​They do really offer that service as​ long as you send them a complete
meter... No missing parts. Well they will take a few missing screws and
such. My experience with them is they charge the same no mater what need to
be fixed. Not sure what the price is, there prices are country dependent. I
thought it was a little more than $2200 last I checked.

On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 4:08 PM, Randy Evans randyevans2688@gmail.com
wrote:

--
John Phillips

Be careful, Agilent's standard service is not that simple.

Thomas Knox

On 6 Jul 2014 07:12, "John Phillips" john.phillips0@gmail.com wrote:

There is also the possibility someone has tried repairing it, but done so
badly.

I assume that there has been some design changes over the years, so not all
boards are identical.  Agilent would probably decline to fix a unit made
from parts from a mixture of revisions.

Buying one and hoping to get it repaired for a fixed fee seems a bit risky
to me.

Dave

My experience with them is they charge the same no mater what need to

I

messages, I

40febo.com?Subject=Re%3A%20%5Bvolt-nuts%5D%203458A%20questions&In-Reply-To=%3C001b01cc7960%24a15d2840%24e41778c0%24%40net%3E

no

$5000-6000 or

and be

question.

send it

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

I recently bought a non-working 3458, so faced the same problem. it was a relatively old unit, and I asked agilent germany (where I live) for a standard repair quote. they answered they would not give a fix price, they would evaluate the costs once received. it may have been linked to the age of the unit (SN arround 3k). I would therefore think that in other places in europe the response may be similar. it may be differnt in the US.
I determined the A/D board was faulty, and I did a check on that, it would have been considerably cheaper to just replace this. so for me, since I am also calibrating the unit myself, it would anyway have been a bad deal. fortunatelly I could fix the a/d myself, so could save this as well. given my buy price and list price for the a/d baord, it would otherwise probably have been a no so good deal. so I would say there is really some risk involved buying an old gear. also, keep in mind, boards may work but still be out of spec. so you may need a new A/D board just to figure out later that the ac board is not within specs either.
key I guess is that the error messages give you a reasonable understanding whats wrong. find out the cost of this board, and if thats ok in total it may make sense, but you still have quite a risk as the other items may have an issue as well. if a unit is completely dead, I would probably not buy. as far as i know you cannot buy a new PU board allone, you need to send it in to repair (thats what agilent germany states on ther parts list side), and then it may be very costly if other stuff it broken too.

I note with interest your considerations with restoring the 3458A.  I have
recently had my 3458A restored (April-last) to fine working order, and
calibrated by the Agilent Service Department here in the UK. It will cost
what is required after their inspection - this inspection is a 'free'
service which gives you a full appraisal, and a price for what has to be
done to restore the instrument to 100% working order followed by
re-calibration. If the cost is unacceptable, you can request the return your
instrument back with a report on what would be required. The reality is that
many owners have tried to make a 'cheaper fix' and finished up with an
unsatisfactory result, as Agilent are not try to calibrate a faulty unit.
Over the period of the models production, a number of changes have been
introduced, I now have the latest type of processor/RAM/ROM board which is
much improved. Considering the cost of a new instrument, I would suggest
this is the best solution. I found the staff here in the UK to be very
helpful and willing to discuss any technical matter.
Roy Phillips.

-----Original Message-----
From: acbern@gmx.de
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 9:45 AM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A

I recently bought a non-working 3458, so faced the same problem. it was a
relatively old unit, and I asked agilent germany (where I live) for a
standard repair quote. they answered they would not give a fix price, they
would evaluate the costs once received. it may have been linked to the age
of the unit (SN arround 3k). I would therefore think that in other places in
europe the response may be similar. it may be differnt in the US.
I determined the A/D board was faulty, and I did a check on that, it would
have been considerably cheaper to just replace this. so for me, since I am
also calibrating the unit myself, it would anyway have been a bad deal.
fortunatelly I could fix the a/d myself, so could save this as well. given
my buy price and list price for the a/d baord, it would otherwise probably
have been a no so good deal. so I would say there is really some risk
involved buying an old gear. also, keep in mind, boards may work but still
be out of spec. so you may need a new A/D board just to figure out later
that the ac board is not within specs either.
key I guess is that the error messages give you a reasonable understanding
whats wrong. find out the cost of this board, and if thats ok in total it
may make sense, but you still have quite a risk as the other items may have
an issue as well. if a unit is completely dead, I would probably not buy. as
far as i know you cannot buy a new PU board allone, you need to send it in
to repair (thats what agilent germany states on ther parts list side), and
then it may be very costly if other stuff it broken too.

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and follow the instructions there.

Can you buy the A/D board... here in USA they will not sell the parts
anymore. If you need a front panel because the display is dim or one of the
keys will not work it cost the same as any other repair.

acben, what was wrong with your A/D? The typical rundown error seems like
it would be real hard to repair and most of the circuit is contained in
proprietary chips. I am impressed. would love to be able to repair the A/D
board. That and the AC board are the highest failed boards I see.

On Sun, Jul 6, 2014 at 4:56 AM, R.Phillips phill.r1@btinternet.com wrote:

--
John Phillips

That e-mail I referenced is several years old.  i believe the current
repair price is just over $2800.

Randy

On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 10:49 PM, John Phillips john.phillips0@gmail.com
wrote:

Randy
I'm already forgetting some of the facts that made up the price that I paid
for the repair and re-cal. for my 3458A, as I have been involved in a number
of other restoration/repairs, but it was remarkably similar in £ sterling,
against your US $ price - so I guess it would seem to be a fixed charge ? My
instrument failed when the 'classic' RAM/ROM 's ran out of battery support
and further, they found another section which had gone bad. There's nothing
to give your more confidence than the Agilent Calibration Certificate that
comes with the package,as this is probably the prime instrument in the
collection of we lucky owners, so it has to be good.  As I have stated in a
previous exchange, the 'new' processor/ROM/RAM board is now fitted with
sockets, and the devices that were formerly fitted, have been replaced with
the new type that only connect the battery support power when they are
plugged in to their sockets.
Roy

-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Evans
Sent: Sunday, July 06, 2014 6:44 PM
To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
Subject: Re: [volt-nuts] Buying HP-3458A

That e-mail I referenced is several years old.  i believe the current
repair price is just over $2800.

Randy

On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 10:49 PM, John Phillips john.phillips0@gmail.com
wrote:

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Moin moin,

On Sun, 6 Jul 2014 10:45:51 +0200
acbern@gmx.de wrote:

I would be very much interested in how you calibrate the 3458 and
what you use as calibration standard.

		Attila Kinali

--
I pity people who can't find laughter or at least some bit of amusement in
the little doings of the day. I believe I could find something ridiculous
even in the saddest moment, if necessary. It has nothing to do with being
superficial. It's a matter of joy in life.
-- Sophie Scholl