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Replacement for MAX038

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Its the same chip... the MAX038 was a replacement for the ICL part.

Horsehockey!! It was never intended to replace the relatively ancient 8038 any more than a Corvette was expected to replace a VW Beetle. Only two things are the same about them: they're both function generators and they're both integrated circuits. They certainly aren't pin-for-pin compatible -- the MAX038 has 6 more pins than the 8038. Maxim made the MAX038, a pretty expensive little guy that did a maximum frequency of 20MHz while most other FG ICs (Intersil, Exar) topped out in the large vicinity of a megaHertz or less. In fact, it's surprising that the 038 is spec'd for about 0.1 Hz on the low end while the 8038 was more like 0.001 Hz. The Maxim chip had some pretty good sine wave specs for a FG while the 8038 was a pretty typical thing that did no better than maybe 2 or 3% THD.
 
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Horsehockey!! It was never intended to replace the relatively ancient 8038 any more than a Corvette was expected to replace a VW Beetle. Only two things are the same about them: they're both function generators and they're both integrated circuits. They certainly aren't pin-for-pin compatible -- the MAX038 has 6 more pins than the 8038. Maxim made the MAX038, a pretty expensive little guy that did a maximum frequency of 20MHz while most other FG ICs (Intersil, Exar) topped out in the large vicinity of a megaHertz or less. In fact, it's surprising that the 038 is spec'd for about 0.1 Hz on the low end while the 8038 was more like 0.001 Hz. The Maxim chip had some pretty good sine wave specs for a FG while the 8038 was a pretty typical thing that did no better than maybe 2 or 3% THD.

Sorry about that.... I have used both... My first Function generator was ICL8038 based It worked really well..... Years later I made a new one with the MAX038...Miles better ( accept for the sine wave) I must have gotten confused in my old age.... I thought it was the same chip.....

I stand corrected...

BTW "Horsehockey" Never heard that before....
 
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Ian, "horsehockey" is my inoffensive (at least inoffensive is my intention) way of saying what Bess Truman finally talked Harry out of saying when she had him refer to the substance as "manure". At least, so goes that tale since I haven't run it through Snopes. I can see why it is unheard of in the U.K. It's more of a western term in the states and wouldn't be understood in New York City. There's plenty of it in Washington D.C. even though they don't know it by that term.

What kind of trouble did you have with the sine wave output on the MAX038? It's supposed to be a pretty nice output. The 8038's sine output was lousy by oscillator standards and really went sour above 50KHz. It was used in several commercial models including the Global Specialties 2001, a less-expensive model made in the U.S. At least, even for their lowest-cost function generators (if there was such a thing) Tektronix never used the 8038 but only did "discrete" designs. Their FG504 was a fantastic machine that went from 0.001Hz up to 40MHz with a discrete design and the sine wave output required using a distortion analyzer to adjust it to it's best at about 0.1% or thereabouts. It also was FM and AM modulatable and swept internally with a start-stop set of frequency dials. It was a function generator that literally did everything and was never improved upon by an analog generator.

I used the sine output of 8038-based FGs to demonstrate student-built notch filters and how they could be used as THD analyzers.
 
The sine was EXTREMELY distorted above 200khz.... Square and Triangle were perfect up to @12mhz....

I never looked into it as I have since made another.... Using a micro and the afore mentioned AD9833.... Its a programmable wave generator....
You can get good wave forms at 15mhz +..

I don't need anything faster.... ( my scope only does 40mhz )..
 
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