[WTB] Keithley 480 Picommeter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 06:14:57 pm
content: I'd like to buy a keithley 480, preferably working but non- working repairable would be just fine too.Gotta love these old meterGot some result up on ebay but quite expensive

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2017, 08:24:51 pm
content: Want one in pieces with an extra bridge rectifier? Joking of course.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/keithley-480-picoammeter-repair/

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 01:42:06 am
content: is it in good comestic condition? looking good inside though

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 06:07:55 am
content: I think you should put in a best offer on those two cheap ones on Ebay. They might sell them for $50 or so and if you can repair them that would be a bargain.The black color cases seem newer than the beige color, mine is very old and not as good as Daves one shown in Eevblog #406

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 10:22:33 am
content: one turned down my offer and I'll be waiting for the other one to answer. Don't really trust them anyway, I sent the seller a message few days ago and got no response whatsoever. Would you mind give me the price of one unit? Or do you want to trade it for a few power supply? Got tons of them over here and I kinda want to get them somewhere else more useful

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 11:44:35 am
content: This one just popped up a few minutes ago.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Keithley-Instruments-480-Picoammeter-/263012823728?hash=item3d3cc932b0:g:ILUAAOSwcgNZLqjA

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 01:57:51 pm
content: Quote from: Jwalling on May 31, 2017, 11:44:35 amThat one appears to be holding zero. Condition wise looks like an iron burn on the handle and some writing on the back, that I can see.Quote from: romhunter on May 31, 2017, 10:22:33 amMines running now so no longer a cheap one, after I calibrate will become expensive.What type of power supplies are you selling? What specs?

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 03:17:41 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on May 31, 2017, 01:57:51 pmYeah not so great condition, but I'll take it if it's about 40 bucks or so... serious though, who treat their equipment like that?Quote from: Shock on May 31, 2017, 01:57:51 pmWell, I don't actually sell them, I got them back in the day, but didn't feel like using them anymore cause I got some shiny new stuff, and got some pretty solid Phillips supply as back up so those old supply went into my tool shed. They're mostly Kikusui PAB series and some stuff like Kenwood and Trio. PAB32-3, PAB18-5.5, PAB18-2, PAB32-2, Kenwood PR-653... mostly old school stuff. Was gonna sell a bunch of them at a timeIf you like them I could give you a pic, some of them have rather nice design

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 04:21:48 pm
content: Quote from: romhunter on May 31, 2017, 03:17:41 pmAs far as I'm aware the carry handles are interchangeable with the multimeters as well. But if you aren't in a hurry you could wait for something better. There has only been a few Keithley 480 listed or sold this year on Ebay, perhaps 6 or 7 in total.QuoteYeah, they don't really improve on anything I have either, even though mine are fairly basic. Nice supplies though, hopefully they all run when time comes to sell them.

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 05:26:22 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on May 31, 2017, 04:21:48 pmYeah I think I'll wait then, because my friend got back from the USA at the end of the month so I want to get some gear which is easily obtainable over there but not here in asia, like VTVM... you got any suggestion? It'd be nice to got some unique stuff (and cheap) in the lab

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2017, 10:12:15 pm
content: Not sure what your into. The two things I use the most are a multimeter and a soldering iron.

author: romhunter
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 06:51:26 am
content: I already owned some basic tools such as soldering iron, DMM, oscilloscope, power supply, waveform generator and spectrum analyzer. Wouldn't hurt if I'm getting more of them though and something else whould be just as nice.

author: Jwalling
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 12:21:51 pm
content: Quote from: Shock on May 31, 2017, 01:57:51 pmIt looks like none of the buttons are pressed in, although maybe the 1mA one is out and the rest are pushed in (if that's even possible). Makes me wonder what a working one would do under those conditions...

author: Shock
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2017, 01:28:41 pm
content: Quote from: Jwalling on June 01, 2017, 12:21:51 pmWell I need to still test mine properly, from memory as it was warming up I checked the different ranges and it was rounding up then eventually became temp stable and zeroed which I confirmed on the nA scale (pA resolution), this took about 15 mins.So best guess is if that is indeed on a range it's likely warmed up and settled, but in reality any trickery could be in play. Some of the sellers are large dealers so they buy equipment by the pallet or weight, I can't see them bothering to spend time on cheaper old gear.I visited a large warehouse that had equipment stacked 3 stories high. They brought down a pallet load of the item I purchased, drove it up the front and said feel free to pick out what I liked. Not a huge amount of electronics test equipment but tons of audio and video gear.