Hi, repair may not have been planned but a great fix......My father used to say if you look after you're tools they'll look after you and that is exactly what you are doing in this great vid! Brilliant diagnosis and repair as usual....All the best Peter from us here in U.K.....
Always those crappy capacitors. Hate it when my test gear fails. My spectrum analyzer quit this morning right in the middle of a video repair. Good job on troubleshooting the problem Peter. Thanks for sharing. Big thumbs up. No I have two videos to edit and upload tonight. Take care my friend.
+The Radio Shop Hi Buddy, yes I hate it too! Oh dear again your spectrum analyzer that is fretfully. Hope you can fix it straight. Looking forward to your new videos. Thanks for stopping by. Take care my friend.
good repair job. The capacitor was maybe cracked under tension by heat or board. Your methods of finding faults are excellent. Have a nice day. Catch you next time
Another nice repair Peter. Looks like there's a lab equipment bug making its rounds. My Leader stereo FM signal generator malfunctioned on me this morning in the middle of a alignment. Hope my repair goes as smoothly as yours. Mike
G'day mate, your test gear looking interesting in your endeavour to keep them all working correctly. Thanks for giving us all a inside into trouble shooting. I did enjoy your video on something different. Cheers and Beers.
+Dennis Peake Hi Dennis, thanks for feed-back. Yeah it is not only that these instruments are working, the gear needs to be as accurate as possible that is the challenge... All the best 73
Peter, when I saw this RACAL-DANA counter in use in one of your previous videos, and then one of these came up on the e-bay, I snagged a good deal. It's been a perfect performer, but I will now keep an eye on this area. Perhaps it's a common weakness.. although a surprise to have that type of capacitor fail. Looks like some liquid came out onto the PC Board, too. As to your DER EE LCR Meter... I got it new from the Japanese distributor after seeing you demonstrate it in action in another earlier video. It's a fantastic meter at a good price, and excellent Japanese design. I'd been seeking something with this same spec, but everything else is way more expensive. I think your bench is a good marketing platform for some of these tools! Since I've already taken two tips from your bench, and am working to build up some test and measurement capabilities here, it would be helpful to know more about your lab. Please walk us through the instruments you use and what you recommend for other T/RX folks out there like me. Thank you! /K1MGY
+k1mgy Hi Mark, yes the Racal is still a very good counter but it is ageing.. No I have never heard from this fault so I presume it is not a common weakness but who knows.. The DER EE is really value for money and it can compete with little exceptions with the Agilent/ Keysight and that meter is much more expensive. Yes it seems turning out that my bench is really a good marketing platform but that doesn't makes it easier... Anyway thanks for stopping by and thanks for comment. 73
Nice video Peter, as always. I too own the same LCR meter, it is my best friend when working with SMD caps and inductors. The only downside is rather short battery life. It needs quite a lot of power (compared to a typical digital multimeter), has a soft power switch and uses one 9V battery, which is not a good combination at all. I'd love to have AA cells there. Apart from that, it is excellent, especially for the price. 73 de OK1VI
My personal experience about the capacitor failures is just the opposite - the electrolytic ones are far more robust than the ceramic multilayer ones. Probably the reason is mechanical stresses by the end solders and board flexing. In fact, you can nowadays buy chips that promise better flex tolerance. But I would be wary about the heavy solder you put in! I also would apply some high temperature adhesive under the resistor pad that detached. Back to the capacitors - the issue only applies to the multilayer types. The old single layer ones (often rated 500 V or so) are probably what has led you to believe the ceramic capacitors are better than electrolytic ones, because they indeed are very reliable.
Hi Peter! I finally picked up a Racal 1992 from ebay with the high stability ocxo. I did have to replace all of the panel switches and it seems to be working great. Fortunately I had drawer full of tact switches that did the trick. Now want to get a rubidium standard for it and was curious what kind of standard you are using on yours. 73s, Dave
Hi Dave, very good! Still a very nice unit fast and precise.. Well my rubidium is out of a cellular base station. You can get these off e-bay for little money. Hope that helps 73
Nice replair, pesky capacitors...I really appreciate that you do your videos in english (even as a german). Btw, if you are watching movies or tv series, try to get english versions of them and watch them instead of the german ones. I do that for a long time now and it really helps in getting pronounciation and speecflow right and of course it helps understanding the different slangs and accents.
Great video as always. That DE-5000 LCR meter looks like a great choice with good performance at a relatively inexpensive price. I'd be interested to see more videos with it. Do you use it much for in circuit testing or do you tend to take the components out of circuit to get accurate measurements? On a side note what sort of video camera do you use? It seems to do a great job of showing the close up macro views of the tiny surface mount components.
+Steve U Hi Steve, yes the DE5000 is really a good choice. I'm going to do a video and explain why we need a LCR meter and what is it all about with dissipation factor and such.. In circuit testing makes sense for ESR only. For all other tests you have to take the component out. My camera is a Sony HDR-CX240 nothing special... Thanks for watching 73
+Hermann Kovert Hallo Hermann, vielen Dank für die Rückmeldung. Eigentlich mag ich es wenig meine eigenen Messgeräte zu reparieren, aber es hilft nichts wenn der Gerätepark in die Jahre kommt. Alles Gute 73
Nice job. I recently acquired a 1992. An upgrade from my Tek 503A. The 1992 seems to take awhile to warm up. Is there a simple way (read cheap) to ensure the 10MHz ref out the back is perfect? When I first turn it on, it seems to be a few hundred Hertz high then settles to about 27Hz high according to the 503A. Thanx- Bob
+Bob Ograv Hi Bob, well it depends what kind of reference is installed in your 1992. If it is a OCXO it is normal that it takes a little while. If you need a stable frequency very fast a TCXO might be a way but for the price of loosing accuracy.. Hope that helps All the best and Cheers
Thank you. Yes mine has the OCXO in it. I opened it up for the 1st time last nite & checked the caps for ESR & all are good (for the moment). I have had caps check good for ESR & had them fail soon after. ESR only indicates the current health.
+wb8vqv Hi Dave, thanks! No I had no problems with the panel bottoms as this is last production and with last production they changed the vendor of the buttons as far as I have heard... Thanks for stopping by.. 73
Don't you hate it when you have to repair your own equipment! I have a yellow DVM like the one you were using to measure current in video #88 that's broken. On DC volts it only reads about 60% of the actual voltage so when measuring 12 volts it will only indicate about 7 volts or so. Have you ever repaired a DVM? I've checked all the resistors on the PC board inside the meter and they all seem to be good so I'm not sure where to go now.
Don't you hate doing a repair on tools in order to do a repair on the main job. My signal generator let me down in December with blown PS caps. Luckily I only lost a few hours.
Hi, repair may not have been planned but a great fix......My father used to say if you look after you're tools they'll look after you and that is exactly what you are doing in this great vid! Brilliant diagnosis and repair as usual....All the best Peter from us here in U.K.....
+gripper021164 Hi, thanks for your watching and feed back I'm sure your father was right! All the best Cheers
Excellent repair video. Over the last few weeks, you have taught me lots.
+Nina Evans Hi Nina, thank you, great that you have a need for my videos. Again thanks for stopping by 73
I am now retired and am learning radio repair and electronics, thank you for the very nice lesson. Malcolm
+Malcolm Shaw Hi Malcom, thank you for the nice feed-back. Have fun with the hobby and catch you next time. Cheers.
Very elegant mind in action, Peter. A pleasure to watch. We all imagine we can think as clearly as you do! In our dreams!
Thanks Michael for your kind words! All the best Cheers
Always those crappy capacitors. Hate it when my test gear fails. My spectrum analyzer quit this morning right in the middle of a video repair. Good job on troubleshooting the problem Peter. Thanks for sharing. Big thumbs up. No I have two videos to edit and upload tonight. Take care my friend.
+The Radio Shop Hi Buddy, yes I hate it too! Oh dear again your spectrum analyzer that is fretfully. Hope you can fix it straight. Looking forward to your new videos. Thanks for stopping by. Take care my friend.
Great diagnosis and repair video Peter. Nice job on repairing the lifted trace as well. All thumbs up here :^)
+Mr Carlson's Lab Thank you Paul, I'm glad that the counter is back working.. All the best my friend!
Nice repair Peter. Was going to ask about the meter as I need to buy one, will wait for your video. Have a great week.
+rupert handford Hi Rupert, thanks. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. 73
+rupert handford Just go for it. I bought one recently and it's great. DE-5000. They seem to have got cheaper recently too!
Good job peter. I hate it when test equipment quits working. Very good video, Greg
+Gregory West Hi Greg, yes that is true but it is back alive :-) Thanks for comment. 73
Great repair , I like the ones where you can see problem
thank you Peter
+DENNIS N Hi Dennis, thank you. Yeah it helps a lot. 73
good repair job. The capacitor was maybe cracked under tension by heat or board. Your methods of finding faults are excellent. Have a nice day. Catch you next time
+FEY Hi, thank you very much! Yeah it looks like there was a crack.. 73
Peter, great repair. Excellent trouble shooting. 73s Joel
Thank you Joel! 73
great repair Peter very well done.
+Gary g1fsh Thank you Gary!
Another nice repair Peter. Looks like there's a lab equipment bug making its rounds. My Leader stereo FM signal generator malfunctioned on me this morning in the middle of a alignment. Hope my repair goes as smoothly as yours.
Mike
+MikesRadioRepair .CBRadio Hi Mike, yeah some time it is horrible with our lab gear. Good luck for your Leader repair, hope you can easily fix it. 73
G'day mate, your test gear looking interesting in your endeavour to keep them all working correctly. Thanks for giving us all a inside into trouble shooting. I did enjoy your video on something different. Cheers and Beers.
+Dennis Peake Hi Dennis, thanks for feed-back. Yeah it is not only that these instruments are working, the gear needs to be as accurate as possible that is the challenge... All the best 73
Good job on finding the shorted cap Peter! Now I know not to just replace a burned resistor and think its good.😀👍
Nice repair Peter. Thanks.
+Robert Calk Jr. Thank you Robert!
Great Job ! This was very important to me since I own a 1992 Racal Dana .
Thank you, glad that you have a need for my videos... 73
Peter, when I saw this RACAL-DANA counter in use in one of your previous videos, and then one of these came up on the e-bay, I snagged a good deal. It's been a perfect performer, but I will now keep an eye on this area. Perhaps it's a common weakness.. although a surprise to have that type of capacitor fail. Looks like some liquid came out onto the PC Board, too.
As to your DER EE LCR Meter... I got it new from the Japanese distributor after seeing you demonstrate it in action in another earlier video. It's a fantastic meter at a good price, and excellent Japanese design. I'd been seeking something with this same spec, but everything else is way more expensive.
I think your bench is a good marketing platform for some of these tools!
Since I've already taken two tips from your bench, and am working to build up some test and measurement capabilities here, it would be helpful to know more about your lab. Please walk us through the instruments you use and what you recommend for other T/RX folks out there like me.
Thank you!
/K1MGY
+k1mgy Hi Mark, yes the Racal is still a very good counter but it is ageing.. No I have never heard from this fault so I presume it is not a common weakness but who knows..
The DER EE is really value for money and it can compete with little exceptions with the Agilent/ Keysight and that meter is much more expensive.
Yes it seems turning out that my bench is really a good marketing platform but that doesn't makes it easier...
Anyway thanks for stopping by and thanks for comment. 73
Another nice repair. :)
I'm waiting to see that future video about the LCR meter, I'm interested. Thanks again !
+Onel s4 Hi, thanks for comment. Yeah nice LCR Meter. 73
Nice one Peter :) The 1992 is a good instrument, with good stability and accuracy. I used to have one on my bench!
+Alan Cordwell Hello Alan, thanks for stopping by. Yes I agree the 1992 is still a very good instrument but it is ageing unfortunately :-(
Excellent video Peter.
+Howard Malpas Thank you Howard
Nice repair glad it was nothing too serious.
Again thank you. All the best 73
Nice to fix a fine peice of equipment , may it serve you for a long time , 73's
+Chipz0r Hi, yes it is a fine piece of equipment.. Thanks for comment. 73
nice one Peter, keep them coming
+berni ken Thank you Berni!
Nice video Peter, as always. I too own the same LCR meter, it is my best friend when working with SMD caps and inductors. The only downside is rather short battery life. It needs quite a lot of power (compared to a typical digital multimeter), has a soft power switch and uses one 9V battery, which is not a good combination at all. I'd love to have AA cells there. Apart from that, it is excellent, especially for the price.
73 de OK1VI
+FakirCB Hi Tomas, thanks for information. Well then I have to store 9v blocks hi hi. Anyway it seems to be a good and precise meter. 73
No need to mod it, it already has a power jack. A suitable 9V wall wart supply is all it needs.
Great Troubleshooting Dave KD1NA
+David Robertson Hi Dave, thanks for stopping by! 73
Wow, Peter you sounded so sad at the beginning, like you'd lost your best friend; well, a counter IS one of our best friends! ;-) 73 - Dino KL0S
+Dino Papas
Nope... he didn't, were all still here :^) I agree, he sounded pretty bummed out!
+Dino Papas Hi Dino, yes of course it is always sad and you are right our lab gear is very important to us. Thanks for feed back. All the best and 73
+TRXBench LOL yes Paul you are right. No worry :^)
Interesting repair. Thanks
+NivagSwerdna Hi, thanks for watching 73
Happy to see you got that one fixed Peter. We can do without our own text equipment smoking :)
Regards my friend
John
+orbiter8 (John) Hello John, yes I'm happy too. Thanks for stopping by! All the best my friend.
My personal experience about the capacitor failures is just the opposite - the electrolytic ones are far more robust than the ceramic multilayer ones. Probably the reason is mechanical stresses by the end solders and board flexing. In fact, you can nowadays buy chips that promise better flex tolerance. But I would be wary about the heavy solder you put in! I also would apply some high temperature adhesive under the resistor pad that detached.
Back to the capacitors - the issue only applies to the multilayer types. The old single layer ones (often rated 500 V or so) are probably what has led you to believe the ceramic capacitors are better than electrolytic ones, because they indeed are very reliable.
rekognized this one late - Great!
Good job! Nice trouble shooting.Thanks.
+PelDaddy Thank you 73
Great job! I actually saw the capacitor was split in half.
+Darryl Landry Hi Darryl, during editing I saw the same. Thanks for feed-back 73
Hi Peter! I finally picked up a Racal 1992 from ebay with the high stability ocxo. I did have to replace all of the panel switches and it seems to be working great. Fortunately I had drawer full of tact switches that did the trick. Now want to get a rubidium standard for it and was curious what kind of standard you are using on yours. 73s, Dave
Hi Dave, very good! Still a very nice unit fast and precise.. Well my rubidium is out of a cellular base station. You can get these off e-bay for little money. Hope that helps 73
Nice replair, pesky capacitors...I really appreciate that you do your videos in english (even as a german). Btw, if you are watching movies or tv series, try to get english versions of them and watch them instead of the german ones. I do that for a long time now and it really helps in getting pronounciation and speecflow right and of course it helps understanding the different slangs and accents.
+Chip Guy Vids Hi, thanks for feed-back and advice. Cheers Peter
Great video as always. That DE-5000 LCR meter looks like a great choice with good performance at a relatively inexpensive price. I'd be interested to see more videos with it. Do you use it much for in circuit testing or do you tend to take the components out of circuit to get accurate measurements?
On a side note what sort of video camera do you use? It seems to do a great job of showing the close up macro views of the tiny surface mount components.
+Steve U Hi Steve, yes the DE5000 is really a good choice. I'm going to do a video and explain why we need a LCR meter and what is it all about with dissipation factor and such.. In circuit testing makes sense for ESR only. For all other tests you have to take the component out. My camera is a Sony HDR-CX240 nothing special... Thanks for watching 73
Good video sir thanks for sharing
+wade hicks Thanks for feed-back 73
Hi Peter, very nice Video, even if it was unplaned😉
+Hermann Kovert Hallo Hermann, vielen Dank für die Rückmeldung. Eigentlich mag ich es wenig meine eigenen Messgeräte zu reparieren, aber es hilft nichts wenn der Gerätepark in die Jahre kommt. Alles Gute 73
Big thumbs up as usual. You always make it look easy. What kind of probes do you use on your Agalant meter? I like the long reach.
+Gary P Thank you Gary. The probes are made by Hirschmann. Hope that helps. 73
Nice job. I recently acquired a 1992. An upgrade from my Tek 503A. The 1992 seems to take awhile to warm up. Is there a simple way (read cheap) to ensure the 10MHz ref out the back is perfect? When I first turn it on, it seems to be a few hundred Hertz high then settles to about 27Hz high according to the 503A. Thanx- Bob
+Bob Ograv Hi Bob, well it depends what kind of reference is installed in your 1992. If it is a OCXO it is normal that it takes a little while. If you need a stable frequency very fast a TCXO might be a way but for the price of loosing accuracy.. Hope that helps All the best and Cheers
Thank you. Yes mine has the OCXO in it. I opened it up for the 1st time last nite & checked the caps for ESR & all are good (for the moment). I have had caps check good for ESR & had them fail soon after. ESR only indicates the current health.
Excellent Video.
+glenwoofit Thank you
nice! always annoying when you have to fix your tools before you can fix the thing you want to fix in the first place!
+DextersLab2013 Hi, yes 100% agree. There is nothing worse than failing lab gear. Thanks for feed-back and stopping by. Cheers Peter
Hi Peter! another great video. Have you had any issues with the panel buttons as many others have had? 73s, Dave.
+wb8vqv Hi Dave, thanks! No I had no problems with the panel bottoms as this is last production and with last production they changed the vendor of the buttons as far as I have heard... Thanks for stopping by.. 73
Nice vid.
What are the DMM test probes you use here?
The ones with long tips.
This tips are from Hirschman Typ 972317100. Hope that helps. 73
Don't you hate it when you have to repair your own equipment! I have a yellow DVM like the one you were using to measure current in video #88 that's broken. On DC volts it only reads about 60% of the actual voltage so when measuring 12 volts it will only indicate about 7 volts or so. Have you ever repaired a DVM? I've checked all the resistors on the PC board inside the meter and they all seem to be good so I'm not sure where to go now.
Hi Steve, yeah that is most probably the IC itself..I had to swap it out years ago as well. 73
Sweet! Dead on the frequency. Thanks for posting! 73...Dan
+Beretta96Dan Thanks for watching and stopping by Dan! 73
Don't you hate doing a repair on tools in order to do a repair on the main job. My signal generator let me down in December with blown PS caps. Luckily I only lost a few hours.
+Peter Walker Hi Peter, yeah I hate working on my lab gear :-( Thanks for comment. 73