Opening RH Design Analyser, how???

Marco B · Tuesday at 9:13 AM

Hi,

I have the RH Design Analyser for the Ilford Multigrade 500 system.

Now I had the gradient scale glued on in a poor way, and it ended up inside the Analyser box. Thinking I could simply unscrew the outside bolts and opening it up (yes, I know there is a warning about "non-servicable parts" and "dangerous voltage", but of course the thing is unplugged and I won't be touching any possible large capacitors without caution), I was dismayed to first discover many bolts will not properly loosen, as if the threads have been drilled badly. And then I heard the dreaded sound of something fall inside as well. Probably a tiny ring and nut. Not entirely unexpected, and not a real issue - if I can open the thing up!

But even with all the visible bolts (partly) unscrewed, there is absolutely no movement in the upper cover compared to the base. This really makes me wonder how these parts were even fitted together, and how this thing is normally serviced??

Anyone ever successful in opening these things up for servicing? I am already screwed now, because I have loose metal rings and nuts inside the thing, that might short circuit the electronics if I am unlucky, so I will probably need to sent it in, but would like to avoid it if at all possible considering the hassle of sending it abroad.

RalphLambrecht · Tuesday at 9:42 AM

Marco B said:
Hi,

I have the RH Design Analyser for the Ilford Multigrade 500 system.

Now I had the gradient scale glued on in a poor way, and it ended up inside the Analyser box. Thinking I could simply unscrew the outside bolts and opening it up (yes, I know there is a warning about "non-servicable parts" and "dangerous voltage", but of course the thing is unplugged and I won't be touching any possible large capacitors without caution), I was dismayed to first discover many bolts will not properly loosen, as if the threads have been drilled badly. And then I heard the dreaded sound of something fall inside as well. Probably a tiny ring and nut. Not entirely unexpected, and not a real issue - if I can open the thing up!

But even with all the visible bolts (partly) unscrewed, there is absolutely no movement in the upper cover compared to the base. This really makes me wonder how these parts were even fitted together, and how this thing is normally serviced??

Anyone ever successful in opening these things up for servicing? I am already screwed now, because I have loose metal rings and nuts inside the thing, that might short circuit the electronics if I am unlucky, so I will probably need to sent it in, but would like to avoid it if at all possible considering the hassle of sending it abroad.

Don't make the mistake and screw with it. Hassle or not;end it with RHDesign and have it taken careof properly!

Marco B · Tuesday at 10:58 AM

RalphLambrecht said:
Don't make the mistake and screw with it. Hassle or not;end it with RHDesign and have it taken careof properly!

Yes, certainly if anything was broken. I have no intention of messing with any of the electronics.

But honestly, stuff should be serviceable at a basic level, at least opening up the box. I have opened up my desktop and even laptop computers for years to do basic servicing. Computers need care like removing accumulated dust on fans, replace faulty disks or add and replace RAM. I've even successfully replaced CPUs. This has allowed me to run stuff way beyond average life expectancy.

That this Analyser can't be opened straightforwardly, is really unexpected.

Marco B · Tuesday at 4:11 PM

Well, one step closer... after wrestling for 3 hours or so, I finally managed to unbolt the back plate. Problem is that although the nuts inside have an extra serrated ring, some of them turn if you try to unscrew the bolt. I needed to apply considerable tension to the plate to give just enough friction to allow the nuts to come off the bolt while turning them.

Bizarre enough, even though I can now properly look inside and see print plate and such, the top half still doesn't loosen itself, despite all bolts removed, and a quick look inside hasn't yet revealed why the halfs won't separate.

Marco B · Tuesday at 4:36 PM

Success, finally, and without breaking anything. Basically, it was stuck due to the tight fit.

This now also tells me the halfs are just held by the four lower black screws at the bottom side.

All the other stuff I unbolted and now need to properly reattach, is to hold the print and back plate in place.

Should not be difficult to fix though.

Needlessly removing the backplate, allthough I strongly discourage it, was a big help in my case to allow applying force from the inside to help separate the top and bottom that are so tightly clamped.

And so, for anyone wondering what is inside the magical "black box", here it is:

Marco B · Tuesday at 4:42 PM

And the other side of the print plate:

Joel_L · Tuesday at 5:16 PM

Glad you got it. I Had the same thing happen with my StopClock, was not hard to fix. I don't remember mine being stuck in any way.

Marco B · Tuesday at 5:55 PM

Joel_L said:
Glad you got it. I Had the same thing happen with my StopClock, was not hard to fix. I don't remember mine being stuck in any way.

Yes, I think I was just very unlucky to have a specimen with a really tight fit between the parts, and thus so strongly clamped, that I couldn't separate the halves in an easy way as it should by unbolting the lower 4 screws and applying some force from the outside.

I think they should normally just immediately separate once the screws are removed.

MattKing · Tuesday at 8:22 PM

FWIW, I would normally recommend reaching out to the manufacturer first.
And yes, I know how frustrating that can be.

Marco B · 2025-05-07T06:28:55-0400

Finished re-assembly. Note that the print plate is held on the front side of the Analyser by the two steel coloured long bolts visible on the top of the Analyser, that use some PE or silicon tubing as spacer, and that need proper refitting, see the first image below. On the back side, the print plate is held by two medium length black screws and two small square metal brackets upon which the plate rests.

As is clear from these images is that the only four screws you need to remove to open the Analyser are the two front and back black ones at the bottom of the front and back of the Analyser.

That this initially did not work in my case was just caused by the tight fit and strong clamping of the top and bottom part of the metal housing, which made me confused as to what I was missing.

RalphLambrecht · 2025-05-07T09:50:15-0400

Marco B said:
Yes, certainly if anything was broken. I have no intention of messing with any of the electronics.

But honestly, stuff should be serviceable at a basic level, at least opening up the box. I have opened up my desktop and even laptop computers for years to do basic servicing. Computers need care like removing accumulated dust on fans, replace faulty disks or add and replace RAM. I've even successfully replaced CPUs. This has allowed me to run stuff way beyond average life expectancy.

That this Analyser can't be opened straightforwardly, is really unexpected.

certainly not. It may surprise you that in order to obtain the CE certificate logo in Europe, the housing must not be opened with regular tools, but must be opened with special tools. So, I think what you are asking for is against EU regulations, which RHDesigns seems to adhere to.

Marco B · 2025-05-07T10:36:05-0400

Ralph, a screwdriver is a screwdriver..., whatever certificate you put on it.

That the Analyser itself is certified and designed according to a certain electrical design norm, and e.g. has the outer shell properly grounded, is an entirely good thing, but suggesting that people with some basic or advanced knowledge of repairing electronic stuff should never open up any case is ridiculous, just think of the hundreds of "Repair Cafes" that have sprung up world wide in many countries.

I fully appreciate that may void warranty, but frankly usually stuff that really never should be opened, think e.g. a traditional platter based hard drive, have some extra plastic seal indicating this strategically and strongly glued on.

And my Analyser is already waaaay past warranty, so I am not worried about that, just glad to have it back in order.

Marco B · 2025-05-07T11:00:11-0400

And yes, if anything electronic had been broken , and the Analyser consequently unusuable, I would no doubt have send it in for proper repair to RH Designs. That was not the case here though.

koraks · 2025-05-08T03:53:04-0400

RalphLambrecht said:
It may surprise you that in order to obtain the CE certificate logo in Europe, the housing must not be opened with regular tools, but must be opened with special tools.

It surprises me indeed. Can you link us to the directive that prescribes this, please? AFAIK CE marking does not involve any EU-specific regulations and instead defers to IEC standards. I'd be surprised that part of IEC safety standards applicable to something like this Analyzer there is a requirement that the device may not be opened with a regular screwdriver. It would mean that a good many of the big-brand, CE-labeled products in my home are actually non-compliant, including my HP desktop computer (and virtually any desktop PC in general), Epson scanner, and many many more.

There's undoubtedly a regulation that stipulates that a device like this is not supposed to open itself up if e.g. a toddler is playing with it - i.e. there needs to be some sequence of actions involved that is unlikely to unfold accidentally or randomly in order to gain entrance to the device. I would expect that loosening a couple of screws with a (any) screwdriver would already meet such a requirement.

The habit of (some/many) manufacturers to make their devices difficult to access are AFAIK all due to attempts to make them tamper-proof and to discourage repairs or modifications by unauthorized personnel.

Is it possible you're confused by the admittedly complex web of compliance procedures and standards that hides behind the seemingly simple 'CE' logo?

RalphLambrecht said:
which RHDesigns seems to adhere to.

One tangentially related question is whether a device like this is subject to an external (notified body) compliance assessment, or whether it the regular approach of self-declaration of conformity applies. In that case, the manufacturer essentially declares by affixing the CE logo onto their device that the device meets applicable regulations. I'm pretty sure the latter applies since this is not exactly a 'high risk device', so I presume that RH never had the obligation to have their product externally certified (they may still have opted to do so, of course - on a voluntary basis).

RalphLambrecht · 2025-05-08T04:26:19-0400

koraks said:
It surprises me indeed. Can you link us to the directive that prescribes this, please? AFAIK CE marking does not involve any EU-specific regulations and instead defers to IEC standards. I'd be surprised that part of IEC safety standards applicable to something like this Analyzer there is a requirement that the device may not be opened with a regular screwdriver. It would mean that a good many of the big-brand, CE-labeled products in my home are actually non-compliant, including my HP desktop computer (and virtually any desktop PC in general), Epson scanner, and many many more.

There's undoubtedly a regulation that stipulates that a device like this is not supposed to open itself up if e.g. a toddler is playing with it - i.e. there needs to be some sequence of actions involved that is unlikely to unfold accidentally or randomly in order to gain entrance to the device. I would expect that loosening a couple of screws with a (any) screwdriver would already meet such a requirement.

The habit of (some/many) manufacturers to make their devices difficult to access are AFAIK all due to attempts to make them tamper-proof and to discourage repairs or modifications by unauthorized personnel.

Is it possible you're confused by the admittedly complex web of compliance procedures and standards that hides behind the seemingly simple 'CE' logo?

One tangentially related question is whether a device like this is subject to an external (notified body) compliance assessment, or whether it the regular approach of self-declaration of conformity applies. In that case, the manufacturer essentially declares by affixing the CE logo onto their device that the device meets applicable regulations. I'm pretty sure the latter applies since this is not exactly a 'high risk device', so I presume that RH never had the obligation to have their product externally certified (they may still have opted to do so, of course - on a voluntary basis).

Yes, there is a European regulation that requires certain electronic devices to be designed so that their cases can only be opened with special tools. This requirement is part of the safety standards that must be met to receive CE marking.

Specifically, this requirement comes from the Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU and is detailed in harmonized standards like EN 60335 (for household appliances) and EN 60950/EN 62368-1 (for information technology equipment).

The purpose of this requirement is to prevent unauthorized access to potentially hazardous parts of the device, such as areas with dangerous voltages or moving parts that could cause injury. By requiring special tools to open the case, manufacturers ensure that only qualified personnel can access these components, reducing the risk of electric shock or other injuries to ordinary users.

"Special tools" in this context typically means tools not commonly available to consumers, such as:

Torx or triangle-head screwdrivers
Security bits with special patterns
Custom-designed keys or tools

This requirement is part of the broader CE compliance process, which involves ensuring that products meet all applicable EU health, safety, and environmental requirements before they can be sold in the European Economic Area.

koraks · 2025-05-08T06:49:49-0400

Show me that particular directive as I'm not buying it. Again, my HP desktop which can be opened without any tools whatsoever would be non-compliance as it also falls under the same LVD.

BobUK · 2025-05-08T07:50:45-0400

RalphLambrecht said:
certainly not. It may surprise you that in order to obtain the CE certificate logo in Europe, the housing must not be opened with regular tools, but must be opened with special tools. So, I think what you are asking for is against EU regulations, which RHDesigns seems to adhere to.

When I am in the pub some people think my wallet needs special tools to open it.

But on a serious note, the CE sticker on electrical items is a good idea, but should be taken with a pinch of salt.
I have seen and read plenty of articles about poorly made electrical items with convincing labels, of dubious origin having serious electrical and mechanical faults.
Wrongly rated fuses, moulded mains plugs that are mechanically and electrically lethal.
Sockets, hair dryers and electric kettles.
You name it and someone has probably rebadged and labelled it.

I visited many factories during my working days, and I have personally seen imported chess sets being relabelled "Made in England", likewise spades, garden forks and other tools, One engineers file maker even told me they could stamp any makers mark and country of origin on their products as a lot of famous makers no longer produced their own tools but liked to keep their name and logo active.

Tinned food I saw in two factories having the original labels peeled of by hand, then a completely different label with new brand and country of origin being attached. Probably had the expiry date changed at the same time.

The classic European Community food scam was in 2012 when horsemeat was transported back and forth around the EU to about six countries. Eventually the paper trail was hazy enough to allow the horsemeat to resurface in Ireland as Beef Steak to be sold to the UK for human consumption.

Safety labelling is a good idea, but as the old saying goes "don't believe everything you read.

rduraoc · 2025-05-08T07:55:20-0400

As someone working in the EU bubble, I would agree that Annex 1 of Directive 2014/35/EU does not lead to the conclusion that devices can not be opened without special tools. In fact, I would argue that the EU regulatory environment is actually going in the opposite direction, under the safe and sustainable by design framework and the developing "Right to repair".

I do believe, however, that the debate in this thread is not framed properly: the regulatory framework does not exist to prevent users from opening an electric device, but to exempt manufacturers from the legal responsibility once a user does. Therefore, nothing wrong with opening every device laying around the house, as long as one understands that from that point on it is under personal responsibility. Therefore, kudos to @Marco B for solving the issue on his own!

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