DIYbanter - HP Agilent 8590A RF attenuator fault

Cheers Glenn, I'll give that a go over the weekend. I'm sure when I first
saw it that it was probably a common fault with the attenuator section.

Neil

"Glenn" wrote in message
...
Neil

Take the cover off of the attenuator to reveal the solenoid side of
things. Each section/solenoid has "Y" contacts made from springy wire.
These contacts must function correctly if the solenoid is to do so.
Try stepping a good section to see how it should work. Compare with the 10
dB section. It is very possible that the "Y" has a problem and that you
can see what it is. That was a problem with some of those attenuators.

Unless you determine that there's actually a problem with the 10 dB
section itself, you shouldn't need to dig into the RF path. If there is,
you can follow generally the same comparative method to figure out what's
wrong. They can be safely disassembled and reassembled if one uses care.

Glenn

I've got an Agilent Analyser which appears to have developed a fault with
the 10dB attenuator resistor or relay contact (poss. sticky relay?) which
is
hampering operation of the unit when front-end attenuation is needed to
pad
the level down on an incoming signal. It also affects the unit's RF level
self-cal so I've not been able to auto-calibrate it for a period of time.

I suspect either a resistor has gone o/c, has a dry joint or the relay
has a
sticky contact. Has anyone experience of this and does someone have a
copy
of the unit's service manual for schematic references etc? It shouldn't
take
long to sort but wouldn't mind a .PDF of the manual to hand for this and
further problems I might encounter in the future.

Cheers

Neil.