TSP #244 - Agilent 3458A 8.5-Digit Multimeter Repair, Teardown & IC Analysis (April 2024)
17.5K views
April 19, 2024 6:49 PM
In this episode Shahriar repairs a faulty Agilent 3458A. These highly desirable multimeters have continued to climb in price in the past few years. The last time The Signal Path has repaired one of these units was back in 2018.
This instrument generates several errors both during power up as well as Auto Cal procedure. The error points to a failure in the OHMS measurement mode. Detailed instrument block diagram and schematics are examined. Measurements also show incorrect DC current sourcing during OHMS measurements and the associated circuits are closely analyzed. The problem is traced to a quad-comparator IC. Replacement corrects all problems during ACAL. The battery backup of the SRAM ICs are also replaced to eliminate non-volatile errors. The IC of the comparator chip is also extracted and examined under the microscope.
The repaired instrument performance is verified by using voltage, current and resistance standards.
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TSP #243 - Agilent FieldFox N9912A 4GHz Handheld RF Analyzer Repair & Teardown
11K views
March 30, 2024 12:05 AM
-= Description coming soon! =-
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TSP #242 - Sanko GH60 6GHz Handheld Vector Signal Generator Review, Teardown & Experiments
13K views
March 24, 2024 10:50 PM
In this episode Shahriar shows an extensive review of the Sanko (BirdRF) GH60 GeneHawk handheld vector signal generator which operates from 10MHz – 6GHz. With up to 100MHz of modulation bandwidth (licensed) the unit has good potential for a portable wide-band communication signal generator:
https://www.sankorf.com/products/portable-signal-generator-gh60
This review is organized as follows:
00:00 – Introductions, unit overview, operating system & GUI initial impressions
02:33 – Detailed teardown, construction, RF & baseband board analysis
19:16 – Frequency accuracy and stability measurements
20:31 – Output power measurement, power linearity and minimum output power
24:28 – CW signal analysis, noise-floor, harmonic behavior and spurious tones
27:15 – Phase noise characterization, spurs and far-out noise floor
28:41 – Two-tone generator, TOI (OIP3), image rejection, LO rejection, intermodulation tones
31:13 – Pulse generation, minimum pulse behavior
33:36 – Linear frequency generation measurements & characteristics
34:58 – FM, AM & PM capabilities and characterization methods, multi-modulation options
37:22 – Frequency sweep behavior and limitations
40:07 – Custom digital modulation, EVM measurements, I/Q & magnitude error, equalization
43:05 – Real-time AWGN performance and measurements
44:00 – Other software features, up-coming API and waveform standards
44:44 – Concluding remarks
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TSP #241 - Ametek Jofra CTC-140A (-17C TO +140C) Dry Block Calibrator Repair & Teardown
7.3K views
March 15, 2024 11:29 PM
-= Description coming soon! =-
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TSP #240 - Rohde & Schwarz 70GHz, 75dB Electromechanical Step Attenuator Teardown & Failure Analysis
15.1K views
March 9, 2024 4:44 PM
In this episode Shahriar takes a look at a very high-end step attenuator designed by Rohde & Schwarz for their FSU family spectrum analyzers which cover over 67GHz of sweep frequency.
The attenuator teardown and architecture is thoroughly presented with focus on how the high-frequency performance is maintained in a moving environment. Furthermore, the individual attenuator pads are examined under the microscope for their construction and design where the 5dB pad failure can also be observed.
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