That completes the continuum for me, then!!!! Very
cool.
I have a Fluke 8050A, a benchtop 4.5 digit DMM with
battery option. It's now 20 years old. I have never
calibrated it. I take it to work once per year, and
check it against an HP 3458A (8 1/2 digit calibration
standard) and it's always right on, down to the last
digit of the Fluke. On eBay, they're about $50.
My question, though, is what are the "bargain of the
century" DMMs that are HP-IB controllable? Or serial,
or USB or....? The 34401A is too steep for me, given
that I probably want several remotable DMMs.
73,
Dave W8NF
=== In reply to ===
From: "John Miles" <jmiles@...>
Subject: RE: 3455, 3456 & 3457 multimeters
A friend in town (W7TOM) just bought an HP 3478A, and
we were both very
favorably impressed by it. I have a HP 34401A on my
bench which I
bought
brand-new for $1K, and the 3478A is almost as good at
20% of the price.
It
has one less digit of resolution than the 34401A (5.5
instead of 6.5,
either
are more than sufficient for nearly any practical
purpose and much more
than
any handheld can offer), and a couple fewer bells and
whistles (dB,
frequency...) that I don't use anyway. Calibration is
simple, with no
need
to open the cabinet, and the manuals are excellent.
Bob's 3478A showed
an
invalid calibration checksum on one DC voltage range,
so we set it up
against my 34401A and he was good to go. The other
ranges were so
close to
the 34401A that no adjustment was warranted.
Dealers sell the 3478A for around $300; the going eBay
rate is $200 or
less.
These things are the T&M bargain of the century, IMHO.
I wish I'd gone
the
3478A route -- I could have gotten essentially the
same meter for a lot
less
money. Didn't know they were that cheap, or that
good.
-- john KE5FX
=== End copied text ===
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