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Agilent/Keysight E3631A encoder knob failure and repair

messier45

Sep 29, 2015
1
Joined
Sep 29, 2015
Messages
1
Hi all,

I just wanted to post some information about my experience repairing the rotary encoder on the Agilent/Keysight E-series power supplies, and other Agilent instruments with similar encoder. It seems to be a common failure, and I wanted to share what I have learned.

As has been explained in a previous thread, the offending component can be purchased from Keysight for a DIY repair. However, the thread didn't describe exactly what the component is and whether it could be upgraded to a better one, seeing as the reason the Agilent component usually fails is probably due to it's poor quality.

After removing the component from the front panel, and ordering a replacement component from Keysight, I've found it is a common quadrature encoder I use in my own designs sometimes. Importantly, it has 24 pulses per revolution.

One thing I don't like about the original Keysight component is it has no detents. I wanted to replace the original encoder with a high quality long-life encoder that has detents for better feedback when using the instrument. I've successfully replaced the original rotary encoder with the following components on several instruments in the lab now. These will be a far better replacement if anyone is looking to repair this issue themselves (lifetime is rated to 100k cycles).

ACZ16NBR1E-15FD1-24C
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ACZ16NBR1E-15FD1-24C/102-1785-ND/1923380

PEC16-4215F-N0024
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/PEC16-4215F-N0024/PEC16-4215F-N0024-ND/3534275
 

diytinker

Sep 30, 2018
1
Joined
Sep 30, 2018
Messages
1
I followed your instructions and recently replaced the encoder. my professor asked me to record it, just want to share it here, maybe someone else will find it helpful:
 
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