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Re: Is it reasonable (or normal) to charge extra to calibrate an essential accessory supplied with an instrument?

Dr. David Kirkby from Kirkby Microwave Ltd
 

On Thu, 11 Oct 2018 at 17:56, Dave_G0WBX via Groups.Io <g8kbvdave=[email protected]> wrote:
The same applies with power meters.? If you send in a power meter with a
head and lead, they will be calibrated separately.?? My gripe is that
often they don't do a functional check after the cal', with the items
you send them.? (We¡¯ve had power meters returned that though the head
and body worked OK, the lead was damaged (after it left us to go to
them, so as a "system" it resulted in somewhat wayward un-callibrated
readings.)?? (That was not Keysight by the way.)

I see power meters as quite different, as they are not supplied with a sensor. You buy what sensor you want. I see this as quite different.

I will ask Keysight if they can give me a spec on the resistor.

I don't feel I want to argue too much over this, as I don't want to **** them off too much. Long term, that is probably not a good idea. With Pete and his ECal, it is a very different matter, but calibration of a resistor is a bit less of an issue.
?

We've also had digital readout instruments "Calibrated" against what we
know to be "moving coil meter" display instruments, and not even types
with a mirror scale!? (Again, not Keysight.)
?
Yes, I have seen similar. Recently someone was selling a calibrated 26.5 GHz 3.5 mm 85053B verification kit. Now I know those things can't be calibrated by joe public, so I asked how it was calibrated. To cut a long story short, this was calibrated using an 85032B 6 GHz N calibration kit!

goldenrubi is an eBay seller that claims stuff he sells is calibrated, but if you send him a few messages, you realise he is an idiot.


The whole "Calibration Industry" is a bit of a farce, sadly.?? My
personal view.
?
I know someone, who personally I would not trust to check a handheld DVM, that was recently working in Intel, "calibrating" 23 GHz Tektronix scopes and bit error rate testers!? The guy is a complete moron.

I recently had a UK company write to me about their calibration services which was "UKAS traceable". Now I know what traceable to a standards lab is (NIST, NPL etc), and I know what UKAS acreddited means, but "UKAS traceable" is a new one on me.

This is a good one. An "acreddited" cal lab in Mexico



They are acreddited to measure frequency from 1 Hz to 40 MHz to 0.05%. The instrument they use is a 3458A, which is rated to measure frequency up to 10 MHz!!!

Even Keysight (UK) can't supply uncertainties with the calibration of the 4285A. A calibration with uncertainties is available in the USA, but the cost is considerably higher than a standard (non-acredited, no uncertainties) Keysight calibration. I think I will settle with the standard calibration. It will fullfil my main aim, which is to determine if this instrument works properly, before I have lost the chance to send it back to the seller and say it is faulty.


Regards.

Dave B (G0WBX)

Dave, G8WRB

--
Dr David Kirkby Ph.D C.Eng MIET
Kirkby Microwave Ltd
Registered office: Stokes Hall Lodge, Burnham Rd, Althorne, CHELMSFORD, Essex, CM3 6DT, United Kingdom.
Registered in England and Wales as company number 08914892

Tel 01621-680100 / +44 1621-680100
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