Test equipment using variants of the UNIX operating system

[japlytic]

This thread concerns a computer component, being operating system software.

On an eBay listing for a Hewlett-Packard logic analyser, I saw the X Window System logo on the screen, indicating that this piece of equipment uses some variant of the UNIX operating system.
One possible indication that a piece of test equipment (with a graphic display) which uses UNIX (but not DOS or Microsoft Windows) is the SCSI interface, which was a standard feature on many UNIX workstations at one time.
But a very likely indication that a particular piece of test equipment uses UNIX (but not DOS or Microsoft Windows) is trying to change the year in the Real Time Clock beyond 2037 (the Year 2038 bug, a known UNIX bug) without success in the normal manner - I found this bug in a LeCroy LC Series oscilloscope (firmware version 9.3.0).
If a particular piece of test equipment uses a variant of UNIX, there could be some hackability in it, including unlocking Software Options for particular measurements (FFT etc.)

I think a number of test equipment manufacturers had significant experience with the UNIX operating system and therefore, used some variant thereof in a number of models of microprocessor-controlled test equipment.

[Compgeke]

Re: Test equipment using variants of the UNIX operating system

A lot of HP logic analyzers and such are based on a PA-RISC processor with a variation of HP-UX running on them. They even often came with additional features\programs on floppy disks you could install to the internal IDE or SCSI hard drive. I believe there's a way to exit out and get to a terminal but I wouldn't know personally, my fanciest gear is Tek and it's proprietary OS.