Fluke 732B on the 'bay - let the games begin - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: TheSteve
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 02:52:18 am
content: I'm not bidding, but I will certainly be watching -http://www.ebay.com/itm/172828644034Paging Professor TiN...

author: MisterDiodes
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 03:07:29 am
content: That looks like it took some very severe shipping damage, or fell off the bench. The rattling inside might be the pieces from the broken end cap casting.

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 04:08:46 am
content: Those are souls of sad volt-nuts rattling around.

author: bjcuizon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 04:38:51 am
content: Happy Fluke Bidding Games...May the odds be ever in your favour!

author: glarsson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 05:08:30 am
content: Six days left in this GBP 0.99 starting bid auction. Why 11 bids already and over GBP 1070? Makes no tactical sense at all.

author: MK
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 07:04:32 am
content: something fishy about this:"Looks clean inside. P.S. something is rattling inside."If he has opened it to know it is clean, why does he not know what is rattling?I suspect it shot up because it featured on here, and one of those guys who puts anything and everying up for telephone number prices wants to add it to his pile...

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 12:07:43 pm
content: It is really a surprise how high it is already with 6 days left at GBP 1430The price is already too high now, to buy.

author: ManateeMafia
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 12:28:12 pm
content: The rattling is most likely a dried out battery. I would be more concerned with leaking electrolyte damage. I have one 732B that showed signs of leakage at the bottom. I would also go out on a limb and say that is what caused the corrosion.

author: lukier
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 01:17:59 pm
content: Quote from: HighVoltage on August 21, 2017, 12:07:43 pmYeah, absolutely crazy. 732B is an excellent reference, but here in this condition, with unknown history and from unknown source it is not worth much IMHO. I'd get 732A for less.Or maybe someone is trying to pull-off bid-shielding. I once fell victim to that. I wanted to buy Verity monochromator, but on the final day of the auction I saw the price was already above my set limit. Then when the auction ended it turned out the obscenely high bidder somehow retracted their bid (I didn't know it's possible) and their accomplice was the second bidder with a bid lower than what I was prepared to pay.

author: CalMachine
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 01:25:20 pm
content: Quote from: lukier on August 21, 2017, 01:17:59 pmInteresting strategy...

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2017, 01:36:37 pm
content: That happen to me once (however I was 2nd highest, so I got the unit as result), but I believe there should be a legitimate reason for ebay to have winning bid pulled. Don't quite me though;

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 24, 2017, 11:01:51 am
content: Darn thing is up to $1984 now.What does a shiny brand spanking new 732B go for today, $10k?

author: ManateeMafia
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 12:14:26 pm
content: Last I checked a few years ago, $10k was a ball park figure depending on whether you wanted it in the off state, calibrated, or calibrated with estimated drift data. I would think the repair cost on a 732B is probably near the cost of a new unit.

author: MisterDiodes
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 04:21:15 pm
content: If you're running a business, it makes no sense to pay Fluke to repair a 732b that's damaged like that - If the oven section needs to be replaced it'll be almost as much as a new unit, and you might as well get the warranty that comes with "brand new".Off Topic but related as more eBay red flags:There is another 732a on ebay now from GoldenRubi that claims they will calibrate and send you the cal cert after the fact. Which is hogwash...about the only way to cal or measure a 732 to spec is at a facility that maintains a JJA. As in you get it cal'd at Fluke, or measured at Boeing or Sandia Labs, etc. I doubt GRubi includes that cal cert -from Fluke-, but it doesn't sound like it:www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-732A-DC-REFERENCE-STANDARD-W-OPT-NEW-BATTERIES-NIST-CALIBRATED-W-DATA-/192286709397

author: martinr33
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 06:48:30 pm
content: One thing you do know for sure if you are buying used equipment - if the unit you get works well, it is probably pretty tough!The AAF units looked credible, because they looked like obsolescence rather than failures. If the units come from a lab being closed down, I'd expect better chances of a stable box. A unit with no obvious history is more likely to be scrap. Another thing to look for is recent cal stickers.One might also ask the question as to what most sellers would do with a sticker that said "can not be calibrated" or some such thing.

author: Tony_G
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 07:36:11 pm
content: Quote from: martinr33 on August 25, 2017, 06:48:30 pmI don't know what most sellers would do but one particular seller on eBay left the yellow sticker on the unit but scrubbed the pixels in something like Photoshop so that you couldn't read what was on the sticker - On the basis of that alone I didn't bother buying. Sometime later I saw the same item from the same seller with a massive price drop and, lo and behold, a yellow sticker saying something like "Failed Cal. Unrepairable.".Looks like they just reposted the unit after they failed to sucker someone at a higher price. I'm not sure why they just didn't remove the sticker.TonyG

author: MisterDiodes
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2017, 10:34:34 pm
content: Again off topic but related on that supposedly cal'd 732a:The seller reports that is not a real Fluke cal but just checked in-house with their own NIST quality instruments (whatever that means - I suspect that is worthless), and they do not have any drift data from previous cals, and they do not know when it was last in cal, and they got it from a government auction (Like every other equipment dealer claims). It was not working when they got it but unknown what was repaired.It allegedly has new batteries but I really doubt the battery charger was adjusted properly.So basically just like most any other 732a on eBay. Maybe she's fine, or maybe she's a drifter. Looks like it'll cost around $1600 or best offer to find out.

author: Edwin G. Pettis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 01:30:12 am
content: As a calibration tech, it would be highly suspicious that a seller has removed all of the calibrations stickers, that is an immediate red flag that somebody is hiding something serious and doesn't want anybody to know about it. Particularly if a 'failed' and 'cannot calibrate' sticker was put on the instrument (often by Fluke since they're about the only ones that can certify a 732 to spec technically), a seller will remove these stickers knowing that the unit would likely not sell with them on it.As pointed out, some other cal labs may give you a reading on a 732B but they usually will not adjust it, only read it, there are very few cal labs that are certified by Fluke to correctly certify calibration of a 732B and they wouldn't touch one with those stickers on them either.Boeing or Sandia Labs will only give you a reading, they will not adjust it so if that is good enough for you, you can save some money there.

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 05:40:34 am
content: I like "failed" and "cannot calibrate" stickers, but at accordingly proper pricetag.

author: ManateeMafia
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 26, 2017, 08:52:05 pm
content: Quote from: TiN on August 26, 2017, 05:40:34 amAt least this unit has corrosion to match that 3458A. All you would need is a rusty old 10k standard resistor for a perfect set.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2017, 04:13:11 pm
content: Bidding ended at crazyUS $2,189.35Would be nice to find out, if the buyer will be happy.May be the buyer will see this post one day and give us a repair / tear down thread.