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  1. HP-Agilent-Keysight-Equipment
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Agilent E5071C Low power both ports, Vernier Leveler E5071-62083, Component IGC1-4213 replacement

 

In the process of fixing 9 pcs E5071C, I have noted that at least three of them have low output power on both channels (-26 dBm on two, -31 dBm on the third).? I confirmed that the faulty component was the Vernier Leveler and then took this apart to take a look.? It seems like it's always the expensive components that burn out, so I decided to remove IGC1-4213 and bridge the contacts on either side of the component.? Sure enough, the output power went up from -26 dBm to about -9 dBm.? Some limited information about this part is available on the Keysight.? Looks like it's a 11 dB gain power amplifier, so the numbers check out and it looks like this is the failed component.? ?Assuming that they drive it at 9 dBm gain, that would give me the right power at my port (0 dBm nominally).?
?
Replacements components appear to be hard to find and expensive (around $500), which is a pretty good indication that failures on this component are common place.? The Keysight page indicates that they sell parts (1GC1-8213) in lots of 10 pcs, so I've put in an inquiry.
?
My questions:
1)? Is it possible to get a IGC1-4213 data sheet?
2)? There are some similar component numbers (IGC1-4214, IGC1-8213).? How does one tell which components are compatible and which are not?? Data sheets seem to be unavailable and every time I ask Keysight a question they respond that they're happy to fix it for me, just send them a check for 6K USD.
3)? Of the 9 units, there are two components that have failed and knocked out about 6 of the units.? In other words, two failure mechanisms keep repeating themselves.? Keysight has got to know this.? Why don't they have a service bulletin or something?? Why don't they offer a reasonable repair service for these components which appear to have been designed to fail?? Just a rant I suppose, but I'm not too impressed.? On the plus side, it makes my job easier because once I figure out the failure I just have to apply the same solution over and over again.
 

"Scott Vance via groups.io" <scott_l_vance@...> writes:

In the process of fixing 9 pcs E5071C, I have noted that at least
three of them have low output power on both channels
(-26 dBm on two, -31 dBm on the third). I confirmed that the faulty
component was the Vernier Leveler and then took this
apart to take a look. It seems like it's always the expensive
components that burn out, so I decided to remove IGC1-4213
and bridge the contacts on either side of the component. Sure enough,
the output power went up from -26 dBm to about -9
dBm. Some limited information about this part is available on the
Keysight. Looks like it's a 11 dB gain power
amplifier, so the numbers check out and it looks like this is the
failed component. Assuming that they drive it at 9
dBm gain, that would give me the right power at my port (0 dBm
nominally).


Replacements components appear to be hard to find and expensive
(around $500), which is a pretty good indication that
failures on this component are common place. The Keysight page
indicates that they sell parts (1GC1-8213) in lots of 10
pcs, so I've put in an inquiry.

My questions:
1) Is it possible to get a IGC1-4213 data sheet?
2) There are some similar component numbers (IGC1-4214, IGC1-8213).
How does one tell which components are compatible
and which are not? Data sheets seem to be unavailable and every time
I ask Keysight a question they respond that they're
happy to fix it for me, just send them a check for 6K USD.
3) Of the 9 units, there are two components that have failed and
knocked out about 6 of the units. In other words, two
failure mechanisms keep repeating themselves. Keysight has got to
know this. Why don't they have a service bulletin or
something? Why don't they offer a reasonable repair service for these
components which appear to have been designed to
fail? Just a rant I suppose, but I'm not too impressed. On the plus
side, it makes my job easier because once I figure
out the failure I just have to apply the same solution over and over
again.
Did you make any progress on this?

I just finished fixing the mainboard issue on my E5071C. Measured the
output power on the Ports when set to 0dBm and all have around -23dBm
level. So looks to me like my E5071C has the same issue. The only
thing that i find odd is that bridging two ports shows a straight
S12/S21 line at 0dB. I would expect it to be around -20dB. How is that
on your units?

Thanks
Sven
 

"Sven Schnelle" <svens@...> writes:

"Scott Vance via groups.io" <scott_l_vance@...> writes:

In the process of fixing 9 pcs E5071C, I have noted that at least
three of them have low output power on both channels
(-26 dBm on two, -31 dBm on the third). I confirmed that the faulty
component was the Vernier Leveler and then took this
apart to take a look. It seems like it's always the expensive
Did you make any progress on this?

I just finished fixing the mainboard issue on my E5071C. Measured the
output power on the Ports when set to 0dBm and all have around -23dBm
level. So looks to me like my E5071C has the same issue. The only
thing that i find odd is that bridging two ports shows a straight
S12/S21 line at 0dB. I would expect it to be around -20dB. How is that
on your units?
Seems to be some intermittent failure on my unit. I removed the Vernier
leveling module this morning, to measure levels at the various stages.
Surprisingly enough after inserting it again the output level of the
E5071C is now at about -2.5dBm. Wasn't able to reproduce the issue by
bending the PCB a bit. Lets see, i guess it will happen again.

And it looks like the 1GG7-4243 was already replaced at some point in
time.
 

Hej Sven,
Thanks for sharing your experience.??My only update is that I managed to obtain the needed components.? We have 3 units with this particular failure mechanism (out of roughly 10 total).? We have a special soldering department which hopefully can get these mounted effectively.? There is a warning on the package that they should not be warmed to above 260C to avoid damage.? It's mighty hard to do that and melt solder, but with a little luck we will have these units working again within the week.? From my perspective, this is one of the two most common failure mechanisms with these units.? These units were probably kept running in a lab for multiple years and under these conditions this part just seems to fail.

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