I deal with HP, Agelent and Anritsu test gear every day. Big corporation so all I do is pull out the credit card and pay for it, in man hours it is not worth me searching for another appropriate test facility. What I do see is a lot of abuse because of "approved vendors" and "corporate rates". For instance the replacement of a switch on a HP Power meter is $1244.33, why ? because they change out the entire front pannel instead of replacing the switch. This has become way too common and I have found that smaller companies can still do a quality job if you pick the right one. Another example is Kenwood... sky high rates for repairs but I can go to Cliff at Avid and have a quality job done quicker at 1/2 the price or less.
I agree that if no one out there is capable or qualified to repair the IFR's then the factory even at their inflated prices are the way to go. Sure some parts need to be bought from them, some parts may not even be available anymore from them while a depot may still have them but bottom line is if someone can do the job at $50 instead of $80 an hour or "flat rate" of $2000 to change a fuse I would be interested in hearing about it. I really agree with your thoughts Eric but I have been burned way too many times from the big ones at work to be able to accept it for my personal gear. $700 for a calibration and several parts is one thing but I know my power supply is shot, been using it with a Astron on the bench, the signal generator seems to have problems and I know that someone I lent it to exceed the input power on the Antenna port by mistake. I can live with the power supply problems but I am afraid the factory would kill me on the other repairs and not agree to repair the unit without the power supply repairs. I only have $1K now for the repairs and would not want to spend it all if possible, I don't think $1K would cover it at IFR! Rich -----Original Message----- From: Eric Lemmon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2004 12:19 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Suggestions as to IFR Monitor Repairs ? Rich, Although the 1200S is no longer made, the IFR factory in Wichita still supports repairs and calibrations. If you were to send your service monitor to any of a number of instrument repair firms, it is likely that any parts needed (other than common ICs and similar components) would be ordered from IFR and a percentage added to their cost. The last time I sent my 1200 to IFR for a full calibration, several parts had to be replaced- at cost of $700. I winced at that bill, but I now have a service monitor that works perfectly. Before the repair, the synthesizer would unlock randomly after the unit was on for a few hours. The IFR 1200S is a complex and costly instrument, and I personally would not think of sending it anywhere but the factory for repair or calibration. Unfortunately, almost any replacement of a major component on this unit is likely to run into big bucks! 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY Rich Garcia wrote: > > Would like to hear from other IFR owners as to where you would suggest I > have my own IFR repaired. I do not run a business so cost is a major factor > but I would like to have my IFR-1200S repaired properly. > > Thanks, > Rich K4GPS > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
