14 May
2012
14 May
'12
1:46 p.m.
I have a H7140 that I am *still* trying to repair
after more than a year of
failure and despite the valiant attempts of one person on this list to help
me, and it is in much better condition than the one in the pictures.
From what you've told me, it's on;y got
electrical problems... It's not
full of evidnce of rodents, is it?
However, I am hampered by my poor knowledge of PSUs
(which is gradually
improving), my slowly developing desoldering skills, and my unwillingness to
spend a lot of money on oscilloscopes, bench PSUs, ESR testers and goodness
knows what else.
Good test gear is an investment, but I do agree it gets very expensive to
have everything that would be useful, particularly if you are not sure
you're goign to need it again. Diehard hardware people probably can
justify a room of vey obscure instrument, people who just want ot fix the
machie so they can get one with using it probably can't...
It's often psosible to manage without a particular insturment, but the
people who are most likely to be able to do this are those who already
have a lot of experience (and thus (a) understand what they need to
measure and (b) know how to do that with what they have). And by Murphy's
law, those are precisely the people who are likely to have accumulated
all sorts of test gear over the years.
It remidns me a bit of the books that tell you how to make an accurate
metalwork lathe from scrap. I don't doubt it's possible, but the authors
of suche books (a) often have access to machine tools through work,
friends, clubs, etc) and (b), more importantly have been using lathes all
their lives and know how to handle metal.
To sum up, I think f you put an experienced hardware repairman on a
desert island withjust a multimeter he could do a lot. But although
that's what a beginenr might be limited to as well, he doesn't have the
experience to use it in unconventioal ways.
-tony