Author Archives: Dan Romanchik

Custom-Cal repairs test instruments, too

Our customers rely on us to keep their instruments calibrated properly. We’re proud of our calibration work, but that’s not all we do. We also do repairs. We fix test equipment from just about any test equipment manufacturer, including:

HP/Agilent,
Anritsu,
Ando,
Advantest,
Fluke,
Datron/Wavetek
Yokogawa,
JDSU, and
many other companies

In addition to repairing instruments from many different manufacturers, we can often repair instruments that are no longer supported by the manufacturer.

Does your cal company actually do repairs?

Many companies rely on their calibration company to perform instrument repairs. The problem with this is that most calibration companies don?t really do their own repairs. There are several reasons for this:

They are not set up to do repair work.
They don?t have the expertise, the maintenance documents (manuals), or parts needed to perform repairs.
They have set up their labs to perform high-volume, low-cost calibrations, not time-consuming repairs.
They are not willing to take the risk of performing repairs. Failing to perform a repair properly, or to repair an instrument in a timely manner, could cause a customer to become dissatisfied and adversely affect their calibration business.

Specify Custom-Cal repair services

If your calibration provider does not do their own repairs, we suggest that you specify Custom-Cal as your preferred source for instrument repairs. If you do not specify where an instrument is to be repaired, you are basically authorizing the cal lab to get the repair done wherever they please.

In most cases, the calibration vendor will send instruments to be repaired to the manufacturer. Very rarely do companies question sending an instrument to the manufacturer for repairs. As long as the manufacturer supports the instrument, they will no doubt be able to make the repair, but there are several reasons why this may not be the most beneficial strategy for you:

Manufacturers often charge more for repairs than test-equipment companies such as Custom-Cal. Cal labs don’t care about the higher cost because they just pass it on to you, the customer. Not only that, they make more money on high-cost repairs because their markup is usually a percentage of the total repair cost.
Your shipping costs may be higher because you will pay shipping to your cal lab, from the cal lab to the manufacturer and back, and then finally back to you.
Repair costs are often higher because the broken item is part of a kit, and rather than just replacing the broken item, the manufacturer will make you pay for the entire kit, even though you don’t need most of the items in that kit.
When asked to repair an item, a manufacturer will simply perform the repair no matter what the cost. At Custom-Cal, we will compare the cost of doing a repair vs. the cost of a replacement unit before performing a repair. If we determine that it will be cheaper for you to replace a unit instead of repairing it, we will give you that option.

Custom-Cal has been repairing test equipment for many years, saving our customers a lot of money in the process. Let us do that for you. For more information on our repair services, e-mail sales@custom-cal.com or phone of our locations:

Hamilton, NJ: 609-530-9000 8am to 8pm Eastern time, 908-328-3663 8am – 11pm Easter time (weekends)
Sanford, FL: 407-322-5663 7am to 4pm Eastern time
Medford, OR: 541-245-3992 8am – 5pm Pacific time

Reconditioned Agilent N2605A battery packs save you money

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New batteries for the?Agilent/HP WireScope 350 Hand-held Cable Tester can cost $500 or more. Using our new Agilent N2605A-135 Battery Pack Trade-In Program, though, you can save hundreds of dollars.

Just send us your dead N2605A-135?battery pack, and?we’ll send you?a reconditioned replacement! This service costs you only $195, and the reconditioned battery pack will have exactly the same specs as the old one. The output voltage is rated at 7.2 VDC, and the capacity is 3800 mAh.

You can purchase this service by going to our eBay store or by contacting us directly. E-mail or phone us at 888-530-9009 if you need more information.

Custom-Cal’s onsite calibration keep Kathrein’s Scala Division on the air

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The Scala Division of Kathrein Inc. a leading manufacturer of professional antennas, RF filters, and accessories located in Medford, OR. They manufacture and sell a wide variety of products, including:

Base station system products for all cellular networks worldwide, PMR and air traffic control,
Satellite reception systems, receivers and terrestrial reception antennas for radio and TV, headend systems and distribution technology for community antenna nets and house distribution systems,
Broadband communication systems for cable networks; FTTX networks; IPTV solutions for carriers, hotels, hospitals, and other users,
Professional radio and TV transmitting antenna systems,
Specialist vehicle antennas, and automotive electronic systems, and
RFID Systems, antennas and readers

The Agilent 8722ES has a frequency range of 50 MHz to 40 GHz and can make a wide variety of RF measurements.

To keep their production lines running, they use Custom-Cal’s onsite calibration services. Our Oregon Laboratory, also based in Medford, OR, is the preferred source for calibrating a number of different instruments, including:

Agilent 8722ES S-parameter Vector Network Analyzer,
Agilent E8358A -015 PNA Network Analyzer, and
Agilent 8712ESE Network Analyzer

Devin, Scala’s Test Section Supervisor, has been very satisfied with our services. He noted, “The onsite calibration was very professional, and we are very happy with the work that Custom Calibration has done for us.”

On-site test equipment calibration keeps production running

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Many companies find that Custom-Cal’s on-site calibration service helps keep their production lines running.

With budgets so tight, most companies can?t afford to shut down their production lines to send out test equipment for calibration. Nor can they afford the spare equipment needed to keep production lines running. Since equipment calibration is not optional, more companies are asking us to calibrate their equipment on-site.
Custom-Cal?s on-site calibration program not only keeps production lines running, it offers other benefits:

On-site calibration significantly increases equipment utilization by removing shipping time and normal calibration lab lead times.
On-site calibration also eliminates shipping damage and other potential hazards of transporting your valuable test equipment off-premises.

Custom-Cal offers on-site calibration worldwide and can tailor our calibration services to meet your production needs and support your company?s specific quality requirements.

Calibration Pricing

Custom-Cal has developed a baseline price for many calibrations we perform at our calibration laboratories.? Generally we can offer these same low prices to our on-site calibration customers.? Our prices are not set in stone, and we?re always trying to find ways to save you money. For example, we might recommend that you have several pieces of equipment serviced in a single on-site visit, thereby saving you the cost? of unnecessary service calls. We will also mark appropriate items as ?No Calibration Required? and customize our calibration process to match the parameters that are critical to you.

Wide range of instruments

We offer our on-site calibration services for a wide range of electronics test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment:

Optical and photonic
RF and microwave
Communication, Cellularar , LAN, Wi-Fi, protocol and satellite
Bench equipment and general-purpose test and measurement (TMDE)
Environmental, and
Mechanical and hand tools, include medical diagnostic equipment

On-line tool provides valuable insight

Custom-Cal?s friendly staff proactively helps our clients schedule on-site calibrations using the ?My Data? on-line tool. My Data provides our customers valuable insight into what instruments are coming due for calibration, where they are located, and when an instrument is due for calibration, the tool helps to produce a quote for services based on the last calibration visit.

In addition to keeping track of your test equipment inventory and scheduling calibrations, My Data allows you to track calibration histories and access calibration certificates. By providing all this data, My Data makes the equipment tracking and calibration process a lot more efficient.

Custom-Cal calibrates thousands of different instruments, including many that are no longer supported by the original manufacturer. To find out more about Custom-Cal’s calibration services, visit test equipment calibration services page on our website, or contact any of our representatives to learn more about this valuable service.

Custom-Cal calibrates and repairs torque wrenches

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Custom-Cal can calibrate and repair all kinds of torque tools, including torque wrenches, torque screwdrivers, closure torque testers, torque dials, and torque gauges.

A torque wrench is used where the tightness of screws and bolts is crucial. A torque wrench allows an operator to measure the torque applied to a fastener so that he or she can appropriately tighten the fastener. Applying the correct torque to the fasteners in an assembly assures that all of the parts have the proper tension and load.

There are several different types of torque wrenches, including click wrenches, beam wrenches, and electronic wrenches.

Calibration
Regularly-scheduled verification and calibration ensure that your torque wrenches will meet their accuracy and reliability specifications. Most manufacturers call for calibration every 5,000 to 7,000 cycles of normal use. Misuse can also affect torque wrench accuracy. If a torque wrench is jerked or forced when applying torque, torque application will be highly inaccurate and inconsistent.

Custom-Cal services torque wrenches
Custom-Cal calibrates torque wrenches in-house and on-site.? We can accommodate, torque screwdrivers, closure torque testers,? torque dials, and torque gauges as well other torque indicating devices.? We can calibrate any torque tool or instrument with a minimum torque as low as 5 ozf. in.. and as high as 250 lbf. ft. We can even handle larger wrenches up to 1000 lbf. ft.. upon request. We specialize in quick turnaround times and we can expedite delivery upon request.?

We can verify and calibrate any torque tool from these manufacturers and more:

AKO
Aimco
Ametek
Armstrong
AWS
Blackhawk
CDI
Chatillon
CIP
Computorq
Craftsman
Dillon
Imada
KD Tools
Larson
Mark-10
Mecmesin
Mountz
Norbar
NuLine
Proto
S-K
Snap-On
Sturtevant Richmont
Tohnichi

To verify and calibrate your torque tools, we use the some of the most accurate torque analyzers and calibrators available, including:

Mountz TL-10i Torque Analyzer. This instrument can measure torque from 1 – 10 lbf. in. with an accuracy of up to ?0.5%. With adapters, we can use this instrument up 100 lbf. in., and can also calibrate electric torque drivers.
Mountz Torque System S320. This instrument has a range of 1 ozf. in. to 320 ozf. in and an accuracy of ?0.5%.
Teledyne Test Services LC-20 Torque Wrench Calibrator. The LC-20 Torque Wrench Calibrator is a highly accurate, microprocessor-based instrument that is traceable to NIST. The accuracy of this instrument is ?0.25% full scale.

Please contact us for all your torque tool calibration needs.?Phone 888-530-9009 or e-mail?sales@custom-cal.com.