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John Engineer · 16th Nov 2011, 2:59 pm

This post is to help other people who has the same issue of poor focus as me with the Gould 16xx range of Oscilloscopes

I have just cured the focus issue with my 1604, I was fast running out of ideas after completing everything I had done in the above post.

After studying the service manual Power Supply Area I decided to replace all the 10uf electrolytic Capacitors on the Power Supply and the Main Scope PCB along with the 470uf on the main board.

Hey Presto the focus problem was cured, I think I was looking too deep in other areas, yet again dry capacitors were the problem. I have had this scope since 1989 about 22 years so I not surprised there getting a little dry.

So if anyone is having focus issues, this is a good area to start looking at.

If you did not see my last post about battery damage to the main PCB and wave form processors pcb, I can not stress enough how important it is to remove these batteries away from the main PCB and waveform processor PCB. The batteries leak and will destroy the tracks and can create many more faults due to pcb damage.

Simply replace the varta 3.6v battery and take fly leads of the two pcb terminals and remote site the battery away from the PCB, so if it does leak in the future it will not cause any damage. Its also a good idea to seal the battery how ever you feel works for you.

Hope this helps others, its been a long journey getting my two scope's back to full working condition, but I'm there.

These are great oscilloscopes and as I use to work for Gould, thus I lived and breathed these scopes in the late 80's, sadly now I am a little rusty around the edges. Having as service manual helped me and knowing there's a great forum here is invaluable.

Regards

John

16th Nov 2011, 2:59 pm	#2
John Engineer Retired Dormant Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK. Posts: 6	Re: Problem With My Gould 1604 Oscilloscope This post is to help other people who has the same issue of poor focus as me with the Gould 16xx range of Oscilloscopes I have just cured the focus issue with my 1604, I was fast running out of ideas after completing everything I had done in the above post. After studying the service manual Power Supply Area I decided to replace all the 10uf electrolytic Capacitors on the Power Supply and the Main Scope PCB along with the 470uf on the main board. Hey Presto the focus problem was cured, I think I was looking too deep in other areas, yet again dry capacitors were the problem. I have had this scope since 1989 about 22 years so I not surprised there getting a little dry. So if anyone is having focus issues, this is a good area to start looking at. If you did not see my last post about battery damage to the main PCB and wave form processors pcb, I can not stress enough how important it is to remove these batteries away from the main PCB and waveform processor PCB. The batteries leak and will destroy the tracks and can create many more faults due to pcb damage. Simply replace the varta 3.6v battery and take fly leads of the two pcb terminals and remote site the battery away from the PCB, so if it does leak in the future it will not cause any damage. Its also a good idea to seal the battery how ever you feel works for you. Hope this helps others, its been a long journey getting my two scope's back to full working condition, but I'm there. These are great oscilloscopes and as I use to work for Gould, thus I lived and breathed these scopes in the late 80's, sadly now I am a little rusty around the edges. Having as service manual helped me and knowing there's a great forum here is invaluable. Regards John