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HP 8590 spectrum analyzer screen full of dots

Question asked by 50.110MHz on May 20, 2014
Latest reply on Mar 28, 2019 by ivanryger

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Hi

I am about to purchase a old 8590 SA, which is quite cheap because of this issue. This unit can display spectrum of calibration signal and all the other characters on screen, but the screen is full of snow and there are few vertical lines. It looks like the CRT draws grids the wrong way. Is it the setting problem or there are something wrong inside.

Thanks.

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tabbott May 21, 2014 9:56 AM
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Hi -

I think this old, out-of-support instrument is broken.

It sounds like the CRT, or even perhaps the processor board is causing the issue.

I believe all 8590 parts are no longer supplied by Agilent, so repairs on old hardware simply cannot be performed by us.

Sorry - but hope this helped -
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- 50.110MHz @ tabbott on May 23, 2014 8:39 PM
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  The screen is like this(attachment).
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  - 191856dthzjhrxittg04hc.jpg94.7 KB
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  - sm7ovk @ 50.110MHz on May 30, 2014 4:16 AM
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    Hi,
    
    It doesn't have to be the CRT-tube. My guess would be a sync problem in the video driver circuits. If you let it run for let say half an hour, would there be any difference? If so it might be an electrolytic capacitor that has dried out.
    Some of these instruments have an output for video. With an external videomonitor you can check the output. (I had one once with a CRT fault and the output video worked well.)
    
    Regards
    Jens
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  - hp8590l @ 50.110MHz on Mar 20, 2015 4:20 PM
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    hi there, did you find a fix for this?
    here is mine
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    screen shot hp 8590L.jpg102.6 KB
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    - simon_coleby @ hp8590l on Mar 23, 2015 11:38 AM
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      Folks,
      
      One thing you might try is to check the Horizontal Position DAC is not railed to one extreme or another, as this can sometimes cause the horizontal synchronisation to be lost, and the raster become 'smeared' sideways excessively.
      Press: CAL, More (6), CRT HORIZ POSITION (4), then rotate the RPG or type in low number (range about 1 to 50) on the keypad.
      [Note: number in brackets indicates screen softkeys, with 1 at the top, and 6 the lowest].
      
      Also try:
      CONFIG, More (6), DEFAULT CONFIG (4)
      CONFIG, More(6), More (6), DEFAULT SYNCH (3)
      
      Don't forget there is also a Horizontal Hold adjustment on the monitor itself, there is an access hol;e in the cover, but it will not be labelled.
      There is a monitor servicing appendix in the old 8590A service manual if I remember. If you still have trouble I could get the relevant image.
      
      I hope this is useful.
      Cheers,
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      - Tardz @ simon_coleby on Mar 24, 2015 9:56 PM
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        Hi,
        
        few years ago, I had similar problem with my 8591A. I used DEFAULT SYNCH and reajusted CRT HORIZ POSITION to resolve.
        
        I have CLIP manual for 8590 D and E serie .
        
        Edited by: Tardz on Mar 25, 2015 12:54 AM
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        spectrum 8590serie crt problem.jpg30.6 KB
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ivanryger Mar 28, 2019 9:07 AM
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Dear gentlemen, I have a similar problem with a smeared image. Furthermore, in my case the screen is blinking at about 2Hz rate. THe problem appeared after replacing dead 3.6V battery. If i plug in another monitor to the external monitor BNC output, I can see the SA screen momentarily, but it blinks.
Does anybody know what could be a cause?
Thank you.
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