[volt-nuts] Datron 4000 DC/I/R Standard

[Andy Bardagjy]

Ed, thanks for your comments. 

In an image of the unit, it appears the front panel is a bit dented near the displays, and I'm worried they might be damaged - they are glass envelopes after all.

I have managed to find a thread on a Chinese forum (possibly the same forum I've seen referenced in the past) with some pretty excellent photos of the internal construction (website intermittent, possibly blocking some IP ranges). 

http://bbs.38hot.net/read.php?tid=14354

Notice they do not use  a buried zener voltage reference but a 1N829, see in particular the post on the second page discussing the voltage reference board

http://bbs.38hot.net/read.php?tid=14354&ds=1&page=2#159876

I've been bitten by the bug... all stemming from trying to repair a Keithley 2000

Andy Bardagjy
bardagjy.com

On Dec 18, 2012, at 12:21 PM, ed breya wrote:

> That seems like a nice piece of equipment if it works or is easily repairable. Why do you assume the displays are broken? If they used gas discharge displays, they would likely be Nixie or Panaplex type, which are pretty durable, and are still common enough to not be a problem with procurement. There is also plenty of data out there about these items and their drivers. The most common failures I have seen in these types of displays are bad digit drive transistors, and sometimes bad segment drive ICs - the tubes themselves usually don't just crap out, but gradually darken or fade out.
> 
> I don't know about the manuals, but if you do locate one in pdf form, please share it if possible - it's nice to have access to that info for reference material even without owning one of the units.
> 
> Ed
> 
> 
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