I note with interest your considerations with restoring the 3458A. I have
recently had my 3458A restored (April-last) to fine working order, and
calibrated by the Agilent Service Department here in the UK. It will cost
what is required after their inspection - this inspection is a 'free'
service which gives you a full appraisal, and a price for what has to be
done to restore the instrument to 100% working order followed by
re-calibration. If the cost is unacceptable, you can request the return your
instrument back with a report on what would be required. The reality is that
many owners have tried to make a 'cheaper fix' and finished up with an
unsatisfactory result, as Agilent are not try to calibrate a faulty unit.
Over the period of the models production, a number of changes have been
introduced, I now have the latest type of processor/RAM/ROM board which is
much improved. Considering the cost of a new instrument, I would suggest
this is the best solution. I found the staff here in the UK to be very
helpful and willing to discuss any technical matter.
Roy Phillips.
-----Original Message-----
From: acb...@gmx.de
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 9:45 AM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A
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)"
<drkir...@kirkbymicrowave.co.uk>
An: "Discussion of precise voltage measurement" <volt-nuts@febo.com>
Betreff: Re: [volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A
On 6 Jul 2014 07:12, "John Phillips" <john.philli...@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 <randyevans2...@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
> > _______________________________________________
> > volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com
> > To unsubscribe, go to
> > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts
> > and follow the instructions there.
> >
>
>
>
> --
> John Phillips
> _______________________________________________
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