Products > Test Equipment
To save or not to save? Fluke 6160B
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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