Products > Test Equipment
Anritsu MS2721B internal CF card missing
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analogRF:
I've got a MS2721B which doesn't boot and the internal CF card has been taken out before they got rid of the instrument.
There are minor damages inside all fixable but I need to restore the OS before attempting anything.

Does anyone know how I can make the firmware CF card for this unit? I could not find a disk image

I downloaded the firmware and unzipped it on a USB flash ready for "firmware upgrade"
The whole file system of the OS seems to be already in there. Is it possible to just copy the firmware file structure
to a CF card and put it in? How should I format the CF card?

I asked Anritsu tech support and as usual they are of no help, saying (1) go read the maintenance manual! (2) The whole CPU board of the unit must be replaced so send it to us!

any help is appreciated.
Stray Electron:
  is there any chance of getting the seller to send you the CF card if you offer him a ridiculous price for it?  I have two Anristsu SAs (older models) and I like them but there is ZERO support for them. 
DaJMasta:
Have your tried just updating the OS with a blank CF card installed?  The updater on later models, at least, will load before the instrument fully boots if the USB stick is in at power on.  There's also an alternate firmware loading mode (not sure if it normally resides on the flash, though) that's accessible from startup with a button sequence, though again I don't know whether this applies to B models.


In any case, it could be worth contacting Anritsu support.  They've been helpful to me a couple of times (replacing a tilting bail and downgrading a firmware update that caused issues), so while they may just say "send it in for service" they also may be able to help you out.
analogRF:

--- Quote from: DaJMasta on July 31, 2019, 11:59:47 pm ---Have your tried just updating the OS with a blank CF card installed?  The updater on later models, at least, will load before the instrument fully boots if the USB stick is in at power on.  There's also an alternate firmware loading mode (not sure if it normally resides on the flash, though) that's accessible from startup with a button sequence, though again I don't know whether this applies to B models.


In any case, it could be worth contacting Anritsu support.  They've been helpful to me a couple of times (replacing a tilting bail and downgrading a firmware update that caused issues), so while they may just say "send it in for service" they also may be able to help you out.

--- End quote ---

as I already mentioned, I have contacted anritsu. they have never been of any kind of help to me in several cases including this one.
They simply said the whole board must be replaced :palm:

anyways, the instrument seems to be a decommissioned unit from a government agency and the seller I got it from had bought a bunch of these in a government auction and they all had their CF card removed. It even has a sticker showing when and by whom was the CF card removed  :o

yes, there is an emergency repair procedure in the manual when you need to hold softkeys #1,3,5 and power it on with a firmware USB in the unit.
but it didn't work with a blank CF card. Well I had it formatted (FAT32) maybe I shouldn;t have or it is just for recovering a corrupt OS not a fresh install...

Shahriar has a video on of these and the CF card in his unit was also cut out and he simply says he downloaded the firmware and made a CF card for the unit and he puts back in and it works. I have asked him how exactly he did it but he has never answered any of my questions in the past.

I think I am gonna just dump the unpacked firmware on the CF card and see how it goes. In the mean time I have damaged the CF card (another long story) so I need to buy another one first. The file structure of the unpacked firmware on USB stick seems like an image of a working OS...

Thedon:
I own a MS22723B which I purchased a couple of years ago and was going to do a tear down and review but forgot to. I ended up taking it apart to replace the screen protector as the original was scratched and yellow I have attached photos. Maybe somebody can compare lower spec models with mine to see if there are any hardware differences. AnalogRF I don't understand why Anritsu informed you that the main PCB needs changing as the service manual lists the 512MB internal flash card as a replaceable part (3-2000-1567). If it helps I'm willing to take apart my unit again and have a look what's on my flash card maybe there are files on there with model and serial numbers which are scanned during boot up I don't know I always thought the card was for storing calibration data any way let me know if I can help.
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