EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => Repair => Topic started by: labjr on December 26, 2023, 08:46:28 pm
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I saw a very clean Metcal MX-500P-11 Station on Ebay, so I bought it for a back-up. Seller listed as tested all key functions. Came in. Physical condition looks almost brand new but the iron doesn't heat. The orange LED lights. The green LED lights for a spit second then goes out.
I took the back cover off and can see the LM2576HVT-ADJ regulator is blasted to pieces and the 2200uf 63V caps seems to be slightly bulging on the top. The MOSFETs and ZTX parts seem to be okay. Anyone know if a bad filter cap would take out the LM2576 regulator? Or maybe has other issues too?
Otherwise I may have to contact the seller to send it back. I'm kind of disappointed because the condition is like new.
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"tested all key functions" is a phrase to watch out for. It's the exact wording the R2 certification uses, which means it came from an e-waste company. Under R2, they're only allowed to sell working electronics to the general public. When they use that wording, it usually means they didn't test it at all, but want to cover themselves.
I would return it unless it was really cheap.
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I paid $80 plus $20 shipping.
I measured about 46V DC with about 6 volts of AC ripple at the filter cap. I thought it may be worth fixing. But not sure. I've repaired a couple of these in the past but haven't seen one with a blown regulator IC. Not sure what caused the failure or if it's fairly common occurence with these units .