Author Topic: Handheld meter robustness testing (Read 1298712 times)

joeqsmith · « **Reply #700 on:** January 28, 2016, 01:00:27 am »

Part 1 of the Keysight U1231A. I have not yet ran any of the surge transients yet and am hoping to get to it this weekend.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #701 on:** January 30, 2016, 04:45:39 pm »

That was quick.

Lightages · « **Reply #702 on:** January 30, 2016, 07:51:35 pm »

Quote from: joeqsmith on January 30, 2016, 04:45:39 pm

That was quick.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #703 on:** January 30, 2016, 08:44:36 pm »

Quote from: Lightages on January 30, 2016, 07:51:35 pm

Quote from: joeqsmith on January 30, 2016, 04:45:39 pm
That was quick.

From above:

Quote

I have not yet ran any of the surge transients yet and am hoping to get to it this weekend.

The weekend is here. Can I interest you in a slightly used Keysight meter?

joeqsmith · « **Reply #704 on:** January 30, 2016, 11:46:47 pm »

Keysight's gas discharge tubes in action.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #705 on:** January 31, 2016, 12:45:49 am »

As a side note, I downloaded the datasheet for the controller IC and then tacked a couple of leads to the supply pins. The device will pull about 60ma (should be below 5) and will begin to heat up. All those surrounding parts could not save it.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #706 on:** February 01, 2016, 12:11:30 pm »

Keysight meter is ran on the half cycle line simulator.

Muttley Snickers · « **Reply #707 on:** February 01, 2016, 01:23:01 pm »

Well that's a shame Joe, I really did like the look, form factor and feature set of these meters and if the other meter that is currently very popular wasn't out yet then I was looking to grab a few of the U1232A's whilst Keysight still had the bonus deal in place, I would imagine that a warranty claim is out of the question but you never know until you try.

Thank you for your fine efforts......

Muttley

joeqsmith · « **Reply #708 on:** February 02, 2016, 04:36:33 am »

If the meters do what you want, I see no reason not to get them just because of the results from this test. I was not at all surprised this Keysight meter was damaged beyond repair and was actually expecting it was going to fail at a much lower level. Seeing that switch breakdown shows just how slow those things are to turn on. It wouldn't have taken much to harden that design but seems that is always the story.

I have yet to try to get any of the meters that have failed repaired under warranty. Imagine the poor service tech.

Fungus · « **Reply #709 on:** February 02, 2016, 11:45:50 am »

Quote from: joeqsmith on February 02, 2016, 04:36:33 am

If the meters do what you want, I see no reason not to get them just because of the results from this test.

Yep.

eg. The UT61E has a very capable 22000 count chipset and plenty of features. It's a very good meter for the price from a capability point of view. It even does data logging via serial cable.

It failed Joe's first test but there's no reason not to get one if you're a hobbyist who mostly works with low voltage DC stuff.

PS: You can get a UT61E and a super-robust Fluke 101 for less than $100. Two meters is always better than one and that's a very capable combination. It covers just about everything you'll ever need a multimeter for. If I was just starting out and had $100 to spend I could do a lot worse than buy those two.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #710 on:** February 03, 2016, 02:48:11 am »

It's too dry here to own a 61D or E. Would hate to have a meter fail because I walked across the carpet without my wrist strap on and touch the leads.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #711 on:** February 04, 2016, 04:35:55 am »

I picked up a UNI-T UT210E clamp meter. I had read some of the reviews on this site for it and a friend on mine was looking for a clamp so I thought we could check it out. A few of us played with it today (just for the AC/DC current) and it's actually not a bad little clamp for the price. More accurate than I was expecting.

Fungus · « **Reply #712 on:** February 04, 2016, 08:32:05 am »

Quote from: joeqsmith on February 03, 2016, 02:48:11 am

It's too dry here to own a 61D or E. Would hate to have a meter fail because I walked across the carpet without my wrist strap on and touch the leads.

In that case you leave the 61E on your bench (which must be grounded or you wouldn't be able to do anything) and you only carry the Fluke 101 around the house. :-)

joeqsmith · « **Reply #713 on:** February 04, 2016, 11:55:11 am »

Quote from: Fungus on February 04, 2016, 08:32:05 am

Quote from: joeqsmith on February 03, 2016, 02:48:11 am
It's too dry here to own a 61D or E. Would hate to have a meter fail because I walked across the carpet without my wrist strap on and touch the leads.

In that case you leave the 61E on your bench (which must be grounded or you wouldn't be able to do anything) and you only carry the Fluke 101 around the house. :-)

I will be the first to admit at home I rarely practice proper ESD handling. I actually only have a couple of square feet of grounded mat on my bench where I solder and it's rare I use a strap. As bad as it sounds, I would guess many hobbyist do not use anything for ESD.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #714 on:** February 07, 2016, 02:29:46 am »

Looking at the current inputs on a couple of meters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x9yV2ah4fg&feature=youtu.be

joeqsmith · « **Reply #715 on:** February 08, 2016, 12:32:54 am »

It turns out there was not a second spark gap as I stated in the video. Well, there was but I doubt it was an intended one. The trace that routed to the current input was gone to about half way up the board. I suspect this is when the control IC lost it's lid.

In gap2, you can see how the arc jumped all the way to the common pads and started to erode them. This is a fairly wide gap compared to what I am suspecting is an actual spark gap in gap1.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #716 on:** February 08, 2016, 12:42:13 am »

Just because a meter uses a large fuse in the current does not mean that the layout is any better.

crispy_tofu · « **Reply #717 on:** February 08, 2016, 01:10:52 am »

The images don't seem to work...

joeqsmith · « **Reply #718 on:** February 08, 2016, 02:16:21 am »

Quote from: crispy_tofu on February 08, 2016, 01:10:52 am

The images don't seem to work...

For some reason, when I pull from the camera directly it does not always copy.

Fixed.

Here is the Fluke 17B+. Note that they use an inner plane.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #719 on:** February 08, 2016, 03:42:33 am »

From another one of Danaher's divisions, 5ky's AM530. Nice slit for the mA range and again, a fair amount of clearance.

joeqsmith · « **Reply #720 on:** February 10, 2016, 12:18:04 pm »

I was looking at Dave's video with Doug Ford where they put the Fluke 28II on Doug's generator. At the start of the video Doug states: 4.2-4.3KV, <1ms discharge and 400J for the small generator. I suspect this would be a fair bit different as he talks about charging the cap. It appears they ran it with the selector in DC mode.

My setup only puts at most in the 20J range at under 6KV. Even when I test with the old generator at higher voltages, the generator is below 20J. The pulse on the low voltage generator can be as wide as 100us FWHH and up to 50us on the high voltage generator. This is why I never see the level of damage shown in Dave and Doug's video.

Dave talks about the meter failing safe and is what he would expect. I would assume the resistor shown lifted was in place or the MOVs would not have cut loose. Based on how poorly the 87Vs I looked at performed, it makes sense to me that the 28II would see a fair amount of damage. It would have been interesting to see the Fluke 101, 107, 17B+ and 115 on this same generator and then compare the results with the 28II.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=M-FZP1U2dkM#t=653

joeqsmith · « **Reply #721 on:** February 11, 2016, 01:09:44 am »

Two new meters are on order. Maybe in a week or so I'll have something to show....

Fungus · « **Reply #722 on:** February 11, 2016, 08:34:57 am »

What meter is that?

Fungus · « **Reply #723 on:** February 11, 2016, 08:38:06 am »

Quote from: joeqsmith on February 11, 2016, 01:09:44 am

Two new meters are on order. Maybe in a week or so I'll have something to show....

A blue one...?

joeqsmith · « **Reply #724 on:** February 11, 2016, 11:30:05 pm »

Quote from: Fungus on February 11, 2016, 08:34:57 am

What meter is that?

It was 5ky's dt-9962T (rebranded Southwire)


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Author Topic: Handheld meter robustness testing (Read 1298712 times)

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