REVIEW - PRODUCT Tektronix DMM4050/Fluke 8846A

[Tacheon]

Dave:

Hello down unda:

Just picked up a tek DMM4050. It is the same as a Fluke 8846A. Same manufacturer- Neither one of these two mentioned. Not sure if I am happy with it yet. I was wondering if you would review either one of them. So far a few thoughts:

1) The rear/front probe push buttons are extremely hard to push. Did not like that.

2) Very Chineesee built. Not the quality I expect from either company. I think the Agilent 34410A built much better, but less features.

3) The software interface National instruments "Lab View Lite" for Tek which comes with it is atrocious. It is definitely no plug and play but rather play, and play, and keep playing with it until I can get the thing to start data aquisition. Still working with tek on resolving this.

I'd like to see more bench DMM's reviewed.

By the way, I loved the show on crystals. Very informative, and creating conversation amongst fellow engineers.

Do they still sell Wallaby Squash soda pop down there?

Take care!

A...

[lucky65]

Hi all,
I am considering about a new meter.

My idea was on Agilent 34410A, then saw DMM5040/Fluke 8846A.

My questions:
1) @Tacheon: after some months of use (you posted on October 2010), what's your opinion on Tek DMM5040 ?
Do you confirm your first impressions ?

My consideration is also about price: 34410A cost is similar to DMM5040 (80 Euros difference).
Attractive features on DMM5040, but if Tek is "chinese" quality I would prefer Agilent,
having no immediate need about logging on USB pen (but this would be a nice thing) and the other add-ons of Tek and Fluke.

3) DMM5040 and Fluke 8846A seem the SAME instrument. Do you know of any differences ?
(Fluke costs 200 Euros more than Tek)

Every suggestion is welcome.

Thanks,
regards

L..

[saturation]

The HP 34401A, is its predecessor and a known 'standard'. The 34410A or ..11A are its successors and come from the same pedigree.

I'd go with Agilent as they have a better reputation in bench meters, and all 3 cost nearly the same.  

[alm]

3) DMM5040 and Fluke 8846A seem the SAME instrument. Do you know of any differences ?
(Fluke costs 200 Euros more than Tek)

I believe the Tek Models were introduced after Tek was acquired by Danaher (who also own Fluke), so I think they're exactly the same. Not sure why they would be cheaper, warranty?

I agree with saturation, when in doubt, go for the Agilent, the 34401A has been the standard for a long time, and I haven't heard any complaints about the 34410A either. The Fluke '4-wire' jacks appear to be somewhat flimsy, and the comments by Tacheon weren't that favorable either, so unless you need the extra features that the Fluke provides, I'd go with Agilent.

[lucky65]

Thanks saturation and alm,
I have a slight "feeling" in preferring Agilent.

I am doing a comparison with technical data for the three instruments, but for my target all three are more than ok.

But... to complicate things on:
a friend of mine does commerce with used instrumentation and found a 3-years old 8846A in the States ;
it comes here in Italy for about 1000 Euros, 6 months warranty.

Any impressions about price ? A bit high, in my opinion, for a 3 year instrument, yet the photos are showing a perfect casing, no scratches at all.

And now... used Fluke 8846A or new Agilent 34410A.

Let's sleep on it.

Thanks,
regards
L.

[saturation]

What is the cost of the Agilent 34410A where you are?

€1000 for a used 8846A seems much as that's the cost of a new 8846 in the USA.

Thanks saturation and alm,
I have a slight "feeling" in preferring Agilent.

I am doing a comparison with technical data for the three instruments, but for my target all three are more than ok.

But... to complicate things on:
a friend of mine does commerce with used instrumentation and found a 3-years old 8846A in the States ;
it comes here in Italy for about 1000 Euros, 6 months warranty.

Any impressions about price ? A bit high, in my opinion, for a 3 year instrument, yet the photos are showing a perfect casing, no scratches at all.

And now... used Fluke 8846A or new Agilent 34410A.

Let's sleep on it.

Thanks,
regards
L.

[blackdog]

Hi,

I have a TEK DMM4050 and i'am happy with it, it is realy stable and easy to use.
I orderd a second one :-)

Yes the software is a mess to get is working, but its working now.
I lookt insite without opning the case (lose my waranty) with a lamp and see only good quality components.
The Reference is a selected LM399a from Linear Technology.
If you handel the input socket normaly then there is no problem with them.

The stability specs are better then the Agilent and you get 3 years waranty.

But its your choice ;-)


Kind regarts,
Bram

[lucky65]

What is the cost of the Agilent 34410A where you are?

€1000 for a used 8846A seems much as that's the cost of a new 8846 in the USA.

Best prices I found so far in Italy:

New 34410A: 927 Euros + 20% VAT
New 8846A: 1164 Euros + 20% VAT
New DMM4050: 1017 Euros + 20% VAT

Used 8846A from USA: 900 Euros + 20% VAT

Two things to notice:
1) if a product costs 1000 USD in USA --> here in Italy it costs 1000 Euros.
It seems like a Murphy rule, but it's true : the difference in change USD <-> Euro "magically" disappears when I have to buy something
priced in US dollars.

2) importing fees, FedEx cost, a little plus for the person who cares about the transaction and a bit of rule 1 : here is an instrument
from $700-$800 "growing" up to 1000 Euros.
Magic !
 

Blackdog:
I have a Tek TX1 multimeter, no problem up to the moment it lost calibration data. Seeking for some lab to calibrate it, but two labs I checked said they
have no way for it (out of production). I read the thread about TX1, will try to find some other lab to calibrate.

So: I think things are different with Fluke or Agilent, so I'm in doubt on Tek about "how long" they will stay with bench DMMs.

Regards
L.

[Kiriakos-GR]

1) if a product costs 1000 USD in USA --> here in Italy it costs 1000 Euros.

I do not believe you ... in Greece it cost 1001 Euros 

All the Euro-zone are an mess , about the pricing of those brands.

Greece and Italy looks to share the same high pricing ,but the most unfortunate are the Germans.

An 20$ soft case have an price tag of 36 EUR in Greece and 55 in Germany.   

I wish you good luck on your search. 

[saturation]

Given their near identical capacity and Agilent's reputation, the 34410A would be my choice.

Keep us posted, and enjoy the hunt!

What is the cost of the Agilent 34410A where you are?

€1000 for a used 8846A seems much as that's the cost of a new 8846 in the USA.

Best prices I found so far in Italy:

New 34410A: 927 Euros + 20% VAT
New 8846A: 1164 Euros + 20% VAT
New DMM4050: 1017 Euros + 20% VAT

Used 8846A from USA: 900 Euros + 20% VAT

[Ernie Milko]

I can't comment on current models, but older Fluke bench DMMs were top notch.
Look for the 8840A or 8840A/AF (military version) EXCELLENT meters.
The 8800A and 8800A/AF are also first-rate (recommended in Bob Pease's book, IIRC)
There is also the 8520 (I think that was the model no.) which had a thermal TRMS converter.
However, I also rate the 34401.

[lucky65]

Just spoke with my friend having business with used instrumentation ; he bought the used 8846A anyway, also if I should decide for another brand.
The 8846A has just arrived from the USA, this evening he will send me some hi-res photos (BTW: 192 Euros importing fees, calculated on a USD->Euro rate 1:1).

Meantime... maybe I found a (possible) difference between DMM4050 and Fluke 8846A:
Fluke says "made in USA" on the back panel.
Tek: made in China ? Blackdog, could you check on your instrument please ?

This could explain the cost difference of these two instruments.

Regards
L.

[quarks]

Hi all,

I recently bought a Tek DMM4050 and it is afaik identical to the Fluke 8846A (only case, colour and name is different).
On the back of the 4050 it says "Assembled in USA".
All of my Fluke gear has "Made in USA" on the back.

So far I could not find out who's original product design it is. If you find out please let me know.

Greetings from Germany
Marcus
 

[alm]

So far I could not find out who's original product design it is. If you find out please let me know.

I believe the Fluke 8846A pre-dates the acquisition of Tek by Danaher, so I assume it's designed by Fluke (or outsourced by Fluke). Tektronix's only bench meters as far as I know were either plug-ins (eg. TM500 series) or add-ons to scopes. They had a cheap range of test equipment in the nineties which might have included a multimeter, but these were just re-badged by Tek. They were built/designed by some Asian company.

[quarks]

Hello all,

thanks alm, for your reply.   

Because I am still fighting with the LabView Software provided with the TEK. Right now I use FlukeView Forms instead. I was kind of surprised, when I found out that also the Fluke 8846A has to be set up with "Fluke 45 Emulation" (exactly like the Tek 4050), to be used with the FlukeView Software. It would be interesting to know why this is. 

greetings
Marcus

[blackdog]

Hi all...

I took some pictures of my TEK-4050 and its "Assembled in USA"
The second meter i orderd is not yet deliverd.

My TEK is in good company 

Kind regarts,
Bram

[Tacheon]

Well folks:

As the original poster -- My final thoughts after working with this unit for awhile...

I work with both the HP 34410A and the tek DMM 4050. The fluke 8846A are the same unit made by Denaher. The only difference is the software that is packaged with it.. That is where the problem lies.

As far as PC interface with the DMM 4050, it was a big hassle, and way too many hoops to jump through. It was far from plug and play, and you can only switch functions on the PC to change the meter functions. It took me a week to get straightened out with Tektronix. It needs to be improved.  Labview wants you to purchases a higher end software upgrade to do more stuff. What you get is very rudimentary. Not that useful for us.

Yes I agree, flukeview is much better -- I use that software with my Fluke 289, but I probably will integrate it with the 4050 now.

I do think the special optional 4 wire probes are a little on the high side at $75 USD, and for what I do I think I will need them.

All in all, features vs. price, the tek 4050 beats the HP 34410A away. Having said that I think it is a newer design. It is a good deal and seems to be a very good meter rich with features -- I love the reading speed.

Inside the unit itself, I don't think it is designed any worse than the HP. Both units seems to have a relay inside constantly chattering when changing functions or measuring specific amplitudes. I guess that is normal.

Besides the S.W. which sucks, the meter itself is excellent and I am very happy with it.

Thanks for the input all

Tach

[stevenheintz]

Thought that I'd comment on this thread, since I found it useful during my own research for a good 6.5 digit DMM

We ended up getting both a DMM4050 AND a Fluke 8846A.  As others have stated, they are *exactly* the same meter - right down to the packaging + box (more on that in a minute)

As far as included items, the Fluke 8846A is a bit of a better deal on the high end as it comes with a USB to serial adapter (which is a separate option on the Tek)

if you're considering the Fluke 8845/Tek DMM 4040 (less expensive model in the family with less percision, and minus LCR + Temp measurements), the Tek is a better deal because the lower end model has the USB port

So a couple of negatives about our experience:

- The LAN port is useless on the Fluke.  Flukeview Forms doesn't talk to it at all.  You'll be running a serial or USB cable to the unit if you want to use the software

- Both units were VERY poorly packaged coming from the manufacturer.  The reason we ended up with one of each meter was that I was so ticked off about how the Tek unit was packaged.   I ordered the Fluke for our second meter - AND used a different distributor.

To my surprise (both times) The meters came in thin cardboard boxes - nothing inside was covered in plastic (so BOTH units were actually dirty/dusty new.  There was no packing foam - just a stretched plastic tray that the unit sat on.  Even the envelope of supplies (software + meter leads) wasn't sealed - so the contents were covered with dust and grime.

I originally lost it with our first distributor - convinced that we had been sent a repackaged used unit.  However after an investigation with Tektronix - and also ordering the Fluke from another distributor - I found out that this is just the level of quality someone that Danaher feels appropriate for a $1,500 meter.

[saturation]

That's an interesting development worth watching.  I've received a few 'green' packaged items from Amazon that are similarly packed to minimize waste: no plastic anywhere nor wraps; everything was inserted into a cubbyhole folded from some part of the entire box.   All documents are in envelopes but not sealed; the Agilent DMMs I received were packed in all cardboard boxes but all items were wrapped in plastic bags but only the Agilent DMM certificates were sealed.  All the items were very clean.

Knowing test gear sit on lab shelves and gather dust too without every malfunctioning from it means its not a big concern, but if the dust if from the manufacturing rather than a warehouse, it may chemicals or conductive material that pose a small risk to the device, its also not good form to sell a product this way to raise even a theoretical concern.

To my surprise (both times) The meters came in thin cardboard boxes - nothing inside was covered in plastic (so BOTH units were actually dirty/dusty new.  There was no packing foam - just a stretched plastic tray that the unit sat on.  Even the envelope of supplies (software + meter leads) wasn't sealed - so the contents were covered with dust and grime.

I originally lost it with our first distributor - convinced that we had been sent a repackaged used unit.  However after an investigation with Tektronix - and also ordering the Fluke from another distributor - I found out that this is just the level of quality someone that Danaher feels appropriate for a $1,500 meter.