Agilent's new low cost DMM: $99 1231a and new LCR meters

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http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-34618.980703.00&cc=US&lc=eng

Just entered the catalog today:



Also the new LCR meters are cataloged:

http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-34196.980702.00&cc=US&lc=eng

[PetrosA]

That's a very sexy little DMM for electricians. Cool.

[tom66]

No current range for $99?

'spose it's at least true RMS... although only 600V max... which is a bit disappointing (although I have never gone over 230Vac on my meter.) Being Agilent I guess we can expect good quality components and safety, and accuracy will be good, but what is the cost of even adding mA and µA current ranges? A few cents for resistors and maybe $1 for a fuse?

I'll stick with my B+K Precision 2709B, thanks.

LCR looks good though.

[alm]

No current range for $99?
[...] but what is the cost of even adding mA and µA current ranges? A few cents for resistors and maybe $1 for a fuse?

The fuse alone will cost you something like $7 each, maybe half that for Agilent. Add to that a jack, shunt, protection circuit, maybe a circuit to detect leads plugged into the wrong jack. By the time it's assembled and on the shelf (remember that a margin is added every step of the way), it may easily be tens of dollars.

Eliminating current ranges also reduces the probability of errors, especially for electricians who may only use a clamp meter for current. Fluke also omits current ranges on some of their low-end models.

I'll stick with my B+K Precision 2709B, thanks.

Well, it's a different balance. Agilent focuses mainly on quality, features come second. A full-featured DMM from Agilent will cost you much more than $100.  Less reputable and cheaper brands like B+K will focus more on features, since the lower end of the market tends to be more sensitive to features, and they can't compete in the high end (nobody will buy B+K over Agilent or Fluke just for the name and perceived quality). This product appears to be targeted at the electrician requiring a (relatively) cheap, no-nonsense meter, not the electronics hobbyist.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Its true, it can do AC amperes with the use of a clamp probe.
And so it does not need any Fuse at all.
The price of the clamp it would effect the buying choice by allot.
( I speculate that Agilent would have design an special solution as clamp, just for that model,
but we have to wait just a bit more so to have a look at the accessories for it )

Lesser counts than big babes, still an mini Swiss knife.

Data-logging + simplicity on the range switch + it can use the magnetic hanger and many more accessories.   
It deserves an review from Dave.
 

[PetrosA]

I know very few electricians with current clamps. I have one but I never use it. During the last five years I've only measured current in-line one time (LED driver). For the same price as a clamp you can get a decent clamp meter. This meter is a nice addition to a clamp meter and for $250 or less you can have a pair of meters that will do most jobs well. If you need more than that, you need to spend more than $250 on test equipment anyway

[Floyo]

Just to mention it, the U1232A and U1233A have current measuring capability and the latter also has data logging, tough with a memory of only 10 samples, I think that's a bit wanky.

These meters are targeted at electricians by the looks of it but I think they can come in very handy for electronics hobbyists as well. Both higher end models have got  a µA range and Trms to 1Khz and don't lack any features. For hobbyists this would be quite a nice first/backup meter without breaking the budget. I do some PA audio stuff once in a while and I don't need my 30.000 count .05% meter to figure out whether the mains is OK or if a cable is broken , so this would make a nice addition to my toolkit for on the road stuff where you don't want your 400 euro DMM getting kicked around the place.

The renewed LCR meters also look quite nice, frequency up to 100Khz, auto selection of C,L and R, ESR measurement,phase shift and complex impedance (Z). If these would have been on the market half a year ago I would have seriously considered buying one.

About the current clamps/ clamp meters, It seems to me that there is little or no added value in a single current clamp that needs to be connected to a dmm to work, It would be much handier to have a clamp meter, then you have both a backup if your main meter fails and you can measure current and voltage simultaneously.


So now agilent have meter that cover pretty much every need, and that happens to add up to the "magic" four different dmm's  , so only three more to get

[Drirr]

 Battery life of U1733C is 16 hours  They are still using 9V battery?

[EEVblog]

Just to mention it, the U1232A and U1233A have current measuring capability and the latter also has data logging, tough with a memory of only 10 samples, I think that's a bit wanky.

These meters are targeted at electricians by the looks of it but I think they can come in very handy for electronics hobbyists as well. Both higher end models have got  a µA range and Trms to 1Khz and don't lack any features.

No mA ranges though, that's still quite limiting.
I like the torch, that's novel.
They really are trying to win market share from Fluke.

BTW, their U3402A bench meters are cheap, at AU$742 for the 5.5 digit model.

Dave.

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These DMMs would make alternatives to many electrician bound DMMs or quality starter DMMs for newbies.  Given so many DMMs makers in the market, you'd think it was saturated by now so no new players would come in, but not so!  The $99 no amp version is similar to the lowest version of the Fluke series; the others have more features.

LCR HH meters I've seen are all power hungry vs DMM; but with LSD 9V NiMH batteries cheaply available and easy to obtain, the run time isn't so much an issue since these meters are mostly bench bound.  You can find a mini review of the 'tenergy 9v' on eevblog archives relating to the 1252a DMM.

[Kiriakos-GR]

About the AC Amperes clamp probe,
Well the most electricians haves actually two needs.
1) High amperes  ( 1-60A )
2) Low  amperes ( 0-500 mA ) So to measure returning to earth currents.

As soon I will read the probe specs, from what ever  Agilent will suggest for it,
I will know what they had at the back of their heads as usability for it.
The symbol on the meter looks like an open type clamp, or better said " One open type with fixed opening" fork style.

I will just wait for their documents about it, because my crystal ball currently runs out of battery. 
 
 

[Floyo]

No mA ranges though, that's still quite limiting.

An odd choice indeed to leave out the mA range because electricians tend to have to measure 4-20mA current loops etc. Would an extra few Mosfets and a sense resistor really have added much to the cost?. I would have chosen mA capability over capacitance since the capacitance reading on its own in troubleshooting is pretty useless most of the time without additional information (ESR, leak).

I am not a fan of the fact that they still use 9v batteries in the LCR meter units, especially because they could have stuffed a Lithium battery in the battery compartment that could power the thing for a decade (you would have to charge it tough, another evil). Why they don't use standard AAA batteries I don't really know, I guess a DC-DC converter would create to much noise, and in the existing case design there isn't much room for 4 AAA's. But if you plan on using them for sorting components all day you're better of using the DC jack anyhow, so battery life wouldn't be an issue.

[ilikepez]

Hmm. I like it. If I ever lose my 87-V I might have to buy one. Of course I might buy one because of the size. I'm getting weighed down by tools, and even though I have a stray voltage adapter for my Fluke, the built in low impedance mode is nice.

[Ronnie]

The renewed LCR meters also look quite nice, frequency up to 100Khz, auto selection of C,L and R, ESR measurement,phase shift and complex impedance (Z). If these would have been on the market half a year ago I would have seriously considered buying one.

Looks like Agilent U1733C at $400 (though $100 expensive) is better than B&K Precision 879B at $298.98 LCR meter. I'm planning to get a LCR meter next year for audio work.
http://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=8350760
http://www.alliedelec.com/search/productdetail.aspx?SKU=7310212

[rf-loop]

Agilent LCR -- is it made by Chinese Tonghui who make many kind of professional or semiprofessional tools also.
(TH2822C looks like... some may ask if Toghui make looks like copy but then I ask... why Tonghui was first. )
http://www.tonghui.com.cn/en

Looks like Tonghui is littlebit more expensive. 

[Mechatrommer]

because agilent copies tonghui's! ? the stereotype (even for me) is china is copying other (western) design. but this one is odd.
i guess the only way you can get a product cheap, is by copying china design.

[nukie]

If the new agilents are made in Malaysia like their bench meters then its definitely not made by TH.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Their factory are at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone. 

If i did not had bandwidth problems I would land the Google satellite  on their roof ..    (and take a picture of it)
I did the same and with the Fluke factory, few months back.   

[rf-loop]

If the new agilents are made in Malaysia like their bench meters then its definitely not made by TH.

Yes, there is good place for make cheap copy or looks like of TH's. Becouse if they are original TH they need be maybe more expensive. (specs are different if compare example TH2822C... TH side have nice compare table but there is not Agilent 100kHz model - becouse it come later after TH make they own. But outlook is very same...)

BTW, China have start (slowly) moving some manufacturing to more cheap countries. They only design... (start of P.R.C. Rev 3.0)

[Mechatrommer]

Their factory are at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Zone. 
If i did not had bandwidth problems I would land the Google satellite  on their roof ..    (and take a picture of it)
I did the same and with the Fluke factory, few months back.   

let me help you with the bandwidth. just pick one, i'll put my zoom target there.