Reviving Test Equipment After A Long Storage Period
in [Repair]
|
From: Too_Many_Tools on 2 Feb 2010 22:38 I have a number of pieces of test equipment (HP, Tek, Fluke...digital/ analog/RF) that have been sitting in storage for a decade. Time to apply the power and see if they work. What is the recommended procedure to bring test equipment that has been stored for a long period? Also is there a MIL document that relates to this subject? Thanks for what info you can offer. TMT
From: JeffM on 3 Feb 2010 02:48 Too_Many_Tools wrote: >What is the recommended procedure to bring test equipment >that has been stored for a long period? > http://www.vcomp.co.uk/tech_tips/reform_caps/reform_caps.htm
From: Robert Baer on 3 Feb 2010 03:45 Too_Many_Tools wrote: > I have a number of pieces of test equipment (HP, Tek, Fluke...digital/ > analog/RF) that have been sitting in storage for a decade. > > Time to apply the power and see if they work. > > What is the recommended procedure to bring test equipment that has > been stored for a long period? > > Also is there a MIL document that relates to this subject? > > Thanks for what info you can offer. > > TMT Old tube-based items should be brought up with a variac to 80-90% full voltage for up to a half an hour, and then up to full voltage if no smoke.. This allows the electrolytics to re-form; rare baddies will complain (smoke or explode). Battery powered equipment should have no problems unless the batteries are a part of an inverter to provide 120VAC..then try to bypass the inverter and use the variac scheme.
From: N_Cook on 3 Feb 2010 03:50 Too_Many_Tools <too_many_tools(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:bdc9a0c2-ac56-49a4-9ca1-2d058e3c0fe6(a)t1g2000vbq.googlegroups.com... > I have a number of pieces of test equipment (HP, Tek, Fluke...digital/ > analog/RF) that have been sitting in storage for a decade. > > Time to apply the power and see if they work. > > What is the recommended procedure to bring test equipment that has > been stored for a long period? > > Also is there a MIL document that relates to this subject? > > Thanks for what info you can offer. > > TMT Borrow or buy a variac or poorman's version a lamp socket in series and variety of traditional bulbs 10W to 150W. Flickering bulb, like wavering variac ammeter, often indicates cap problem. remove cover and sniff while powering up. -- Diverse Devices, Southampton, England electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on http://diverse.4mg.com/index.htm
From: John Walliker on 3 Feb 2010 17:22
On 3 Feb, 14:14, PeterD <pet...(a)hipson.net> wrote: > Hell, grab an extension cord, plug it in, and go for it! And then if it doesn't work look for lithium batteries maintaining the calibration memory. My HP 54542A digital 'scope died that way. No error message. It just wouldn't start up. After replacing the lithium battery and going through the self test and calibration procedure it was fine. Another potential problem is failing eproms. I bought a vector network analyzer from ebay which turned out to have one flipped eprom bit. I wrote this up on sci.electronics.repair. The most common problem is probably dried up electrolytic capacitors in switching power supplies. A cheap esr meter is worth its weight in gold as there is often no visible sign of failure. I use a Peak ESR60. John |