EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: tec5c on April 15, 2015, 09:07:29 am
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At my work we have a project at the moment that involves quite a lot of EMI testing, as a result the engineers decided to get an EMI receiver on loan from Keysight to see if it was suitable and could be considered for a future purchase.
Here is the unit... Isn't she pretty :-*
*See attachments*
We also got a preamplifier module (sorry for the blurry photo)
*See attachments*
All was looking good... we hook the preamp up and nothing happens... hmm. It was calibrated 12 days ago, should be okay? It's due for calibration again today??? Errrr... (Can someone please confirm if something like this needs to be calibrated every 12 days, noob alert here! :-/O )
Cal. sticker...
*See attachments*
Okay, preamp isn't working so let's investigate... Well I'll be dammed!
*See attachments*
How in the world did this ever get passed quality assurance at Keysight?!?! This isn't just some strands that are slightly touching the conductor. They are soldered onto it! :wtf:
Edit: Epic image insert fail. I suck... it's been a long day. The images are now attached.
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She's pretty, but it looks like I have her twin sister called N1996A. Think they still had a few enclosures and front panels left? :-\
(http://www.svteq.com/productimages/ebay/11-1-12/11-1-12%20036.JPG)
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Have you looked at the calibration report? Maybe they say it is -150dB, slightly out the datasheet limits.
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So it slipped by manufacturing QA... But then it got to this AP guy to calibrate it - I think this guy should be fired.
I wouldn't be happy with a £2.49 ebay 830B in that shoddy a state but could excuse it and fix it myself. But this is terrible.
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Looks like the inside of the cheap Chinese antennas that come with the el cheapo USB SRD dongles. :-DD
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How isn't that tripping something? That's a supply/ground connection isn't it?
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How isn't that tripping something? That's a supply/ground connection isn't it?
Yes, this is the DC power supply for the amplifier. The golden thingy with the hex nut is the feed-through capacitor to block HF.
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Seems kind of rude to complain so much about Keysight when they were nice enough to rush out a loaner... obviously this has nothing to do with QA, and is about how loaner units get abused by customers...
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Seems kind of rude to complain so much about Keysight when they were nice enough to rush out a loaner... obviously this has nothing to do with QA, and is about how loaner units get abused by customers...
Who said anything about "nice enough to rush out a loaner", this is a rental service, isn't it? If I'm paying money per day by renting equipment, I expect it to work, just like with every other rental service.
And yes, people don't give a shit about things they don't own, but a rental service has to deal with that.
I have no idea whether a 12 days cal-cycle is necessary for a preamp, but maybe they have such a ridiculously short interval on rental units, in order to trying to get calibrations between rental customers? What is the mean rental time for high-end test equipment? Since 12 days is already dubiously short, maybe they should calibrate after every customer, this way something like this shouldn't happen.
Now whether it was Keysight or the last customer, who half-assedly jammed a soldering iron between the connections in order to fix the joint, who knows?
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Seems kind of rude to complain so much about Keysight when they were nice enough to rush out a loaner... obviously this has nothing to do with QA, and is about how loaner units get abused by customers...
Who said anything about "nice enough to rush out a loaner", this is a rental service, isn't it? If I'm paying money per day by renting equipment, I expect it to work, just like with every other rental service.
No, he said it was on loan, which means free. Keysight is not a rental company.
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Yes, the OP said "loan" not "rent".
Since 12 days is already dubiously short, maybe they should calibrate after every customer, this way something like this shouldn't happen.
Maybe that's the reason for the 12 days.
Without more details it's hard to conclude anything.
Not sure why this post is even here. The logical thing to do is call Agilent Keysight.
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Complete with cal sticker too !
Or could that be incentive to purchase the next to be released version at increased cost.
Fine example of what the test and measurement industry has become, driven by bean counters and made off shore.
Bernice
How in the world did this ever get passed quality assurance at Keysight?!?! This isn't just some strands that are slightly touching the conductor. They are soldered onto it! :wtf:
Edit: Epic image insert fail. I suck... it's been a long day. The images are now attached.
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No, he said it was on loan, which means free. Keysight is not a rental company.
Ah sorry, my bad.
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This was posted on HP Yahoo group yesterday....
Maybe they refocus from keeping the current stuff going :-DD
----------------------------------------
Take advantage of a new extended repair service available for older instruments,
many of which you may have deployed in critical applications. You can now repair
equipment such as the N5230 network analyzers and 8563EC spectrum analyzers –
once classified as having reached "end of support" – and buy extended service
agreements. The extended service period helps you keep your older equipment
running until you make the transition to new instruments.
See Extended Service Period Instruments >
<http://content.email.keysight.com/emessageIRS/servlet/IRSL?v=5&a=10045&r=88729&m=522&l=6&p=tBA02ECEF523667C5DADE5328447D24FEF0C1DBB9F72CC1C9F0C1DBB9F72CC1C9F0C1DBB9F72CC1C93E515D818DBA81F1&e=2&x=2457492.0>
In addition to repairing individual instruments, we can build custom solutions
for your deployed test systems and help you save when you purchase fixed-price
multiyear agreements.
If your instruments are not listed on the website or you have specific requests,
please email service-info@keysight.com
<mailto:service-info@keysight.com?subject=Extended%20Service%20Period%20Repair%20and%20Calibration>
or call 800-829-4444. We will be happy to assist you.
Sincerely,
Jim Kaylor
Americas Services Business Development
Keysight Technologies
1-800-829-4444 (US)
1-877-894-4414 (Canada)
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This was posted on HP Yahoo group yesterday....
Even worse, it was in my inbox. They probably know I'm a collector :-\
(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/possibly-the-worst-thing-i've-ever-seen-from-keysight-(agilent)-epic-qa-fail!!/?action=dlattach;attach=147357;image)
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No, he said it was on loan, which means free. Keysight is not a rental company.
Ah sorry, my bad.
Yeah, but I would only loan that for free to my worst enemy. "That will have him scratching his head and fuck his day up! Muahahaha!" >:D
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How in the world did this ever get passed quality assurance at Keysight?!?! This isn't just some strands that are slightly touching the conductor. They are soldered onto it! :wtf:
I think you have to assume that someone else had their hands on this just after calibration. Maybe it was then checked as a system and the preamp was reported to be intermittent. So someone in a service or dispatch dept tried a hasty bodge repair without checking their work. If there was no such middleman (the most likely suspect?) involved between Agilent and the loanee then it looks bad for Agilent's QA :(
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Few years ago, I purchased an N1996A from Agilent as a "Certi-Prime" item. It came with a copy of calibration report, which clearly indicated tracking generator (or should I say, "Stimulus/Response Suite") output power versus frequency. And the best part is, the tracking generator came dead-on-arrival. How it passed the calibration still remains a mystery as of today.
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So, there was a problem. Did Keysight make it right?
Companies are made of people who are imperfect. It's how they support you that matters. I am a total nobody and Keysight will send me a forum PM if they see me ask a question about their gear.
Give them the opportunity to make good. If they fail, then raise the flag.
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You can not make a failure to properly calibrate right by doing it right on the rebound, calibration services rely on trust after all ... of course none of this is cut and dry to show that actually happened though.
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So, there was a problem. Did Keysight make it right?
Companies are made of people who are imperfect. It's how they support you that matters. I am a total nobody and Keysight will send me a forum PM if they see me ask a question about their gear.
Give them the opportunity to make good. If they fail, then raise the flag.
tec5c,
I'm just seeing this post, so apologize for not sending message right after your posting!
I am a Senior Manager at Keysight. This area is not my specialty but take pride in our quality (and get embarrassed when it doesn't meet our standards), and will take ownership to be your initial contact.
Please let me know how to contact you directly. I'll commit to FIX this problem for you, if someone hasn't already contacted you. I can even call you during your daytime.
There's no explanation I can give on why this problem occurred; but 100% committed to solve it and get you a new demo.
Sincerely,
Mike Kawasaki
mike_kawasaki@keysight.com
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Hi
I'm also a Keysight employee and I'd like to apologize for any inconvenience you've experienced with this.
As the Keysight Product Manager for the MXE, I wanted to let you know that your MXE does have a built-in internal preamplifier which covers the entire frequency range of the instrument. This preamplifier is available on every MXE as a standard part of the product. We have this preamp as a standard offering because we understand that sensitivity is a key need for EMC users. I'm hoping that this internal amplifier will meet your testing needs.
I do hope that you contact us so we can get any information we need to understand how this happened.
Best Regards,
Mark Terrien
mark.terrien@keysight.com