[volt-nuts] What really gets calibrated?

[Joseph Gray]

I recently had it explained to me that "calibration" is really just
checking a piece of gear against a known standard, to see if it meets the
manufacturers specification. If it is outside specified values, then it
gets "adjusted", not "calibrated".

I can see that on the part of the calibration lab, it is easier and faster
to simply check that a device meets spec and not have to spend time
adjusting anything. It should also be less expensive for the customer.

My question is, is just meeting spec good enough? If an instrument is
capable of exceeding spec, shouldn't it be adjusted to the best standard
available? In other words, if spec says 2 ppm, but it can be adjusted to 1
ppm, wouldn't you want to do that?

Joe Gray
W5JG