[jacquesm]

Please. A powercycle fixed it and besides, if you don't want people to play with the gear then don't put it in the general public aisle. That's where people will mess with your gear as any trade show booth operator very well knows.

I worked in a computer store, the number of pranks that people got up to with the gear there was insane and some of them were quite a bit more harmful than this one. I really don't see the problem. As long as you can reboot the device no harm done. Once people start flashing your systems or rewriting boot loaders we're in different territory.

[stavros]

How do you know a powercycle fixed it?

[jacquesm]

Because I actually read - and understood - the OPs comment.

[stavros]

Including the part where he never says if the power cycle fixed it?

[jacquesm]

Including the part where he explains in which part of the memory his program is stored. This is before the age of flash.

If you want to verify it for yourself the manual is here:

https://www.google.com/search?q=HP8566+spectrum+analyzer+ope...

[anonymousiam]

Thanks for the link. I have not read that manual for over 40 years. Appendix B "Advanced Display Programming" is where I learned the mischief I did at the show.

I guess I could have prevented a lot of HN grief if I had clarified that a AC power cycle absolutely clears all display memory and completely eradicates anything that I had put there.

[jacquesm]

You did make it clear by stating that it was in volatile memory.

I'm really surprised at the venom and all the extrapolation here.

Obviously, nobody should be judged by the stupid pranks they pulled decades ago, it's like telling my neighborhood kids that they are terrible people for ringing my doorbell.

By the way, awesome piece of gear. I never owned one but did work with one at a physics institute in Amsterdam on Sundays when the place was deserted.

As for tradeshow pranks... never mind. ;)