Paul, I'm interested in the 3458a. I'm located in Portland, OR since that affects your decision. I've been lusting after a 3458a for sometime. Since I'm on a budget most of my equipment is acquired in "needs TLC" condition, so i'm used to a project. fortunately for me my day job has it's yearly calibration in a few months so if I get it I can get it cal'd properly (taking the techs out for beers goes a long way).
thanks -eric On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 12:59 PM, Paul Fox <[email protected]> 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: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] 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, [email protected] (arlington, ma, where it's 63.1 > degrees) > > > > > =--------------------- > paul fox, [email protected] (arlington, ma, where it's 30.0 degrees) > _______________________________________________ > volt-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts > and follow the instructions there. -- --Eric _________________________________________ Eric Garner _______________________________________________ volt-nuts mailing list -- [email protected] To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts and follow the instructions there.
