An elegant solution, Ian. Thank you for showing it to us. If clearance with the shield becomes an issue, you could put a notch in your new board that is aligned with the front panel "clip" and attach your board closer to the old board. Regards, David
If only they had mounted the pcb the other way up. Then the first 13k that got too hot would have fallen off and the current would have stopped with no fire. Melting solder can make a useful fuse.
Great video. Very interesting how the input switch could be disassembled for inspection/cleaning. I have a 34401 with dodgy switch and this tip might come in handy. One comment to the new pcb: Is there enough clearance vs the display board?
Great fix with the new PCB section! Proper job. I just received one of these from Japan, for such a low price I was sure it would be like the one you're working on. Not so! All I had to do was use a bit of Goo-Gone on some sticker residue and change the mains voltage selector. There is a sticker from Agilent's Japanese lab on the top that says it was due for next cal in '22, which was a pleasant surprise! It's a good job, too, as I would have struggled (lots) with the repair you just made look easy.
While you have it disassembled, you might want to add some thin isolation between the spark gap and the COTO relay. Over on EEVblog there is a documented case of the spark gap "scratching through" the COTO's isolation, causing a short. On my 34401A I bodged-in some Kapton tape. Not the most beautiful of solutions but it does the job.
Thanks for mentioning this issue. I discovered this some time ago and posted on eevblog. Here th-cam.com/video/h938dAywRko/w-d-xo.htmlsi=k2xF1wiWdI36MlI3&t=1157 it is clearly visible that there is no gap between the E100 high voltage arrestor and the K101 relay. If you remove the COTO relay you will definitely find a scratch in the red paint.
I am guessing that your are going to snake wires around the protective plate then since you went with elevating the replacement circuit piece? Great video as always
Hi Ian, K101 and L102 could as well be damaged. Good thing, that you cleaned the front/rear switch, as this - after 20 years- probably might be covered by a film, originating from the case plastics, i.e. outgassed plasticizer. Me and several others faced this problem, especially in Ohm modes, being evident by erroneous readings (2W) on the front and ok ones on the rear. Curious Marc btw. just a few days ago repaired an older 3478A in the same manner, and had exactly this switch problem. Isn't the elevated PCB with ~1kV above its resistors too narrow to the display PCB? Formerly, there was a bigger distance, provided by the white pin, where the PCB snaps in.
I saw Curious Marcs video......and nice that he mentioned my backlight conversion at the end! I have decided to spin a new Pcb to address a couple other issues.
Will be interesting to see if it works. Compared to what else could go wrong with various chips that repair is sort of straightforward. Nice if you can have a pcb fabricated. Us lesser mortals would use proto board or similar.
Yep, being a uV capable device little burn spots on contacts are not good, and the relay showed signs of heat with its warped top. Gawd knows what was thrown at this thing!
Once the daughter PCB is fitted, what is the clearance between the R107 pad and the (safety grounded?) nut/standoff? Wouldn't that be a prime candidate for arcing? See detail at 17:18 and 23:42 th-cam.com/video/h938dAywRko/w-d-xo.html
Hy Ian! As usual, great job so far. Can you test the Errors before adding the additional PCB in circuit? In theory it should work fine with the front terminals. Some errors are expected given the relay cant perform it's job but would give good indication about the state of U101.
Yes, I could have……but I like a challenge, and I didn’t want to power up without knowing the relays weren’t going to be all in the wrong positions which may cause more issues.
Hi Ian, that's an error "C" = Coal 😂 I was reminded of this when I found a burnt hole with a diameter of approx. 5cm on one PCB of power electronics 🤪 You made the replacement PCB really beautifully, I built the replacement circuit on a bastl board because it had to work immediately. Just a question - won't the shielding aluminum cover be a problem, is there enough space? Nice day 🙂 Tom
@@IanScottJohnston Well, I can't wait, I can't wait to buy your PDSV 2 either 😁 First I have to buy a new digi oscilloscope, at my salary I'll hear back in about ten years 🤣 I hope they'll still be 🤣
Nice beginning of a repair! Ever repaired a sovjet / "eastern bloc" bench multimeter? If you want, i would send one to you ( i would cover all costs, the meter would be for free) :D I tried to repair it myself but well, changing some caps didn't solve anything :D So ye ... if you are interested in the old tech from this era, let me know. Oh, and it's an Meratronik V560 Digital Multimeter.
There’s a metal cover to fit over the new Pcb that I took you see earlier in the video……..I think I am already pushing it and will probably have to lower the Pcb.
Keeping the original pcb in one piece was the best and strongest solution. Good call, Ian !
Wow, fantastic work on creating that little "corner of the board" replacement =D Great work cleaning out the switch too!
What an elegant solution to that fire incident. Great job!
Nice to see you did not cut the pcb, so it retained its rigidity.
Yes lucky not a multiple core board as well 🙂
woof@@fredflintstone1
Love the groovy disassembly muzak! I have a similar meter I have to get around to resurrecting.
Bardzo profesjonalna naprawa PCB 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍Ładny miernik
I always like your ingenuity on getting things done, I was thinking the same thing small pcb for the burnt area
The one time you're happy getting a positive result from a covid test bud. Thanks for the video Ian.
An elegant solution, Ian. Thank you for showing it to us. If clearance with the shield becomes an issue, you could put a notch in your new board that is aligned with the front panel "clip" and attach your board closer to the old board. Regards, David
So, did the switch have COVID or not?
Yes, but thankfully it had been inoculated with electrons at regular intervals.....so no lasting problems.
Awesome, looking forward to part 2!
Great idea, the sign was perfect!
Waiting for the second video!
Nice job!! Looking forward to p2
If only they had mounted the pcb the other way up. Then the first 13k that got too hot would have fallen off and the current would have stopped with no fire. Melting solder can make a useful fuse.
Nice idea!
Great video. Very interesting how the input switch could be disassembled for inspection/cleaning. I have a 34401 with dodgy switch and this tip might come in handy.
One comment to the new pcb: Is there enough clearance vs the display board?
Great fix with the new PCB section! Proper job. I just received one of these from Japan, for such a low price I was sure it would be like the one you're working on. Not so! All I had to do was use a bit of Goo-Gone on some sticker residue and change the mains voltage selector. There is a sticker from Agilent's Japanese lab on the top that says it was due for next cal in '22, which was a pleasant surprise! It's a good job, too, as I would have struggled (lots) with the repair you just made look easy.
While you have it disassembled, you might want to add some thin isolation between the spark gap and the COTO relay. Over on EEVblog there is a documented case of the spark gap "scratching through" the COTO's isolation, causing a short.
On my 34401A I bodged-in some Kapton tape. Not the most beautiful of solutions but it does the job.
Thanks for mentioning this issue. I discovered this some time ago and posted on eevblog. Here th-cam.com/video/h938dAywRko/w-d-xo.htmlsi=k2xF1wiWdI36MlI3&t=1157 it is clearly visible that there is no gap between the E100 high voltage arrestor and the K101 relay. If you remove the COTO relay you will definitely find a scratch in the red paint.
Great job!
Nice fix; I wish I had that creativity...
I am guessing that your are going to snake wires around the protective plate then since you went with elevating the replacement circuit piece? Great video as always
I think my Pcb will fit under the plate just and no more. Might need to play about with the height though.
Perfectly Repair Job. Thank you for this very interesting Video
Great Job.
Hi Ian, K101 and L102 could as well be damaged. Good thing, that you cleaned the front/rear switch, as this - after 20 years- probably might be covered by a film, originating from the case plastics, i.e. outgassed plasticizer. Me and several others faced this problem, especially in Ohm modes, being evident by erroneous readings (2W) on the front and ok ones on the rear.
Curious Marc btw. just a few days ago repaired an older 3478A in the same manner, and had exactly this switch problem.
Isn't the elevated PCB with ~1kV above its resistors too narrow to the display PCB? Formerly, there was a bigger distance, provided by the white pin, where the PCB snaps in.
I saw Curious Marcs video......and nice that he mentioned my backlight conversion at the end!
I have decided to spin a new Pcb to address a couple other issues.
What, a pleasure to view...thank you, take care.
Nice work
Wow, toasty... Given the usage case, anyway to beef up the over voltage protection?
Crowbar circuit and relay to disconnect input if the voltage is too high. Through hole resistors stood up off the board would be better as well.
A perfect job so far! 🤗
Will be interesting to see if it works. Compared to what else could go wrong with various chips that repair is sort of straightforward. Nice if you can have a pcb fabricated. Us lesser mortals would use proto board or similar.
Yes, i would just use a piece of stripboard and through hole resistors. Not worth the cost of ordering a custom PCB just for some resistors.
Well those PCBs are actually pretty cheap but I don't have the skill or software to design one.
For the switch and relay it wasn’t really a large current (17mA) for their low impedance. I guess there could have been some sparks given the voltage
Yep, being a uV capable device little burn spots on contacts are not good, and the relay showed signs of heat with its warped top. Gawd knows what was thrown at this thing!
Once the daughter PCB is fitted, what is the clearance between the R107 pad and the (safety grounded?) nut/standoff? Wouldn't that be a prime candidate for arcing?
See detail at 17:18 and 23:42 th-cam.com/video/h938dAywRko/w-d-xo.html
Hmmm, plastic screw/nut probably best required…….thanks for spotting, I’ll change it out.
You are Unic. 💯👍🏾
Hy Ian! As usual, great job so far.
Can you test the Errors before adding the additional PCB in circuit? In theory it should work fine with the front terminals. Some errors are expected given the relay cant perform it's job but would give good indication about the state of U101.
Yes, I could have……but I like a challenge, and I didn’t want to power up without knowing the relays weren’t going to be all in the wrong positions which may cause more issues.
Nice one....cheers !!
Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eek its Mr Mouse
Might be an idea to put a fuse on that new PCB too.
IMHO R110 and R111 aren't as toasted as the rest - see at about 9:15. This confirms C100 rather than C101 as the likely short circuit.
Yep, hard to tell for sure really. There may be more/new info in Part 2 !!!
Baited breath here...
great solution
I pinched a few of those Covid test kit swab sticks too. They're perfect for long reach cleaning jobs, wish you could buy them.
Available on Amazon, search for nose swabs. Expensive though!
Or, talk to a nurse if you know one…….:)
Fit like loon - nice repair work ... ken
Hi Ian, that's an error "C" = Coal 😂 I was reminded of this when I found a burnt hole with a diameter of approx. 5cm on one PCB of power electronics 🤪
You made the replacement PCB really beautifully, I built the replacement circuit on a bastl board because it had to work immediately.
Just a question - won't the shielding aluminum cover be a problem, is there enough space?
Nice day 🙂 Tom
I addressed the alu cover in Part 2...:-)
@@IanScottJohnston Well, I can't wait, I can't wait to buy your PDSV 2 either 😁 First I have to buy a new digi oscilloscope, at my salary I'll hear back in about ten years 🤣 I hope they'll still be 🤣
Glad the COVID test kits were used for something worthwhile...lol
HP 34401 has an error 625. The I/O processor does not respond
From the date on the PCBs has been only 9 days since you laid those out to publishing this video.
Would have been sooner, but I ordered the wrong resistors…:)
Nice beginning of a repair! Ever repaired a sovjet / "eastern bloc" bench multimeter? If you want, i would send one to you ( i would cover all costs, the meter would be for free) :D I tried to repair it myself but well, changing some caps didn't solve anything :D So ye ... if you are interested in the old tech from this era, let me know. Oh, and it's an Meratronik V560 Digital Multimeter.
Please contact me via my website.
First seeing a HP 34401A tested for covid.🤣
LOL!
I'm sure that we are all glad that your 'elevator music' doesn't involve a certain Scottish 'musical' instrument. :-)
Well, maybe a tad unsuitable in this case……😀
😁, personally, I love the pipes!
I would've used 5W through hole resistors and stood them up off the board.
The PCB is burned... It would have worked as parasitic R in parallel with the resistors (5%)
There’s a metal cover to fit over the new Pcb that I took you see earlier in the video……..I think I am already pushing it and will probably have to lower the Pcb.