N9344C teardown and repair

[nexus]

Hey all,

Thought I'd share a blog post I put up regarding a recent gamble I made on a handheld SA for auction online.

Tearing it down and injecting some power revealed a shorted bulk tantalum capacitor across the input (with the help of a thermal camera).
Replacing this failed power component brought the instrument back to life.

Also took a look inside a few other pieces, such as the GPS module and "smart" battery pack for fun.

Enjoy: https://neonkev.com/2021/08/21/agilent-n9344c-handheld-spectrum-analyzer-repair/