TNP #51 – Thorabs PM320E Dual Channel Optical Power & Energy Meter Teardown, Repair & Experiments

In this episode Shahriar takes a look at faulty Thorlabs optical power meter which has been scored from eBay at a very low price. The listing shows the screen with a white background without any text. Upon close inspection however, it is clear that the screen contrast is the problem. The fault is traced to a basic voltage setting problem (230V versus 115V) which was causing the +/-15V supplies to be significantly under biased.

With the screen issue resolved, the unit is paired with two C-series optical detectors. Various laser power measurements & experiments demonstrate the full functionality of the unit.

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TSP #249 – Rohde & Schwarz MXO-5, 2-GHz, 8-Channel, 12-Bit Oscilloscope Teardown & Trigger Zone Exp.

In this episode Shahriar takes a look at the Rohde & Schwarz MXO-5 Series, their first 8-Channel oscilloscope:

https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/products/test-and-measurement/oscilloscopes/rs-mxo-5-oscilloscope_334228.html

The instrument sports some of the best noise, linearity and acquisition speeds in the industry. With R&S custom ASICs, the instrument provides hardware accelerated time & frequency domain measurements (FFTs) as well as a unique Zone Triggering mechanic. This video focuses on the teardown of the acquisition board as well as several demos of the Zone Triggering feature.

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TNP #50 – Associated Research 5000VAC/6000VDC HypoUltra 7854 Dielectric Analyzer Teardown & Repair

-= Description coming soon! =-

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TNP #49 – Keysight 34420A 7.5 Digit Nano Volt / Micro Ohm Meter Teardown, Repair & Verification

In this quick episode Shahriar repairs an HP 34420A. This 7.5 Digit meter is specialized for making low voltage & low resistance measurements. In 4W mode, it can provide excellent resistance measurements in the micro-Ohm range.
This unit does not make any measurements on Channel 1 while Channel 2 reports the correct readings. An overview of the front-end schematics points to the likely culprit: the solid-state relays responsible for channel switching. After replacing the components the instruments returns to normal. Despite its age and the this repair, voltage and resistance measurements are remarkably close to their ideal values as compared with voltage & resistance calibrator instruments.

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TSP #248 – Zurich Instruments MFIA Impedance Analyzer (Z = 1mΩ – 1TΩ) Review, Teardown & Experiments

In this episode Shahriar reviews the Zurich Instruments MFIA Impedance analyzer. The unit is capable of measuring impedances from 1mΩ to 1TΩ and across a frequency range of 1mHz to 5MHz while providing a basic accuracy of 0.05%. However, this instrument is much more than just an Impedance Analyzer, it is build on a lock-in amplifier architecture with sophisticated capabilities and features:

https://www.zhinst.com/americas/en/products/mfia-impedance-analyzer

The review is organized as follows:

00:00:00 – Introductions
00:00:39 – Digital lock-in fundamental theory of operation
00:06:00 – Block diagrams, LCR capabilities, performance metrics
00:14:29 – MFIA I/O and interface overview
00:15:48 – Detailed teardown, circuit components, design architecture
00:21:57 – GUI introduction, software flow, API capabilities
00:24:51 – MFITF Impedance Fixture details
00:25:38 – Calibration & initial measurement setup, numeric display
00:30:41 – Frequency sweep, self-resonance, plotting functions
00:34:07 – High-Q filter measurements, phase & impedance analysis
00:36:07 – Varactor CV characteristic measurements, bias & signal sweep
00:39:32 – Trend sweeps, temperature measurements, statistical plots
00:43:52 – Threshold Unit, generating waveforms, AUX IOs, DAQ capabilities
00:49:18 – Lock-in amplifier overview & signal flow diagrams
00:51:23 – Ultra-sound radar, spectrum view, digitizer, AUX routing
01:00:48 – Zurich Instruments product ecosystem overview
01:01:48 – Concluding remarks

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