Agilent 53181A - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: BFX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2018, 11:35:07 pm
content: Hello together,I bought this counter as broken. Luckily when it arrived it took me 15minutes to repair(broken PCB see photos)What's the problemI would like to buy 3Ghz options and there are 3 type on eBay actually.The old one which is known for a long timehttps://www.ebay.com/itm/3GHz-Channel-3-Option-for-HP-Agilent-53131A-53132A-53181A-counters-030-DIY/253972346615?hash=item3b21ee76f7:g:glcAAOSwGDZbZ19W:rk:9:pf:0and two newhttps://www.ebay.com/itm/Compatible-53131A-53132A-53181A-Option-030-3GHz-Frequency-Counter-F-HP-Agilent/113409537838?hash=item1a67bc372e:g:U2YAAOSwyUFb~9hp:rk:1:pf:0https://www.ebay.com/itm/3GHz-Channel-3-Option-for-HP-Agilent-53131A-53132A-53181A-counters-HPO-030-N/332836434103?hash=item4d7e98f0b7:g:L0QAAOSw~SNbTuL5:rk:5:pf:0Do you have some experience with those two?I saw there is also 5GHz/12.4GHz options for this counter and from the pictures I see this Chinese one is able to go to minimum 4.2GHz(from picture).What do you think ...which one?

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2018, 11:54:53 am
content: nice repair, but i would have done it slightly different, the small pcb trace may or will fail eventually due to the bnc stress on the front panel, hot glue wil never be strong enough to prevent that mechanical stress, i would have put an kinda loose wire up to the smt capacitor if the pcb want to separate againOr maybe use some kind of bracket maintained by the frame nearbynot sure if thoses bnc square casing was solderable

author: JKKDev
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 07, 2018, 12:37:10 pm
content: You could also use some epoxy and some fiberglass mesh to reinforce and reconnect the small chunk to the main part. You should probably rough up the surface where the epoxy will be contacting the pcb first. I'd also use a flexible electrical connection (aka a wire) as solder is somewhat fragile when it comes to mechanical stresses. Just a suggestion

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2019, 07:21:12 pm
content: Reviving this thread because I have the same question: Which of the three 3GHz options makes the most sense? They are still all available on EBay ranging in price from $40-80 and it's hard to tell the difference from just looking at the pictures. Anyone have experience with one of the models?

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 19, 2019, 07:27:56 pm
content: I don't have a 53132A anymore but added a 3 GHz option to one when I had them. I used the BG7TBL model and it met the gain specifications of the proper HP option. Which makes sense as it looks like a copy. I liked the idea that it worked as well as the original.

author: Ordinaryman1971
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2019, 02:32:08 pm
content: I think I have three of those options. I have original HP one, and I have two of Chinese ones. They all work fine.Get the cheapest one notice though that it doesn't come with the BNC connector so you have to get it separately.Do you have ovenized TXCO in yours installed?

author: PA0PBZ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2019, 03:50:43 pm
content: Quote from: Ordinaryman1971 on March 21, 2019, 02:32:08 pmNo, I will feed it from GPSDO or rubidium if I need the accuracy.

author: ChuckDarwin
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2019, 12:25:33 am
content: The BG7TBL add-in board in TheSteve's old 53132A is still working to spec.