Joe wrote:

We're all pretty much the same time from Everett -- from FedEx "last
pickup" time to "first thing" delivery time.  Then there is probably
some delay before the Fluke techs get it unboxed and plugged
in.  Call it 18 hours from the East Coast, 15 hours from the West
Coast.  Just to be sure, I put the crate and a 2500VA UPS in the car
and drive to the FedEx depot so the 732A and the external battery are
on AC right up to the time I seal it up and hand it over (around 9 or 10 pm).

I assume that Fluke plugs the 732A into the AC mains when it is
received, so the internal battery is recharged.  The Fluke 732A-7003
external charger has an AC line input and accepts four of the 732A
battery modules, for 18-20AH auxiliary (depending on whether the
battery modules have 4, 4.5AH batteries or 2, 5AH batteries).  I used
two, 12v 20AH batteries and built an AC charger into mine, as
well.  I presume they plug it in to recharge the external batteries.

It is 1/2" birch plywood with birch plywood dividers (compartments
for 732A, charger, and cables), padded with 3/4" closed-cell foam
covered with heavy cotton ticking.  Corners, latches, and other
hardware are common road case items.

I think what you'd probably get is four male contacts.  Male, because
that is what comes with P/N 2181497.  Four, because the products that
use that part only use two of the contacts and that is what Fluke
supplies.  (The same is true of the 732A, so when they have a part
number for that plug, it may also come with only two female
contacts.  But two are all you really need.)

Best regards,

Charles

Roy,

The 732A uses the 3059Y-1-101 type cermet pot for the 10V adjustment. You
can use a simple plastic tweaking tool for adjustment. I believe you will
need a fairly long tool. You can shine a light into one of the other holes
to see the orientation of the pot. However, many people may prefer to leave
the pot as is and just record the readings. It is going to drift anyway and
won't stay adjusted for long. The drift may worsen once the pot position
has changed too. I have adjusted mine, but only after the broken pots were
replaced.

Todd

On Thu, Jun 12, 2014 at 9:57 AM, R.Phillips phill.r1@btinternet.com wrote:

Todd
Thank you - I'm sure you are right - leave alone - as my 24 micro V is very
stable, and always come up following an auto-cal. on the 3458A The 1.0800 v
reads 1.018006 , and the 1.0000 v reads 1.000010. I gather the latter two
outputs are derived from the 10 volt source, so would be affected by any
adjustment.
Roy

-----Original Message-----
From: Todd Micallef
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 3:20 PM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

Roy,

The 732A uses the 3059Y-1-101 type cermet pot for the 10V adjustment. You
can use a simple plastic tweaking tool for adjustment. I believe you will
need a fairly long tool. You can shine a light into one of the other holes
to see the orientation of the pot. However, many people may prefer to leave
the pot as is and just record the readings. It is going to drift anyway and
won't stay adjusted for long. The drift may worsen once the pot position
has changed too. I have adjusted mine, but only after the broken pots were
replaced.

Todd

On Thu, Jun 12, 2014 at 9:57 AM, R.Phillips phill.r1@btinternet.com wrote:

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Roy:

I use a ( General Cement ) GC 8276 adjustment tool to make the pot

adjustments in the 732A.  I use the end that has the recessed metal blade.
The pots are about 3.5 inches back from the front panel.  It sometimes is
very difficult to engage the tool slot in the pot.  It helps to look through
the front panel hole with a small flashlight and observe the position of the
slot in the pot ( i.e. 9, 10, 11 o'clock for example ).  Then when you
insert the adjustment tool you can get close to the point when you can
engage the adjustment pot.  Sometimes it will seem impossible to engage the
tool into the slot, but with patience it can be done.  Once you do engage
the pot do whatever adjustment you want, don't pull the tool out, just leave
the tool engaged with the pot so that if you want to make another small
change you won't have to go through the same problem of trying again and
again to engage.
I have found that turning the pots may cause a drift which will show up
days later due to the pot being "dirty" or whatever.  So what I usually do
is to turn the pot back and forth over several revolutions so that I can
"clean" the contact wiper.  I usually make an initial adjustment and then
turn the pot about 1/32 of a turn in the opposite direction just to relieve
any "stress" that might be there and cause a small change in the output
voltage.  I usually have very good results with these methods.
But I will agree with Joe that sometimes it is better just to leave
things alone and just use the known offset from 10 volts when checking or
doing cals.
Bill

----- Original Message -----
From: "Todd Micallef" tmicallef@gmail.com
To: "Discussion of precise voltage measurement" volt-nuts@febo.com
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 7:20 AM
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

leave

and

wrote:

in

how

available

'survive'

it

Fluke

Auxiliary

either

shipping

all

battery

recharge

the

(plus

tax

the

https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts

Hi Roy,

I would like to second Todd's advice about leaving the Fluke 732A's
output voltage adjustment alone. You already have stable outputs and 24
microvolts high is very acceptable. My Datron 4910 (four output supply)
has predictable digital output level settings that doesn't have any luck
involved so it is a better candidate for resetting the standards than
the Fluke 732A. I had Fluke reset them last calibration because I had
just repaired the Datron 4910 and my voltages were all over the place
but stable.  Also I would expect your Fluke 732A to about as temperature
stable as my Datron 4910. In my experience my 3458A needs to be at 23C
to calibrate. Also it should have the fan filter freshly cleaned and
record the 3458A's internal temperature. I have recorded (over several
days) each Datron 4910 output with my 3458A and a switch and can say
that the Datrons are temperature stable but not my 3458A.

Charlie

On 6/12/2014 7:54 AM, Bill Gold wrote:

Roy,

The tool needed to adjust the 732A is both a tool with a recessed metal
blade and a tool with an exposed metal blade.  The 10 V adjustment is
certainly the one with the recessed metal blade.  The other two use one of
each.  I just can't remember which is which.  However, if you look at the
service manual (downloadable from Fluke or other sites) you can tell which
is which.  All are a 'good ways' in the unit.  If you get 'eye to eye' with
the adjustment holes, with a flash light, you can tell what the position of
the 'blade' should be to make the adjustments.  Once properly 'in place',
leave the adjustment tool in position and wait a day or so to make sure all
remains stable.  Don't forget to 'AutoCal All' the 3458A at least every 24
hours (leaving the 732A and the 3458A on 24/7) while doing this.

My experience with these standards is from a 732A and a 735C.  They share a
lot in common.  The 735C is 10.00000 V only.

Both my units arrived with dead battery packs (NiCd for the 735C and SLA for
the 732A) and no history of performance.  When I 'resurrected' them they
were both way off scale.  Since I had no history of their prior performance,
I decided I would allow them to 'settle' then adjust them to be 10.0000000
VDC as best I could do with my Agilent Calibrated 3458A.  Both required
making adjustments to their internal 'connections' in order for them to be
'on scale' with the external adjustments.  Once adjustments were made, I
have covered the access holes for the adjustments and the 'reset' hole with
tape to minimize ambient air currents.

Both are now very stable.  With the 735C, for instance, when I 'AutoCal' the
3458A and read the voltage, it is +/- 1 uV from 10.000000 VDC repeatedly.
Tonight, for instance, it reads 10.0000001 then settles on 9.9999998.  Both
the 735C and the 3458A are on 24/7/365.

I take that as evidence that they have 'stabilized'.  My plan is to send my
Opt 002 3458A to Agilent for their 90 day specification Cal then use it to
do a 'final adjustment' to both the 732A and 735C.  Once I'm confident that
both have 'stabilized' (which I hope will happen within the 90 day Cal
period), then I hope to send both to Fluke for their 'calibration'.

Once done, my plan is to never adjust them again but, rather, keep track of
their readings with a 3458A.

I agree with others that it is best to track the values rather than to try
to 'adjust' the references.  However, if you have no 'history', you get to
start from scratch, or at least that's my opinion.

The 3458A should be about 4 PPM.  Hopefully, the Opt 002 with a '90 day
Cal', it will be more like 2 PPM or better.  We'll see what Fluke does with
the 735C and 732A, once they have a chance to take a look.  Once
'calibrated', I agree it is more important to make sure they are 'in range'
and stable rather than trying to 'adjust' them each time they might go in
for 'cal'.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: volt-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Charles Black
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 11:18 AM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

Hi Roy,

I would like to second Todd's advice about leaving the Fluke 732A's output
voltage adjustment alone. You already have stable outputs and 24 microvolts
high is very acceptable. My Datron 4910 (four output supply) has predictable
digital output level settings that doesn't have any luck involved so it is a
better candidate for resetting the standards than the Fluke 732A. I had
Fluke reset them last calibration because I had just repaired the Datron
4910 and my voltages were all over the place but stable.  Also I would
expect your Fluke 732A to about as temperature stable as my Datron 4910. In
my experience my 3458A needs to be at 23C to calibrate. Also it should have
the fan filter freshly cleaned and record the 3458A's internal temperature.
I have recorded (over several
days) each Datron 4910 output with my 3458A and a switch and can say that
the Datrons are temperature stable but not my 3458A.

Charlie

On 6/12/2014 7:54 AM, Bill Gold wrote:

blade.

engage.

good results with these methods.

volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

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

-----Original Message-----
From: J. L. Trantham
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2014 1:48 AM
To: 'Discussion of precise voltage measurement'
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

Roy,

The tool needed to adjust the 732A is both a tool with a recessed metal
blade and a tool with an exposed metal blade.  The 10 V adjustment is
certainly the one with the recessed metal blade.  The other two use one of
each.  I just can't remember which is which.  However, if you look at the
service manual (downloadable from Fluke or other sites) you can tell which
is which.  All are a 'good ways' in the unit.  If you get 'eye to eye' with
the adjustment holes, with a flash light, you can tell what the position of
the 'blade' should be to make the adjustments.  Once properly 'in place',
leave the adjustment tool in position and wait a day or so to make sure all
remains stable.  Don't forget to 'AutoCal All' the 3458A at least every 24
hours (leaving the 732A and the 3458A on 24/7) while doing this.

My experience with these standards is from a 732A and a 735C.  They share a
lot in common.  The 735C is 10.00000 V only.

Both my units arrived with dead battery packs (NiCd for the 735C and SLA for
the 732A) and no history of performance.  When I 'resurrected' them they
were both way off scale.  Since I had no history of their prior performance,
I decided I would allow them to 'settle' then adjust them to be 10.0000000
VDC as best I could do with my Agilent Calibrated 3458A.  Both required
making adjustments to their internal 'connections' in order for them to be
'on scale' with the external adjustments.  Once adjustments were made, I
have covered the access holes for the adjustments and the 'reset' hole with
tape to minimize ambient air currents.

Both are now very stable.  With the 735C, for instance, when I 'AutoCal' the
3458A and read the voltage, it is +/- 1 uV from 10.000000 VDC repeatedly.
Tonight, for instance, it reads 10.0000001 then settles on 9.9999998.  Both
the 735C and the 3458A are on 24/7/365.

I take that as evidence that they have 'stabilized'.  My plan is to send my
Opt 002 3458A to Agilent for their 90 day specification Cal then use it to
do a 'final adjustment' to both the 732A and 735C.  Once I'm confident that
both have 'stabilized' (which I hope will happen within the 90 day Cal
period), then I hope to send both to Fluke for their 'calibration'.

Once done, my plan is to never adjust them again but, rather, keep track of
their readings with a 3458A.

I agree with others that it is best to track the values rather than to try
to 'adjust' the references.  However, if you have no 'history', you get to
start from scratch, or at least that's my opinion.

The 3458A should be about 4 PPM.  Hopefully, the Opt 002 with a '90 day
Cal', it will be more like 2 PPM or better.  We'll see what Fluke does with
the 735C and 732A, once they have a chance to take a look.  Once
'calibrated', I agree it is more important to make sure they are 'in range'
and stable rather than trying to 'adjust' them each time they might go in
for 'cal'.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: volt-nuts-bounces@febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces@febo.com] On
Behalf Of Charles Black
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2014 11:18 AM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] A Fluke 732A: Return it or keep it?

Hi Roy,

I would like to second Todd's advice about leaving the Fluke 732A's output
voltage adjustment alone. You already have stable outputs and 24 microvolts
high is very acceptable. My Datron 4910 (four output supply) has predictable
digital output level settings that doesn't have any luck involved so it is a
better candidate for resetting the standards than the Fluke 732A. I had
Fluke reset them last calibration because I had just repaired the Datron
4910 and my voltages were all over the place but stable.  Also I would
expect your Fluke 732A to about as temperature stable as my Datron 4910. In
my experience my 3458A needs to be at 23C to calibrate. Also it should have
the fan filter freshly cleaned and record the 3458A's internal temperature.
I have recorded (over several
days) each Datron 4910 output with my 3458A and a switch and can say that
the Datrons are temperature stable but not my 3458A.

Charlie

On 6/12/2014 7:54 AM, Bill Gold wrote:

blade.

engage.

good results with these methods.

volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to
https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts
and follow the instructions there.

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