[volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it? - 3458A

[J. L. Trantham]

Roy,

The 3458A is quite the instrument.  I'm not familiar with the latest
'plug-in/power-up' devices of which you speak.  I suspect you have Rev 9.2.
Mine have the single chip EPROM, through-hole, A5 board.  I suspect yours
has the SMT version.

If you have just had Agilent calibrate the meter, it is now eligible for the
Repair Agreement for $178.68 per year.  You can buy up to 5 year's worth and
get a slight discount, 4% or so, IIRC.

Might be worth considering.

Gary Bierman at Agilent Loveland told me about that.  When I called Agilent
to purchase that, they were a bit skeptical.  However, when I told them that
Gary Bierman told me it was possible, they got on the phone to talk to
someone and then readily sold me the agreement.  Not a bad price to cover a
potentially expensive repair, especially if you plan to leave it on 24/7/365
and you don't know it's history.

Good luck.

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
Behalf Of R.Phillips
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2014 4:00 AM
To: 'Discussion of precise voltage measurement'
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

Joe, Bill and Charlie
Thank you all for your advice, and for the short term I will leave the 732A
as is. Like you Joe, my 732A arrived with a set of 'dead' SLA batteries -
these were replaced, and its been powered 24/7 since last October, again it
came with no history. I bought mine from a dealer on the West Coast who had
a batch of 14, so I guess that they came from a lab.  Its stability is
impressive, and the Thermistor reading is currently 4.5194 K ohms, with only
small variations over time.
My 3458A had a new processor/RAM/ROM board fitted by Agilent - so it has the
latest 'plug-in/power-up' devices which I understand are a great
improvement, and was calibrated just about six weeks ago. I take your point
that the 3458A should be power continuously, but of course the display is of
the fluorescent type which deteriorate over time. This is now less
important, as I have had a new display installed, and the improvement is
great. I certainly agree that the 3458A is very sensitive to temperature
changes and as you advise, I frequently run 'Auto Cal' .  I consider the
cost of its refurbishment/calibration to be well worth while, considering
the cost of a new instrument.
Best regards.
Roy