That Poor Meter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:16:58 am
content: Is this repairable in any cost effective way? Or should we just let the $4000 meter die in peace.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Keithley-2015-Total-Harmonic-Distortion-Multimeter-/221293019595?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33861781cbGod. Hell knows what this has been through. Probably some pissed off lab technician...

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:32:30 am
content: I would only want a meter in this state if it was free. When it's badly damaged like this, you really don't know what to expect inside.I doubt you could repair this one for a reasonable sum, but you could salvage some pretty schmick parts from it (very stable voltage reference, precision voltage divider, transformer, opamps, relays,...).I laugh when greedy sellers optimistically set the starting bid at $200 for items like this. Good luck selling that, chap.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:39:11 am
content: All that mangled stuff seems to come out of Israel, mostly. Weird!

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:46:29 am
content: That's exactly what I was thinking. The South Koreans are a greedy bunch as well. Selling their E3610s for around $400 without shipping (Local Pickup Only).Shipping on this is ridiculous too.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:59:18 am
content: Can someone from Israel chime in on this, is there a war going on on electronics test equipment over there or something, I see so much battered and physically abused stuff on ebay from over there, it's crazy.

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 03:59:47 am
content: Would the meter operate without the front panel? I.e. could you just rip the front off and control completely with RS232?It's the sort of thing I'd consider for a few tens of dollars, not a few hundred.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 04:05:49 am
content: Looks like it went through a clothes dryer, wouldn't pay for it.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 04:18:05 am
content: Quote from: Wytnucls on October 06, 2013, 03:39:11 amMaybe salvaged from a building that formerly housed someone who was designing a suicide vest but forgot to put a pull down resistor on the gate pin of the trigger MOSFET.

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 04:19:29 am
content: a concussion grenade might've went off in the room it was in...

author: madsci
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 05:25:54 am
content: Considering that I got mine in near new condition for $475 shipped, I'd say this is spectacularly poor value.

author: Kryoclasm
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 05:39:31 am
content: Looks like someone wanted to get to the top shelf and needed a boost.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 05:50:37 am
content: You do realize it says for charity, right?

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 06:17:47 am
content: I suspect it's intentional destruction as per Israeli military standards (make it non-operational from a "don't leave anything useful for an enemy" perspective).

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 09:09:03 am
content: Is that Israel buys electronic junk to repair and these things are the rejects from the repair shops. There is certainly a lot of this stuff on e bay from Israel that looks like it was dumped into a skip with a loading shovel then driven long distance on dirt roads to be tipped out.

author: tocsa120ls
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 09:15:56 am
content: Quote from: echen1024 on October 06, 2013, 03:16:58 amThis is one of those 'let it go' moments. What you're looking at, at least, is a completely destroyed front panel, missing VFD...Checkhttp://www.govliquidation.com/they have cool stuff sometimes. You live in the U.S., so you can probably legally buy from there.Cheers

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 06, 2013, 02:58:03 pm
content: That's no longer a total harmonic distortion multimeter, it's a totally harmonically distorted multimeter...

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2013, 02:09:23 pm
content: Quote from: tocsa120ls on October 06, 2013, 09:15:56 amHmm... Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder how they check on who buys things? Is 'a US address' good enough?Amusing to see that some people making their listings seem to have rather poor eyesight. Ref:http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?auctionId=6696302&cm_re=gl-testequipment-_-gl-testequipment1-carousel-_-item-4"HP 86408, Signal Generator" which is an 8640B - a very nice thing indeed.

author: tsmith35
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2013, 09:50:28 pm
content: Just a wild guess, but it looks like it was pulled from a dump after being thrown into a scrap metal bin with some heavy debris. The inside looks nice, but that's about it.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 12:19:24 am
content: Might be ok if you already have a unit that isn't working that has a good display and you could harvest the boards or parts on the boards. But not at that price.

author: calmtron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 10:52:40 am
content: There's a couple of Israeli scrap metal dealers selling used measurement devices "for charity" on eBay. Probably stuff found in scrap bins?Bought a HP 5384A frequency counter from one of them recently, in much better condition though.The senders address matched that of a major scrap metal importer. Quite high starting prices for items "for parts or not working", but the counter is working just great. A bit of a gamble.

author: tized
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 11:23:10 am
content: Those postings are usually from scrap/liquidation dealers. They buy the stuff by weight...Most of that beaten equipment comes from the army tech industry (Rafael, Elbit, IAI,...) where all those instruments are not operated gently. The good devices a sold to second hand equipment dealers. As I sometimes buy from a scrap guy in Haifa (who doesn't do ebay), I can say the prices start at the same number in the listing but in Shekels (about 3.6 of these will get you US$1) and go down from there.When you buy from them direct and can assess the stuff, there are some pretty good deals to be made. I got two broken signal generator, which turned into a working one for about $30. Three power supplies, two of them working, for $70. 10 of some industrial controllers with some very nice VFDs for $2 each. A whole lot of components for a 10th to 100th of the list price.

author: Sar
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 11, 2013, 02:01:14 am
content: I used to work for a warranty shop in the US which handled a TON of vendors and a variety of equipment. Most of the stuff would come in just strapped to wooden pallets with no care taken to it's handling. The stuff in the middle was usually in better shape, the stuff on the outside was just written off, and whichever company was handling the warranty would write it off on their finances. On consumers items a lot of the stuff that came in worked just fine, on higher end items they were usually too trashed to bother fixing.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 02:19:44 am
content: I'd bet Mike would have fun with thishttp://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?auctionId=6718470&convertTo=USDThey also had a petroleum testing kit under medical/dental.

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 04:40:16 am
content: Quote from: Stonent on October 12, 2013, 02:19:44 amA high powered bug zapper comes to mind... Gets rid of pesky humans as well...

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 05:46:46 am
content: I got one of those kits, bought it at auction because of the nice case it came in. Have used the viscosity meter though, and used the water detection part as well.

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 12, 2013, 07:08:32 pm
content: I think ebay sometimes a totally insane place to buy equipment. Take a look at this:eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/2680-0215-Agilent-HP-Screw-Machine-Pan-Head-10-32-0-5-Inch-Long-Helical-Spr-/350549488516?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e60b384It is a screw. With a 45 USD shipping.Here is an other 4EA RS232 cable for 100USDeBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-4pcs-Agilent-RS232-61601-Cable-/390155179488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ad70f95e0A floppy for 150 USDeBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/6950L-T61-Agilent-HP-Retrofit-Kit-for-6629A-Option-J20-/350549485455?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item519e60a78fa mouse, broken for 250USDeBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-AGILENT-46060A-TWO-BUTTON-MOUSE-WITH-CORD-46060-60002-/390635458130?pt=Mice&hash=item5af3b00e52are these for/from real people or someone from the moon?

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 01:20:26 pm
content: Speaking of insane ebay prices, I like it when this happens:ebay 380082282092 TLA7AA4 8S 8MB @ 235 MHz FW 4.4 US $19,666.67 Should I buy it? (Just kidding)ebay 280842069865 TLA7AA4 CS 2MB @ 450mhz FW 5.5 US $149.99 Nah, this one will do for me.Seller of the insanely priced one quotes this:List Price is:Standard Module - TLA7AA4: $20,100.00 NEW from TektronixOption 8S - TLA7AA48S: $38,900.00 NEW from TektronixTotal List Price is: $59,000.00as if it means something on ebay.Does anyone buy stuff from such idiots? Are there really equally stupid buyers?

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 01:29:56 pm
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on October 12, 2013, 07:08:32 pmTo be fair, that's a HP-HIL mouse. HP-HIL gear seems to have something of a retro following.I learned this in the last few days because I'm trying to find a cheap HP-HIL keyboard, for a HP 80000 1GHz data generator.Starting to think 'cheap' may not happen. Even the bloody cords are rare.Oh, and I'm looking for a copy of the HP-HIL Technical Reference Manual, HP P/N 45918A. Another unobtainium item.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 13, 2013, 02:08:20 pm
content: Quote from: TerraHertz on October 13, 2013, 01:20:26 pmAbout 10x the price for almost billion times more bandwidth, sounds fair to me?Quote from: TerraHertz on October 13, 2013, 01:20:26 pmSome sellers price their stuff to sell to hobbyists looking for a deal. Others target companies that need to replace an obsolete piece of test equipment because changing and recertifying their procedure may be much more expensive than the equipment. Outfits like Tucker are targeting this market, and typically offer equipment tested and with some sort of warranty for prices no hobbyist would pay. And of course some sellers are completely delusional and ask completely unrealistic prices. Note that if the seller is not short on storage, there's fairy little cost in just relisting it until someone comes along willing to pay that price. They only need one fool that thinks $20k is a fair price.