, 73, 139.

Consequently I am more interested in obtaining paper originals than already scanned digital copies as PDF files.
Here's my list of HP App Notes I have so far.
If you have any physical paper HP Application Notes that I do not already have, that you would like to donate, please contact me: sjm at everist.org
In some cases I could buy small numbers of ANs offered for sale, but I am quite poor in this phase of my life.