Author Topic: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter  (Read 127110 times)

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Offline John Heath

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #100 on: December 29, 2017, 12:52:54 am »
Isn’t that an LCD in the 34460A?? Should last nearly forever.

Displays in test equipment are my pet peeve...  there is a lot of very nice older test equipment out there that is unusable because of display failures.  OLED displays are at the top of my peeve list.  Life wise they are still not ready for prime time.

LCDs do fail.  Newer models are quite a better than earlier ones that had problems with defective seals, spacers, and polarizers.   As an example older Fluke DMMs are notorious for bad displays.

VFDs are well known to wear out due to cathode and phosphor aging.  They are almost always custom models that are rather impossible to source if you need a replacement.  Gas discharge displays (like Burroughs Panaplex displays are similarly affected.

If you want a long lived or serviceable display in your test equipment look for displays that used standard 7-segment LEDs... followed by monochrome LCDs (but check the interwebz to make sure the model does not have some well known LCD problems).  Oddly, nixie tube displays seem to hold up quite well and replacement tubes can still be found.

CRT based displays can often times be retro-fitted with LCD video displays.  You will probably need to do some mechanical work and tweak the display and sync signals.

I see a resistance to an inevitable trend in test equipment. Why fiddle with a LED 7 segment display when you can have the best display money can buy , a computer monitor. Why solder wires from A to B when  you can knit these connection together with software ? An example of these advantages.  This is coming from an old fart with a clear memory tubes a analog steam gauges :bullshit:. My best frequency counter of the 5 that are on my bench is the Keuwlsoft model A. This frequency counter has a  build in oscilloscope for the sheer luxury to eyeball your input with variable gain , variable hysteresis for noise  , variable DC offset. It gets better. A .1 to 100 second averaging for lower frequencies down to the uHz range. This is 11 digits in a row for  10,000.000,000 Hz. There is one draw back. If you lose this frequency counter it is a little hard to find. The reason is it is not tangible in the sense of being able to touch it. Trying to find something that is not tangible is an uphill battle. The good news is the Keuwlsoft model A frequency counter is free so you download another one. A second advantage that I like is it is self cleaning. You can not leave dirty finger prints on virtual test equipment as there is nothing real to leave a finger print on.
 
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #101 on: December 29, 2017, 09:43:51 am »
I mean, as much as the color TFT enables things like graphing, there's just something special about a really nice VFD.

(For a lab power supply mod I'm working on, I've been thinking of using 1.9mm pitch LED matrix displays to achieve a kind of similar effect.)
Although I can't say precisely why, I'm absolutely 100% fond of VFD displays over OLED, TFT, and othewise.

I guess I'm an old git these days (just shy of 47  >:D).  :o  :-DD
I’m on my last month of being 37 and I agree!
FWIW, getting old totally SUCKS!  :o (I hit 47 in under 2 months).   |O

Guess it's about time for some TEA therapy. :-DD
 
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Offline Mr. Scram

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #102 on: December 29, 2017, 09:50:44 am »
FWIW, getting old totally SUCKS!  :o (I hit 47 in under 2 months).   |O

Guess it's about time for some TEA therapy. :-DD
Guess what, not getting old sucks even more!
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #103 on: December 29, 2017, 11:19:04 am »
FWIW, getting old totally SUCKS!  :o (I hit 47 in under 2 months).   |O

Guess it's about time for some TEA therapy. :-DD
Guess what, not getting old sucks even more!
Blasphemy, that is.  :-DD
 

Offline Assafl

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #104 on: December 29, 2017, 12:06:33 pm »
Are you old people replacing your electrolytics?

 

Offline rsjsouza

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #105 on: December 29, 2017, 01:20:38 pm »
Are you old people replacing your electrolytics?
Yes!

(Sorry, I couldn't resist)
« Last Edit: December 29, 2017, 01:23:30 pm by rsjsouza »
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Oh, the "whys" of the datasheets... The information is there not to be an axiomatic truth, but instead each speck of data must be slowly inhaled while carefully performing a deep search inside oneself to find the true metaphysical sense...
 
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Offline nanofrog

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #106 on: December 29, 2017, 04:18:23 pm »
I prefer cans myself.  >:D



 

Offline John Heath

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #107 on: December 30, 2017, 09:01:26 pm »
She can clean my soldering iron. 8)
 

Offline colorcoded

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #108 on: April 01, 2018, 11:14:44 pm »
@mcookieman how did it go with that display from taobao?
 

Offline project

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #109 on: April 04, 2018, 03:09:12 am »
My U1253A screen getting very dim suddenly just like everyone else. I order some of these screens from china--taobao. Turn out very good. its screen only PN 19701, SSD1303T10 . no daughter board, direct fit. I have some for sale now. 65CAD shipped in canada or 65usd shipped to USA. anyone interested PM.   
« Last Edit: April 04, 2018, 03:12:06 am by project »
 
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Offline mcookieman

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #110 on: April 14, 2018, 12:40:08 pm »
Sorry for the lack of updates. I messed up the soldering on the displays I got from taobao so I wasn't able to get it working. I started a new job around the same time which has been really busy up til now; so I never got around to trying again.

Its good to hear that the the previous replier has tried and confirmed that they are a good replacement. When I get a bit more motivated I'll give it another go and post an update. (Turns out the people who told me making your hobby a career can be dangerous had a point :)
 

Offline marcopolo

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #111 on: September 10, 2018, 02:52:11 pm »
Hi,

Like many of us, the OLED display of my u1253a has lost its brightness. I bought it new and hardly used it but it's almost dead.
The display is no longer available from Germany. Does anyone know another source?

The other solution is to develop a FPGA-based adapter for a TFT display. Has anyone tried?

Marc
« Last Edit: September 10, 2018, 02:54:31 pm by marcopolo »
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Offline nanofrog

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #112 on: September 10, 2018, 06:02:14 pm »
Hi,

Like many of us, the OLED display of my u1253a has lost its brightness. I bought it new and hardly used it but it's almost dead.
The display is no longer available from Germany. Does anyone know another source?

The other solution is to develop a FPGA-based adapter for a TFT display. Has anyone tried?

Marc
What you're after is the ssd1309, which is currently available on Taobao (98.00 CNY, Chinese Yuan, is ~ 14.30 USD according to XE.com).  :)
 
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Offline marcopolo

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #113 on: September 10, 2018, 07:15:21 pm »
PROGRESS!
I've got the SSD1309 display working! it is mirrored unfortunately though.
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Offline bitseeker

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #114 on: September 10, 2018, 11:03:59 pm »
Try to send a PM to project. He had extras of the SSD1303T10, which worked properly. See below:

My U1253A screen getting very dim suddenly just like everyone else. I order some of these screens from china--taobao. Turn out very good. its screen only PN 19701, SSD1303T10 . no daughter board, direct fit. I have some for sale now. 65CAD shipped in canada or 65usd shipped to USA. anyone interested PM.
TEA is the way. | TEA Time channel
 

Offline nanofrog

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #115 on: September 10, 2018, 11:05:04 pm »
I guess I should have qualified my response. You can try and make the ssd1309 work (read the firmware, edit to fix the mirroring, and rewrite), or ssd1305 work instead (the columns are reversed on this one, so bodge wire time). No idea of your skills or equipment, so cannot make a recommendation either way.  :-//

The original P/N Escort used the ssd1303 (Agilent acquired them in 2008, and the design is older than that), but as they've not been available for some time, one can only conclude they've been EOL'd by the manufacturer.  :( You could get lucky and find an NOS unit, but this won't be commonplace (what the German supplier had I suspect).
 

Offline Micke

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #116 on: September 11, 2018, 07:17:57 am »
I bought replacement display from Slovakia.
https://www.soselectronic.com/products/bolymin/bl-12864g-ernhn-1-52156   30.3 Euro
It works fine, but it required 3 displays in total, I accidentally destroyed the 2 first displays when trying to desolder those very fragile zebra strips... practice makes perfect!  :o
But now the multimeter is like new with the OLED display from SOS Electronics!
 

Offline marcopolo

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #117 on: September 12, 2018, 05:19:06 pm »
Thanks to all for informations.

I see 3 solutions:
- Original SSD1303 OLED display (30 to 100€ + VAT + shipping)
- SSD1305/1309 OLED with a FPGA adapter to correct pixel's order (35-40€ + shipping)
- TFT 2.4" 320x240 with FPGA converter (15-20€)

I used this multimeter for a maximum of 200h (I bought it new) and the display is dead.
My conclusion is: Using or not an OLED display, after a while it doesn't work.
Buying a NOS display is a solution but for how long?
If the display has been stored 7 or 8 years, it will work maybe 1 or 2 year. If I'm lucky, 5 years.

I think I'm going to a solution based on low-cost chinese TFT + FPGA converter.

Thanks,
Marc
« Last Edit: September 12, 2018, 05:23:19 pm by marcopolo »
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Offline bitseeker

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #118 on: September 12, 2018, 05:47:11 pm »
Marc, that sounds great. I hope you share your progress on that conversion. I have a U1252B with segmented LED display. A TFT dot matrix display would be cool to see.
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Offline marcopolo

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #119 on: September 13, 2018, 07:54:00 am »
Of course, I'll share my progress  :)
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Offline marcopolo

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #120 on: September 13, 2018, 04:52:05 pm »
PROGRESS!
I've got the SSD1309 display working! it is mirrored unfortunately though.

May be you can correct this problem  ;D

The MCU send a A0 command (COL0=SEG0) at startup of the u1253.
If you count the WR pulses, when you see the ninth you force the line D0 to 1 (COL131=SEG0) to transform the command A0 to A1.
But if the MCU send an A0 command later, you're dead!

Or you can use a comparator (more wires)
If D/C=0 and data=A0 and WR=0, you force D0 to 1 before the rising edge of WR

It's just an idea, not sure it'll work.
Marc
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Offline coromonadalix

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #122 on: October 04, 2018, 03:59:17 am »
well seems to do, in the ebay description and the suggested links ?
 

Offline Latet

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #123 on: October 13, 2018, 08:20:51 pm »
I just bought a U1253B with dead display for $25 USD, and I will get one display from here: https://detail.1688.com/offer/575133973531.html?spm=a261y.7663282.1998411376.2.45666b20QMBhdS&scm=1007.19151.114112.0

If anyone is interested. I'm expecting to spend $50USD in total, for a big win.  :D
 
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Offline Terry01

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Re: Replacing OLED screen on an Agilent U1253A Multimeter
« Reply #124 on: October 13, 2018, 08:46:13 pm »
I just bought a U1253B with dead display for $25 USD, and I will get one display from here: https://detail.1688.com/offer/575133973531.html?spm=a261y.7663282.1998411376.2.45666b20QMBhdS&scm=1007.19151.114112.0

If anyone is interested. I'm expecting to spend $50USD in total, for a big win.  :D

Nice score!  :-+
Sparks and Smoke means i'm nearly there!
 


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