Universal 4796HSP D2332 Unit drivers

Jan, Unfortunately these control cards do not have an infinite lifespan. They do succumb to a lifetime of stress, and thermal cycling over the years. The card revision that you describe is the original units installed on machines that shipped somewhere > 5 years ago (mostly likely 7-8 yrs). Most of these failures can be attributed to simple overtemp conditions or mechanical stress. Customers who do not keep the cooling fan filters clean on their machines tend to see a higher failure rate due to higher operating temperatures within the area of the machine that these cards reside. Universal Instruments and Hitachi Hi-Tech (formerly Sanyo Hi-Tech) have recognized the cost that this can bring to our valued customers, and have implemented a repair program some years ago. It is a "swap" program where by our customers receive warranted and refurbished cards with a rebate when they return the original cards to us. These refurbished cards also include some updates that are expected to lengthen the future life of the cards as well. This particular repair program is only one of many that we offer. We sincerely hope that these programs ease your costs of ownership even on machines approaching 5-8 yrs in age. We pride ourselves in low overall cost of ownership of the HSP models. HSP annual costs of operation are so low, that most of our customers often do not budget for replacement costs of this type. The 4790, 4795, ad 4796 series of HSP's have a very large install base, and most are still in service. As these models age, I would recommend that you at least budget for the possibility of these projected costs. If you desire to have a greater understanding of what other items to budget for, UIC offers consulting services, commonly referred to at PMP evaluations, that can further identify key areas of concern on a given machine. We typically forcast a need to perform these evaluations on 4796HSP's that have over 300-500 million cycles. Obviously, machine conditions can vary greatly depending on the level of PM that has been performed on them over the years. Please contact your local UIC Sales or Service office if you are interested in these programs. I hope that the information above will help you in your endeavors to keep you 4796 model HSP operating at maximum efficiency and at the lowest possible costs. Best Regards, Todd Vick-UIC HSP Product Team

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Jan When you fit these new unit drivers check to see if the software level is the same as what is in the remaining unit drivers, as if it is not you will find that there is a steady failure of other exsisting unit drivers.If the software level in the new driver is higher (as I think it will be).This is a known issue with universal but lower level drivers are not available. I had a single failure some 11 months ago and to date have now had 4 more failures on the same machine.The last drivers I fitted are at S-ver1.51 W-ver0.11. Good luck G

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