EEVblog #424 - $3M Agilent Portable Calibration Lab Tour  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 02:00:34 am
content: A tour of Agilent Australia's new VOSCAL (Volume On-Site Calibration) portable NATA accredited calibration lab in a customised expandable shipping container, with Metrologist Peter DalyThe gear alone inside is worth a cool $3M.Photos:http://www.flickr.com/photos/eevblog/sets/72157632748853904/Dave.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 02:08:35 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on February 14, 2013, 02:00:34 amWorth $3M or costs $3M? I bet you couldn't sell it for $3M after you'd bought it

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 02:37:30 am
content: Quite amazed to see a "wooden" boxed stuffs in that room full of advanced stuffs.

author: ve7xen
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 10:23:04 am
content: Quote from: BravoV on February 14, 2013, 02:37:30 amI think it's pretty common for kits of 'little fiddly bits' to come in nice wooden boxes. They aren't cheap, and the bits are easy to misplace or damage if they don't have a proper home.e.g. the $14,000Agilent 85052C

author: robrenz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 01:01:16 pm
content: Excellent

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 01:24:30 pm
content: Quote from: ve7xen on February 14, 2013, 10:23:04 amInterestingly, the calibration on those is done by dimensional and surface measurement, not electrical, as it's the physical dimensions which determine the performance with these connectors.Dave.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 02:03:31 pm
content: Kinda funny to see inbetween all the ultra high end equipment like arbitrary function generators ( i saw 33120. 33250) that they have to hang on to long obsolete generators like an 8112a pulse and a 3325b function generator. There must be something about those machines that is unmatched.The gps receiver they use is the same in had in europe. You can but those off ebay for about 500$ these days. Gps disciplined 10mhz oven.http://www.ebay.com/itm/Z3805A-58503A-GPS-Frequency-Time-Receiver-10-Mhz-1pps-/251226027893?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7e3cf775

author: Winston
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 03:13:27 pm
content: Can someone give some specific examples of what sort of facilities use this service?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 03:48:29 pm
content: Military service units, Metro service centres and large service organisations at a first guess. Places that have to work to a standard, and where they need a traceable chain for quality control. Large manufacturers as well, not a good idea to make xx million widgets and have to recall and rework them because a $100 multimeter was out of calibration and you adjusted the 5V rail to 11v during production using it.

author: xDR1TeK
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 04:13:07 pm
content: Magnificent. most interesting and informative video. A whole world hidden in a container.Peter Daly fellow sure got his mind full of nice stuff.Heck i want a container like that. Detached from HOME and no family members allowed.FYI, i am not complaining because my mum keeps moving my gizmos about.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 04:34:41 pm
content: Wow. A nice first by Dave for anything I can recall on the net, a full tour of a A#1 lab. If there was equipment porn, this would be the centerfold!

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 05:31:48 pm
content: After watching this I was doing some google'n and found some great reading in:NIST HANDBOOK 150-28 Calibration Laboratories Technical Guide for Electromagnetic DC Low Frequency Measurementshttp://www.nist.gov/nvlap/upload/hb150-2a-1.pdfIf you jump to handbook page 19 (section 2.3) it has some great info on Direct voltage and also references for further reading.

author: elmo
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 05:41:57 pm
content: This is like a "free candy van" for EEs.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 06:46:44 pm
content: This container is pretty cool. Here in the US they use a truck with a fixed cabin mounted on it. When i was still in europe they had the VOSCAL setup in huge flightcrates. They would drop em of on friday. we'd roll em in the lab, take the front and back lids of and power em up over the weekend so they would be 'hot' for at least 48 hours. Then their techs would come in (typically 2 people) and do the cal run. Took em 2 to 3 weeks t do all stuff we had.they used a special piece of software made by HP themselves that was running on HP150 computers. ( kinda an early PC , it ran DOS but ws not fully compatible with a normal PC, it did have a touchscreen ! . they ran Rocky Mountain Basic and drove everything through GPIB )

author: nixxon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 09:09:29 pm
content: Quote from: BravoV on February 14, 2013, 02:37:30 amAnd 3.5" Floppy Disk Drives...

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 14, 2013, 10:05:55 pm
content: Quote from: Winston on February 14, 2013, 03:13:27 pmI worked at Thomson Marconi Sonar, and we were actually the very first customer to request the old calibration container back in the late 90's.We had countless very expensive machines used in "production" that had to get calibrated. And of course the military take their calibration very seriously.I use quote marks for production, because production for us could be anywhere fromone$20M sonar system unit a year to five $40K oil survey streamers per day.Sending your gear away for cal meant weeks of down time. With this, I could unbolt the gear from the test rack, walk down the back of the building, and have it calibrated in a few hours. If I was lucky, that would happen during lunch break.Dave.

author: lapm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2013, 10:57:23 am
content: I have to say i sort of enjoyed this video. Was interesting to see real lab for calibrations and that being stuffed in shipping container... Now i only wonder whats their hourly charge as in how much is it worth before they actually pack up and ship that thing in your factory to do calibrations... And is staff included or do you have to supply your own equipment blowers for it

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2013, 06:27:24 pm
content: There was a mention of $35k as a minimum charge, plus shipping there and back, plus staff costs for time and probably a per day charge ( from on transit till back on base) along with a per item charge for the paperwork and the certifications. Say $100k per 2 week stay would be about right.

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2013, 09:00:55 pm
content: Between all their equipment and accessoires, I didn't see the µCurrent?

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2013, 09:20:15 pm
content: My ideal holyday, rent it for a week and camp in it. ( in my backyard off cause ;-) )

author: ivan747
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2013, 04:02:34 am
content: Thanks for the TARDIS references. Now I'm hooked up with Doctor Who

author: martinv
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2013, 12:09:56 am
content: Quote from: ivan747 on February 17, 2013, 04:02:34 amThey really need to hook up a switch to trigger the TARDIS sound effect every time the door is closed.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2013, 01:08:00 pm
content: it's amazing.... a portable lab into a shipping container...

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2013, 01:59:17 pm
content: Thats a beautiful lab. It looks like knobs are really a thing of the past. Most of the few I see there just step you through an on-screen menu. I guess it's not much different than turning a waffer switch. I'm going to miss them though.

author: gnif
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 22, 2013, 04:01:02 am
content: I would gladly pay for Ballmer Peak calibration if they can do it.http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ballmer_peak.png

author: PTR_1275
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2017, 02:48:57 am
content: I was just talking to a place about the voscal and they said there's a few problems with it because a trucking company dropped the container. Apparently all the racks ripped off the walls and a lot of equipment has been destroyed. It was meant to be in Perth at the end of the month, but that's not going to happen

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2017, 11:28:30 pm
content: Quote from: PTR_1275 on May 04, 2017, 02:48:57 amPerth? Get the engineer guys to the local titty bar with the miners, they can stick 'em back on the racks ok. She'll be right

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2017, 01:08:51 am
content: Quote from: gnif on February 22, 2013, 04:01:02 amMany years ago, when I was in first year engineering, I had a comp sci tutorial/lab after lunch on Fridays one semester. And Friday lunch often had engineering BBQs, that had all you can drink beer, so I'd regularly get to that class a little the worse for wear. And I *swear* that looking at my actual marks from the exercises on days where I was sober and days where I wasn't, I did better in quizzes and programming exercises when I'd had beer for lunch.

author: julianhigginson
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2017, 01:10:53 am
content: Quote from: PTR_1275 on May 04, 2017, 02:48:57 amoh no!now loading shipping containers is definitely a task where you're not going to do a better job drunk... or hung over.... I wonder if this happened the day after Anzac day?