[volt-nuts] HP3458a available (was Re: hp 3458a advice)
John Phillips
john.phillips0 at gmail.com
Thu Feb 7 21:34:53 EST 2013
You should be able to any unit repaired by Agilent as long as all the parts
are there for the $3000 flat rate repair and calibration charge.
On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 5:59 PM, J. L. Trantham <jltran at att.net> wrote:
> Paul,
>
> The 'value' of a 3458A is based on several issues, not the least of which
> is
> supply and demand. You only have to look at theBay to get an idea of what
> units are selling for, both working and non-working. The fact that the
> unit
> passes it's 'Self Test' is not a guarantee that it would be able to be
> calibrated to published performance specs.
>
> Tha Agilent website is very useful in determining an 'upper bound' on the
> value. The 3458A is currently orderable and currently supported. A new
> 3458A (without options) is available at $9,085 and would come with a fresh
> calibration and warranty.
>
> Repair Per Incident is available for $2,660.64. This means that if you
> have
> a complete unit, they will repair it for that price. That also comes with
> a
> fresh calibration. I don't know if that price includes all recommended
> upgrades as listed in the Service Notes, of which there are 20, 6 of which
> list 'Modification Recommended' and one of which lists 'Modification
> Available'. Perhaps someone on the forum knows the answer to this.
> Certainly Gary Biermann at Agilent can answer this.
>
> The fact that your unit does not have a serial number sticker but instead
> 'MTG PROTO 27' would be concerning as to whether Agilent would consider
> this
> a 'complete 3458A', and thus a candidate for repair, or, rather, a
> 'prototype' or some other descriptor that would imply that it looks like a
> 3458A but is really not a 3458A.
>
> Both new and newly calibrated units are candidates to add a Repair
> Agreement, available for $178.68 per year with up to 5 year blocks
> available
> for purchase.
>
> I note you mentioned firmware REV 2,1. The current firmware is 9,1.
> Therefore it would appear that you have a rather old and probably not
> 'updated' unit. That plus the 'stored in an attic' history would be
> concerning about the ability to repair the unit without changing several
> assemblies, etc.
>
> Assuming you could get the unit repaired and updated by Agilent, complete
> with a fresh calibration, then the maximum value would be $9,085 minus
> $2,660.64 minus what ever value you place on 'new' over 'old'.
>
> Then you are left with an older unit, made in the USA, with no (or perhaps
> a
> reduced) warranty as opposed to a new unit, made in Malaysia, with a
> warranty. The question of whether a 'new' Malaysian unit or an 'old'
> American unit is better is the subject of further discussion and
> speculation.
>
> If the unit cannot be repaired by Agilent, then, in my opinion, the value
> goes down and approaches the value of the hardware, transformer, etc., with
> serious questions about the state and reparability of the assemblies,
> particularly given the 'stored in an attic' history.
>
> Gary Biermann would be very helpful in getting the history and reparability
> of the unit. He would be worth contacting about these issues. He works at
> the Loveland Calibration Facility.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Joe
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
> Behalf Of Paul Fox
> Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 8:54 AM
> To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] HP3458a available (was Re: hp 3458a advice)
>
> part of me hates to do this, but... there have been some rule-breakers
> that ignored the "under $350" limit, and now they've ruined it for
> everyone. ;-)
>
> clearly the research i did into prices for "HP3458a, needs repair" was
> woefully inadequate.
>
> i guess the easiest thing to do is to simply remove the "under $350"
> part. that way everyone's working under the same assumptions. again,
> sorry. local buyers still get preference. (and, if you'd like to chew
> me out for being a bozo, that's fine, but please do it privately. maybe
> i should have used ebay in the first place. lesson learned.)
>
> paul
>
> i wrote:
> > resurrecting a somewhat older thread --
> >
> > it's now clear to me that i have little interest in (or time for)
> > resurrecting my 3458a. several people on the list were interested in
> > it when i first brought it up, and you were all very helpful. i'd
> > rather not go through the ebay hassle, and i'd rather make it
> > available to one of you folks first in any case.
> >
> > i've put up a small set of pictures, along with a short video of
> > the startup sequence at http://www.foxharp.net/hp3458a . re-reading
> > my original list message (below), i see that my startup video didn't
> > capture an error message i saw back in october. so in addition to the
> > "110, Calibration required -- ACAL" message in the video, i guess we
> > should assume that it sometimes gives "204, "Hardware Failure --
> Flatness
> > DAC Convergence: 198"
> >
> > i haven't opened the unit, and wasn't really planning on it. if
> > there's something that you'd like to know that will be clear from just
> > looking, and if it might appreciably change the unit's value for you,
> > let me know and i'll find a screwdriver and take some more pictures.
> >
> > i have two original (i believe) copies of the manual. no service
> manual.
> > firmware version is "REV 2,1".
> >
> > so how about this: best offer (by private mail) under $350 gets it,
> > shipping not included (it looks like shipping will be in the $40 to $80
> > range, once i find a box). for obvious reasons, a local-to-boston
> > transaction will be given a lot of preference.
> >
> > i'll wait until next wednesday evening (i.e., about a week -- feb 13)
> > before choosing a lucky recipient, since i hear some people don't read
> > their mail as continuously as i do.
> >
> > paul
> >
> > i wrote:
> > > thanks joe, and to the other couple of people who responded
> privately.
>
> > > i need to figure out how much of a project i want this to be, and how
> > > it ranks against all the other projects that i also don't have time
> > > for. :-)
> > >
> > > i have the full users manual (two copies!), but i don't have anything
> > > else that speaks GPIB. i'll play with some of the front panel
> > > commands you've suggested, while i think about what to do. thanks!
> > >
> > > paul
> > >
> > > j. l. trantham wrote:
> > > > Paul,
> > > >
> > > > First, the meter is worth something if nothing other than parts.
> It is
> > ...
> > > > Good luck.
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com
> [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
> > > > Behalf Of Paul Fox
> > > > Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 9:50 AM
> > > > To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
> > > > Subject: [volt-nuts] hp 3458a advice
> > > >
> > > > hi --
> > > >
> > > > i'm not a volt-nuts regular, and not even a precision measurement
> nut
> > > > at all, but given past discussion in the list archives, i think
> you
> > > > folks might be able to help.
> > > >
> > > > i was recently given an HP 3458a multimeter. the donor thought it
> > > > worked when he last used it, but that was quite a long time ago,
> and i
> > > > think it was stored in an attic for some time, so i'm not too
> > > > surprised that it now doesn't pass self tests. :-/ he mainly
> wanted
> > > > it out of his house, along with a bunch of other vintage (sadly
> mostly
> > > > non-working) equipment he'd accumulated over the years.
> > > >
> > > > the self-test error is:
> > > > ERRSTR 204, "Hardware Failure -- Flatness DAC Convergence:
> 198"
> > > >
> > > > judging from past list traffic, repairs on these units are
> > > > expensive, and it would still need recalibration to be useful, and
> > > > there are may be other parts (eeproms?) that may not be good
> > > > any more. i'm not really interested in pursuing any of this
> > > > myself.
> > > >
> > > > what's worse is that the unit doesn't have a serial number. (i
> assume
> > > > the s/n would normally be obvious on the rear of the unit.) it
> bears a
> > > > sticker on the back that says "MTG PROTO 27". i think the unit
> came
> > > > from a place that themselves produced reference standards, and
> they
> > > > may have gotten a very early model from HP to work with. that's
> > > > conjecture. i haven't opened the unit, so i don't know if there
> are
> > > > other clues to its age inside.
> > > >
> > > > so: is this machine useful to anyone? given the error message
> above,
> > > > are there any measurements at all that it might still get correct,
> in
> > > > it's current state?
> > > >
> > > > paul
> > > > =---------------------
> > > > paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's
> 63.1
> degrees)
> > > >
> >
> > =---------------------
> > paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's 30.0
> degrees)
> > _______________________________________________
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>
> =---------------------
> paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's 19.2
> degrees)
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--
John Phillips
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