34401A repair (had a hole drilled through it) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 05:01:56 am
content: I bought an Agilent branded 34401A a while back that had a hole drilled through it from top to bottom. It looked like a fun project.I assume the hole was a way for a company to "dispose" of an asset.When I received it I was able to see that the hole was started from the bottom of the chassis. They drilled through the PCB, ripped(forced) a chip off the PCB and then kept going out the top of the chassis.The good news is that the chip they forced off was logic based, not an analog portion of the meter.Here are some pictures:A close up of the PCB showing the hole and the pads/traces ripped off:The chip itself with very mangled legs(you can see where the drill bit started drilling into the chip before it was forced off the board):The chip with the legs repaired as best possible - I was very gentle and pleased none of the legs fell off:The PCB cleaned and ready to receive the repaired chip:The chip installed with all required jumpers added:First power on connected to my calibrator, measuring 10 volts DC:

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 05:05:19 am
content: The holes in the chassis were both covered with copper tape from the inside and kapton tape on the outside for now.The power button rod also needed some repair:The plastic of the face had some issues as well. There were several nicks, the repair was done by applying heat(carefully).Here is a before and after of the worst portion:And what the chassis itself looks like:So, anyone want to buy a rather unique 34401A that works great?

author: sean0118
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 05:39:39 am
content: Wow! Great work.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 12:02:27 pm
content: And I thought I had seen it all ... what an interesting project!

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 12:58:25 pm
content: Awesome job recovering the meter.

author: 4thDoctorWhoFan
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 01:34:28 pm
content: Great job.Awesome work.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 03:21:40 pm
content: Always good to see vandalism reversed!

author: andy3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 04:24:48 pm
content: That is a very impressive job!

author: iMo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2019, 05:01:15 pm
content: My hat weights 22000 pounds, but "I take my hat off to you".

author: Miti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 02:21:28 am
content: Do you know who did it? You should have called RSPCI on him. That instrument will be marked for life.

author: Joel L
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 02:37:04 am
content: WOW, all I can say is "Nicely Done". I would have never tried that! That's really very nice work! Thank you for sharing.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 02:41:49 am
content: Very skillful work!

author: cgroen
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 02:04:56 pm
content: Thats dedicationWell done !!

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 04:12:52 pm
content: Keysight should contact you and buy the meter back. Perfect marketing opportunity "Our DMMs continue working even after being drilled/shot all the way thru!"P.S. Can't help but to notice that 3458A is coldppms leaking out of U180!

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 17, 2019, 08:33:38 pm
content: Thanks for the kind words everyone! I had a lot of fun bringing the meter back to life.TiN - of course the 3458A was powered on and logging data when the pic was taken, the VFD is just turned off to preserve its life.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2019, 03:14:04 am
content: A great restore job, well done

author: med6753
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2019, 09:05:33 pm
content: Ditto, well done!

author: Kosmic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2019, 12:06:05 am
content: Good job

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2019, 12:12:38 am
content: Quote from: Joel L on November 17, 2019, 02:37:04 amI would, & have, done something similar----It didn't turn out near as elegant, though!

author: pcmad
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 19, 2019, 02:39:43 am
content: congras its always nice to see sa great repair