I acquired an HP606B signal generator this past weekend. The good news is that it does generate a clean output. One feature is broken. The red pointer or "flag" that indicates the frequency band does not index properly. Does anyone on the forum have experience with this? Is it an easy repair?<BR>Thanks.<P>------------------<BR>

Duck soup. It's a spring-loaded arm that needs a spot of oil on its pivot.<P>------------------<BR>

There is about a dozen oil holes on this monster. Once everything is well lubed the frequency range turrets easily snap in place when indexed. An arm on the pointer rides on a cam. Mine bent because the pointer was stuck. Just had to bend the arm back in place.<P>Paul<P>------------------<BR>

Hi Alan, does the HP 606A use the same mechanism (and need lubricating the same) please?<BR>Don Black.<P>------------------<BR>

Probably, but my A models are in the shed and it's been a long time since I peeked inside one.<P>------------------<BR>

Thank you for your help, Alan Douglas and Paul C.<BR>It was almost duck soup ....<BR>As you described, the frequency band pointer is a spring-loaded arm that rides along a cam. I removed two set screws in the bushing to oil the mechanism. After minutes of manually "working" the mechanism, it sort of worked. The pointer would take a few seconds to traverse!! I went to Sears hardware store and purchased a new spring.<BR>(Length = 3 and 9/16 inches) Instead of removing the old spring, I placed the new one in parallel with the existing spring.<BR>The springs don't interfere with each other, and my "improvement" is reversible. Now things work great! Thanks again!!<P>------------------<BR>

You really shouldn't need the extra spring. I used a thin lubricant in a spray can with a tube on the nozzle. Silicone or WD40 I forget. After several applications and working everything it's as good as the day it was made. Do that to all the mechanisms especially the spring and cam arrangement behind the frequency dial and everything will turn smooth as silk.<P>Last time I checked the BAMA manual was for the A version. A little different, see the previous post.<P>Paul<P>------------------<BR>

BAMA has both the 606A and 606B manuals to download. They're a little tricky to get, if you have trouble I can email it to you.<BR>Don Black.<P>------------------<BR>

I've repaired and calibrated tons of 606A's and a few 606B's in the Navy (it doesn't take many to make a ton, and even fewer 608's to make a ton). The main difference between the A and B is the fact that the B model has a solid state power supply while the A model uses (as I recall) a few 6080s or 6L6s as the power regulator tubes.<P>And doesn't the B model have an external FM input while the A doesn't?<P>While your fix of the pointer may work now, it may get sluggish if the temperature drops. Best thing to do is take that pointer off the shaft and use some lacquer thinner and some cotton swabs to clean all the hardened gunk out of the collar and off the shaft. Then relub with a drop of oil. Mine needs cleaned as I write this, going in slow motion when it's a bit cool and following the cam pretty quickly when it's warm.<P>Oh. The mechanics on the A and B I believe are identical.<P>Dean<BR><P>------------------<BR>

Thanks for the offer Don. BAMA diddn't have the B version when I checked a month ago. Downloaded no problems, just have to do it off peak time.<P>Paul<P>------------------<BR>

Hi Paul, they have the 606B now, it's only about 1.5 Mbyte so doesn't take too long to download. There's a problem downloading from that site using Internet Explorer, it's fine with Netscape. There are tips on the site to alter the IE settings so it should work.<BR>From memory one difference with the 606B is it has a fixed high level output (for a frequency meter?) that the 606A doesn't have. I think there are a few other small differences too, as well as the power supply that Dean mentioned. I've recently got a 606A and it's a dream.<BR>Don Black.<BR>PS it needs the DjVu program to view it too. It's available for download from BAMA but if you've already got the Beitmans manuals downloaded <A HREF="http://www.eskimo.com/~p0lez1/beitman/beitmanhome.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.eskimo.com/~p0lez1/beitman/beitmanhome.htm</A> you'll have DjVu for that already. I recommend the beimans, now up to 1969 and very handy.<P>------------------<BR>

I take back that reference to the 6080 and 6L6 for the regulator tubes. Today, I was just struck with the thought that Hewlett-Packard was deeply in love with the 12B4 for pass tubes and #12 bi-pin lamps for their pilot lamps.<P>Dean<BR><P>------------------<BR>