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HP 3585B Spectrum Analyzer How to start diagnosing "No Horizontal sweep" problem


 

I just acquired an?HP 3585B Spectrum Analyzer with what the previous owner describes as a "no horizontal sweep" problem. I have downloaded the operating and service manuals for the unit and I am starting to make my way through them to get familiar with the unit.?
If anyone has experience with these units and can give me an idea on how to start troubleshooting this problem it would be a great help. I would like to have some idea on where to start and what to look for before I start tearing it apart. I do a lot of RF and computer repair, but this seems to be a whole different level that what I am used to. So i am reaching out to the members of this forum to acquire some of their expertise.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Do you have an XY monitor? There is video out connectors on the rear of the unit which you can use to obtain video. You can also probe those with an oscilloscope to check for a video waveform if nothing else. Iirc the rear XY signal is a separate signal chain from the main signal driving the display.
I have the 3585B and I use it very frequently. It’s a very good SA for doing work below 40m. I’ve had to do two repairs to mine so far. The display board, A67 I believe, had shorted tants on one of the power rails, the -15v I believe. That was an “easy” fix. The second repair occurred when the flyback transformer suffered a short on the secondary side. That one was a bit more painful as it required a bit of cash for replacement parts. Although that failure was not terminal as, like I mentioned, I had video from the rear ports making it somewhat usable albeit without the graticule. The manual has very good troubleshooting guides. I’d recommend getting familiar with it.


 

There is a fuse inside the unit on one of the boards. It supplies 12v to the horizontal oscillator. If your flyback is bad, that fuse will blow and you will have no display on the CRT. The board is accessible from the bottom so you will have to flip the unit onto its side to access it. I took my flyback out and ring tested it to verify. It failed. I think a good one has around 300 ohms DCR on the HV winding with smaller and smaller values as you move down the taps from the HV to the bottom. My bad one checked around a meg or more.?


 

Check your unit. There are apparently two different setups for the horizontal oscillator/HV section. One version has the oscillator and flyback all one one board, which is located under the shielded HV box. Mine was different and I think the later rev. The oscillator section was on one board, with the flyback/HV portion being a separate board which was under the shielded HV box. The fuse was on the oscillator board. If you have to do any repairs to the HV supply you’ll have to check and possibly reset the CRT high volts. The value is written on your flyback and that procedure is also in the SM. Bear in mind, it’s around 4KV so it can kill you dead.?