[volt-nuts] HP3458a available (was Re: hp 3458a advice)

[Eric Garner]

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 <pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us> 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: 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)
>  >  >
>
> =---------------------
>  paul fox, pgf at foxharp.boston.ma.us (arlington, ma, where it's 30.0 degrees)
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-- 
--Eric
_________________________________________
Eric Garner