Products > Test Equipment
Keysight (lack of) calibration & other services
nctnico:
--- Quote from: 2N3055 on August 08, 2021, 08:01:52 am ---
--- Quote from: Uky on August 08, 2021, 07:50:18 am ---The lack of freely available support documentation (known as CLIP) with schematic drawings, parts lists, etc is in my opinion another reason to be careful when selecting an instrument supplier. The instruments used at my workplace has to be there for a long time. Thus, the strategy that I implemented was this:
If the instrument did not need to meet any stringent specifications that required a brand new state of the art device, I always purchased old second hand instruments where CLIP was available. Such instruments are quite inexpenceive. As long as they work, fine. If they fail, I was normally able to fix them. If not, the low cost meant that they could be discarded without any "financial pain". If there was a need for performance, the first rule stated in a previous post applied.
--- End quote ---
So you basically won't buy any electronic device ever again, unless it was made before, say, 1980es... ??
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;D In the end modern equipment isn't made from unicorn pixy dust but from parts you can buy (new or from discarded equipment). Even without a schematic any EE with some talent where it comes to repairs can fix a piece of equipment. There are people who are specialised in doing repairs on undocumented equipment commercially. If I'm not mistaken forum member Jwalling is such a person.
wraper:
--- Quote from: nctnico on August 08, 2021, 04:27:30 pm ---;D In the end modern equipment isn't made from unicorn pixy dust but from parts you can buy (new or from discarded equipment). Even without a schematic any EE with some talent where it comes to repairs can fix a piece of equipment. There are people who are specialised in doing repairs on undocumented equipment commercially. If I'm not mistaken forum member Jwalling is such a person.
--- End quote ---
If you cannot obtain the firmware needed for repair, you are screwed regardless of you skill.
HighVoltage:
Most equipment repairs are easy, even on new type of equipment and even on modern Keysight instruments.
What usually fails are power supplies and power rails.
If one has to look deeper, it usually leads to a good repair after hours of searching but if special firmware or unobtanium chips are required, a schematic would also not help.
What worries me with Keysight is also the approach of limited licensing.
That should not be the case after spending lots of money for an instrument.
bdunham7:
--- Quote from: nctnico on August 08, 2021, 04:27:30 pm ---In the end modern equipment isn't made from unicorn pixy dust but from parts you can buy (new or from discarded equipment). Even without a schematic any EE with some talent where it comes to repairs can fix a piece of equipment. There are people who are specialised in doing repairs on undocumented equipment commercially. If I'm not mistaken forum member Jwalling is such a person.
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I repair both older, 'documented' stuff and newer stuff, although I do it for pocket change and don't want to do it for regular commercial customers--the type that need it yesterday. Some things are unicorn pixie dust--and that applies to old as well as new--and I'm not sure I could say that one variety was easier than another to repair. When we are talking about repairing test equipment, it pays to remember that often the older stuff worth repairing was very expensive when new. Just because its market value has declined doesn't necessarily mean the difficulty and expense of repairing it has declined as well. Experience and spare parts supply management are pretty important, probably just as important as schematic-divining and reverse engineering skills.
nctnico:
--- Quote from: wraper on August 08, 2021, 04:40:28 pm ---
--- Quote from: nctnico on August 08, 2021, 04:27:30 pm ---;D In the end modern equipment isn't made from unicorn pixy dust but from parts you can buy (new or from discarded equipment). Even without a schematic any EE with some talent where it comes to repairs can fix a piece of equipment. There are people who are specialised in doing repairs on undocumented equipment commercially. If I'm not mistaken forum member Jwalling is such a person.
--- End quote ---
If you cannot obtain the firmware needed for repair, you are screwed regardless of you skill.
--- End quote ---
Not for someone who specialises in such repairs; these people have collections of firmware at their disposal which they gathered from previous repairs en FUBAR equipment procured from various sources.
And I also second what HighVoltage wrote: most of the repairs are power supply related.
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