Products > Test Equipment
To save or not to save? Fluke 6160B
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Stray Electron:
   I was in the back closet of an old surplus place today and spotted this on the shelf and was wondering if I should buy it and attempt to resurrect it.  I know that it's been setting there for MANY years but it appears to be in good physical condition and un-tampered with.  Does anyone have any experience with them? Have good are they and what known issues do they have?

<https://www.opweb.de/english/company/Fluke/6160B>
coromonadalix:
https://xdevs.com/doc/Fluke/6160b.pdf

Well i would say power it up and see ...  hook up a scope  on it ???
wn1fju:
I wouldn't spend very much for it, maybe less than $50.  I have a 6160B and I will tell you my experience with it.  First of all, the amplitude range is only 3 to 13 dBm, meaning if that you want to use it as an RF signal generator, you will probably need an external attenuator.  Secondly, my unit had the ovenized oscillator option and I would be wary of the stability without that option.

But the real problem is the serviceability.  You will need a graduate degree in test equipment repair to successfully restore a 6160B.  The modules are all contained in sealed boxes and you will need several SMB cables and a lot of jumper wires to be able to remove a module, open it up, and hook it back up so that you can work on it while the unit is running.  Moreover, Fluke designed this thing with many hand-selected varactors and a ton of inductors.  At one point, I attempted to adjust an inductor and it crumbled into dust.  I ended up buying a second unit (for $20) and with a lot of trial and error, managed to combine the two sets of modules into one working unit.

And then there's the "main" board that I needed to remove which had a 34-conductor cable soldered to it.  Why Fluke didn't use a connector is beyond me.  Not fun unsoldering and soldering the cable.  And alignment?  Forget about it.

When I finally got everything to work, the 6160B is not a bad synthesizer.  Maybe it was a marvel back in 1973, but I'm not impressed.
Stray Electron:
  Thanks. That's what I was a afraid of.  And I doubt that many of the parts are even still available, even the once standard TTL ICs.  I have a functioning Fluke 6060B so the 6160 is totally unneeded so as tempting as it is, I think I'm going to pass on it.

coromonadalix.  I would if I could but I would have to buy it first. 

  FWIW I was looking for some heavy duty PSU mechanical parts when I found this. But I did find a PSU with the parts that I was looking for and they GAVE it to me. It's an old Kepco rack mount SM-36-5W  0-36 VDC 5 Amp linear supply that dates from 1961 and weighs about 40 pounds. I plugged it in last night and the thing appears to work fine!  This thing is definitely a SURVIVOR and I hate to tear it apart for the few parts that I need. It even still has the clear plastic cover over the metal toggle switch handle.
jonpaul:
see Leo Bodnar GPS DSO UK £110..160

Jon
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