And if the performance is not validated, then they fix it.. I hope. I do a lot of phase noise measurements , spectrum analysis and power measurements and S/N ratio measurements so I need correct tool . In a message dated 9/17/2017 11:23:31 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, scmcgrath@gmail.com writes: As to the point most modern instruments have self calibration, Most of the time 'calibration' is simply the performance check adjustments are not performed unless necessary The difference being the instruments used in performance test are traceable to a national standards body. So whats referred to as calibration is in reality performance validation. How do I know this by becoming friendly with the local lab and years ago when i worked for govt i used to moonlight at one of the local cal labs. > On Sep 17, 2017, at 8:57 AM, KA2WEU--- via time-nuts <time-nuts@febo.com> wrote: > > Modern test and radio equipment have self calibration capabilities, older > analog do not. Calibration is not always need for just simple test, but > for specification conformation it is useful. A bit of luck also helps. > > > > > In a message dated 9/17/2017 8:08:00 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > drkirkby@kirkbymicrowave.co.uk writes: > >> On 15 Sep 2017 10:45, "Scott McGrath" <scmcgrath@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Precisely my point, But when purchasing i expect to pay for a > calibration at a minimum. > > I have on occasions requested sellers to send an item to the manufacturer > (Agilent or Keysight) for calibration *before* shipping it to me, offering > to pay the calibration cost, but stating that I expect a full refund if the > item fails the calibration. > > If a test equipment dealer is confident that something is working well, > they should not object to sending it to the manufacturer for calibration, > as long as the buyer is willing to pay. > > Of course if a seller knows little about something, they are not going to > do this, but the item should be appropriately priced. > > One UK seller (grace1403) declined to send an Agilent N9912A FieldFox to > Agilent, because "Agilent were too fussy"., failing items for trivual > issues. But he did agree to send it to one of the cal labs he uses. I > thought it was a waste of time going to one of the less fussy outfits, > but > bought it anyway. It was then clear on receipt that it was faulty. (The > spectrum analyser functionality was ok, but it didn't work as a network > analyzer). He took it back, but then advertised it on eBay 6 months > later. When asked, he said nothing had been done to it. > > eBay rules about who pays the return shipping charge for an item that is > "not as described' keep changing, and may be different on different sites. > But on a heavy item shipped internationally, the postage cost can be > comparable or exceed the calibration cost. > > Dave. > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to > https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there. > > _______________________________________________ > time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com > To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts > and follow the instructions there.