[volt-nuts] 3458A reference boards on ebay

[Tom Knox]

Most likely the boards are real, especially if the boards are from a seller in Colorado since that is where Keysight in the past manufactured and serviced all 3458A's. They still do all calibration in Loveland (I am not sure if  Loveland is where service is done today) but this would mean the boards are pulls for either up grade to 002 or HFL boards or worse failed to meet spec. Further I would guess that working boards that meet spec would be retained for future replacements. That said the ones listed do appear genuine. If someone was thinking of duplicating the PCB I may be able to provide one to disassemble and repopulate afterwards. It would be interesting to have a few boards to experiment with.
Cheers;
Thomas Knox



> Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2015 13:24:30 +0000
> From: drkirkby at kirkbymicrowave.co.uk
> To: volt-nuts at febo.com
> Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] 3458A reference boards on ebay
> 
> On 30 January 2015 at 12:25, Will <willvolts at gmail.com> wrote:
> > The boards are factory rejects.
> 
> I doubt all boards on eBay are in this category. Some are probably
> quite genuine, some may be rejects, and it would never surprise me if
> some are counterfeit. The problem is, I have no idea what ones are
> what.
> 
> I don't know what the problems sourcing the parts for making a
> reference would be, but if a number of people wanted to make one from
> parts, perhaps someone could produce a PCB and people contribute
> towards the cost of it. Maybe leave people to get their own reference
> chip, as there are different grades of that. But things like the
> precision resistors may be easier to buy in a quantity of 10 rather
> than 1.
> 
> I would certainly not mind buying one if a PCB was available. Even if
> it works out costing a bit more than a 3458A reference from eBay, I'd
> feel a bit happier.
> 
> Dave
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