A teardown and repair of a Rohde & Schwarz FSH3 3.0GHz portable spectrum analyzer from The Signal Path: In this episode Shahriar examines a faulty R&S FSH3 100kHz – 3.0GHz Portable Spectrum Analyzer. This exceptionally dirty unit does not power on and is missing a power supply and battery. After verifying the correct operation of […]
Category Archives: repair
Teardown, repair and analysis of an Anritsu MS2721A 7.1GHz portable spectrum analyzer
Teardown, repair and analysis of an Anritsu MS2721A 7.1GHz portable spectrum analyzer by Shahriar of TheSignalPath: In this episode Shahriar takes a look at an Anritsu MS2721A portable spectrum analyzer which does not completely boot up. After displaying the message “Application Running!” the unit no longer advances to the main measurement screen. After intentionally corrupting […]
Dead Macbook Pro logic board diagnosis
Louis Rossmann writes: Here I diagnose a board that has issues on PP3V42_G3H which caused issues with the MCP, whose clock circuit is powered by PP3V42_G3H! I go through my diagnostic process and mindset, and follow from beginning to end as I resolve the problem. Via Hacked Gadgets.
Fixing a Mega drive cartridge with old BIOS chips
Robson of Dragão sem Chama writes, “this time I want to share my Mega Drive flash cart made of old BIOS chips. I made it because my Sonic cart was not working since always. I used Arduino, Python and a bit of Processing (nice to show visual info) to program” Via the contact form. Check out the […]
On Western Digital hard drives, PUIS and Rocket Raid controllers
Peter Hofmann fixed his drives and documented the whole process on his blog: After about a day of trial and error, I finally fixed my drives. To save anyone else the days worth of effort, I’ve documented my solution here: Firstly you need to go and find a tool called HDAT2 from www.hdat2.com download it and create a […]
Reviving 80’s arcade, Super invaders
Stian did restoration of 80’s arcade. He wrote a post on his blog detailing the process: I did a visual inspection the board looking for shorts or burned out components, and replaced a few 100nF ceramic capacitors that literally had cracked and/or fallen off. I then examined the on-board power supply. It consists of four voltage regulators, […]
Keithley 197 battery option build
Kerry Wong blogged about his Keithley 197 battery option build: I have been quite happy with my fixed-up Keithley 197 5 ½ digit bench meter purchased from eBay (you can find the teardown pictures here) earlier this year. Keithley 197 has a battery pack option (Model 1978), and this option allows it to run on battery […]
Trio JR-310 and TX-310 restoration project
Dilshan Jayakody did restoration of TX-310 transmitter and JR-310 receiver step-by-step: I got Trio (now Kenwood) JR-310 and TX-310 SSB receiver and transmitter pair recently. When it comes to me both receiver and transmitter are in very bad shape and most of the PCBs and chassis are covered with dust and some of the components are very […]
Eddystone EC10 communication receiver restoration and PSU add-in
Dilshan Jayakody writes: Recently I got vintage Eddystone EC10 MK1 communication receiver from friend of mine and it is completely dead when it comes to me. EC10 MK1 is one of Eddystone’s very early solid state communications receivers and it use 10 PNP Germanium transistors. This receiver cover 550 kHz to 30 MHz and come […]
Wavetek 907 repair, YIG oscillator teardown
Kerry Wong writes: As I mentioned in my previous posting, there was an issue with my Wavetek 907 microwave frequency generator. While everything was fine during my initial testing, the frequency display is now stuck with an out-of-range display and the adjustable frequency range is limited to between around 6.9 Ghz to 7.9 Ghz (instead […]
HP 5350B OCXO repair
Kerry Wong fixed his HP 5350B OCXO. He documented the whole process on his blog: Last time, I did a teardown of an HP 5350B microwave counter. And as I mentioned in my teardown, the oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) did not appear to be working as the OVEN indicator would not go off even after hours […]
Fluke 196B Handheld ScopeMeter repair
Teardown and repair of a Fluke 196B Handheld ScopeMeter: In this episode Shahriar goes through the teardown and repair process of a Fluke 196B Handheld ScopeMeter. This unit, which has been purchased as a “dead” unit from eBay, is examined for faults. During the teardown, various PCB components, architecture and design is presented. The performance […]
Weller DS701E soldering-desoldering station repair
Gelbanana had some free time on his hands and he decided to try and repair an old Weller DS701E soldering-desoldering station he had laying around. The problem was diagnosed to a couple of bad capacitors. After a quick replacement, the station started working as expected, with the exception of the desoldering iron heater. While waiting […]
LED sign control board replaced with Arduino
Bob picked up a huge LED matrix sign on eBay that has power supply problems. After fixing the power supply, he decided to replace the controler boards with an Arduino. Via Hacked Gadgets.
Bus Pirate saves the day in paradise
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what one piece of open source tech would you want to have with you? For Javier Rosa the answer is clear: “I try and take my Bus Pirate with me whenever I can and it came in handy today. I’m presently on an island in the Pacific […]
Troubleshoot and repair a defective LCD monitor
Victor took apart a defective LCD monitor and repaired it. The LCD didn’t respond at all to the power button, so chances were good something was off in the power supply. Sure enough there was a bulging cap, replacing it revived the monitor and saved it from the landfill. Some time ago I was donated […]