Keithley 196 Repair Project on eBay

[don.r]

If you want what should be an easy repair project, here is one on eBay for those living in the US.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Keithley-196-System-DMM-Digital-Multimeter-REPAIR-/271391752732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f3035821c&_uhb=1

If you search for Keithley 196 in the testgear section you should be able to find the service manual.

I am not related to the seller in anyway, just a very happy 196 owner.

[idpromnut]

My co-worker sorta eyeballed my 196 when it came in and I saw that little glint of longing in his eyes.  I showed him this listing as well, only PITA is the shipping cost. However, the debugging/repair would be easier as he can compare it to my unit.

[don.r]

My co-worker sorta eyeballed my 196 when it came in and I saw that little glint of longing in his eyes.  I showed him this listing as well, only PITA is the shipping cost. However, the debugging/repair would be easier as he can compare it to my unit.

LOL! Yeah. US$75 shipping to me. That's only slightly less than I paid for my 196 last summer... and it came fully functional and within cal. I have noticed that shipping rates from the US to canada have climbed quite a bit recently which is a shame if you shop for older gear.

[idpromnut]

Yup, about the same to here as well. Oh well. Maybe he'll go for it, but not if the bidding gets too high.

[codeboy2k]

This thread is full of Canada 

I would also love to get a 196 here (Vancouver)  I saw that same listing before OP posted about it but I immediately looked at the shipping costs and said to myself "I'm in no hurry, I'll wait until I can find it at surplus somewhere" ...

Still want it though ...

[idpromnut]

I didn't pay much cheaper for the shipping on my 196 (and it was well packaged, with tracking, etc etc), I think it was ~50$.  I'm in Montreal, so opposite side of the country 

[uoficowboy]

Anybody here ever repair one? What tends to break on them? How serviceable are they? Looks like busted one go up on Ebay pretty frequently.

[codeboy2k]

Anybody here ever repair one? What tends to break on them? How serviceable are they? Looks like busted one go up on Ebay pretty frequently.

They are extremely serviceable.  There is nothing unobtanium about them, and the service manuals have full schematics and documentation about how they work and what to expect at each stage of the 4-step conversion  cycle. Actually the 199 service manual has more information on this than the 197 manual, but the dual-slope with residual method of their ADC is well documented, and using those two manuals you can easily fix a 197 or 199 obtained from eBay.  Often you see only some input protection circuit has been fried or a regulator or Voltage Ref is out.  Everything else tends to stay rock solid.

For a repair unit, I want to keep the price below $100 total shipped(my max is $110-$115 here), so if the shipping price is $75 then the buyer has to accept $25 - $35 max for the broken unit, which is unlikely.  Some working units go on eBay for $350 - $450 which is absurd.  I can, on a good day,  get a used 34401A for just a $100 more than that, so no way am I going to buy a used but working Keithley 197 for $350-$450.

Other good deals you see are lots of Fluke 8840A for $100-$200; these are 5-1/2 digits and I do not know about their servicability.

I have daily searches set up for my price points

[idpromnut]

Yeah, my 196 wasn't broken; it was in very good condition, so I ended up paying a bit of a premium for it (300$ shipped) but I'm not complaining 

[codeboy2k]

I'm cash tight right now, so I need to get more mileage from my fruity colored and maple syrup smelling Canadian dollars

I'd much rather have a working unit, then risk getting something that can't be repaired (but the risk is low)..If I had the funds available I would likely pay a little more for a more modern DMM.  I think my upper limit for a still working good condition 197 would be about $225-250.  That's about $100 premium over my max for a broken unit

One could argue if it takes 8-10 hours over the course of a few days to fix it, then that's lost money, but it's never lost when it's your spare time ... so I don't buy into those bogus economics. 

[don.r]

She went for US$103. Hopefully to a local boy/girl.