EEVblog #249 - Agilent U1272A Multimeter Review

[EEVblog]

US$370? For a meter? **Really?**

Don't think I need to remind anyone here that you can get a whole scope for that.

won't be much of a scope for 370$ ... maybe a toybox machine with 4k deep memory and barely 20Mhz ... or an old analog clunker.

Err, you've been able to get the DS1052E for under that for quite a long time now.
A decent and very usable entry level scope by any measure.

Dave.

[Rake]

I am in a really split between buying this meter or a brand new 87V, what should I do??

Unless you lust after a Fluke, or want it for a specific reason (lifetime warranty, spares, proven etc), then get the U1272A, better bang-per-buck.

Dave.

If you do fieldwork (and make a living at it) buy a high end Fluke... FLUKE has never let me down. (it's a lot of money at the start but it is WELL worth the money!) If you want to beta-test a meter then buy the U1272A.... (I don't like to beta test equipment in the field) Heck even the mid range Fluke 179 is more meter then what most folks need for field use.....And it works no questions asked.
And yes my Meter is Fluke.. I'm not a fan boy just a field tech that likes meters that work.... hard hat photo to follow
Kirk

[EEVblog]

If you do fieldwork (and make a living at it) buy a high end Fluke... FLUKE has never let me down. (it's a lot of money at the start but it is WELL worth the money!) If you want to beta-test a meter then buy the U1272A.... (I don't like to beta test equipment in the field) Heck even the mid range Fluke 179 is more meter then what most folks need for field use.....And it works no questions asked.

I'd be inclined to agree with that.
Unless you need the fancy features in the field, a dead simple reliable Fluke 170 series is a better bet.

Dave.

[saturation]

A pic would be nice.  I've seen from very battered Fluke series DMMs  in the hands of electricians, HVAC and cable technicians.  The way they treat it, trust it and it does still work, is hard to beat.

If you do fieldwork (and make a living at it) buy a high end Fluke... FLUKE has never let me down. (it's a lot of money at the start but it is WELL worth the money!) If you want to beta-test a meter then buy the U1272A.... (I don't like to beta test equipment in the field) Heck even the mid range Fluke 179 is more meter then what most folks need for field use.....And it works no questions asked.
And yes my Meter is Fluke.. I'm not a fan boy just a field tech that likes meters that work.... hard hat photo to follow
Kirk

[billclay]

I'm actually thinking of having a proper check-list for reviews, so I don't forget anything, and to give every review as a consistent feel as possible.

I think the checklist is a great idea!  I'm often testing a meter as you do and would like a checklist of items to verify.   Would love to see
it posted in the forum.

Oh, and maybe you can create a table (on the wiki?) for each meter you test so we can have a reference to look at and compare!

[thilo]

Was the capacitance range in spec when they did the calibration?

[EEVblog]

Was the capacitance range in spec when they did the calibration?

No cap readings at all on the cal certificate!

Dave.

[ToddFun]

Look Ma! No wires. 
http://www.techni-tool.com/431TE177
Agilent IR To Bluetooth Adapter

[billclay]

At around 22:19 in the video, you said you “disabled the null”, but I still see the “delta” symbol in the display for the next few tests. Your offset was about +28pF at the initial null.

[seraphim]

Hi Dave,
I believe that you were measuring capacitance with Agilent Multimeter wrong. The LCR meter is charging up the cap, and after that you measure it with multimeter. Maybe that residual charge is causing error in measurements. You can also notice that even Agilent LCR meter was a bit off when you brought out another LCR and started measuring  first with it and only then with Agilent LCR.  You continued talking and didn’t notice the Agilent LCR meter’s error and how it slowly was recovering.