Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

This forum exists for the purposes for discussing service monitors (This includes but is not limited to Motorola, HP, Aeroflex, GD, etc). Additional topics allowed include test procedures, interpretation of test results, where to find information about specific tests, antenna VSWR, return loss testing, duplexer and filter alignment, etc.

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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

Yes, the 1900 output was VGA, so if the issue is "no display at all" hooking up a monitor would be a good check.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

Tried to get a part for an older 1200SS and was told that all of the parts are no longer available.
Was the inventory sold off or just scrapped ?
Seemed like there was good availability on most parts just prior to the July cut off ( very expensive though )
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

Scrapped, it pains me to say. Ditto for the COM-120 family.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

Ouch ...hope the business is doing OK
WB6DGN
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by WB6DGN »

Scrapped, it pains me to say. Ditto for the COM-120 family.
That tells me all I need to know about ever buying product from that manufacturer.
Tom
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

Business is doing well - it's just that the thought is that supporting older gear costs more/profits less than selling new.

Plus, in the case of the COM120 and 1200, many of the components are no longer available - it's hard for us to replace your COM120B's busted screen when Planar no longer manufactures it, or to replace your 1200's CRT when it is no longer made.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

glad to hear a company that has a long history of quality is doing well.
Understand the issues of supporting older gear but the complete scrapping of all the old parts seems a bit drastic.

Are the military versions of the IFR-1600 still supported ?
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

I suspect the AN-GRM 4317 will be supported throughout the life of this universe and into the next, where it will be regarded as a mystical artifact of eldritch power - the military has too much invested around it to want to change lightly.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
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escomm
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by escomm »

Ah, that would probably explain why the State of CA junked all their COM120s and 1200SS in the summertime.
flecom
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by flecom »

Wowbagger wrote:Scrapped, it pains me to say. Ditto for the COM-120 family.
yet still cant get a service manual for it :rolleyes:

regreted buying an IFR... ended up getting an agilent, much happier
KE7JFF
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by KE7JFF »

Wowbagger wrote:it's hard for us to replace your COM120B's busted screen when Planar no longer manufactures it, or to replace your 1200's CRT when it is no longer made.
HA! My father was a Planar employee...he used to talk about manufacturing lines still open for decades because of legacy support from companies like Aeroflex because of the parts demand!
Mountain Wave Search & Rescue http://www.mwave.org
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Batwings21
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Batwings21 »

Anyone know if the 3550 will be getting p25 phase 2?
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

I'll say the same thing I always say in these matters: if it hasn't been publicly announced, I cannot talk about it. Check our website for announcements, or contact the sales reps.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
miamiwise
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by miamiwise »

I have an IFR 1900 CSA, everything worked fine on my last use which was about 6 months from now.
Today, 4th of July, I have some time to to touch this machine again,but when I started this up and ran a self test and I got 2 fail messages which are:
1) AM modulation ( = 2.0 )
2) Power Meter ( = 0.2 )
I have no idea about this error messages and would like anyone to provide me a hint to fix this this.
Thank you for reading my message.
kb5zxm
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by kb5zxm »

Hope your still here,< on this side of the grass,> and still kickin.
I recently bought a Cellular test set , Aeroflex..2965 If memory, serves , I have some 800 mc stuff to play with, police and fire/ambulance.
>> I was wondering if this machine could be modified to do other bands, ie: 900mc or 700mc, expect to see activity there soon.
I see a lot of these for sale very cheap, and?? bought one in a moment of distraction.
I reasoned it would be worth the price if it runs or as spares for other devices using a similar frame.
>> I would also ask" what models shared, major assemblies, or big component parts with it"
I mostly restore old Cushmans . So I am out of my Elephant here.
Thanks kb5zxm Magnolia Texas
phizzz
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by phizzz »

So.. wasn't the IFR 1900 a current product until 2006 for $75,950? Aeroflex stops selling parts for it 6 years later! scrapping all the parts and docs?
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

phizzz wrote:So.. wasn't the IFR 1900 a current product until 2006 for $75,950? Aeroflex stops selling parts for it 6 years later! scrapping all the parts and docs?
It's more "Keeps the spares for the military contracts, which have big time penalties for not maintaining spares for a very long time, vs. servicing the civilian versions, which are now only used by individuals and lower-end radio shops which don't have such penalty clauses."
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
sreaves
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by sreaves »

Hello Wowbagger,

A few questions on the 1600S:

On the 1600S there is a Dallas DS1260 SMARTBattery on the memory card.
Is that just backup for settings?

If the firmware and options are stored there, is there a way to back it up so that when you replace this battery you can recover the data?

I have a method to back up and restore data to a DS1287 RTC but I have no idea how I would do it on the 1600S. I do have GPIB capability if that helps.

Is it safe to test my CPU card and memory card in another instrument just to verify total functionality?

I do get the normal beep sequence so I suspect that all is okay there but since I have to pull and ship the cards anyway I might as well test all I can since I can not run the full tests with a bad display.

Thank you,

Sam
W3OHM

Sam

P.S. Still no go on the video card but a member of the group has kindly offered to test it in his unit to confirm my suspicions.
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

The battery on the card backs up current state. I'm not sure about where the options are stored - if they are in the NVRAM card or in the real time clock, but I can ask Bonnie when I get in to work.
As for backing up and restoring... I don't think there's any way a normal user can do that, as that would allow copying options (and thus robbing Aeroflex of money).
You should be OK testing the CPU and the NVRAM card IF the units have the same level of firmware in the rest of the smart boards - else you would get startup fails.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

On the Mil version TS4317 there is a utility to backup and restore the calibration, SN through the serial port ...SN restore requires some effort and not what it's used for unless you have some software options installed in the user flash area.

The biggest concern on the 1600S is the calibration data. Other option is to go through every calibration screen and write down the numbers and reset them after the battery is replaced if that's even feasible.

The only options ( in my option ) of any value anymore would require additional software loaded into the flash ( EasyScan was one I think ) so just flipplng the options bits really wouldn't help that much unless you want to enable some of the cellular testing featues.

Everything else in the 1600S of use anymore is pretty much standard in the basic unit.

The Smart options looked to be all externally housed and SCSI attached on the 1600 for the 800 cellular testing .
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d119
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by d119 »

We were considering purchasing 3920's to replace our R2670's, but after hearing about support/parts, I'll fight that tooth and nail.

We are taking a good long look at the GD R8000... We can still get parts for our R2600's and R2670's without issue.

It's unfortunate that Aeroflex considers keeping parts around to be unprofitable, and instead of selling the inventory off to a third party, they junked it.

Why invest in equipment that will be unsupported in so short a time frame?
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

d119 wrote:We were considering purchasing 3920's to replace our R2670's, but after hearing about support/parts, I'll fight that tooth and nail.

We are taking a good long look at the GD R8000... We can still get parts for our R2600's and R2670's without issue.

It's unfortunate that Aeroflex considers keeping parts around to be unprofitable, and instead of selling the inventory off to a third party, they junked it.

Why invest in equipment that will be unsupported in so short a time frame?
May I make a suggestion? Please, write a letter (on paper!), making that point, to:
Aeroflex Wichita
attn: Paul New, Director of Global Customer Service
attn: Rob Barden, Director of Product Marketing - Commercial
10200 West York St
Wichita, KS 67215-8999

Be polite, tell them *truthfully* how many units your group would have purchased, and your reasoning for opposing the choice.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
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d119
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by d119 »

I may just do that. Once a decision is finally made and in the event it is NOT AeroFlex (doesn't look good at this point), I'll probably do that.

Right now we have ~10 R2600's and 3 R2670's in service, and a couple of R2021's.

Not a ton of equipment, but 15 service monitors is certainly more than just one...

Respectfully, as it appears you already know, your management needs to get real and realize that not everyone or every agency/company can afford to crap out $30k (and thats on the low end) every 5-10 years for new equipment. Sometimes we need to get 15-20 years out of a box.

I know several public safety agencies still using IFR-1200/1500/1600/1900 series equipment every single day. I guess when it breaks, it's garbage now. I'll certainly be a little more careful with my 1500 knowing what I know now.

On the flipside, I was able to get my R2008 repaired and calibrated without issue when the time came. And it is older than dirt!

Since you folks did what you did, you would be wise to start saving trade-in units for spare parts. Might give you the opportunity to "make up for it". Just sayin'.
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

I checked with the lead engineer on the 1600, and she says the options are stored in the NVRAM as well.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
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Wowbagger
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Parts obsolescence

Post by Wowbagger »

I understand your feelings, but do keep in mind, it's not like we take sand in the back door and equipment comes out the front - we buy our parts from other companies, who then discontinue those parts when the choose. We then have the choice of either tying a large amount of money up in a last time buy (and paying taxes on all that inventory), or redesigning the device (and then dealing with all the variant versions from that day forward), or discontinuing the device. Then you have the issue that communications have changed - a 16MHz CPU was enough back in the late 1980's, now you need multiple 1GHz plus processors just to make the measurements, yet people like you often want their old gear to do it all - and get angry when we ask them to buy the new hardware.

And if we deign the equipment with enough headroom to last, it gets pricey - think three to six times what it is now. Then people complain about that. Guys like me are between a rock and a hard place - Marketing won't give us the hardware we need, but we are still expected to do everything in the Marketing Requirements Document anyway -which means the software takes twice as long.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
sreaves
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by sreaves »

Wowbagger wrote:I checked with the lead engineer on the 1600, and she says the options are stored in the NVRAM as well.
Hi Wowbagger,

By NVRAM does she mean the Dallas DS1287 or the Memory card that has the DS1260 SmartBattery on it?

The DS1287 I can handle but how does one replace the DS1260 without losing data (if anything of interest is there).

Thanks,

Sam
W3OHM
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d119
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Re: Parts obsolescence

Post by d119 »

Wowbagger wrote:Then you have the issue that communications have changed - a 16MHz CPU was enough back in the late 1980's, now you need multiple 1GHz plus processors just to make the measurements, yet people like you often want their old gear to do it all - and get angry when we ask them to buy the new hardware.
It's not that I want my old gear to do it all - I realize an IFR 1200/1500/1600/1900 isn't going to do P25, MotoTRBO, etc.

It would just be nice to be able to still get some minimal support or even second hand/refurb parts from the manufacturer for a product that is less than 10-15 years old, rather than a note that they threw out/crushed everything.

I rest my case.
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Wowbagger
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

sreaves wrote: By NVRAM does she mean the Dallas DS1287 or the Memory card that has the DS1260 SmartBattery on it?
The memory card. And as for replacing that battery without losing the contents - Short of some very careful soldering work, and temporarily putting a battery elsewhere, I don't have a good suggestion for you.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
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Wowbagger
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Re: Parts obsolescence

Post by Wowbagger »

d119 wrote: It would just be nice to be able to still get some minimal support or even second hand/refurb parts from the manufacturer for a product that is less than 10-15 years old, rather than a note that they threw out/crushed everything.

I rest my case.
OK, get your 5 year old cell phone repaired. Or your 5 year old TV. Or your five year old computer motherboard repaired.

Look in an accountancy book, or the study guides for an MBA, or any book on GAAP, under "Amortization", and look at what the amortization time for devices like that is.

We *do* have contracts for periods longer than 10 years - and they add a great deal to the cost of a device, precisely because we have to stock all the parts (and pay tax every year on them) when their manufacturer stops making them - OR we have to have a contract with our suppliers for that sort of long support (which, guess what, raises the cost on the parts, and we pass that on to you, or rather, we try to pass it on to you and you :o about the price being too high).

Yes, I am trying to fix that by designing for upgrades in the product, but that adds to the almighty Bill Of Material cost, and gets passed on to you as well - or rather, gets rejected because it would increase the BoM and Marketing thinks that won't sell. Again: you want that to change, YOU, the guys with the money, have to convince Marketing that it is worth letting Engineering build products for the ages - don't take it out on me, I cannot make it happen: from Management's perspective, Engineering is just a cost center and Marketing/Sales is where the money comes from.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
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d119
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Re: Parts obsolescence

Post by d119 »

Wowbagger wrote:
d119 wrote: It would just be nice to be able to still get some minimal support or even second hand/refurb parts from the manufacturer for a product that is less than 10-15 years old, rather than a note that they threw out/crushed everything.

I rest my case.
OK, get your 5 year old cell phone repaired. Or your 5 year old TV. Or your five year old computer motherboard repaired.

Look in an accountancy book, or the study guides for an MBA, or any book on GAAP, under "Amortization", and look at what the amortization time for devices like that is.

We *do* have contracts for periods longer than 10 years - and they add a great deal to the cost of a device, precisely because we have to stock all the parts (and pay tax every year on them) when their manufacturer stops making them - OR we have to have a contract with our suppliers for that sort of long support (which, guess what, raises the cost on the parts, and we pass that on to you, or rather, we try to pass it on to you and you :o about the price being too high).

Yes, I am trying to fix that by designing for upgrades in the product, but that adds to the almighty Bill Of Material cost, and gets passed on to you as well - or rather, gets rejected because it would increase the BoM and Marketing thinks that won't sell. Again: you want that to change, YOU, the guys with the money, have to convince Marketing that it is worth letting Engineering build products for the ages - don't take it out on me, I cannot make it happen: from Management's perspective, Engineering is just a cost center and Marketing/Sales is where the money comes from.

OK. I'm going to end my rant on this note: The only thing I got out of your above statement is that your company is in the business of making $50k+ throwaway test equipment. A cellular phone, computer motherboard, and a television set are all consumer electronics devices generally under $1000.00. They are NOT $50k+ pieces of equipment designed for industrial use.

As I said before, Wowbagger, I rest my case, and our company will take our business elsewhere. Feel free to forward this thread to your superiors, I've no more time to waste on this subject.
phizzz
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Re: Parts obsolescence (forced obsolesence)

Post by phizzz »

d119 wrote:
Wowbagger wrote:
d119 wrote: It would just be nice to be able to still get some minimal support or even second hand/refurb parts from the manufacturer for a product that is less than 10-15 years old, rather than a note that they threw out/crushed everything.

I rest my case.
OK, get your 5 year old cell phone repaired. Or your 5 year old TV. Or your five year old computer motherboard repaired.

Look in an accountancy book, or the study guides for an MBA, or any book on GAAP, under "Amortization", and look at what the amortization time for devices like that is.

We *do* have contracts for periods longer than 10 years - and they add a great deal to the cost of a device, precisely because we have to stock all the parts (and pay tax every year on them) when their manufacturer stops making them - OR we have to have a contract with our suppliers for that sort of long support (which, guess what, raises the cost on the parts, and we pass that on to you, or rather, we try to pass it on to you and you :o about the price being too high).

Yes, I am trying to fix that by designing for upgrades in the product, but that adds to the almighty Bill Of Material cost, and gets passed on to you as well - or rather, gets rejected because it would increase the BoM and Marketing thinks that won't sell. Again: you want that to change, YOU, the guys with the money, have to convince Marketing that it is worth letting Engineering build products for the ages - don't take it out on me, I cannot make it happen: from Management's perspective, Engineering is just a cost center and Marketing/Sales is where the money comes from.

OK. I'm going to end my rant on this note: The only thing I got out of your above statement is that your company is in the business of making $50k+ throwaway test equipment. A cellular phone, computer motherboard, and a television set are all consumer electronics devices generally under $1000.00. They are NOT $50k+ pieces of equipment designed for industrial use.

As I said before, Wowbagger, I rest my case, and our company will take our business elsewhere. Feel free to forward this thread to your superiors, I've no more time to waste on this subject.


Wowbagger,

Let me start by saying that i appreciate your contributions out here, and thank you for helping people with ifr / aeroflex questions.

But in what universe is it ok for a company to sell a piece of test equipment ifr1900 for $75,950 and not support it after 6 years. Then, with no sense of obligation to its customers, say that since there is support contract to throw out all the documentation and spare parts in a Kansas scrap yard! then support its inferior cousin the ifr1600 just because the is a contract for support.

To offer credit to the state of California buy back credits for hundreds of COM120B's, Com120C's and ifr1200 super S's just to CRUSH them and throw them in a pile in a Kansas scrap yard.

What an insult to all the craftsmen who put the IFR1200 SUPER S together by hand.(a handcrafted piece of analog RF art) What an insult to all the technicians that used them for years.


So, if it such a nuisance and a burden to have old well made equipment in inventory, that "to stock all the parts (and pay tax every year on them)" then why buy them back from California? Just to crush them?

It seems that Aeroflex is aggressively trying to dry up the used communications test equipment market, It seems that Aeroflex is aggressively trying to dry up the used communications test equipment market, to force people to buy new.

i can only imagine that the same attitude that you expressed of "OK, get your 5 year old cell phone repaired. Or your 5 year old TV. Or your five year old computer motherboard repaired" is considered normal over at aeroflex.

I would like you to know, i just had a 22 year old repeater amplifier repaired over at Henry Radio (the manufacturer) in Los Angeles, They keep spare parts and documentation for all their products.

Also Wobagger i would like you to know, i just had the power supply replaced (by a factory certified tech) on my TH-65DX300 65" plasma TV that i purchased for $11,000 in 2004.

I will never buy an other piece of aeroflex equipment again! I will also influence as many people as possible to do the same.
CircleBat
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by CircleBat »

IFR is just not supporting old equipment anymore.. like what wowbagger said...its cheaper for IFR to not support older models due to to limited parts. Just like Motorola not supporting their HT600/GP300 lines because the radios are outdated and parts are not available. I have seen a massive garage full of IFR1900's that says property of the US Army that were disposed and were to be sent to the crushers, but instead found its way back to the market being refurbished. These units are limited in parts and I have seen a very good IFR tech hacking units just to get 1 unit back onto the market. I must admit IFR makes a good unit, but they just don't want to support older units, and if they do support it, it will cost the user a fortune just for parts like what wowbagger said. Its cheaper to find a used unit on Ebay than sending an older unit into service @ IFR.
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escomm
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Re: Parts obsolescence

Post by escomm »

Wowbagger wrote:OK, get your 5 year old cell phone repaired. Or your 5 year old TV. Or your five year old computer motherboard repaired.

Look in an accountancy book, or the study guides for an MBA, or any book on GAAP, under "Amortization", and look at what the amortization time for devices like that is.
I'm sorry, do you actually have a straight face when you lump cell phones, TVs and computers in the same category as test equipment? A 5 to almost 6 figure piece of specialized test equipment against a consumer grade product? Uh, wow.

There will be more backlash headed your way, I'm certain.
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Wowbagger
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OK guys, this is it.

Post by Wowbagger »

Guys: I cannot change the policy. Dumping all the grief on me does nothing to change the policy. It does EVERYTHING in making me reconsider trying to help you in the ways I can. I've told you who could change the policy, and what you can do about it.

Now, either write Paul and Rob, or don't. Either way, stop giving me grief over this - I can't fix it. If the grief-fest continues, I'll ask the mods to close this thread, and I won't start any more threads.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
FKENNETH
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by FKENNETH »

Wowbagger,

As a patient watcher, I hope you will stay and continue to advise the IFR owners on older equipment.
sreaves
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FM/AM 1600S Video Board Repair and a ? on the Power Meter

Post by sreaves »

Hello Wowbagger,

Well I finally got the video card repaired. It was a bad Headland Technology HT-205 160 pin QFP chip.
It looks like all of the instruments basic functions work except for one:

Now it appears that I have one last problem. The power meter fails test 16. Probably loss of Cal data. Running the extended Test 16 yields:

10MHz - 636.0
94MHz- 513.0
578MHz- 655.0
918MHz - 741.0

Is there a quick way I can plunk rough cal numbers in the CAL ram to get me by? I don't have all of the gear that is called for in the service manual but I can find a source of RF power and I have a calibrated
Bird thoughline wattmeter.

Also is there a replacement for the DS1260 SmartBattery that is on the SRAM/Flash card? or a way to replace it with something more obtainable?

Thanks,

Sam
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Re: FM/AM 1600S Video Board Repair and a ? on the Power Mete

Post by Wowbagger »

sreaves wrote: Is there a quick way I can plunk rough cal numbers in the CAL ram to get me by? I don't have all of the gear that is called for in the service manual but I can find a source of RF power and I have a calibrated
Bird thoughline wattmeter.
You can just run through the cal procedure for the power meter. IIRC the cal password is in the service manual, and I think you can find that on line.
sreaves wrote:
Also is there a replacement for the DS1260 SmartBattery that is on the SRAM/Flash card? or a way to replace it with something more obtainable?
Not that I am aware of - that whole "battery and circuitry" idea has pretty much been abandoned as a bad idea by the industry.

You could probably replace it with a couple of Schottky diodes and a battery.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
son8
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by son8 »

Hello; I have 2 IFR-1200s mid 90s model both are dead, must be the PS, i have not used them since
factory calibration was in storage for a couple of years. any ideas ???
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

Silly question - do they have batteries in them? The batteries may have gone flat, and are preventing the power supply from coming up.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
RFguy
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by RFguy »

son8 wrote:Hello; I have 2 IFR-1200s mid 90s model both are dead, must be the PS, i have not used them since
factory calibration was in storage for a couple of years. any ideas ???
Will they work off of external 12-volts (jack on the back)?
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

You can run them off an external DC ...usually 12 ~ 19 VDC @ 5- 3 AMPs ...turn off the scope for lower current.

If they still do not come on the internal 5A SB fuse may have blown.

Would pull the covers and disconnect the battery first though and inspect.

The batteries will leak over time ( years ) and damage the unit so I always recommend pulling the internal batteries when not in use for extended periods.
sreaves
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by sreaves »

Hello Wowbagger and Group,

Does any one know of a surplus source for the unusual BNC female to SMA bulkhead mount for the Ant In and Gen Out connector used on the 1600S and probably other IFR analyzers?

Thank you,

Sam
W3OHM
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

I'm on vacation the next 2 weeks, so I cannot ask around, but if I remember correctly, Pasternak has them.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
sreaves
Posts: 28
Joined: Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:15 pm

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by sreaves »

Hi Wowbagger,

I found equivalent ones at www.crossrf.com thanks to jry.

Also I ran the RF power meter cal and all of my errors are gone but when I exited the cal I was prompted with "Back up Cal Data y/n" it seems that no matter how I answer this I have to power the unit off and back on to regain control of the panel.

Also where does this backup the cal data? Is there a way to save it out to a file so I can recall it at a later time? That would really be nice as I would like to be able to do that before I attempt replacing the DS1260-100 battery on the SRAM card.

Sam
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by Wowbagger »

The civilian versions don't have a file system to speak of. Where that backup would go I have no idea - IBd have to ask Bonnie when I get back to work.
This is my opinion, not Aeroflex's.

I WILL NOT give you proprietary information. I make too much money to jeopardize my job.

I AM NOT the Service department: You want official info, manuals, service info, parts, calibration, etc., contact Aeroflex directly, please.
GlennD
Posts: 482
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 8:00 am

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by GlennD »

I tried replacing the battery with 2 diodes and a BR2/3. It did not work and I have not yet looked at the problem. What I have found is that the battery backed memory is for storing saved frequencies and machine states. MY 1600 NOW COMES UP WITH A DEFAULT OF 10mhz But the calibration is intact. I guess the designer stashed the values in eeprom, whew!
sreaves wrote:Hello Wowbagger,

A few questions on the 1600S:

On the 1600S there is a Dallas DS1260 SMARTBattery on the memory card.
Is that just backup for settings?

If the firmware and options are stored there, is there a way to back it up so that when you replace this battery you can recover the data?

I have a method to back up and restore data to a DS1287 RTC but I have no idea how I would do it on the 1600S. I do have GPIB capability if that helps.

Is it safe to test my CPU card and memory card in another instrument just to verify total functionality?

I do get the normal beep sequence so I suspect that all is okay there but since I have to pull and ship the cards anyway I might as well test all I can since I can not run the full tests with a bad display.

Thank you,

Sam
W3OHM

Sam

P.S. Still no go on the video card but a member of the group has kindly offered to test it in his unit to confirm my suspicions.
W6WAW
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by W6WAW »

I have a A7550 and am in the process of installing a used tracking generator and companion attenuator. A couple questions arise that you may be able to answer via your sources:

First, there is a long red wire coming from FL50004. From the schematic appears that it is supposed to be tied to +12 volts -- although there seems to already be +12 volts to that point via the J50001 connector. There are a number of places in the A7550 where I could pick up+12 volts. Tracing the wire on the bottom view of the unit in the service manual (4-43) it disappears under other cabling. It could be intended to tie to a point on the 1350-2350 MHz VCO or to the 2nd LO sampling unit. Do you have information regarding where it is supposed to connect to +12 volts?

Second, it appears (from the same diagram previously referenced) that the SMB cable connections between the generator and the VCO and 2nd LO sampling unit may be flexible coax rather than semi-rigid cabling. The SMA connections between the generator and the attenuator appear to be semi-rigid. Is this correct? Might these 4 cables still be available? (Unfortunately, I haven't found part numbers for them in my manual.)

Thanks in advance.

Fred
jry
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by jry »

for a complete upgrade "kit" you should have received four modules and eight cables.
The four modules are the generator, attenuator and two buffer amps.
The eight cables are two short SMB jumpers which just go on the gen module and two longer SMB jumpers which go to the buffer amps. The semi rigid are SMA between the front panel and attenuator and attenuator and gen output.
The 12VDC line gets daisy chained to the two buffer amps
The buffer amps plug into the open ports on the VCO and 2nd LO using the last two SMB cables.

Good luck ...maybe the seller still has the missing parts as well
W6WAW
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Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions

Post by W6WAW »

Thanks for the info. I did receive all 4 modules and I acquired the necessary cabling. All works well now
sreaves
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Joined: Sun Aug 04, 2013 2:15 pm

Re: Aeroflex (IFR) Questions (1600 CAL Data)

Post by sreaves »

Wowbagger,

1600S a couple of questions:

When you go to exit any calibration screen it asked you if you want to save the data but answering y just appears to lock up the unit even though it appears to save the data requiring a power down of the unit, am I doing something wrong? There is no mention of this in the service manual.

Also do you know if the handle springs and the handle lock/unlock buttons are available and if so the part numbers for same?

Thank you and I hope that you had a great vacation!

73,
Sam
W3OHM
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