I recently aqquired one of these free , why is there a strap going from ground to the second output terminal? Is it important that the smaller precision focus wheel turns the larger one ? , I remember there being a rubber band between the two on another model I have seen.
Unfortunatley it does not work , no voltage output and my greenlee see,'s no frequency generation .
Do you think its a good idea to get this unit fixed? Seems a waste to let her go to the dump.
I have no electronics background but I am getting an LCR meter soon so I wonder if this cold be a good start to learning it, by going thru the components one by one and checking them for faults. Any helpful answers are much appreciated.
Unfortunatley it does not work , no voltage output and my greenlee see,'s no frequency generation .
Do you think its a good idea to get this unit fixed? Seems a waste to let her go to the dump.
I have no electronics background but I am getting an LCR meter soon so I wonder if this cold be a good start to learning it, by going thru the components one by one and checking them for faults. Any helpful answers are much appreciated.
I don't know my Heathkit numbers, but are we really talking about a Hewlett Packard 200CD? That is/was a very popular signal generator and was even used in slightly modified form by MacIntosh when they did their traveling amplifier test clinics. The circuit is a classic and you should be able to get it up and running with a bit of help here. If it is an HP, it would be nice if the fine adjust knob worked, but it's not essential. Chances are that it has one or more bad electrolytic caps, or that the light bulbs it uses for amplitude control are defective. Easy stuff to start checking. You should be able to download a manual from the BAMA mirror or various other places, probably even HP. If it's really a Heathkit, forget everything I just wrote.
Conrad
Conrad
Totally my fault, it is an HP. I must have Heathkit on the brain. The other unit I got is a Stark, model LAG 55. is that one any good? when i opened it up one of the resistors fell off the board, I guess it is a power resistor as it has an opening thru its length. Thank you Conrad!
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Not only is the instrument considered a classic, I think it was in continuous production for about 40 years. You'd be hard-pressed to name another piece of technology that can make that claim - not the Macintosh amps; not a '57 Chevy; etc.
If it is mechanically and structurally sound (hasn't been run through a trash compactor, or had a gallon of muriatic acid dumped on it, or survived a warehouse fire, etc) it's probably worth restoring. But don't pay a commercial instrument repair shop to do it for you, unless they'll take it on as an after-hours, low-cost project. There are probably people in your own community who are willing to lend a hand and their expertise. Or, you can try to do it "via remote control" on forums such as this.
Keep in mind that there were about a dozen variants of the "HP 200" - e.g., "200B", "200CD", "200H", etc. And, like any product with that production life, there were undoubtedly manufacturing changes from time to time. So the first step is to locate the actual model number and serial number.
If it is mechanically and structurally sound (hasn't been run through a trash compactor, or had a gallon of muriatic acid dumped on it, or survived a warehouse fire, etc) it's probably worth restoring. But don't pay a commercial instrument repair shop to do it for you, unless they'll take it on as an after-hours, low-cost project. There are probably people in your own community who are willing to lend a hand and their expertise. Or, you can try to do it "via remote control" on forums such as this.
Keep in mind that there were about a dozen variants of the "HP 200" - e.g., "200B", "200CD", "200H", etc. And, like any product with that production life, there were undoubtedly manufacturing changes from time to time. So the first step is to locate the actual model number and serial number.
And don't forget the CDR, the rack mount version. I sold my small one long ago, but kept my CDR because it looks like the day it left the factory- off-white and very pretty! There were at least two different versions of output level control, a plain single turn pot, or a double one with fine adjust. Feel free to email me if you decide to service it.
Best,
Conrad
Best,
Conrad
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