Test Equipment Anonymous (TEA) group therapy thread

[McBryce]

Anyone in Germany looking to buy a boat load of anchors? https://www.ebay.de/itm/285901090089 (not my stuff).

https://www.ebay.de/itm/285901090089

McBryce.

[med6753]

Here's one for Terra Operative.

A local Facebook Marketplace find. Only $50 USD and we all know how much they go for on Evil Bay. TM503 with a DM501 DMM, FG501 Function Generator, and a PS503 Dual Supply. Unknown if it powers up. Seller got it from a storage unit and didn't have ability to test. It's damn dirty and will need a good clean up. And if the cabinet still looks that dull after cleaning then Papa Smurf's Paint Shop will be activated for the first time in almost 2 years. And there will be no attempt at power up until the main PSU as well as each plug-in is checked for shorts first. And of course will get a complete re-cap.

 

[factory]

Looking forward to the TM500 series repair, I don't normally do a full re-cap on most things, but was glad I did on the last repair, a pair of PSUs from some ancient Acorn BBC home computers, the RIFA madness removal was a must, but one of the large Nippon leaky-Con electrolytics was found to be in a very bad way, with one lead eaten away. 

Apparently I forgot to take more than one picture before the re-capicide. 
I also deleted the extra capacitor bodgery in the first picture, no idea why someone did this , the mains switch didn't survive the de-soldering process.

David

[med6753]

Complete re-cap of electrolytics is SOP here. And a quick check of the plug-in's reveals 2 of them have beaded tants which are known magic smoke bombs.

[TERRA Operative]

Ooh, nice. I do like the TM500 stuff, bite-sized gear that's fun to play with.
I'm currently working through some dead PG506 modules, as well as calibrating various DMM modules and stuff to put on the 'to sell' pile.

If on the off chance you find the PCB is damaged in your TM503, I might just have some replacement PCB's here somewhere. I had one that had burnt traces (I suspect a 5000 series scope plugin was installed and some traces on the mainframe PCB turned into fuses...) so I designed complete replacement PCB's which work great.
I do have the design files on PCBWay (or I can send them through if you need).

[Peter_O]

Here's a high power 5200 Watts 80V 65A Agilent PSU to be connected to 3 phases for a bargain: 400 Euros, would be >8000 Euros new.

Unfortunately I've got no 3 phases here.   

https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/agilent-dc-power-supply-n8758a-80v-65a-5200w/2783763849-168-11528

[Robert763]

A lot of this type of PSU will work OK on single phase at reduced output and maybe a bit more ripple. Delta Electronica actually give info on single phase use of their 3 phase suppllies. The DE ones will even run off DC. After all they just rectify and smooth the input.

Robert.

[duckduck]

Anyone in Germany looking to buy a boat load of anchors? https://www.ebay.de/itm/285901090089 (not my stuff).

https://www.ebay.de/itm/285901090089

McBryce.

With a literal "lifeboat transceiver". LOL. That was too good. 

[Addicted2AnalogTek]

It's been a while, but I've got space and a freshly built bench again.  After all this time in storage, it's taking a lot of work to get some gear to pass performance checks and I've not been holding back much on adding to the repair stockpile (after purchasing with fingers crossed that I've landed a fully functional unit...), so I'm picking away at repairs and procedures as I've got the time.

Today's project: Add trigger and signal taps to a kitmatic 7K plugin extender so I can complete just a little more of the 7854 calibration. It's been fully recapped (many bad throughout - several leaking on A12 control rectifier board), vertical amp board repaired, HV circuit repaired, VintageTEK ROM board installed...

[duckduck]

New acquisition:

Agilent E4406A VSA Series Transmitter Tester 7 MHz - 4.0 GHz

It can analyze RF signals in both the time and frequency domain.

Found this on Craigslist for 350 USD and the seller was hours away but agreed to meet me at an in-between place for some gas money. It looks like it has never been dropped on its face and seems to work OK so far (it runs a self test on boot that passes and has nothing in the error log). The screen is not super-bright, but is very legible and has no burn-in.

I'm pretty sure that there is a computer inside there, so I'm going to have to back up the hard drive and replace it with an SSD if that is possible. I assume that all of the rubber bits on the floppy drive are hardened into brownish rock and I don't have any disks anyhow (nothing was supplied by the seller). It looks like it only has a one option (for EDGE, which does me no good). In addition, it's still old TE, so I'll have to make sure there are no leaking caps, drooling batteries, or lurking RIFAs.

This one should be fun.

https://www.keysight.com/us/en/product/E4406A/vsa-transmitter-tester-7-mhz-to-4-ghz.html

EDIT: Anyone have a line on the utility disk image or some rack ears?

[factory]

There are a few E4406A posts from a few months back, EggertEnjoyer123 bought one last year.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/test-equipment-anonymous-(tea)-group-therapy-thread/msg5272164/?topicseen#msg5272164

Hopefully you have no PSU problems and if your lucky a slim FDD without the crappy belt drive, Agilent would point to post 1999, the newer FDDs usually are direct drive, might need some exercise if it's not seen a disk for years.

David

[Peter_O]

Here's a high power 5200 Watts 80V 65A Agilent PSU to be connected to 3 phases for a bargain: 400 Euros, would be >8000 Euros new.
Unfortunately I've got no 3 phases here.   
https://www.kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/agilent-dc-power-supply-n8758a-80v-65a-5200w/2783763849-168-11528

A lot of this type of PSU will work OK on single phase at reduced output and maybe a bit more ripple. Delta Electronica actually give info on single phase use of their 3 phase suppllies. The DE ones will even run off DC. After all they just rectify and smooth the input.

Just checked the manual of the Agilent. There seems to be no Agilent approved option to connect that one single phased.

And I should admit here in TEA: 
 A relatively limited 50V 30A one I do own already.   

[Robert763]

DuckDuck,
Not a bad price for the E4406A. It does have a PC in it and needs it. It's basically an I/Q analyser with RF down converter. Bggest issue is the span, only 10MHz (15 in service mode) so can't directly look at harmonics for example. I'm pretty sure there is software out there to make several spans and display them together which makes it a bit more useful.

[Kosmic]

DuckDuck,
Not a bad price for the E4406A. It does have a PC in it and needs it. It's basically an I/Q analyser with RF down converter. Bggest issue is the span, only 10MHz (15 in service mode) so can't directly look at harmonics for example. I'm pretty sure there is software out there to make several spans and display them together which makes it a bit more useful.

You can increase the span to 100Mhz (not real time) if you install one of the old cell option.



more info here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/_free_-vsa-options/

Got tired of reaching the back to connect something so I'm currently moving the input connectors to the front (got an unit with the back connectors unfortunatly).

[PA0PBZ]

@duckduck,

Have a look at the 89600 software, for me that's where the real fun started: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/agilent-e4406a-vector-signal-analyser/

[Hydron]

As requested by AVGresponding (who kindly supplied most of the buttons seen here on the 181), here's a picture of my latest Keithley acquisition (the 181) along with it's brothers and a few non-Keithley friends.
I clearly now need to add some symmetry to the stack; another brown-era half-width Keithley like a 263 or 617 would be nice, but sadly they don't often come at reasonable prices like the 181 did (under a hundred quid shipped and really only needed some contact cleaner to get running, albeit with a very beat-up case and only 3 of 11 buttons).
The full-width units come with much nicer cases, but really the only other useful addition available in that range (other than another 23x SMU) would be the 193 DMM, and it's hard to justify the cost/space just for another 6.5 digit DMM less capable than the 34401A/DMM6500 I already have. I may yet give in once I have a nice garden office/shed built though...

[TERRA Operative]

Soooo, I finally get my version of the Channel 3 3GHz input option finished and installed into my 53132A Frequency Counter, and go to calibrate the thing and find it is failing on Channel 1 Gain adjustment.
I got the scope out and found that the trigger input to the comparator on that channel is a little more wobbly than channel 2.
The voltage level drops down lower than Channel 2 during the cal process and then fails, so I think it is going out-of-bounds, causing the error.
So a bit of tracing leads me back to an AD706JRZ opamp. Unfortunately they are not available off the shelf in Japan, so it's time to work up another Digikey/Mouser order, and I just received my last order 2 days ago... Always the way you find another part you need just after making an order..... 

I'm also making headway on my reproduction 42030A kelvin resistance standards for my LCR meters, and have been chewing through mt unused TM500 modules to get a bunch ready to sell.

[AVGresponding]

The 705 also gave of itself to refresh my 195A, which had been sitting sans button caps and functional "UP" range switch for a couple of years:

[ftg]

Saved this Tektronix 1.8GHz spectrum analyzer from the landfil.
Already gone to a new home, to avoid adding a fourth partially working spectrum analyzer to my current collection and repair pile.

7613 Oscilloscope with 7L13 Spectrum Analyzer plug-in.

[Addicted2AnalogTek]

..... and have been chewing through mt unused TM500 modules to get a bunch ready to sell.

TERRA, if you don't mind, before they hit an auction site, I'd be interested in seeing what you've got up for sale. If you're posting them in Buy/Sell/Wanted here on the forum, I'd be grateful for a PM reminder or something of that nature.

[duckduck]

As requested by AVGresponding (who kindly supplied most of the buttons seen here on the 181), here's a picture of my latest Keithley acquisition (the 181) along with it's brothers and a few non-Keithley friends.
I clearly now need to add some symmetry to the stack; another brown-era half-width Keithley like a 263 or 617 would be nice, but sadly they don't often come at reasonable prices like the 181 did (under a hundred quid shipped and really only needed some contact cleaner to get running, albeit with a very beat-up case and only 3 of 11 buttons).
The full-width units come with much nicer cases, but really the only other useful addition available in that range (other than another 23x SMU) would be the 193 DMM, and it's hard to justify the cost/space just for another 6.5 digit DMM less capable than the 34401A/DMM6500 I already have. I may yet give in once I have a nice garden office/shed built though...

Really clean and nice. I like how you added sense lines to the DC load, and I love your "front-side connection station" for the Keithley 236 SMU. I may have to steal that idea. Can you show us your time and frequency stack?

[TERRA Operative]

..... and have been chewing through mt unused TM500 modules to get a bunch ready to sell.

TERRA, if you don't mind, before they hit an auction site, I'd be interested in seeing what you've got up for sale. If you're posting them in Buy/Sell/Wanted here on the forum, I'd be grateful for a PM reminder or something of that nature.

Will do, I'm currently amassing quite a pile of all sorts of stuff, including lots of TM500.

[Hydron]

Really clean and nice. I like how you added sense lines to the DC load, and I love your "front-side connection station" for the Keithley 236 SMU. I may have to steal that idea. Can you show us your time and frequency stack?

Thanks, and to be honest this is a bit of a temporary setup until I get a garden workshop/office built. As for the rest of the gear just got a RTB2004 scope, a JDSU LTE Analyser (does spec-an duty, not used a lot though), a couple more PSUs in storage and a whole pile of smaller misc stuff.

RE the 236 connection box - I'm actually working on some similar ones for the 228A and a 66309D PSU I have (plus maybe one to breakout the 10A jack and some scanner connections on the DMM6500). Will share all once I'm done - they use some boxes from aliexpress and PCBs for panels, but note that the 236 breakout requires some significant investment, as it needs 3 triax cables and 4 panel mount triax jacks (there's a triax on the front of the box as well - a bit hidden in that pic). No issues with leakage of the safety bananas btw, and much more convenient being able to use normal test leads for quick use when best leakage performance or a shielded test fixture isn't needed.

The 236 is also actually now a 237 btw - I built a clone of the resonant converter board for the +/- 1200V supply and upgraded the output and analogue boards. This is quite a process with a few gotchas, and I really need to get around to finishing my write-up of the job.
The 228A has some mods too - have dropped the (pretty excessive) bias current in the output stage (idle power now ~115W down from ~170W) and put a somewhat less noisy fan in (still loud though - needs a lot of cooling).

Edit: added some pics of the box. HI jacks are surrounded by Guard potential on the inside (probably unnecessary), and there is a switch to short LO to Earth (useful when doing measurements using the triax connection on the front, removes the need to deal with the link on the rear of the machine). The PCB panel for the rear of the box extends into the case grooves to located it centrally, so the single screw is enough to hold it on (screw is some awful imperial size though, took a while to find it in my box of odds and ends).

Biggest challenge with the 228A box is finding a good Local/Remote sense switch - I'd like a pushbutton like on this unit, but I can't find something similar that's dual pole (this only needs to be single pole, but there are two sense leads requiring dual pole), any suggestions are welcome!

[Martin.M]

3585A is now repaired :-)
the next boy on the table is a 8593A  ( psu failed)

[Peter_O]

3585A is now repaired :-)
the next boy on the table is a 8593A  ( psu failed)

Martin, what was the fault?