What's a good price for HP 3457A

[sanka]

There is someone an hour away from me with an old HP 3457A multimeter to sell. He says it has been in storage for a while and hasn't been calibrated in years. But he does know that it powers up and seems to look for input. He indeed was its user when he put it away in storage and it worked fine at that time. I should be able to do some basic sanity checks in person before picking it up.

I am wondering what a fair price for this unit might be. He wants US $200 and I said I'd pay $150, and we are sort of deadlocked there :-) There won't be any shipping fee as I'll pick it up myself. I am curious to know what eevblog members think a good price to pay would be.

Thanks for your input.

[EEVblog]

If it works, $200 is a fair price.

Dave.

[donald]

does comes with any plugin cards???

[sanka]

If it works, $200 is a fair price.

Thanks, Dave.

does comes with any plugin cards???

No

[saturation]

For USA buyers a simple technique is search eBay for what you want then click on the sold listing option:

http://www.ebay.com/csc/Electrical-Test-Equipment-/92074/i.html?_ipg=200&_from=R40&clk_rvr_id=450074651736&_nkw=HP+3457a&LH_Complete=1&LH_Sold=1&rt=nc

Prices depends on condition so it can give you an idea of what its worth.  The true value then becomes the median between seller and buyer expectation.

I've used the above for several years and noted it doesn't have all the sales of a model, but it works for low, med and high price ranges. 

[alm]

I think the only plugin cards for the 3457A are for scanner options, which are of very limited value to the majority of the hobbyists out there.

In my opinion $200 is on the high side, but the lack of shipping costs and risk, and the ability to check it out before you buy is worth a little extra. I would probably check it out and buy it if it produces reasonable values (bring a resistor and a battery so you can test if the resistance, voltage and current ranges are in the right ballpark) if I were in the market for a 6.5 digit bench meter.

An AA battery represents a voltage source that can be used to test all ranges from 3V and up. You can short all of the ranges for 0V reading. A battery plus suitable resistor can form a current source. Shorting the current terminals will give you a second data point. Shorting the inputs can also test 0 ohm on all the ohms ranges, and a suitable resistor can be used to test most resistance ranges.

The 3457A also has an internal self test that at leasts tests all digital circuits (not sure how much of the analog circuits it tests, probably a fair amount).

[george graves]

For USA buyers a simple technique is search eBay for what you want then click on the sold listing option:

Where the heck is the "sold listing" option!?!?!? That would be awesome but  I've never see that before - in fact your link doesn't even bring up sold items for me.  Only items currently for sale.

[alm]

Advanced search, check 'completed listings'. It's mutually exclusive with 'search title and description', so uncheck that if you have it checked.

[Dave]

I would say 200$ is a bargain for such an instrument. I'd buy it any time for that price.

[donald]

I think the only plugin cards for the 3457A are for scanner options, which are of very limited value to the majority of the hobbyists out there.

Actually they made two plug ins as far i am aware, mine HP3457A came with 44491A -" Gen purpose relay" which get used..

don

[ddavidebor]

There is someone an hour away from me with an old HP 3457A multimeter to sell. He says it has been in storage for a while and hasn't been calibrated in years. But he does know that it powers up and seems to look for input. He indeed was its user when he put it away in storage and it worked fine at that time. I should be able to do some basic sanity checks in person before picking it up.

I am wondering what a fair price for this unit might be. He wants US $200 and I said I'd pay $150, and we are sort of deadlocked there :-) There won't be any shipping fee as I'll pick it up myself. I am curious to know what eevblog members think a good price to pay would be.

Thanks for your input.

here it italy 200$ is a very good price.
you should ever request a video of self test result (no photo, because single test sign "pass" like the complete test).

[EEVblog]

I just scored a HP3457A for AU$150
And it's bang-on too!
(it does settle down to the LSD against my MV-106 transfer standard)

No doubt a video or two will follow.

Dave.

[ddavidebor]

This is a good price! It's a good meter. I love the numeric keyboard... I use sometimes the pass-fail tast and is very userful.

[JuiceKing]

There is someone an hour away from me with an old HP 3457A multimeter to sell. He says it has been in storage for a while and hasn't been calibrated in years. But he does know that it powers up and seems to look for input. He indeed was its user when he put it away in storage and it worked fine at that time. I should be able to do some basic sanity checks in person before picking it up.

I am wondering what a fair price for this unit might be. He wants US $200 and I said I'd pay $150, and we are sort of deadlocked there :-) There won't be any shipping fee as I'll pick it up myself. I am curious to know what eevblog members think a good price to pay would be.

Thanks for your input.

Mine was just shy of $200 including shipping. Great meter, no regrets.

[sanka]

I just scored a HP3457A for AU$150
And it's bang-on too!
(it does settle down to the LSD against my MV-106 transfer standard)

Excellent! I see calibration stickers on it for the past 2-3 years. Looks like it has been in use at an Analog Devices lab until recently. So it was probably kept calibrated from birth. Nice find, Dave!

Did you get the cal certs too? It will be interesting to see if and how it drifted over the years.