Just a word of caution... for you equipment owners/ buyers out there..
There are several companies upgrading 856xE to 856xEC. Most people assume these Spectrum Analyzers are the same, only difference is the EC has a color screen.
They are not.. The 856xEC also has option 007 standard, along with the color screen.
Just like a with a used car.. You have to look under the hood and kick the tires..
We discovered the problem after one of our customers failed several of these inits running our automated software, because they did not have the correct options installed. Unfortunatly we discovered the problem to late, and they where unable to get a refund.
Can you tell us what company the units were purchased from?
This was a common practice a few years ago when a few companies were "upgrading" 8901B's to 8902A's. The price difference between those two models was about $10K on the used market and the upgrade could be done for $3-4K. The end product was functionally a 8902A but to those who knew the difference the value was lower. The people who sold these upgraded units without informing the buyer were unethical and I would say the same about anyone who is doing similar upgrades to 856xEC
The Specturm Analyzer came from several sources. I don't think this was a case of cutting courners as much as it was just not knowing.
My customer is one on the largest rental companies in the US. As we were investigating the problem we found sevral units that where not properly upgraded.
Just wanted to warn you all to keep you eyes open.