My poor mans SMU - The Agilent 66311B

[nctnico]

I found one on Ebay that oughta work though since my money is not good for them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252223006400

$4.99 for that plug?  Chances are it is a cheap Chinese knock-off you can by for $0.05. These pluggable terminal blocks are amongst the most cloned/copied parts!

[Muxr]

I found one on Ebay that oughta work though since my money is not good for them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/252223006400

$4.99 for that plug?  Chances are it is a cheap Chinese knock-off you can by for $0.05. These pluggable terminal blocks are amongst the most cloned/copied parts!

I was going to pay $17 to Keysight for it. With Chinese new years I would get the Chinese one in a month and a half. This is a bargain.

[ve7xen]

Offered $50 with the stipulation that it comes with all knobs and controls intact. He countered with $65, and I countered with $55, so yeah, it seems like $55 is the magic number. I've been curious about these for a while. Hell, more Agilent on the bench looks cool either way.

I guess that means I'll be getting one without a knob then! 

[Muxr]

Offered $50 with the stipulation that it comes with all knobs and controls intact. He countered with $65, and I countered with $55, so yeah, it seems like $55 is the magic number. I've been curious about these for a while. Hell, more Agilent on the bench looks cool either way.

I guess that means I'll be getting one without a knob then! 

If I get one without a knob I will 3D print us one. It may not be ideal but it'll work

[nctnico]

I'd use any knob I have around. No need to go through a lot of hassle. Besides that the rotating knob may not be very usefull. On my HP6572A it is easier to just use the keypad to enter the numbers than to endlessly rotate a knob.

[TheSteve]

I'd use any knob I have around. No need to go through a lot of hassle. Besides that the rotating knob may not be very usefull. On my HP6572A it is easier to just use the keypad to enter the numbers than to endlessly rotate a knob.

Indeed - the knob is nice to have but typing the value in is much quicker/easier.

[gslick]

The Agilent part # is 0360-2604
A google search indicates someone suggesting a Phoenix Contact 1757048 but that is not confirmed.
I see people also have them on ebay but they never seem to post the part #
I am using alligator clips at the moment.

Correct, Phoenix Contact  part number 1757048
MSTB 2.5
5 Position, 5.08 mm
$4.30 quantity one at Mouser
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=1757048

If you also want the standard sense jumpers for the output plug those are Phoenix Contact part number 1733169, $0.82 quantity one at Mouser.
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=1733169

[Muxr]

I'd use any knob I have around. No need to go through a lot of hassle. Besides that the rotating knob may not be very usefull. On my HP6572A it is easier to just use the keypad to enter the numbers than to endlessly rotate a knob.

Indeed - the knob is nice to have but typing the value in is much quicker/easier.

Yeah most of the time I would use the keyboard but sometimes you want the knob, for instance when you're working with LEDs or LCD displays, or analog circuits sensitive to varying voltages. This way you can observe the effect as you change the voltage by turning the knob.

[gslick]

The knob is Agilent / Keysight part number 33120-87401.

Cost you a whopping $3.11 if you can order one direct:

http://www.keysight.com/my/faces/partDetail.jspx?partNumber=33120-87401

[gslick]

I did some simple voltage programming accuracy tests with my 66309D supplies (same thing as a 66311B but with a second output channel and separate DVM input) and at least one of them was still pretty much spot on against the specifications for a 17 year old unit (serial number US3907xxxx), at least with zero output load.

I connected the 66309D output 1 to a 34401A (no idea when it was last calibrated, not since I acquired it quite a while ago) and swept the output voltage from 0 to the 15.535V maximum in 1 millivolt steps and compared the 66309D and 34401A measured voltages against each other and the programmed output voltage.

With a 12-bit DAC for programming the output voltage range that works out to be roughly 3.75mV programming resolution, and that is almost exactly what I was seeing, while the voltage read back from the 66309D was roughly within 1mV of the voltage read from the 34401A.

[bson]

Nice.  I have a 66312A (Dynamic Measurement Supply) I got for a good price although it has been used mainly as a spare extra supply so far.  The 66311B seems very similar despite its very different name; looks like they're very similar instruments in general.

[ECEdesign]

Lucky day for the guy selling...  Seems like a cool device a regular power supply would work fine for me though.

[TheSteve]

Here is a picture from the inside showing where the binding posts will mount.

[mtdoc]

Damn you Steve and your eBay deals. You had to post this didn't you? I couldn't help myself and got one for $55 also...

[Scottjd]

Damn you Steve and your eBay deals. You had to post this didn't you? I couldn't help myself and got one for $55 also...

Well I don't know Steve or anything about his Ebay sales, but I decided to try my luck and make an offer.

[Selectech]

Decided to take a chance on this and got one last nite. Hope it's not too much fuss to get working, but for $55 worth a try.

[Scottjd]

Decided to take a chance on this and got one last nite. Hope it's not too much fuss to get working, but for $55 worth a try.

Well he counter offered, I woke up and saw the email but I guess they still sell during offers since the ad is closed. Oh well, wasn't meant to be.
So does Steve find these Ebay items like this a lot, maybe I should follow his posts. Is that even possible to follow a person on the EEVBlog?

[Scottjd]

Decided to take a chance on this and got one last nite. Hope it's not too much fuss to get working, but for $55 worth a try.

Ah, you got the last one. Congrats..... Let me know how it goes or if I would have lost on it anyway. I still think it would have been a nice repair project even if it was more then a 220 to 110 jumper.
Do you mind if I ask how much you got it for?
It said three left when I made the offer. I think next time I shouldn't post until the offer is accepted, lol. 

I see he has two more, no knobs but I have a 3D printer. It's an easy print. But these specifically say does not power on so a little more risk in my mind since he still asking $99 for ones that don't power on, not just ones with errors. Repair cost in parts may be more then I can spend at this time if I need to order a power supply for the power supply.

If anyone else finds out the one they received is more then just the jumper and doesn't want to spend the time to troubleshoot further for repair please keep me in mind, I may take it off your hands. If it powers but with errors them I'm willing to fix the small parts.

Thanks,
Scott

[ECEdesign]

New listing here might be able to haggle the price, this one is free shipping.  I can't picture what I would use this for so...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Agilent-66311B-Mobile-DC-Communications-Power-Supply-15V-3A-/151982820980?hash=item2362e1ce74:g:IuUAAOSwB4NWv4KR

[nctnico]

Anyone got their unit yet? If yes: did it have a knob or not?

[GAD]

I got mine today, and it's in rough shape, and did NOT come with a knob. Technically I believe I could return it because I specified my offer with a knob, but for the price I paid and the price of a knob I'm not sure I care. I'll take pics in a bit.

[GAD]

Opened it up with the service manual at the ready. It turns out that there is a spare jumper installed on the transformer! I pulled it, rearranged them accordingly, let it sit a bit, then fired it up and it works! The fan fired up, it self-tested, and is chugging along. The fan is noisy and needs to be replaced. This unit came not only without a knob, but also without a back bezel.

The only problem is that the VFD is so dim as to be practically unusable.


I was mildly amused because it's got 110V scribbled on top (It wasn't), and "powers on - takes 30 seconds" on the side (it didn't).

Pics:

[TheSteve]

The spare jumper is cool - I mentioned it a while back. No rear bezel and a dim display doesn't really seem fair though. The dim display can perhaps be overlooked based on the listing but the unit should have been complete without missing hardware(other then the knob).

btw - when changing from 220 to 110 you're also supposed to install a 3.15 amp fuse. I installed a 3 amp fuse when I did the change.

[gslick]

Opened it up with the service manual at the ready. It turns out that there is a spare jumper installed on the transformer! I pulled it, rearranged them accordingly, let it sit a bit, then fired it up and it works! The fan fired up, it self-tested, and is chugging along. The fan is noisy and needs to be replaced. This unit came not only without a knob, but also without a back bezel.

According to the service manual the rear bezel part number may be 03478-88304. Listed as orderable for $19.01 if you can actually order one. I haven't ordered any Agilent/Keysight parts in quite a while. Not sure if I would bother replacing it myself. Maybe I would if I was also going to order a replacement front panel knob.

http://www.keysight.com/my/faces/partDetail.jspx?partNumber=03478-88304

[GAD]

Quote from: TheSteve on Today at 08:01:19 PM

The spare jumper is cool - I mentioned it a while back. No rear bezel and a dim display doesn't really seem fair though. The dim display can perhaps be overlooked based on the listing but the unit should have been complete without missing hardware(other then the knob).

btw - when changing from 220 to 110 you're also supposed to install a 3.15 amp fuse. I installed a 3 amp fuse when I did the change.

Yeah, the fuse needs to be replaced. I misunderstood your post and thought that you asked Agilent for a jumper which they sent you for free. Rereading it now I see what you meant and must have completely spaced when I read it the first time.

The auction said "for parts or repair and is not working properly". It also did not show pics of the back. I doubt I'd win a dispute, and it was only $55 plus shipping, so I may just keep it and see if I can push the VFD back to brightness for a while or maybe just offer it up on eBay with an honest condition report and see what happens.

I was surprised at how heavy it is.