Rohde & Schwarz SMU200A Vector Signal Generator repair log

[Qw3rtzuiop]

Today i recieved a broken SMU200A. It is the 3 GHz single channel version.

The description was "firmware problems".

After powering up Windows is throwing different errors at the boot process.
I did a BIOS reset but that didn't worked. I decided to replace the dead CMOS battery. After another BIOS reset and a properly adjusted date & time its booting up properly.

The signal generator application threw some errors that disappeared after a self-adjustment.

Unfortunately the keys and the rotary encoder aren't working at all. Just the power button and the LEDs are working.
The instrument can be operated with a USB mouse. External keyboards don't work either.
It seems to be a windows problem. Anybody has experience with these kind of problems?

Things done:

• cmos battery
• dust cleaning
• hdd copy
• self-adjustment

To do:

• bring the keyboard back to work
• more dust cleaning
• fan replacement
• hdd->CF-Card replacement?
• CCFL->LED replacement?

[Qw3rtzuiop]

It works!

I booted the device into the recovery and did a full system rollback.
After that I installed service pack 3, this system update (https://scdn.rohde-schwarz.com/ur/pws/dl_downloads/dl_firmware/zip_1/SystemUpdate4SignalGenerators.zip)
and then the latest firmware (https://scdn.rohde-schwarz.com/ur/pws/dl_downloads/dl_firmware/exe_1/SMU200A_32028621.exe).

I didn't expect this repair to be that easy especially for the price i paid for this item.

The next thing is a fan replacement. The ones that are built in are very noisy.

[Qw3rtzuiop]

Today i replaced the hdd with an ssd.

I used one of these adapters:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/44-Pin-M-2-NGFF-SATA-SSD-to-2-5-IDE-SATA-SSD-Converter-SATA-Adapter/32798017224.html?

In total it is cheaper than buying an IDE ssd.

I also did a boot time comparison.
hdd: 2:56
ssd: 1:58

The slowest part is the initializing of the firmware. That isn't any faster with that ssd.

[SilverSolder]

Nice project!  -  What does a vector signal generator actually do?  -  I can understand a vector signal analyzer, but a generator sounds interesting.

[Mechatrommer]

have you made backup or image copy of the original installation? thats the first thing you should do... congratulation on your success.

[Qw3rtzuiop]

A vector signal generator is able to transmit complex signals. You can manipulate the magnitude and the phase angle.

This unit even has two baseband generators. But im not sure why i need two of them

@Mechatrommer
The hdd backup was the first thing i did.