[volt-nuts] hp 3458a advice

Tue Oct 16 18:56:01 UTC 2012

I will have to look it up, I have not used it yet, but I need to talk to some old kit, it had some respectable write up on another forum somewhere, and it was fairly cheap. below the VAT limit for an import at least from memory. I will wake up the children to look at the moment, but a google for GPIB to USB and australia ought to narrow it down somewhat.

> Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:43:23 -0700
> From: randy_hunt960 at yahoo.com
> To: volt-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] hp 3458a advice
> 
> Any details on this USB adapter?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: m k <m1k3k1 at hotmail.com>
> To: volt-nuts at febo.com
> Sent: Tue, October 16, 2012 11:30:58 AM
> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] hp 3458a advice
> 
> 
> I recently bought a cheap module from Australia that converts from GPIB to 
> USB...
> 
> > To: volt-nuts at febo.com
> > From: pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us
> > Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2012 11:31:49 -0400
> > Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] hp 3458a advice
> > 
> > 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
> >  > quite a meter and you should at least open it up and see what it might take
> >  > to get it operational again.  I am sure there are folks on this list
> >  > (including me) that would love to have the meter if you want to part with
> >  > it.
> >  > 
> >  > It is still in production, still supported and you can get the manuals from
> >  > the Agilent website.  The assembly level repair manual should be able to
> >  > give you an idea of where the problem is.  The CLIP is available and you
> >  > might be able to find the specific part (or parts) that need replacing.
> >  > 
> >  > I don't know of a way to get the serial number if there is no sticker on 
> the
> >  > back.  You can open it and look at the date codes on the chips, etc., and
> >  > get an idea of when it was manufactured.
> >  > 
> >  > You can enter some queries from the front panel to get some other
> >  > information.  I can't remember what they all are but if they end in a '?',
> >  > it will return the data.  Things like 'OPT?' will tell what options are
> >  > installed, '1' being extended memory and '2' being the high stability
> >  > reference.  You can tell how many times it was CAL'd, what version of
> >  > firmware it has, etc.  I think version 9 is the latest and version 8 is 
> 'out
> >  > there' somewhere, IIRC.  If you just start with shift A and scroll down the
> >  > list, you can see what questions you can ask.
> >  > 
> >  > Agilent offers a 'repair service' for about $1900 (IIRC) that will put it
> >  > back in operational condition, up to specs, and with a fresh calibration.
> >  > However, I don't know if that service requires a serial number or not.
> >  > 
> >  > There is a guy at the Agilent calibration center in Colorado, Gary Bierman,
> >  > and he is 'the man' when it comes to that meter.  I have spoken with him in
> >  > the past about other 3458A questions and he was most helpful.  I suspect he
> >  > would be more than willing to talk to you about the meter and what it might
> >  > take to get it up and running.
> >  > 
> >  > I think his contact information is in the archives if you would like to
> >  > pursue that.
> >  > 
> >  > 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)
> >  > 
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> > =---------------------
> >  paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's 48.4 degrees)
> > 
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