Author Topic: List your test equipment "scores" here!  (Read 777121 times)

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Offline new299

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #200 on: April 23, 2015, 10:58:37 pm »
TDS5052, 2 channel 500Mhz 5GSa/s scope. ~150USD. Faulty needed a new display repair: http://41j.com/blog/2014/08/tektronix-tds5052-repair/

TDS7054, 4 channel 500Mhz 5GSa/s scope. ~150USD. Faulty NVRAM repair: http://41j.com/blog/2014/08/tektronix-tds7054-repair/

Lecroy Waverunner 6050, 4 channel 500Mhz Quad 5GSa/s scope. ~400USD. One faulty channel. The BNC connection was bad, 5min fix.

HP 34401A 6.5 digit multimeter, ~50USD AC measurements fault. Bad regulator repair: http://41j.com/blog/2014/08/hp-34401a-repair/

Ahhh how I miss the junk bins of Akihabara.
 

Offline eas

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #201 on: April 30, 2015, 08:28:10 pm »
Not exactly a huge score, but after some uncertainty, I'm pleased with the Keithley 2000 I got on ebay for ~$250.

First impressions was that it was packed quite well. The VFD was bright, and the voltage readings off my Chinese AD584KH based voltage reference were quite close to the numbers on the references "calibration certificate." It was also a sickly beige  :-\

At first I thought it was from aging of the plastics, but when I opened it up, I was met with the smell of stale tobacco smoke. Fortunately, it hadn't accumulated enough to leave a visible film as it had on the outside. I also noticed that at some point the motherboard had been removed and then reassembled by a meathead. Cables to the front panel and power supply didn't take advantage of a clip intended for them on the side of the chassis. More concerning, the main PCB was flexed because they'd forced the front right corner in over the guide/support tabs on the chassis. In the process, they managed to scrape the solder mask off a grounding trace.

Once I'd reassembled the device properly, I ran the self-tests and was disappointed to see the failures cascading off the very first test, 100.1, which checks to see if the A/D converter's 0v reading is in range of the design specs. The repair manual wasn't very helpful (it doesn't identify the signals on the various test points, and doesn't even bother explaining how to get the device to display the measured value for each test (When you run the tests manually, in step mode, pausing after each test, you can hold down the shift key to see the measured value). I finally got fed up, found the reverse engineered schematic online, and started orienting myself to the signals on the A/D converter IC by probing each lead with my scope. As I shifting the device on my desk to get a better view of the leads on the side of chip closest to the right side of the chassis I noticed a bit of white. At first I thought it was silkscreen priting, but it seemed misoriented and out of place. I looked closer and it seemed to be a small fiber of some sort. I flicked it away with my gloved hand and then blew the area clear with some canned air.

All the tests passed!  I'd like to blame the contamination on the meathead who did such a bad job reassembling the thing but there is a good chance that it was a stray piece of pet fluff from our dog. (Once again, I've managed to fix a piece of equipment simply by taking it apart, looking at it, and putting it back together).

From the date codes on some of the components and the date on the one and only calibration, it appears that my multimeter was manufactured in the latter half of 1995. Probably a good idea to replace the electrolytic caps at this point? I'm also going to try and clean up the outside more. Any tips on dealing with the tobacco stains on the rubber/silicone buttons?
 

Offline ManateeMafia

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #202 on: April 30, 2015, 09:19:20 pm »
@eas

I have already recapped three Keithley meters and I would say you should change the caps. TiN has some good pics of the hidden damage that can happen with no external signs of damage. I have two of three with some damage to the pcb and traces. The third was showing some leakage with no damage. I have a fourth that is waiting for me to finish the epoxy repairs. I have also been replacing the Schurter input power modules. It is easy once the board is out for cap replacement. There have been no reported issues yet, but there have been failures with the Schaffner modules of similar age.

I clean all keypads with ipa once I have the front panel removed. I also clean the pcb contacts. You never know what has been spilled into the front until it is taken apart. It is also a good time to clean the VFD display and the back of the lens. Simple Green is good for any stains that are hard to remove.
 

Offline eas

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #203 on: April 30, 2015, 10:04:35 pm »
@eas

I have already recapped three Keithley meters and I would say you should change the caps. TiN has some good pics of the hidden damage that can happen with no external signs of damage. I have two of three with some damage to the pcb and traces. The third was showing some leakage with no damage. I have a fourth that is waiting for me to finish the epoxy repairs. I have also been replacing the Schurter input power modules. It is easy once the board is out for cap replacement. There have been no reported issues yet, but there have been failures with the Schaffner modules of similar age.

I clean all keypads with ipa once I have the front panel removed. I also clean the pcb contacts. You never know what has been spilled into the front until it is taken apart. It is also a good time to clean the VFD display and the back of the lens. Simple Green is good for any stains that are hard to remove.

Thanks. I'll probably re-cap and replace the input power modules after I get through recapping my Power Designs power supplies.

I've cleaned the front panel inside and out with IPA. I've tried cleaning the buttons by soaking in both IPA and dish soap and water. Unfortunately, the tobacco stains seem impregnated the rubber keys. I'll probably try giving them a longer soak when I have it apart for recapping. In the meantime, I'll keep my eye out for anyone selling front panel parts for the right price.

I'm really glad this thing didn't have any ventilation holes, or I'm sure the inside would be coated with a thick layer of tobacco varnish
 

Offline mzzj

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #204 on: April 30, 2015, 10:22:10 pm »
Latest "score"
2pcs of rohde & schwarz crtu-ru cellphone testers approx 100usd/piece.
Now whatta hell to do with cellphone tester?
Well it comes with 2.7Ghz spectrum analyzer and 0.1-2700Mhz RF-gen.
 

Offline Muxr

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #205 on: May 01, 2015, 01:49:25 am »
Been debating getting a Brymen BM869 as I really wanted a higher quality DMM in my toolbox. Been mainly using my UNI T 61 for low voltage electronics and besides a few annoyances it's actually been pretty good.

I've been also looking at a Fluke 87-V but at $360 I feel like it's a bit too pricey. So I just randomly stumbled on Ebay and found someone selling 5 87-V brand new for $275. I had to have it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/191569718741?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

So I guess that's my score a $275 brand new 87-V Fluke for the price of a (Fluke 179).
« Last Edit: May 01, 2015, 01:53:03 am by Muxr »
 

Offline PaulAm

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #206 on: May 01, 2015, 09:06:37 pm »
I picked up a "used" HP3450b a while back for $50.  This is still fairly impressive (0.003% + 0.001% of range for 1v - 1KV 24hr spec) and the nixies are just kind of cool.  However, somebody had pulled the display board, so I got a $25 credit and put it aside.

The other day, I saw an ebay ad for "8 nixies on an hp board for retro clock".  Hey, that's a 3450 display board!  So I sniped it for $30 and got it the other day.  Plugged it in and it came to life ;D  Shorted the input and it settled down to a couple of microvolts after a few minutes.  Still need to run it against my Fluke 332b and compare with the 3456a, but it looks like the basic functionality is there.
 

Offline Johndi

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #207 on: May 03, 2015, 06:59:15 am »
Some stuff I picked up this weekend for $100:

Fluke 8600A:  Seller stated that following doesn't work: No AC functions/ranges, all DC voltage/resistance functions/ranges, and the 200mA and 2000mA DC voltage options. 

Going to find a manual, borrow my buddy's better DMM, and then get to work on it. 

HP 3311A Function Generator:  Said the waveforms are distorted.  I downloaded a copy of the manual from Agilent but its a piss poor scan :\  Looks like I'll be getting one from Artekmedia.

Tektronix 2225: Was told it has a vertical amp failure.  Downloaded a scan of the manual so will print it out.  I goofed around with it today and channel one can display various waveforms from the function generator I purchased, although channel two has something wrong with it, it displays but adjusting the volt/div doesn't provide usable results on screen.  Hopefully repairing it won't be too large of an undertaking, and then I'll have a older Tek scope, and I've always wanted one.
 

Offline picitup

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #208 on: May 04, 2015, 04:46:36 pm »
Not really test equipment, but I was looking for a sheet of toughened glass to top my bench and guard against scratches.  I was going to buy one, and went to the dentist in town and noticed their neighbour they had a dirty rusty TV stand in their front garden.  It was the type which has 3 glass shelves so.....  I knocked the door and asked for it.  They were well pleased to get rid of it.  A little washing up liquid and the glass came up pristine.  So now I have 3 sheets.  And the cost?  Nuppence.

My wife says I should have been a tat man.

Keep Smilin'

Steve
If you know what you're doing, then you're not learning anything.
 

Offline rastro

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #209 on: May 04, 2015, 11:28:26 pm »
Keithley 197 $33.00 delivered; sold for parts - will not power up.

After verifying problem I opened the unit and saw it had the battery pack option. 
Removed the option and everything worked great.  Fixed in under 5 minutes.

 

Offline Johndi

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #210 on: May 09, 2015, 05:21:38 pm »
I just lucked into one of these, an NLS MS-230:



It needs some repair but I'm pretty excited!
 

Offline retrolefty

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #211 on: May 09, 2015, 08:16:10 pm »
I just lucked into one of these, an NLS MS-230:



It needs some repair but I'm pretty excited!

 Cool. NLS morphed into becoming Kaypro computers in the 80s, made it pretty big for a couple of years and then went tits up like most once IBM brought out their PC. Southern California as I recall.

 

Offline Vgkid

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #212 on: May 09, 2015, 08:31:00 pm »
I believe nls made one of the first dvm's. I remember bidding on a bunch of precision  resistors that were used in their multimeters,and lost :( .
If you own any North Hills Electronics gear, message me. L&N Fan
 

Offline Johndi

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #213 on: May 09, 2015, 08:54:47 pm »
NLS is still around, but I believe today they make panel meters and such.  I was able to email them for a pdf manual for this scope and they responded with a great quality scan.  :-+

 

Offline eas

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #214 on: May 14, 2015, 04:20:15 am »
I bought an HP 6632b off of eBay a little over a week ago. It was listed as "for parts/repair" because the seller was unable to test beyond powering it up. I got it for $99 + shipping from TX. They had 9 more. I thought about posting about it here, and I was tempted to buy a second, but I decided to wait for both until I had a chance to check out the first unit.

I kept checking the listing to see if the remaining units were selling, and someone else picked up a unit, but as of beginning of last weekend, there were still 8 left. And then, suddenly, they were all gone. Someone bought all of them, for a best-offer price. Doh!!

Too bad, because, while mine was a bit banged up, the insides looked good, and the output works and is fairly accurate, so far as I've tested it.

Actually, when I say the insides looked good, I'm leaving out and important detail. What I should have said is the insides looked good, for a 15 year old unit that seems to have spent its best years in a LINT FACTORY.



Its a little hard to make out in the photo, but there are huge tufts of lint stuck around all the ics, snarled in leads, and heatsinks, even the area between the case and the front panel.

No connections at the front of the PCB for front panel binding posts, unlike some of the examples people have.

UPDATE: Ok, so apparently there is a 6632b option with an order of magnitude more lint than I got in mine. Now I feel cheated.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2015, 07:17:36 am by eas »
 

Offline Smith

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #215 on: May 24, 2015, 09:11:36 am »
Needed a 50ohm terminator a while ago. When visiting a local thrift store I stumbled upon a BNC splitter, 50ohm terminator and an BNC to chinch connector in mint condition. Cost me 15 euro cents all together.
Trying is the first step towards failure
 

Online nctnico

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #216 on: June 05, 2015, 08:56:36 pm »
I bought an HP4274A LCR meter but I have not received it yet. The reason for buying this old clunker is because it can deal with high (external) DC bias voltages and has a 100milli-Ohm range which makes it ideal for measuring Li-ion batteries and testing ceramic capacitors. A more modern LCR meter with similar specs costs several thousand euro/dollars which is more than I want to spend right now. I got a bit inspired by the recent 'LCR choice' thread.
The Ebay auction said it has errors but according to the manual they are caused by a dead battery and nothing being connected to the test inputs so fingers crossed!
« Last Edit: June 05, 2015, 08:59:13 pm by nctnico »
There are small lies, big lies and then there is what is on the screen of your oscilloscope.
 

Offline davorin

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #217 on: June 05, 2015, 09:12:17 pm »
Well definitively a high score what I required since I got back into electronics after working years in the internet business...

- R & S CRTU....used for testing mobile equipment...but has a nice RF spectrum analyzer built-in ranging 10MHz to 2.7GHz...just looks nice in the shelf (o;
- R & S SMT03....this one just replace my good old Fluke 6060A/AN....for doing radio/tv repairs...
- HP 3456A...I just love this one....oddly my model has rubber keys...never saw same one on Ebay....
- HP 8904A...in combination with the HP 3456A makes a nice system for plotting frequency response in the audio range...my python script is to be found here...

Last but not least....my lovely LeCroy 9354AL...of course built in my home country Switzerland....have it now over 10 years now...no way I would give it up for a chinese DSO with rubber keys (o;


And getting a F82357 USB GPIB adapter was a must...as well as a S8257, since both have the same hardware...just the firmware which makes a S82357 to a F82357 (o;


And since all my equipment is in an Ikea bookshelf and I don't like to stand up to power them on...I got a few Netio-230 LAN power switches....to power up my devices directly from the keyboard :-)

 

Offline davorin

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #218 on: June 05, 2015, 09:27:01 pm »
Ah yes...almost forgot...

Got 3 of those nice HP 6632B power supplies....couldn't live without them....not only that I hardly use anything above 20V and 5A...but also the fact that I can control it via a Python script and plot a diagram how much current a device draws between a certain voltage range....and you can turn it around...measure another power supply how the voltage drops between different current consumptions....just great...
 

Offline bson

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #219 on: June 05, 2015, 10:03:21 pm »
Bought a nice looking 34401A for $350 shipped...  I'm creating an LXI-to-GPIB bridge around STM32F32 and wanted a reasonable reference GPIB device, but one can't possibly have too many 6.5 digit DMMs, right? :)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/161717897067
 

Offline davorin

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #220 on: June 05, 2015, 10:05:46 pm »
Would love to have a 6.5 digit DVM....but preferring a 3457A from the form factor...like to have all equipment same wide (o;


 

Offline cncjerry

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #221 on: June 05, 2015, 10:19:08 pm »

- HP 3456A...I just love this one....oddly my model has rubber keys...never saw same one on Ebay....

You have what was called the 'soft keys' option.  I have two 3456a meters and love them because of the red LEDs.  I like them more than my pair of 3457a meters, one of which I have listed on the local craig's list for just that reason, hard to see with my limited vision.

 

Offline davorin

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #222 on: June 05, 2015, 10:32:08 pm »
Yeah...I'm a retro guy as well....in my apprenticeship we had in school vacuum tubes....and we were the last class to learn it (o;

So that's why I fancy nixies, LED and so on...even VFD of my 6632Bs....

And I'm impressed by the built quality of the 3456A...and that you get all service manuals....same with other HP models from this area...


Ah and yes....my desktop calculator is??? Right..HP-97 :-)) (I just sold my ugly HP-48S)

 

Offline echen1024

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #223 on: June 15, 2015, 05:18:50 pm »
I was in Guangzhou ~2 months ago and scored a HP 66332A Dynamic Measurement DC Source (very similar to the 6632B PSU) for ~1000 RMB ($160). I was also offered a nice Tek 2467 scope for 120USD but couldn't carry it back without risk of breakage, and didn't want to go through the hassle of shipping.
I'm not saying we should kill all stupid people. I'm just saying that we should remove all product safety labels and let natural selection do its work.

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Offline TheAmmoniacal

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Re: List your test equipment "scores" here!
« Reply #224 on: June 15, 2015, 05:38:20 pm »
When I first got started with electronics (not that many years ago), I was roaming eBay for my first oscilloscope -- ended up with a Tektronix 1751A waveform/vector monitor. You won't believe my disappointment when I found out it wasn't an oscilloscope  :-DD

 


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