In article , says...

Hi together,

looking at modern products repairing them becomes increasingly
difficult. Due to the massive use of programmable logic and
software residing in flash memory - there are lots of componentes
which can not be checked or replaced - even if they are known
to be defective...

snippety-one

The actual reason for my fear of these components is that
test equipemt, especially high quality one like tektronix or agilent,
always was an investment for many years - who is not happy about
his working Tek535 on a cold winter day? Recently there came up
relatively many of high end oscilloscopes (545xx) on eBay with
comments like "out of service", "agilent refused to repair",
"not serviceable". Since I own such a device, I suspect the
ALTERA EPM5128 or the soldered in flash memory beeing the problem.
Honestly speaking I was shocked that HP/agilent oscilloscopes are
"not servicable" only a couple of years after they have been
discontiuned :-(

Thanks god, my 54542a still works...

snippety-two

What you describe, Erik, is unfortunately an all-too-common
problem in today's electronics world, and it is one of the major reasons
why there is such a thriving market for used (and older) equipment.

One of the biggest problems I see is that, about 20 or so years
ago, a distressing trend began where much of the electronics industry
(heck, much of the PLANET for that matter!) stopped being interested in
long-term gains and (in the case of the electronics industry) longevity
of products. They began to favor, instead, short-term profit over long-
term growth.

The result has been obvious, as you have found out with
HP/Agilent. Tektronix is no different. 10 years ago, I could buy all the
manuals (and many parts) that I needed to keep Tek's 7000 series
equipment running, and at a fairly reasonable price too.

Then, one day, availability of true "service" manuals (those
containing schematics, parts lists, and theory of operation sections)
dropped off dramatically. "Service" documentation started containing
little more than board-level troubleshooting flowcharts, use of
customized non-obtainable parts skyrocketed, and equipment was declared
(by its manufacturer) to be "obsolete" (Lord, I loathe that word...)
after as little as 2-3 years.

Tektronix is far from the only victim of the MBA-wielding profit-
hungry CEO infestation, but they are a prominent one. I will say that,
in recent times, at least one person at HP/Agilent is trying to reverse
part of the trend. They visited the mailing list for HP/Agilent users
not long ago, saying that they wanted to try and greatly expand HP's
downloadable offerings on manuals and service information for older
equipment.

How far this attempt will go is anyone's guess, but at least one
person is trying. Perhaps, in time, there will be others.

None of this addresses your problem directly, of course. All I can
say along those lines is learn to be a scrounger when it comes to used
equipment, and learn well! Such skills could really save your tail (and
a whole ton of $$ if you shop carefully).

I know. I've built my entire lab using such techniques. ;-)

Happy hunting.


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"