This morning, I swapped the 03 board from the good meter into the bad meter. The bad meter GPIB worked correctly, receiving commands and sending measured values out. I replaced the good board into the original meter and it still works. I put the bad board back into the bad meter, and low and behold, the GPIB works on the bad meter now.
?
One of the first things that I did when I found a problem with that meter was to wiggle all the connectors on that board. The process of swapping the boards requires a lot more flexing and force than I like to put on boards. The problem may be a cracked trace or some such mechanical problem, or it is possible that the problem was just oxidized pins with very low currents. While I had the PCB out, I looked it over carefully and did not see any dubious looking solder joints or scratches on the board. I will be curious to see if the meter continues working now,
?
If nothing else, I learned a lot more about what is going on in the GPIB cable, and I have 2 working meters for the efforts.
?
Thanks everybody who pitched in with suggestions,
?
BobH
