Keysight New instruments

[ResistorRob]

I'm the outlier. I was never a big fan of the aesthetics of Keysight bench gear in the past. However I think they are a quality manufacturer. I have a HUGE workbench so space isn't as limited for me, so I love the oversized multimeter. If it's around $700 as someone mentioned then that sexy beast will end up in my collection. That would make my first Keysight purchase ever because they usually out of my hobbyist budget, so I'm typically looking at Siglent, Rigol, GW Instek, etc. price range.

[EEVblog]

When info is on websites irrespective of language it's in the public domain and hence fair game.

You are asking me to show close up video of an unreleased product before the launch date where the only thing that currently exists is a single low res photo. Would you do this if you were in my position?

Anyways, no need to play the virtuous here Dave as you have been sent pre-release products to review.

So not being a dick is now playing "virtuous" huh?

[EEVblog]

If it's around $700 as someone mentioned then that sexy beast will end up in my collection.

They already have a 5.5 digit meter for $929, so I don't think $700 for education traget meter is out of the question.
No manual in the bos so I don't know the specs yet.
EDIT: I just realised the spec is likely to be idenitcal the existing 5.5 digit Keysight meter.

[tszaboo]

After thinking of this for some time, I think one of the best decision would be to bundle it with the Benchvue software.
If you have the license for all 4 of these instruments, no subscription, that would be just awesome.
Patiently awaiting the video.

[balage]

After thinking of this for some time, I think one of the best decision would be to bundle it with the Benchvue software.
If you have the license for all 4 of these instruments, no subscription, that would be just awesome.
Patiently awaiting the video.

Yeah, that's it! With BenchVue it would be a nice bundle!

The big screen of the PSU makes it able to show nice current/power diagrams. Eagerly waiting for the details.

[nctnico]

When info is on websites irrespective of language it's in the public domain and hence fair game.

I guess you never heard of a 'news embargo': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_embargo
Sure Dave can show a video in advance but he'll likely never get Keysight equipment again after that and certainly not before the release date. In the end that serves nobody. Chances are the firmware needs an update as well so a premature video may even be outdated within days.

[wizard69]

At this link some new instruments shown from Keysight  https://www.keysightbenchchallenge.com/

That picture is down right pornographic!   I want that DVM so bad.   I do hope that it will arrive at a reasonable cost.

[wizard69]

DC power supply: Looks nice, has USB probably ethernet, 3 outputs. Where is the ground?

It is to the left of the outputs - colored green as expected.


I like the big screens but wow do they suck up bench space, they don't seem practical at all to me other than the scope.

I have mixed feelings about meter size.   The sad reality is that as I get older and the eyes are not what they use to be large devices and screens have a real appeal.   I haven't looked too closely at these products yet but if the text on the front panels is large enough and sharp enough to be better than some of HP's old stuff then they might be making me very happy.

If I had my choice I would have went with a more vertical design for each instrument.   This would have given us large display in a more compact bench arrangement.   Beyond all of that I still do a lot of field work so that can't be dismissed.

[wizard69]

Budget range or not, it make sense to carefully consider your mechanical designs for use across products.   Frankly HPAK has never been really good at this, but with a little team work they should be able to reuse back shell and even fronts across a variety of instruments.   Effectively you can spread the cost of one mold base across several instruments.   The mold base might need a few interchangeable inserts to pull it off but still it is a huge advantage over building a new mold for every instrument.

As for the meter I haven't seen the specs yet so I can only comment on the the mechanical aspects seen in the image.   For me the meter has some real advantages due to its form factor and frankly this is when I would be away from the bench.   If you are doing field calibration work simply finding space for a meter can be a challenge.   Keysights more conventional meters can have issues is you try to use them standing on end or sitting on top of a tool.   Stackability is only of use if the hardware is from similar manufactures, often you just get slideability.   The narrow and high design should offer more options with respect to meter placement in the field.   Beyond all of that large displays even for a multimeter are just a delight.

Looks like cost cutting by using common casing/molds between the meter, scope and sig-gen perhaps, even the front face of the power supply...

Budget range?

Maybe!   Honestly I don't care about what range it is, I just want to see the specs.  Either the performance is there or it isn't.   

[Kleinstein]

For educatgional use there is still some market for meters with a really large dispaly, so it can be read from a distance.  So It may be nice if they have a mode to show 3 1/2 digits using the full screen for maximum readability in a class-room.

The form factor is odd for a bench DMM, but there are cases when less depth is a big plus.  There are more instruments that can profit from a rather large screen and front panel area, but no longer need the large volume. So we may see more instruments in that shape. Simple stacking may not work well, but maybe with a suiteable shelf.

[Doddy883]

I like the form factor. Ideal for my bench, and I'll be in the market for a bench DMM soon. PSU would do a job for me too as I'd like a programmable one now. I guess its down to specs and price, i'll keep an eye on the channel 

[balage]

What I am afraid of is that there may be a delay to become them on stock. Actually all the Keysight intruments are on sortage at Farnell now.

[Ghislain]

^^^
Like this one for example https://www.meilhaus.de/en/elneos-five-dmm.htm

[xmo]

I bought the little scope.  I am quite pleased with it.

Here it is helping me understand FM IBOC

[EEVblog]

Maybe!   Honestly I don't care about what range it is, I just want to see the specs.  Either the performance is there or it isn't.

Although I have not had this confirmed, it should be indenital to this spec, or certainly no worse:
https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/7018-03637/data-sheets/5991-1133.pdf

[EEVblog]

After thinking of this for some time, I think one of the best decision would be to bundle it with the Benchvue software.
If you have the license for all 4 of these instruments, no subscription, that would be just awesome.

The existing 5.5 digit 34450A comes with the BenchVue software, so I'd expect the same here too.

[tszaboo]

The form factor is odd for a bench DMM, but there are cases when less depth is a big plus.  There are more instruments that can profit from a rather large screen and front panel area, but no longer need the large volume. So we may see more instruments in that shape. Simple stacking may not work well, but maybe with a suiteable shelf.

It only feels odd, because the 6.5+ DMMs are all designed to be rack mountable. So they all have 3U height and newer models have half rack size. I remember that scopes were designed to be rack mounted. Then around the 90s their design changed into desktop units, and nobody wants those old huge units anymore.

At first, I wasn't fan of the LCD used on the 34465A, the old 34410A was easier to read. But then I found the utility of the statistics, histogram and other functions. Getting a bigger screen would probably unlock more possibilities.

Maybe!   Honestly I don't care about what range it is, I just want to see the specs.  Either the performance is there or it isn't.

Although I have not had this confirmed, it should be indenital to this spec, or certainly no worse:
https://www.keysight.com/us/en/assets/7018-03637/data-sheets/5991-1133.pdf

If the instrument is anything like the other DMMs, there should be a help menu. As I remember, it could show a QR code where you can download the service manual, if the link is already activated.

[2N3055]

^^^
Like this one for example https://www.meilhaus.de/en/elneos-five-dmm.htm

That is some horrifying pretentious crap....
Datasheet it 50 pages of synergies and designer bullshit and all the crapwords, and then few lines of specifications : 2 kHz AC bandwidth, 5 ¾ digit, display range 40.000 points, meaning it is 4.5 digit meter but they straight up lie it is more than 5.5...
And it costs more than Keithley 6500 and Keysight 34460A...

[tszaboo]

After thinking of this for some time, I think one of the best decision would be to bundle it with the Benchvue software.
If you have the license for all 4 of these instruments, no subscription, that would be just awesome.

The existing 5.5 digit 34450A comes with the BenchVue software, so I'd expect the same here too.

The Benchvue yes. The DMM part requires a separate license, that is called "Keysight BV0001B Digital Multimeter Control & Automation Software Application". It is sold at 330 EUR including Tax.
Function gen is another 330 EUR
Power supply is another 330 EUR
Oscilloscope another 330 EUR
And these are node locked licenses. Example:
https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/bench-power-supply-source-accessories/1362935/

I get that for a high end workbench for a test lab this is peanuts. For low end instruments, like we have here, the price/value is terrible.

[bd139]

Yuck. I still remember the days when I paid for hardware not software 

[SilverSolder]

Just last week, I downloaded the software for the Agilent 65422D scope from the Keysight web site - for free.

Obviously that's what Keysight ought to do with anything less than mid range instruments, just to get their software out there and get people addicted!

[EEVblog]

After thinking of this for some time, I think one of the best decision would be to bundle it with the Benchvue software.
If you have the license for all 4 of these instruments, no subscription, that would be just awesome.

The existing 5.5 digit 34450A comes with the BenchVue software, so I'd expect the same here too.

The Benchvue yes. The DMM part requires a separate license, that is called "Keysight BV0001B Digital Multimeter Control & Automation Software Application". It is sold at 330 EUR including Tax.
Function gen is another 330 EUR
Power supply is another 330 EUR
Oscilloscope another 330 EUR
And these are node locked licenses. Example:
https://nl.rs-online.com/web/p/bench-power-supply-source-accessories/1362935/

I get that for a high end workbench for a test lab this is peanuts. For low end instruments, like we have here, the price/value is terrible.

Ah, the datasheet has a sneaky asterix

[EEVblog]

JUst shot another quick video to show an issue on the manual ranging as well. With the input probes just sitting there on my bench, I get overloading on the manual 1V range, and it alternates between overload and some random voltage, this is with fixed 10M input.
Also, I didn't realise last time that I had the ground probe in the wrong jack, it was in the sense jack. Guess they neede more visual differentiation there.
Anyway, in fast sampling mode I get the autorange issue cying the range relay at 5+ times per second, it makes a hell of a racket, again at 10M input.
I think they still have a few issues to iron out...

[bdunham7]

Ah, the datasheet has a sneaky asterix

"Now included"   

If you get a chance when you are trying out the scope, could you test its ability to recover from input amplifier overdrive?  I had this issue recently that was apparent on one (newer) scope and not with any of my older scopes.  I don't have access to any newer, name-brand low-end scopes.  I posted about the issue here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1104x-e-anomaly-on-what-should-be-a-simple-task/msg3450362/#msg3450362

and if that's too much reading, jump down to:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sds1104x-e-anomaly-on-what-should-be-a-simple-task/msg3451402/#msg3451402

TLDR version:  5V_p-p 1kHz square wave with a 10kHz 100mV pulse, expand the vertical to see the pulse--which puts the larger 5V level way off the top of the screen.  If the overdrive recovery is very slow, the pulse will be a mess.

[EEVblog]

If you get a chance when you are trying out the scope, could you test its ability to recover from input amplifier overdrive? 

The scope is not new, it's already been out a long time. Guess they sent it just to "complete the set" they are obviously looking to bundle together as an educational package.