Lecroy SDA6K/WaveMaster8K information

[darkstar49]

Got a dead SDA6K here, any idea/advice/info about disassembly/repair would be welcome !!

Prior to shipment, it booted correctly, now no more... main fan goes on, screen flickers, but that's it... so clearly the PC part (at least...), 'will open it tonight or tomorrow (was wondering whether the handle must be removed first ??).

[lukier]

Nice score!

At some point I want to get SDA6kA to accompany my WaveRunner 6100A for higher bandwidths.

Isn't the chassis the same as in WavePro 7k/WaveMaster 8k/DDA5005 etc? Found some info on the latter here:

https://www.amplifier.cd/Test_Equipment/LeCroy/DDA5005A_XXL/DDA5005A_XXL.html

Teardown photos please

[Mechatrommer]

no need to remove handle... open front bezel by unscrewing 3 screws at the bottom of the bezel... once opened, you'll see another 6 screws holding the casing, 2 on top 2 on each side, unscrew those. and then unscrew the 4 legs at the back by removing rubber pads (big screws inside them) and then you can lift the casing open along with the handle still connected. if you post picture on what type of screen flickering it will be much clearer, do you see bios starting up? i think there are some teardown pictures in this forum.. edit: i thought i saw your username in lecroy dso discussions, checking back, you are a WR6K owner i'm surprised you still have'nt figured it out i dont think WR6K is much difference from WM series? btw how much you paid for it?

[darkstar49]

1.5K USD...  it booted fine before shipping (video with current date provided...)

But doesn't boot at all since it arrived... so PC part (at least) has some issue (LCD is OK as is flickers upon power on, main fan is OK as well, but nothing at all happens on the front panel...), I got the agreement from the vendor to open it, but want to do it the right way... as return is still an option...

Thanks for the info !!

[lukier]

i thought i saw your username in lecroy dso discussions, checking back, you are a WR6K owner i'm surprised you still have'nt figured it out i dont think WR6K is much difference from WM series?

WR6K has completely different chassis from WavePro/WaveMaster/SDA/DDA series. Similar style, oscilloscope board on the bottom, PC shelf in the middle, but the assembly/mounting details are different.

Edit: darkstar49 - once you open it, the first thing to do is to remove the HDD and image it and make many copies, in case it already failing. You really want these calibration files Then you might try testing just the PC part (remove mobo, don't connect LeCroy card, power with external ATX PSU)

[darkstar49]

Yes, indeed, got two WR6Ks (although somewhere in the cellar...), but as far as I remember (it's quite a while ago...), removing some screws on the side and back was sufficient... but I might have forgotten, these last times, I had many scope from the Xs-family ((M)Xs-A/B, (M)Xi-(A), WS10 & Co...), which are completely different.

Furthermore, I'm rather a software guy... 

[darkstar49]

i thought i saw your username in lecroy dso discussions, checking back, you are a WR6K owner i'm surprised you still have'nt figured it out i dont think WR6K is much difference from WM series?

WR6K has completely different chassis from WavePro/WaveMaster/SDA/DDA series. Similar style, oscilloscope board on the bottom, PC shelf in the middle, but the assembly/mounting details are different.

Edit: darkstar49 - once you open it, the first thing to do is to remove the HDD and image it and make many copies, in case it already failing. You really want these calibration files Then you might try testing just the PC part (remove mobo, don't connect LeCroy card, power with external ATX PSU)

The PC part was meant to be upgraded anyway... just need to check what interface the LCD uses (most probably TTL), but I'll upgrade with a mobo with LVDS connector, LCD change required as well (the SDVO card is just a pain !)...  but first see if it's possible to bring the beast to life again.
I've had many many Lecroy scopes in my hands, don't worry for the disk... I know what it means to loose the data partition...  ;-

[Mechatrommer]

1.5K USD...

thats a steal. half the price when i got mine. was it from ebay? mine has no problem, working fine. but when i got the time to check the 10GHz reference clock, it was not locked, but surprisingly working as normal. so i retuned the clock as outlined by some member here in another thread, now its locked and should work better compared to before. so i guess while you are at the repair stage, you may want to check your clock as well. thats the bottom part of the casing you'll need to uncover. ymmv.

[darkstar49]

1.5K USD...

thats a steal.

Well... a steal if it works... my initial thought was that 1.5K for a correctly booting SD6KA was OK (i.e. starting without any warning/error message until the scope app was running), but 1.5K for a dead SDA is not that much of a bargain...   

[Mechatrommer]

i thought it should be not too hard to fix, with exception if there is hardware damage to either psu or acquisition board. if pc side of hardware is at fault, that should be easily replaceable at not too expensive cost, and there is hope that the scope will restore its original factory calibration from eeprom once booted into a new system as mentioned by the other member in related threads, even if it otherwise, its a capable 6GHz scope. looking at the price of new scope even 1GHz limit version made me feel blessed. looking forward for your repair journey and pictures and wish you success, we will be around

[darkstar49]

Here you got it... unplugged/cleaned/replugged everything I could and... tadaaaam...  it works... but... channel 4 seems pretty ill... jumps to 1V/div and 4V offset on autosetup. Don't have the time to setup the generator right now (just have it on my office's desk, not in the lab), and have 1Ghz max anyway..., but that doesn't smell too good... 

One could argue that 1.5K for an SDA6000A with 3 channels working is still OK...