Hi fellow hobbyist
This is my first post, I just recently discovered this site with its very useful info.
My name is Sam and I’m an electronic hobbyist who lives near Jerusalem Israel.
I recently bought an HP 8648C RF generator from a local scrap yard, I paid 100$ for it and I’m now trying to fix it.
It has a problem with its PS, I’ts not putting any DC on its outputs, other then the PS internally it looks clean and in decent condition.
I took the PS Out and hooked up resistor load to its output and try to power it in attempt to identify the problem, this was unsuccessful.
All the capacitors look OK (Using an ESR meter) and nothing seems burned.
Strangely I couldn’t find electrical schematic for this PS which is what makes locating the failure very difficult.
I did found some used original HP PS units on EBAY for 350$, for a 100$ purchased generator it seems a little ridiculous.
So I thought of maybe using a PS made by another vendor that has more or less the same voltage rating.
The original PS produces +5V, +15V, -15V and +38VDC, I have no idea what is the current drain on each of the voltages, I do know that most of the power is drawn by the 5VDC (the DC Cable uses multiple wires for the 5VDC).
I have a Meanwell PS that has all the voltages except the +38V.
It produces 11A on 5V, 2.5A on 15V and 0.5A on -15V.
My plan is to use an LM2587 Based circuit to generate ~1A 38VDC form the 5VDC.
Do you guys see a problem with going at this route?, do you have recommendation?.
Any other ideas are welcome..
BTW I plan of use this generator for general electronic repair.
Thank you
Shmulik