Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
Hello Anonymous,
?
Applause for the packing advice to vendors.
?
I find that for vendors who keep advertising at OTT prices, a little note
wishing them well with their exorbitant price and an estimate of mean, range and
standard deviation over the last few months usually gets a ¡®good¡¯
response.
?
73 de Brian, VK2GCE.
?
On Monday, February 22, 2016 11:35 AM,
twrch said:
?
?
Actually, I only buy on eBay, never have sold.? I absolutely demand this
type of packaging and typically message a seller beforehand to make sure they
can follow my request.? I have even had them send me pictures of the
packaging if they are not experienced in this and are not sure if they have done
a good job.? It takes a little patience, but it has worked out well for me
and since I began this practice I have had only one damaged item.
I don't
think that it has anything to do with being morons - I think that most people
who sell these items for reasonable prices on eBay know nothing about the
equipment nor how fragile it is.? The sellers who do follow good packaging
practices are the crazies who have hp/agilent/tek etc listed for 2-10x the
average selling price on eBay and they will therefore never sell it
anyway.
Actually, this topic of "why have you listed this item on eBay
for the past 5 years for the same ridiculous price" is a separate but very
entertaining topic - Those people actually *are* morons ;)
?
|
Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
Actually, I only buy on eBay, never have sold.? I absolutely demand this type of packaging and typically message a seller beforehand to make sure they can follow my request.? I have even had them send me pictures of the packaging if they are not experienced in this and are not sure if they have done a good job.? It takes a little patience, but it has worked out well for me and since I began this practice I have had only one damaged item.
I don't think that it has anything to do with being morons - I think that most people who sell these items for reasonable prices on eBay know nothing about the equipment nor how fragile it is.? The sellers who do follow good packaging practices are the crazies who have hp/agilent/tek etc listed for 2-10x the average selling price on eBay and they will therefore never sell it anyway.
Actually, this topic of "why have you listed this item on eBay for the past 5 years for the same ridiculous price" is a separate but very entertaining topic - Those people actually *are* morons ;)
|
Hi Ed,
Oh, one more thing: Have you checked the Test/Run
jumper at J36?
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 02/21/2016 05:43 AM, Chuck Harris cfharris@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
Hi Ed,
Sorry, I missed the part of your post about your having swapped
A30, it was late. I agree that the problem is most likely on
the A30 board.
I still think it unlikely that the microprocessor is the cause,
but of course it could be.
I would concentrate more on the LSI and MSI parts.
I assume the isolation logic works since test 3 passes.
|
Hi Ed,
I think it might be best if I just shut up now....
I have been having trouble with my eyes, detached vitreous
humor makes for some killer floaters. Since your brain tries
to automatically fill in the blocked spots with what it thinks
should go there, things like a 375 for U9 can become a 379
for U9... suggestibility apparently influences my vision.
You might be able to read your 8048 even with a bad pin, in
which case you could replace it with an 8748, as you already
know.
Otherwise, you are on the market for a new A30 board.
I really doubt that any variation in the main CPU's
programming would result in any version of firmware misbehaving
at such a fundamental point.
Sorry for the bum steer.
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 02/21/2016 05:43 AM, Chuck Harris cfharris@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
Hi Ed,
Sorry, I missed the part of your post about your having swapped
A30, it was late. I agree that the problem is most likely on
the A30 board.
I still think it unlikely that the microprocessor is the cause,
but of course it could be.
I would concentrate more on the LSI and MSI parts.
I assume the isolation logic works since test 3 passes.
|
On 02/21/2016 05:43 AM, Chuck Harris
cfharris@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
?
Hi Ed,
Sorry, I missed the part of your post about your having
swapped
A30, it was late. I agree that the problem is most likely
on
the A30 board.
I still think it unlikely that the microprocessor is the
cause,
but of course it could be.
I would concentrate more on the LSI and MSI parts.
I assume the isolation logic works since test 3 passes.
ALE synchronizer works.
FRAC logic appears to work.
That doesn't leave much besides the 8048.
Please note that the schematic for A30 that I have has the
pin
numbers all wrong on U9, the 74LS379 quad latch. You might
want
to check yours for accuracy.
My manual shows U9 to be a 74ls375.? Pin numbers on schematic look
right for a 375.
I did lift pin 29 on the 8048 and it remains high when disconnected.
I'm still leaning toward a bad 8048.
I'm also wondering if all of the boards are compatible.? The box
(sn: 2015Axxxxx) is ex air force and all the boards are rev B except
the main cpu board which I believe was swapped in as it is a rev D
that only has a single rom site.? I know nothing about the units
history so it is possible that it never worked after the main cpu
board swap.
The box I used for swapping (sn: 2512Axxxxx) is newer and has a rev
D main cpu board with a matching A30.
The main cpu boards have roms marked "03456-65501 D/C 8814" on one
and "03456-65501 8708" on the other.? Does this mean they have
different check somes?
?
Does anyone know if their are multiple versions of the 8048
firmware?
Could I have incompatible firmware on rev D main cpu board and the
8048 on the rev B A30 board?
?
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
> Yes I looked at the power supplies. 5V is at 5.04V
with ~100mV p2p of high speed
> noise. Interestingly, I see no ceramics that might
reduce this.
>
> Since my good A30 works on both boxes and my bad A30
fails identically in both boxes,
> I think it is the A30 and not the power supplies.
>
> Ed
>
|
Re: Z3801A GPSDO discipline algorithm
If yo are not a member, I would suggest subscribing to and posting on the Time Nuts mailing list for answers of this sort.? They are the real hardcore timing and GPS group.? There is also a wealth of info on all of the GPSDO units found on eB and other places.? You will be sure to get a detailed answer to your questions. Go to: | | | | | | time-nuts --
Discussion of precise time and frequency measurement ? About time-nuts | | | | Preview by Yahoo | | | ? Greg
|
Anyone have a good copy of the Avcom PSA 65A spectrum analyzer. service manual. My unit has been powered off for about 15 years. Does not sweep - and display not tracking frequency . Thanks in advance Bradley
|
Hi Ed,
Sorry, I missed the part of your post about your having swapped
A30, it was late. I agree that the problem is most likely on
the A30 board.
I still think it unlikely that the microprocessor is the cause,
but of course it could be.
I would concentrate more on the LSI and MSI parts.
Please note that the schematic for A30 that I have has the pin
numbers all wrong on U9, the 74LS379 quad latch. You might want
to check yours for accuracy.
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Yes I looked at the power supplies. 5V is at 5.04V with ~100mV p2p of high speed
noise. Interestingly, I see no ceramics that might reduce this.
Since my good A30 works on both boxes and my bad A30 fails identically in both boxes,
I think it is the A30 and not the power supplies.
Ed
|
The main cpu board looks newer than the rest of the boards and has a single u7 27xxx rom. My other unit is newer and also has a single rom.
Which brings up a new question. I hadn't given any thought to main cpu board appearing newer than the box and the A30 board before.
Are there any variations in the firmware on either the main board or the 8048?
Is it possible that the fireware on my main board rom and my 8048 rom aren't compatible. The box wasn't working when I got it and I don't know that they ever worked together.
Ed
|
The failed unit has serial 2015Axxxxx.?
It has the fan and filter.
The main cpu board looks newer and has a single u7 27xxx rom.
The problem A30 board is all digital appears to use only 5V which
looks OK.
Ed
On 02/20/2016 11:11 PM, Dave Seiter d.seiter@...
[hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
?
What is the
serial number range of your 3456A? (Does it have the
mesh and black plastic filter, or the TO-3 on the rear
panel?) ?The early "filter" versions tend to have bad
ROMs, but all can have cap issues. ?I have four, two
of which had cap issues. ?
The full story
is in the archive somewhere, but basically it's a tale
about how sensitive the 3456A is to incorrect PS
voltage levels. ?Although the unit was basically
working correctly, it wasn't correctly reporting input
voltage of about 4.7 to 5.3Vdc. (It was about .4V low
within this range) ?I was w orking on a small voltage
standard, and it was driving me nuts; I finally had to
stack up three 3456As to compare against each other
before I figured out what the problem was. ?From
there, another member suggested the probable bad cap,
which was correct.
The take away
here is that the manual wants you to confirm the
entire voltage range in very small steps. ?It's worth
doing! ?That .6V inaccuracy range was the only part of
the range that was out of spec; if it had been above
20V, I might never have found it.
-Dave
From:
"ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment]"
To:
hp_agilent_equipment@...
Sent:
Saturday, February 20, 2016 10:07 PM
Subject:
[hp_agilent_equipment] HP 3456a debug help
?
I
have a recently acquired 3456a.
On power up it indicates overload and
it fails self test 4.
After poking around the A20 (A/D
Converter) board, I concluded that the
analog circuits seemed to be working
OK and that the OL was due to the
control inputs.
Swapping the A30 (Inguard Logic) board
confirmed that it was bad.
HSA output is always high. Followed
that back to the 8048 pin 29 which
is always high.
8048 seems to be executing. ALE is
present. pins 27 (HSC) and pin 28
(HSB) toggle. ROM test passes.
So I think the 8048 is bad. But it is
hard to be sure since
relationships between the inputs and
outputs of a microcomputer can be
very complex.
Is there anything else I should look
at?
Is the 8048 rom contents available so
I could program a 8748?
|
What is the serial number range of your 3456A? (Does it have the mesh and black plastic filter, or the TO-3 on the rear panel?) ?The early "filter" versions tend to have bad ROMs, but all can have cap issues. ?I have four, two of which had cap issues. ?
The full story is in the archive somewhere, but basically it's a tale about how sensitive the 3456A is to incorrect PS voltage levels. ?Although the unit was basically working correctly, it wasn't correctly reporting input voltage of about 4.7 to 5.3Vdc. (It was about .4V low within this range) ?I was working on a small voltage standard, and it was driving me nuts; I finally had to stack up three 3456As to compare against each other before I figured out what the problem was. ?From there, another member suggested the probable bad cap, which was correct.
The take away here is that the manual wants you to confirm the entire voltage range in very small steps. ?It's worth doing! ?That .6V inaccuracy range was the only part of the range that was out of spec; if it had been above 20V, I might never have found it.
-Dave
From: "ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment]"
To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2016 10:07 PM
Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] HP 3456a debug help
?
I have a recently acquired 3456a.
On power up it indicates overload and it fails self test 4.
After poking around the A20 (A/D Converter) board, I concluded that the
analog circuits seemed to be working OK and that the OL was due to the
control inputs.
Swapping the A30 (Inguard Logic) board confirmed that it was bad.
HSA output is always high. Followed that back to the 8048 pin 29 which
is always high.
8048 seems to be executing. ALE is present. pins 27 (HSC) and pin 28
(HSB) toggle. ROM test passes.
So I think the 8048 is bad. But it is hard to be sure since
relationships between the inputs and outputs of a microcomputer can be
very complex.
Is there anything else I should look at?
Is the 8048 rom contents available so I could program a 8748?
|
Yes I looked at the power supplies.? 5V
is at 5.04V with ~100mV p2p of high speed noise.? Interestingly, I
see no ceramics that might reduce this.
Since my good A30 works on both boxes and my bad A30 fails
identically in both boxes, I think it is the A30 and not the power
supplies.
Ed
On 02/20/2016 10:28 PM, Chuck Harris cfharris@...
[hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
?
It gets to be a bit like a broken record, but have
you checked the power supplies for voltage and ripple?
The 3456A is getting old, and many of the axial leaded
filter capacitors in the power supply, both ingard and
out gard, are drying out. The 3456A gets very wiggy if
it has too much ripple.
Also, the reed relays sometimes make poor connections,
which depending on the relay can cause OL conditions, or
readings that don't change with applied voltage.
I have seen their contact closed position diddle about
all over the place.
A simple cure for the relay issue is to remove the relay,
and drive it with a 5-20Hz square wave. At the
same time, apply about 50ma across the relay contacts,
and measure the voltage across the contacts using an
analog dc meter. When the contacts clean up, at low
frequencies, you will observe the voltage dropping all
the way down to zero. At higher frequencies, the
needle will park at 50% of the OC voltage of the supply
that is providing the 50ma contact current.
The 3456A input impedances are in the hundreds of
megaohms,
to infinity. Any contamination on the circuit board
can cause very flaky behavior.
8048's are very reliable. I wouldn't expect that it would
be bad.
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
> I have a recently acquired 3456a.
>
> On power up it indicates overload and it fails self
test 4.
>
> After poking around the A20 (A/D Converter) board, I
concluded that the
> analog circuits seemed to be working OK and that the
OL was due to the
> control inputs.
>
> Swapping the A30 (Inguard Logic) board confirmed that
it was bad.
>
> HSA output is always high. Followed that back to the
8048 pin 29 which
> is always high.
>
> 8048 seems to be executing. ALE is present. pins 27
(HSC) and pin 28
> (HSB) toggle. ROM test passes.
>
> So I think the 8048 is bad. But it is hard to be sure
since
> relationships between the inputs and outputs of a
microcomputer can be
> very complex.
>
> Is there anything else I should look at?
>
> Is the 8048 rom contents available so I could program
a 8748?
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
> Posted by: ed beers
> ------------------------------------
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo Groups Links
>
>
>
>
|
It gets to be a bit like a broken record, but have
you checked the power supplies for voltage and ripple?
The 3456A is getting old, and many of the axial leaded
filter capacitors in the power supply, both ingard and
out gard, are drying out. The 3456A gets very wiggy if
it has too much ripple.
Also, the reed relays sometimes make poor connections,
which depending on the relay can cause OL conditions, or
readings that don't change with applied voltage.
I have seen their contact closed position diddle about
all over the place.
A simple cure for the relay issue is to remove the relay,
and drive it with a 5-20Hz square wave. At the
same time, apply about 50ma across the relay contacts,
and measure the voltage across the contacts using an
analog dc meter. When the contacts clean up, at low
frequencies, you will observe the voltage dropping all
the way down to zero. At higher frequencies, the
needle will park at 50% of the OC voltage of the supply
that is providing the 50ma contact current.
The 3456A input impedances are in the hundreds of megaohms,
to infinity. Any contamination on the circuit board
can cause very flaky behavior.
8048's are very reliable. I wouldn't expect that it would
be bad.
-Chuck Harris
ed beers sreeb@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
I have a recently acquired 3456a.
On power up it indicates overload and it fails self test 4.
After poking around the A20 (A/D Converter) board, I concluded that the
analog circuits seemed to be working OK and that the OL was due to the
control inputs.
Swapping the A30 (Inguard Logic) board confirmed that it was bad.
HSA output is always high. Followed that back to the 8048 pin 29 which
is always high.
8048 seems to be executing. ALE is present. pins 27 (HSC) and pin 28
(HSB) toggle. ROM test passes.
So I think the 8048 is bad. But it is hard to be sure since
relationships between the inputs and outputs of a microcomputer can be
very complex.
Is there anything else I should look at?
Is the 8048 rom contents available so I could program a 8748?
------------------------------------
Posted by: ed beers <sreeb@...>
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Yahoo Groups Links
|
I have a recently acquired 3456a.
On power up it indicates overload and it fails self test 4.
After poking around the A20 (A/D Converter) board, I concluded that the analog circuits seemed to be working OK and that the OL was due to the control inputs.
Swapping the A30 (Inguard Logic) board confirmed that it was bad.
HSA output is always high. Followed that back to the 8048 pin 29 which is always high.
8048 seems to be executing. ALE is present. pins 27 (HSC) and pin 28 (HSB) toggle. ROM test passes.
So I think the 8048 is bad. But it is hard to be sure since relationships between the inputs and outputs of a microcomputer can be very complex.
Is there anything else I should look at?
Is the 8048 rom contents available so I could program a 8748?
|
Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
Peter,
I was writing only for parcel delivery in USA. Even to Canada
mailing is expensive. eBay has an international shipping program but
it probably doesn't save you in the UK any money. I've looked at UPS
and FedEx and they are also expensive. I and my friends in the world
of old Mercedes have similar problems trying to buy rare options on
eBay-DE. It bites both ways!
The interesting this is that almost everything I buy or sell seems
to be from or to someone on the opposite coast (I'm in California).
It must be a conspiracy by the shipping companies!
Jeremy
On 2/20/2016 7:21 PM, Peter L
pe130700@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
?
| Jeremy,
When
I look at Ebay items from the states, the
cheapest postage for even tiny items is around
$20US whereas I can ship small items from the UK
or Europe for around $5 so Im afraid they are
not very competitive.
Actually
I can put up with the cost for some hard to get
items but the crazy variability really pees me
off - some tiny items have $40 or more and as an
Ebay buyer I have no choice when I bid.
I
would love to buy some more HP test gear from
the States but Im afraid that the postage costs
now force me to only look at stuff from other
countries. Unfortunately this hurts sellers in
the US because their market is efectively
reduced by at least half.
Maybe
someone in the States needs to set up an Ebay
purchase program for hams in VK and then use a
bulk shipping program to get the costs down.....
Cheers,
Peter
From:"Jeremy
Nichols jn6wfo@...
[hp_agilent_equipment]"
Date:Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 10:47
Subject:Re:
[hp_agilent_equipment] eBay buyer
protections are poor
?
USPS has made it easy to spend
more money and harder to spend
less. Their own web site (not
through PayPal) has only Express
and Priority Mail (expensive)
options. The former Parcel Post
product was eliminated in favor
of a product (forget the name)
almost as expensive as Express
Mail?and you have
to go to the post office and
stand in line unless you have a
postage meter. For small?things
USPS is still competitive. First
Class Parcel now allows packages
up to 16 ounces (was 13) so some
improvements have been made.?
Jeremy?
On Saturday, February 20, 2016,
Peter L pe130700@...
[hp_agilent_equipment] < hp_agilent_equipment@...>
wrote:
?
| Daniel
I think
you have
missed the
point of my
comment. Why
do some items
cost 3 times
as much to
ship as the
other same
item??
And you
are wrong -
ten years ago
USPS were
quite
reasonable. It
seems they
have now
jumped onto
the "Ebay make
a quick buck"
bandwagon.
Cheers
Peter -
VK2AN
From:" daniel@...
[hp_agilent_equipment]"
< hp_agilent_equipment@...>
Date:Sat,
Feb 20, 2016
at 23:53
Subject:Re:
[hp_agilent_equipment]
Re: eBay buyer
protections
are poor
?
>Sure, I
got a few
dodgy items,
but when you
are buying 100
resistors for
$2.95
including
shipping, what
do you expect?
You can get
100 resistors
for cheaper
than that from
Digi-Key; why
would you buy
junky no-name
Chinese
resistors and
wait a month
for that
price?
>By the
way, I have
had a few
dodgy items
from the good
old USofA too,
and
unfortunately
the biggest
downer for
those of us
who dont live
in the States
now is the big
USPS ripoff.
If you dont
believe me,
do a search on
some HP test
gear and check
the crazy
range of
shipping
charges for
the same piece
of kit. I
actually came
across one bit
of gear the
other day that
had $975 as
the shipping
cost for a
50lb item!
That's what
you get for
shipping heavy
items via
USPS.? They've
always been
expensive for
that; you have
to ship that
stuff by some
other method.?
USPS is only
good for
lightweight
stuff.? For
anything over
5 pounds,
they're not
competitive.?
If you can't
be bothered to
look for
alternatives,
you have no
right to
complain about
USPS's prices.
|
|
--
|
|
|
This is pretty amazing!?? A few weeks ago I was going through some ¡°leftovers¡± as I was cleaning my workshop, and I came across a ROM/RAM board for the 70900 that I had from my days at HP.? Even more amazing is that it is version 900314.? I was wondering what to do with it, since I don¡¯t have one¡ It was part of a firmware upgrade for my demo unit. ? Contact me off list and we can talk about it. ? Daun ? Daun E. Yeagley, II, N8ASB ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: hp_agilent_equipment@... [mailto:hp_agilent_equipment@...]
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2016 11:48 AM
To: hp_agilent_equipment@...
Subject: [hp_agilent_equipment] Hp 70900B ROMs? ? Hi everyone,
? ?I am posting this here in hopes that someone out there can help me with a MAJOR mistake!
I erased the EEPROM to my HP70900B Local Oscillator, this in turns kills using the Spectrum analyzer,
and other instruments in the system.
So, if there is anyone out there with a HP 70900B that is willing to read their EEPROM,?
or if you had a spare ROM board, I would love your help.
My firmware version is 900314 and if your unit has a serial number between:
3022A00558 to 3033A00707. Reading the EEPROMs is all that¡¯s needed.
Serial numbers before this can be used, but your unit must be a B unit.
Serial numbers after mine can only be used, if you are able to send the whole ROM/RAM board.
Serial Numbers 3414A01968 and above will only work, if the controller board is 7090-60143.?
I know this is a lot to ask of someone, but know that you will be helping a poor student and disabled vet.
Thank you all for your attention. ?
|
Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
It would be nice if such a service was also able to treat packages better.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
On 2/20/2016 10:21 PM, Peter L pe130700@... [hp_agilent_equipment] wrote:
Jeremy,
When I look at Ebay items from the states, the cheapest postage for even tiny items is around $20US whereas I can ship small items from the UK or Europe for around $5 so Im afraid they are not very competitive.
Actually I can put up with the cost for some hard to get items but the crazy variability really pees me off - some tiny items have $40 or more and as an Ebay buyer I have no choice when I bid.
I would love to buy some more HP test gear from the States but Im afraid that the postage costs now force me to only look at stuff from other countries. Unfortunately this hurts sellers in the US because their market is efectively reduced by at least half.
Maybe someone in the States needs to set up an Ebay purchase program for hams in VK and then use a bulk shipping program to get the costs down.....
Cheers,
Peter
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android <>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From*:"Jeremy Nichols jn6wfo@... [hp_agilent_equipment]" <hp_agilent_equipment@...>
*Date*:Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 10:47
*Subject*:Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] eBay buyer protections are poor
USPS has made it easy to spend more money and harder to spend less. Their own web site (not through PayPal) has only Express and Priority Mail (expensive) options. The former Parcel Post product was eliminated in favor of a product (forget the name) almost as expensive as Express Mail and you have to go to the post office and stand in line unless you have a postage meter. For small things USPS is still competitive. First Class Parcel now allows packages up to 16 ounces (was 13) so some improvements have been made.
Jeremy
On Saturday, February 20, 2016, Peter L pe130700@... [hp_agilent_equipment] <hp_agilent_equipment@...> wrote:
Daniel
I think you have missed the point of my comment. Why do some items cost 3
times as much to ship as the other same item?
And you are wrong - ten years ago USPS were quite reasonable. It seems
they have now jumped onto the "Ebay make a quick buck" bandwagon.
Cheers
Peter - VK2AN
Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
<>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From*:"daniel@... [hp_agilent_equipment]"
<hp_agilent_equipment@...>
*Date*:Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 23:53
*Subject*:Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
>Sure, I got a few dodgy items, but when you are buying 100 resistors for
$2.95 including shipping, what do you expect?
You can get 100 resistors for cheaper than that from Digi-Key; why would
you buy junky no-name Chinese resistors and wait a month for that price?
>By the way, I have had a few dodgy items from the good old USofA too, and
unfortunately the biggest downer for those of us who dont live in the
States now is the big USPS ripoff. If you dont believe me, do a search on
some HP test gear and check the crazy range of shipping charges for the
same piece of kit. I actually came across one bit of gear the other day
that had $975 as the shipping cost for a 50lb item!
That's what you get for shipping heavy items via USPS. They've always
been expensive for that; you have to ship that stuff by some other method.
USPS is only good for lightweight stuff. For anything over 5 pounds,
they're not competitive. If you can't be bothered to look for
alternatives, you have no right to complain about
USPS's prices.
--
Sent from Gmail Mobile
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Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
| Jeremy, When I look at Ebay items from the states, the cheapest postage for even tiny items is around $20US whereas I can ship small items from the UK or Europe for around $5 so Im afraid they are not very competitive.
Actually I can put up with the cost for some hard to get items but the crazy variability really pees me off - some tiny items have $40 or more and as an Ebay buyer I have no choice when I bid.
I would love to buy some more HP test gear from the States but Im afraid that the postage costs now force me to only look at stuff from other countries. Unfortunately this
hurts sellers in the US because their market is efectively reduced by at least half.
Maybe someone in the States needs to set up an Ebay purchase program for hams in VK and then use a bulk shipping program to get the costs down.....
Cheers, Peter
| From:"Jeremy Nichols jn6wfo@... [hp_agilent_equipment]"
Date:Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 10:47
Subject:Re: [hp_agilent_equipment] eBay buyer protections are poor
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USPS has made it easy to spend more money and harder to spend less. Their own web site (not through PayPal) has only Express and Priority Mail (expensive) options. The former Parcel Post product was eliminated in favor of a product (forget the name) almost as expensive as Express Mail?and you have to go to the post office and stand in line unless you have a postage meter. For small?things USPS is still competitive. First Class Parcel now allows packages up to 16 ounces (was 13) so some improvements have been made.?
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| Daniel
I think you have missed the point of my comment. Why do some items cost 3 times as much to ship as the other same item?? And you are wrong - ten years ago USPS were quite reasonable. It seems they have now jumped onto the "Ebay make a quick buck" bandwagon.
Cheers Peter - VK2AN
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>Sure, I got a few dodgy items, but when you are buying 100 resistors for $2.95 including shipping, what do you expect?
You can get 100 resistors for cheaper than that from Digi-Key; why would you buy junky no-name Chinese resistors and wait a month for that price?
>By the way, I have had a few dodgy items from the good old USofA too,
and unfortunately the biggest downer for those of us who dont live in
the States now is the big USPS ripoff. If you dont believe me,
do a search on some HP test gear and check the crazy range of shipping
charges for the same piece of kit. I actually came across one bit of
gear the other day that had $975 as the shipping cost for a 50lb item!
That's what you get for shipping heavy items via USPS.? They've always been expensive for that; you have to ship that stuff by some other method.? USPS is only good for lightweight stuff.? For anything over 5 pounds, they're not competitive.? If you can't be bothered to look for alternatives, you have no right to complain about
USPS's prices.
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Re: eBay buyer protections are poor
USPS has made it easy to spend more money and harder to spend less. Their own web site (not through PayPal) has only Express and Priority Mail (expensive) options. The former Parcel Post product was eliminated in favor of a product (forget the name) almost as expensive as Express Mail? and you have to go to the post office and stand in line unless you have a postage meter. For small?things USPS is still competitive. First Class Parcel now allows packages up to 16 ounces (was 13) so some improvements have been made.?
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| Daniel
I think you have missed the point of my comment. Why do some items cost 3 times as much to ship as the other same item?? And you are wrong - ten years ago USPS were quite reasonable. It seems they have now jumped onto the "Ebay make a quick buck" bandwagon.
Cheers Peter - VK2AN
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>Sure, I got a few dodgy items, but when you are buying 100 resistors for $2.95 including shipping, what do you expect?
You can get 100 resistors for cheaper than that from Digi-Key; why would you buy junky no-name Chinese resistors and wait a month for that price?
>By the way, I have had a few dodgy items from the good old USofA too,
and unfortunately the biggest downer for those of us who dont live in
the States now is the big USPS ripoff. If you dont believe me,
do a search on some HP test gear and check the crazy range of shipping
charges for the same piece of kit. I actually came across one bit of
gear the other day that had $975 as the shipping cost for a 50lb item!
That's what you get for shipping heavy items via USPS.? They've always been expensive for that; you have to ship that stuff by some other method.? USPS is only good for lightweight stuff.? For anything over 5 pounds, they're not competitive.? If you can't be bothered to look for alternatives, you have no right to complain about
USPS's prices.
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Re: Recommendations for a synthesized 20GHz+ RF gen
Hey Peter,
I have an 8350B with an 83525A in it (needs TLC), so getting a 83592B looks interesting. I'm not sure what sort of frequency accuracy or stability I need for the 8566B band gain adjustments, but I'd think it only calls for amplitude stability. I haven't started looking hard at my 8350B/83525A combo very hard, but so far I'm pretty impressed with the frequency stability. I see it wander a little, but it's hardly anything at all. Right now it looks like the harmonic distortion on the 83525A is off the charts below ~100MHz (looking at the output in the time domain it looks nothing like a sine) and it shows unleveled towards the upper end of the power range down below ~200MHz. Otherwise looks fine, so I'm hoping for an easy repair/adjustment :).
Siggi
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If you don¡¯t need precision look at an 8350B mainframe and 83592B sweeper plug-in. It will run in CW mode and an EIP frequency counter can be used for more precision (.01 to 20GHz and other plug-ins go higher). You should be able to buy a guaranteed-working pair for around $500. I use my 8350B/83592B with a Wiltron 560 Scalar Network Analyzer but I would like to upgrade to an HP8756A Scalar Network Analyzer. ?The catch is the detectors for the SNA are a bit expensive. I have seen Wiltron sweeper + SNA for sale as well which may be suitable for you, but I prefer pre 1993 HP equipment that have available manuals with schematics. My HP8672A is very useful as well and is repairable. PeterB. ? ? ? Siggi,
I have both an HP 8672A (2-18 GHz) and an HP 83732A (10 MHz - 20 GHz).
I'm partial to the HP 8672A because that was my first project of my 30
year career at HP but I really like the HP 83732A. However, the 83732
requires specialized service software that runs on the HP series 200 or
300 computers to make any adjustments. This software writes calibration
constants into ROM. I'm stuck with uncalibrated power output (it's off
by 4-6 dB and not monotonic) and no way to correct it. The 8672 was done
before the era of computers and all of its adjustments are done manually
as outlined in the manual.
So whatever you choose, be aware that a fixer upper might require
service software that is now unobtainable and runs on computers that are
old and obsolete.
Regards,
Bob Dildine
w6sfh at sonic dot net
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Brian
Jeremy Nichols