Fluke 199C - Power on issues - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2016, 10:12:37 am
content: I'm working on a Fluke 199C with some power on issues. Powered with 7V DC directly at the battery input, I get a power spike at turn on and what sounds like a faint relay click followed by no activity. If I remove the A201 module or hold up+right when powering on, I will get a normal sounding beep followed by 70 mA draw at 7V. However, I see DC 3.3V instead of a ~400 kHz square wave at keyboard ROW1, so I don't know whether or not the mask ROM program is running. As far as I can tell, the 3.3V output from the P-ASIC is fine, and I have the three clock signals required for the D-ASIC.Can anyone provide me with some guidance on how to proceed? Is there a UART or direct RS232 port available on the PCB for me to use without having to build an optical cable?Thanks in advance!

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2016, 04:54:35 am
content: More probing around today revealed no WDI signal at the watchdog under any power condition. I'm also starting to question whether or not the 40 MHz clock signal is actually any good. I may take a screenshot from my scope and post it later.

author: nidlaX
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 20, 2016, 12:44:30 pm
content: Here's a specific question: for the mask ROM program to load successful, do the external SRAMs (either the A201 SRAMs or the video RAM on the back of the PCA) need to be functional? I'm unfamiliar with the architecture of the Spider D-ASIC, so I don't know what is required to load the embedded program.

author: analogRF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2019, 01:19:07 pm
content: Quote from: nidlaX on August 20, 2016, 04:54:35 amHiI know this is 3 years old but were you able to repair the 199C? I have exactly the same symptoms and issues. But I am pretty sure the mask rom is running but again no activity on the watchdog IC....what did you do with yours?thanksregards

author: lostking2008
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2020, 02:02:19 pm
content: Hi There, I need a memory module for Fluke 199C, but it has been discontinued by Fluke back in 2017. Unfortunately, the service manual doesn't come with the circuit drawing of the Flash/SRAM module (80 contacts in two rows, 0.8mm pitch) itself. Does anyone have a schematic drawing of the memory module?Thanks,Ken

author: winniethepooh_icu
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 14, 2020, 04:53:38 am
content: You should check ebay, I was going to dump our 199C's on ebay until I saw the prices.. Broken ones barely fetching a hundred bucks sometimes

author: darkstar49
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 14, 2020, 09:52:35 am
content: Quote from: winniethepooh_icu on August 14, 2020, 04:53:38 amIndeed, probably the best & cheapest way to spare parts these days...As for the prices, you can't complain that broken items sometimes sell for peanuts... typically, people using complex (more or less) test equipment will ALWAYS check whether they might attempt a repair or not... so items that land on Ebay are typically those that are deemed 'not easy to repair' (or 'not economically reasonable to repair'...) by their owner... I buy quite some broken scopes on Ebay, and I'm always completely astonished to see some people asking thousands of dollars for items that sell just slightly higher in working order...Spare parts from the manufacturer are typically sold at totally indecent prices, when they are... most will require official servicing (and thus refuse to sell parts), with 150+ USD hourly price tag + mandatory calibration, and for many of the 'broken' or 'as is' scopes on Ebay, spare parts are unobtainium (even at the manufacturer)... There's a very, very significant (financial) risk associated with buying a non functional scope, and you won't typically be able to put that risk on the buyer...

author: winniethepooh_icu
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2020, 06:02:00 am
content: Quote from: darkstar49 on August 14, 2020, 09:52:35 amThis has not been my experience at all. It does appear that there are few sellers like this but they are easy to spot based on what else they sell. Of hundreds of pieces of broken equipment, only a few items have been unrepairable for me without purchasing additional hard parts. I do, however, avoid very recent equipment, at least 5 years old for me.

author: EHT
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 07, 2020, 08:10:41 pm
content: QuoteDunno about that. They usually seem to still go for a premium as far as I can see, unless really trashed. The 'Apple' of portable test equipmentQuoteI agree, best if you have some clue that the fault might be fixable on the particular item. Listings with the generic "unable to test" or not working with no details - stay away, especially if the seller won't provide at least some detail about what's wrong with it / where it came from.I was lucky buying a faulty 196B which I was able to fix without any replacement parts, but it was a risk as I could hardly describe it as a bargain.