Category Archives: Electronics

Another counter: HP 5345A

Posted on January 21, 2018 by A. Cicuta

I didn’t really need another counter. Moreover I really, really didn’t need another broken counter to repair because I don’t have the time to repair it. However I could’t resist this one: it came with the HP10544A crystal oscillator and it … Continue reading →

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Segal’s law

Posted on November 19, 2017 by A. Cicuta

“A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure.” I would also say that a man with a voltmeter knows what voltage it is. A man with two voltmeters is never … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Small Talk | 1 Comment

Tektronix Type 602 Display Unit repair

Posted on June 4, 2017 by A. Cicuta

The Type 602 had been around for a lot of time before I decided to tackle its repair which had been easier than expected. First problem: missing mains fuse. Replaced and the unit turned on. Almost everything worked except for … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Equipment, Hardware, Repair | 2 Comments

Illness and Happy Easter

Posted on April 15, 2017 by A. Cicuta

I have been rather unwell for the past couple of weeks. I’ve had a fever, cough, fatigue… the works. So no updates in this blog and nothing got done outside this blog. Now I am a bit better but I … Continue reading →

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Modding an HP 3488A

Posted on February 26, 2017 by A. Cicuta

I happened to acquire two HP 3488A. They are called Switch/Control unit. That means that each of them can accept up to five different boards that do interesting things. There is a multiplexer, a matrix switch, a digital input/ouput board … Continue reading →

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GPIB, voltmeters and voltage references

Posted on February 5, 2017 by A. Cicuta

A new post is long overdue so here it is. As now I am an happy owner of a nice National Instruments GPIB PCI card, barely enough GPIB cables (you never have enough cables and that’s a sad truth), a … Continue reading →

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HP3456A: strange behaviour (solved)

Posted on January 15, 2017 by A. Cicuta

The 1000V, 100V, 10V and 1V DCV ranges didn’t work right. The Ohms ranges didn’t work either. The self test didn’t pass (error #4). After reading the service manual I was expecting some problem in the Input Amplifier (a open, … Continue reading →

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My New, Old Multimeter: HP 3456A

Posted on December 4, 2016 by A. Cicuta

I got myself this beast of a multimeter because the Solartron 7150 clearly wasn’t enough. I am not a volt-nut and neither a time-nut but sometimes I wonder if I am going down a dangerous road. Therefore here I declare that … Continue reading →

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HP 3488A: boring “repair”

Posted on November 19, 2016 by A. Cicuta

This one is the most disappointing repair I did if I can call this a repair. I bought two HP 3488A, one fully working but in not so great condition, the other one was in pristine condition but sold as … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital, Electronics, Hardware, Repair | Leave a comment

HP 3470: something is wrong again (bad readings) part 1

Posted on October 23, 2016 by A. Cicuta

Another multi-part post starts now. I already wrote about this measurement system here. That time the problem was the mainframe display module while this time I am rather sure the problem is the plug-on  function module: I checked with a second HP 3470 that found … Continue reading →

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