[volt-nuts] Keysight 3458A vs Keithley 2002 8.5 digit multimeters.

[Dr. David Kirkby (Kirkby Microwave Ltd)]

I am interested to hear people's view on the relative merits  of the
HP/Agilent/ Keysight 3458A vs the Keithley 2002.

I noticed that when I recently visit the standard lab for voltage at NPL,
the place was littered with Agilent 3458As, but I did not notice a single
Keithley 2002. But maybe NPL get better discounts from HP/Agilent Keysight
than Keithley/Tektronix.

I notice that the used prices of 3458A is higher than 2002s.

Also, are there any things ons should be looking out for when buying a
3458A or 2002? I have in the past thought an Agilent front panel was a
better than an HP one, as it would not be as old, but this is not always
true - see my comment later.

What S/N are best avoided? Does anyone have a record of S/Ns of Keighley
meters with time?

Very recently I had a somewhat scruffy HP 6674A PSU with a damaged LCD. It
cost me $50 or so to pick up a clean Agilent front panel with a new
display.  The display actually turned out to be unsuitable,  yet my Agilent
badged 6674A is actually a fairly old HP unit.  So white my intention was
not to rebadge the PSU, that happened as a result of a legitimate reason to
get it working. So this really indicates how an old HP 3457A could be made
to look a newer Agilent one.

Dave.