Kill a Fluke 287 with a Halogen Lamp

[Kiriakos-GR]

And I do have a question, does this DMM comes with out at protective cover at that port ?

Nop it doesnt, not really a reason to have one unless you take it for a dive in a swamp.

The mister optimist striked again ...    LOL
Nop,  this is not a toy like the ones who collect dust on your bench,
in my eyes looks like an industrial DMM, and it should be capable to survive even in the swamp 

[Alex]

And I do have a question, does this DMM comes with out at protective cover at that port ?

Nop it doesnt, not really a reason to have one unless you take it for a dive in a swamp.

The mister optimist striked again ...    LOL
Nop,  this is not a toy like the ones who collect dust on your bench,
in my eyes looks like an industrial DMM, and it should be capable to survive even in the swamp 

Well if it doesn't need one, it doesn't need one. The IR port is from solid clear plastic and the signals involved are digital. If you abuse the DMM so much to render the IR port unusable then something else would have failed first, like the probe sensors.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Well if it doesn't need one, it doesn't need one.

This can be true, but I like covers ... probably its just me. 

[elafargue]

Exactly the same issue on my 289 - I had also narrowed it down to light into the IR port. I lost quite a few logging sessions on a solar installation before realizing what was going on!

Easy workaround for Fluke: design a black rubber port protection cap and ship it with the multimeter - and offer an option for existing customers to have one shipped to them, after all this is what registering your meter should be about!

[elafargue]

Actually... rather than just wish for Fluke to make it, I just designed a cap. After all 3D printing is not that difficult nowadays: http://www.shapeways.com/model/373094/fluke_protection_cap.html

As soon as I manage to test the prototype and it works ok, I'll make it available on Shapeways for others to make if they wish.

[alm]

I would call it something like 'protection cap for Fluke 287/289', the current name might be considered trademark infringement since it suggests it to be a Fluke product.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Actually... rather than just wish for Fluke to make it, I just designed a cap. After all 3D printing is not that difficult nowadays: http://www.shapeways.com/model/373094/fluke_protection_cap.html

As soon as I manage to test the prototype and it works ok, I'll make it available on Shapeways for others to make if they wish.

If you start the production of it , send me one email, I have some ideas so to help about the distribution.

[elafargue]

I would call it something like 'protection cap for Fluke 287/289', the current name might be considered trademark infringement since it suggests it to be a Fluke product.

Quite right, thanks, I just changed the name: http://www.shapeways.com/model/373094/protection_cap_for_fluke_287_289.html

Would be ironic, though, to do Fluke's job for free & get in trouble for it

Actually, Fluke might be able to issue a firmware update to correct the problem, but they have not issued regular updates for a long time. My own meter has got a more recent firmware (1.2) than the one on their web site!

[alm]

Would be ironic, though, to do Fluke's job for free & get in trouble for it

Gotta love the lawyers.

Good job on the fix, maybe Fluke will get around to fixing this some day.

[Kiriakos-GR]

lawyers can make money if they start attacking to all those ebay sellers  who set titles as " good as Fluke " to no name products.

But for those lawyers its easier to drill  hole  in the water , than start a wild chase about a plastic cap that is a third party accessory.

[alm]

There's a subtle difference between calling something 'for Fluke' or 'like Fluke' and calling it a Fluke product. See a similar issue with the Windows trademark.

I'm sure the lawyers would write letters to the water to cease and desist from flowing into the hole if their client would pay them.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Basically every test leads manufacturer with shrouded banana plugs that gets in to a Fluke DMM , he uses the text "for Fluke" .
Pointing out the compatibility aspects of the product.

This is totally legal  and indisputable.

The point is that there is not that much 287 world wide,   with a 5$ per cup ratio, your profits would be 500$ if you are lucky..  LOL     

[elafargue]

... let's see whether this cap works fine first place, right ? ;-)

[Richard W.]

Maybe a protection cap for a Sub-D connector (9pin) has the right size for the ir-window?

It's just a guess, but it's worth a try 

[Kiriakos-GR]

What ever works in it, it must be made from soft rubber.

Even in my city I have a small factory than can do for me even 1000 of then, in just few hours,
but they will be just white plastic, that its not the perfect material for this job.

[mrcreaker]

Just did a quick test for fit since I had some available and it appears a standard DB15 female (not male, which is slightly too big) dust cover fits snugly over the IR port on the Fluke 287/289.

Here's a link to the dust cover style, though the one I have is solid black, not translucent/frosted:  http://www.iec-usa.com/cgi-bin/iec/DB15HCF
I'm not sure a translucent/frosted version would prevent the problem.

Also found this, which may work: http://www.l-com.com/item.aspx?id=8717

[AheadOfTheTimes]

Interesting thread.  Surely a conventional bulb will put out more IR (since they get hotter) than CFL or halogen.  Assuming the halogen bulb is 12V, the lamp base has a transformer which is probably a SMPS.  Those can operate at any frequency from about 30kHz to 1MHz +.  Is the light from the lamp actually modulated at those frequencies, or is it RF coupling to the meter, I don't know.  Similar story with CFL.  Usually the SMPS is in the 30-50kHz range, which is where a lot of IR communications also operate.  Another reason to hate SMPS (which unfortunately are essentially mandatory since 2001 for efficiency reasons).

[kaz911]

I have been trying to log temperature underneath (in the shade) of my solar panels with my 287.. Could not understand why logging stopped... Until I found the you-tube video.

So even in the shade outside - the meter shuts down while logging. (I do live in a place with A LOT of sun and reflections...

[elafargue]

ok, I just received the cap: this is a perfect fit  Below are a few pictures of the cap and how it fits on the DMM. Material is black nylon, looks pretty opaque to me. I just started a one-day temperature logging session in front of the window, so I will know by this evening whether this cap does its job properly.

I just opened the item for ordering on Shapeways, you can check it out at this URL: http://www.shapeways.com/model/373094/ . If there is strong interest, I suppose it would be cheaper to do a large run - maybe in black silicon - rather than individual 3D printing, but in the mean time, here you are! By the way: if you place an order, please make sure you select "Black" and not "White" !

[Kiriakos-GR]

The first picture are over exposed ... the second looks to have the natural color.

Now you need a bit of radio tuning string, few centimeters will do, so to be tight up with the holster, and become impossible  to loosing it. 
Few knots will work as anchor, from the inside of the holster.
and about the cap it self, a tiny hole in one of the sides will be enough  to pass the nylon string, and do few knots too.
If you dislike the color of the radio tuning string, an black permanent marker will do the rest of the miracle.   

[elafargue]

Hmm, it seems the cap is not enough, the meter still crashes when in the sunlight. This is weird, since the plastic is really opaque, but there must be a bit of light still leaking at the base... I'll do another revision to improve behaviour.

[Zero999]

Do you know how transparent the cap is to the near infra-red part of the spectrum?

Just because it's black, it doesn't mean it's not semi-transparent to IR.

[elafargue]

Yes, I think it lets too much IR through... ok, that was worth a try, I'll try to find a black DB9 dust cap...

[Zero999]

You could try lining the inside of the cap with aluminium foil glued in place with epoxy resin - that will definitely reflect any infra-red radiation which makes it through the cap.

[Alex]

Yes, I think it lets too much IR through...

Would it be a higher IR irradiance that what is normally reflected off surfaces like your bench?