Machine: I5 650

1.) Windows XP:
Python 2.6.6 (r266:84297, Aug 24 2010, 18:46:32) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
...    
IDLE 2.6.6      
>>> a=1.2345
>>> from struct import *
>>> pack('!d',a)
'?\xf3\xc0\x83\x12n\x97\x8d'
>>> 


2.) Ubuntu 10.04LTS
Python 2.6.5 (r265:79063, Apr 16 2010, 13:57:41) 
[GCC 4.4.3] on linux2
...    
IDLE 2.6.5      ==== No Subprocess ====
>>> from struct import *
>>> a=1.2345
>>> pack('!d',a)
'?\xf3\xc0\x83\x12n\x97\x8d'
>>> 

3.) Correct 8 (eight!!!) hex values are:
1,2345  (a comma here due to my localisation)
3F F3 C0 83 12 6E 97 8D . This result ca be obtained using Fortran's "equivalence" statement as well as the following VBA UDF :
 , both give identical results.

Where have the two bytes "3F" as well as "6E" gone????