OK, I have the U1252A in hand. I won't go into the details of the meter's capabilities. If you are looking for that, see the the handheld DMM spreadsheet. I'm just going to talk about the condition of the meter I received from nmori (from an
eBay listing) today. I have a
U1252B from nmori and will offer some comparisons with that meter. I have attached a few photos of the U1252A meter, soft case and leads.
This is a high-end meter that is being sold as "new-old stock". The meter is no longer produced by Keysight. The price on these meters is a good deal below what most others are asking. From that standpoint, it is a good deal for a quality meter. Like the U1252B I received, these meters appear to have been in storage for over 5 years. This meter comes with a few extras that were not included with the U1252B: a soft case, and a few extra probe tips. The meter itself is an older model than the U1252B, but it has pretty much the same specs. The most notable difference is that the meter is blue instead of safety orange, and has a blue backlight.
The cal cert is from September 2011, which is the same time frame as the U1252B I received. Some people are receiving even older cal dates than this on their U1252B meters now. The meter appeared to be new, in the box. I found it odd that the protective covers were not on the probe tips when I removed them from the bag.
First impressions: if you are allergic to mold spores, I'd steer clear of this one. The black soft case had white/grey powdery residue on the sides and corners [see photo] which appeared to be mold spores. However none of it smelled moldy like the U1252B I received did. And spraying it off with canned air seemed to clean it up. The meter itself was in perfect condition. The case seems to have protected the meter from the elements some.
The blue color is a lot darker than I was expecting which was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure I really wanted a baby blue DMM as some photos suggest. This is a good medium blue color.
The 7.2V NiMH battery was dead, so I popped in a fully charged 8.4V NiMH. The meter turned on and passed its first few tests with flying colors. The meter seems to be as well calibrated as the U1252B -- but that is with some very cursory checks. My U1252B seems to be still within spec.
The probe set this meter comes with is a bit... umm... odd. It comes with:
- Test leads (2)
- 4mm tip probes (2)
- Alligator clips (2)
- Fine tip probes (2)
- SMT grabbers (2)
- Mini-grabber (1)
First, it only comes with one black mini-grabber instead of a red/black pair. If you look closely at the marketing photos, that's what you'll see. The mini-grabber and fine-tipped probes are designed to fit over a 19mm tip probe. You may notice that this set does not come with a 19mm tip probe. The mini-grabber does not fit any probe I own. It certainly does not fit the 4mm probes shipped with the meter. Neither do the fine tip probes. One imagines they would both fit an Agilent/Keysight 19mm probe but I cannot test that. So the mini-grabber and fine-tipped probes are useless as shipped. The fine tipped probes at least fit the 19mm probe tips from my bench DMM. The alligator clips and the SMT grabbers fit directly on the test leads rather than sliding over a probe tip so they work just fine. Whoever came up with the probe selection is first in line for the 'B' Ark if I have any say in the matter.
I went through the setup menu, which is lacking a couple options from the U1252B. The option I was looking for was the option to switch the battery voltage from 7.2V to 8.4V. The other missing option is the "Filter" option. The firmware revision is reported as "0.91". The Keysight parts list shows that the 8.4V battery is a replacement for the 7.2V battery, so one supposes it will work. I plan to just charge the 7.2V battery that came with it and use that. The battery that came with the 1252B is working just fine. I expect this one to function as well.
I really thought I would be a fan of the blue backlight. But side-by-side, the orange backlight of the U1252B seems to provide better contrast for my eyes. If I were younger, I'd probably prefer the blue. But as I get older, I just want something easy on the eyes.
The soft case (once cleaned up) is decent and will fit the leads and a set of probe tips. Don't expect to fit all of the grabbers, clips and tips. It won't fit the charger and power cord. It is not heavily padded but should protect the meter from damage in a toolbox. There is a pocket in the front but I don't recommend putting more than the quick start guide in there. Anything substantial in there will likely rub against and damage the meter's display when the case is zipped closed.
To summarize, it's a decent meter for a decent price. For me, the U1252A is likely to be a backup to the U1252B rather than the other way around. My recommendation: unless you just must have the blue DMM or think you'll get some value from the case and SMT grabbers, get the U1252B and invest in a
good probe kit. But either meter is a great option at this price.
Update 1: The NiMH battery in the U1252A needs to be replaced. Fully charged, it lasted 3 hours the first time, then only 2 after the second charge. A trivial expense and not really a surprise.