[volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A

Sun Jul 6 04:45:51 EDT 2014

I recently bought a non-working 3458, so faced the same problem. it was a relatively old unit, and I asked agilent germany (where I live) for a standard repair quote. they answered they would not give a fix price, they would evaluate the costs once received. it may have been linked to the age of the unit (SN arround 3k). I would therefore think that in other places in europe the response may be similar. it may be differnt in the US.
I determined the A/D board was faulty, and I did a check on that, it would have been considerably cheaper to just replace this. so for me, since I am also calibrating the unit myself, it would anyway have been a bad deal. fortunatelly I could fix the a/d myself, so could save this as well. given my buy price and list price for the a/d baord, it would otherwise probably have been a no so good deal. so I would say there is really some risk involved buying an old gear. also, keep in mind, boards may work but still be out of spec. so you may need a new A/D board just to figure out later that the ac board is not within specs either.
key I guess is that the error messages give you a reasonable understanding whats wrong. find out the cost of this board, and if thats ok in total it may make sense, but you still have quite a risk as the other items may have an issue as well. if a unit is completely dead, I would probably not buy. as far as i know you cannot buy a new PU board allone, you need to send it in to repair (thats what agilent germany states on ther parts list side), and then it may be very costly if other stuff it broken too.

> Gesendet: Sonntag, 06. Juli 2014 um 07:03 Uhr
> Von: "Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd)" <drkirkby at kirkbymicrowave.co.uk>
> An: "Discussion of precise voltage measurement" <volt-nuts at febo.com>
> Betreff: Re: [volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A
>
> On 6 Jul 2014 07:12, "John Phillips" <john.phillips0 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > They do really offer that service as long as you send them a complete
> > meter... No missing parts. Well they will take a few missing screws and
> > such.
> 
> There is also the possibility someone has tried repairing it, but done so
> badly.
> 
> I assume that there has been some design changes over the years, so not all
> boards are identical.  Agilent would probably decline to fix a unit made
> from parts from a mixture of revisions.
> 
> Buying one and hoping to get it repaired for a fixed fee seems a bit risky
> to me.
> 
> Dave
> 
> My experience with them is they charge the same no mater what need to
> > be fixed. Not sure what the price is, there prices are country dependent.
> I
> > thought it was a little more than $2200 last I checked.
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 4:08 PM, Randy Evans <randyevans2688 at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I am in the market for a used HP-3458A and, in researching past
> messages, I
> > > came across an interesting question:
> > >
> > > *Chris Erickson* ericksonc2 at comcast.net
> > > <volt-nuts%
> > >
> 40febo.com?Subject=Re%3A%20%5Bvolt-nuts%5D%203458A%20questions&In-Reply-To=%3C001b01cc7960%24a15d2840%24e41778c0%24%40net%3E
> > > >
> > > *Thu Sep 22 19:48:41 UTC 2011*
> > >
> > > If Agilent will fix everything, bring it up to specs, and calibrate it
> no
> > >
> > > matter what's wrong with it for $2200, then why would I spend
> $5000-6000 or
> > >
> > > more for one that is in good shape - even if calibrated? Just grab the
> > > first
> > >
> > > bargain that comes along for $1500-3000, send it straight to Agilent
> and be
> > >
> > > money ahead. Seems the better course of action to me if that price is
> > >
> > > accurate - do they really offer this service?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I could not find an answer to this question but it does beg the
> question.
> > >  Does nayone have an answer as to why not buy the cheapest unit and
> send it
> > > in for repair?
> > >
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > >
> > > Randy Evans
> > > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > John Phillips
> > _______________________________________________
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