Multimeter Review: Agilent U1272A

[IanB]

Thanks again for that video. The issue with overloading was a good thing to point out. Now unless you have been working for 30 hours straight or are a complete noob I don't think this should happen too often.

Yeah, not a huge deal I guess, it recovered which is the main point.

Is it really the case that the Fluke meter would not have behaved similarly? Surely if you pass 240 V through some resistive element it is going to heat up and change it's resistance? How can the resistance test mode measure the voltage drop across the resistor accurately without also measuring the voltage drop across some protection device?

[mjlorton]

Martin,

Is it possible that even though the smooth annuciator was still showing after your changes, that you might need to shut the meter off and re-enter the smooth mode for the settings to take effect?

No...I have just tested that now. When you make a change in the Agilent setup / menu system it seems to go through a "soft boot" to apply the change you make. Other changes that are made in the menu work straight away after saving them.

The Agilent works well in other areas....but not the smooth mode. I assume this is something they should be able to correct with a firmware patch / update.

Cheers,
Martin.

[zaoka]

So far we have some new discovered problems with this model:



- Low capacitance mode does not work
- Smoothing feature does not work
- If  voltage applied to the OHMS range meter is no more accurate for some time
- Randomly locking
- Continuity beeper is not as fast as display indicator
- Possible bar graph speed problems??




Is Agilent aware of these, did anybody report?

[Bored@Work]

- Possible bar graph speed problems??

I don't think this is a problem. A bar graph properly mimicking an analog meter movement should be slow.

[saturation]

I made these comparison graphs comparing many meters together:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/u1272a-update/msg51548/#msg51548

[IanB]

- Smoothing feature does not work

I don't think this is necessarily the case. The smoothing feature is supposed to numerically smooth (filter) the signal. Nothing says it has to slow the display update rate as well.

[Adrien]

- If  voltage applied to the OHMS range meter is no more accurate for some time

What do you mean? Dave measured the a 10K resistor with a battery in series and the meter was dead accurate on smart ohm setting. If you are referring to the time when Dave checked if the meter was idiot proof, as far as I am concerned this is not a problem. Try to plug a "cheap" DMM in the mains on Ohms scale and tell us what happened.
Dave clearly showed that the meter recovered the test.

[ecat]

About the low value capacitance measurement issue, is this thread still valid https://www.eevblog.com/forum/product-reviews-photos-and-discussion/fluke-28ii-and-agilent-u1272a-can-do-pf-cap-measurements/ ?

Summary: Use short test leads and all is fine?

[Adrien]

Well I have ordered my brand new U2172A on E14 this morning. Now I am just checking that the "next day delivery" is actually  true!

[samgab]

Well I have ordered my brand new U2172A on E14 this morning. Now I am just checking that the "next day delivery" is actually  true!

I hope you emailed an individual sales member there for a custom quote and didn't just pay RRP...

[samgab]

Well I have ordered my brand new U2172A on E14 this morning. Now I am just checking that the "next day delivery" is actually  true!

Oh, and also make sure you get the free bluetooth adapter with the promo they are running ATM (worth >NZD$100):
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/editorial.jspx?ckey=2147714&id=2147714&nid=-34618.991693.00&lc=eng&cc=NZ

[Adrien]

h, and also make sure you get the free bluetooth adapter with the promo they are running ATM (worth >NZD$100):

You are the man sambag, I am about to ring E14 as soon as they open! Cheers for that. Love the spirit!

[cybergibbons]

Spoken to Farnell UK and Agilent UK this afternoon to see if they will budge on the UK £289 ex VAT price... they won't. It's still cheaper than the Fluke though.

[Adrien]

Spoken to E14 just now, they don't now anything about the Promotion. Are they official Agilent resellers?
I might cancel my order, I'm not too sure about what to do tbh.

[samgab]

Spoken to E14 just now, they don't now anything about the Promotion. Are they official Agilent resellers?
I might cancel my order, I'm not too sure about what to do tbh.

Yeah, that is NOT on... They are a new (recent) official Agilent dealer, and they SHOULD know about the promo that Agilent is running in NZ, among other countries. I would cancel the order, and then email someone there for a quote (<RRP), making sure you quote that promo code for the free BT adapter, and include a link to the page for the promo. Agilent suppliers should make sure their dealers/retailers are aware of all running promos for their products... They should be advertising it on the front page of their website, I'm sure it would snag them a few sales... I'm even considering getting one, because I could really use the logging function a lot.

[samgab]

Here is the NZ Agilent page for the U1272A:
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?nid=-34618.956189.00&cc=NZ&lc=eng

Note that it has the link to the free BT adapter in the green "special offers" box in the top right of the page.

You can request a custom quote on that page too.
remember to quote the special deal #5.865.

And you can request a custom quote from E14 here:
http://nz.element14.com/jsp/bespoke/bespoke2.jsp?bespokepage=e14/en_NZ/custsrv/quotationreq.jsp&ICID=ap-equote-rb

Hopefully you can get a better price than NZD$595 AND the free adapter.

[Adrien]

I would cancel the order, and then email someone there for a quote (<RRP

I have indeed canceled my order this morning. The lady on the phone had no idea and couldn't confirm that the Agilent special offers would work with E14 which was odd if they are an official reseller.

I have then contacted Agilent agent in NZ "RF Test Solutions Ltd" which didn't really know about the offer. On the phone I have been told that the meter was cheaper (by $10) than on E14. I emailed them requesting a quote for the U1272A, the USB cable U1173A and mentioning he promo code for the U1177A. So far I haven't heard back from them. I guess it must be Friday

And you can request a custom quote from E14 here:

I have just tried E14 again and request a quote.
And have also requested a quote from your link on the agilent website.

Now lets see what happens!

[samgab]

I would cancel the order, and then email someone there for a quote (<RRP

I have indeed canceled my order this morning. The lady on the phone had no idea and couldn't confirm that the Agilent special offers would work with E14 which was odd if they are an official reseller.

I have then contacted Agilent agent in NZ "RF Test Solutions Ltd" which didn't really know about the offer. On the phone I have been told that the meter was cheaper (by $10) than on E14. I emailed them requesting a quote for the U1272A, the USB cable U1173A and mentioning he promo code for the U1177A. So far I haven't heard back from them. I guess it must be Friday

And you can request a custom quote from E14 here:

I have just tried E14 again and request a quote.
And have also requested a quote from your link on the agilent website.

Now lets see what happens!

I've done the same thing. I've emailed both E14 (NZ) and RFTS (NZ) for a custom quote, referencing the promo in both.
I haven't heard back from either.
Maybe we can compare notes in a PM to see if they are consistent.
I'm doing it as a private purchase, so no special trade discounts etc.
RS components don't have the new range of Agilent meters showing on their website, but I have a contact there who has given me good prices on several items, such as the 87V and the FX888, so I might email him too to see if they can get it in and do the promo, to compare what price he comes up with. He (RS) did better than E14 when I was asking for prices on the 87V a few Months back.

PS: RE your "lady on the phone" experience, that really annoys me. Nothing bugs me more than ignorance... getting some pleb on the phone who has no idea what they are talking about. Mind you, it's probably more Agilent NZ's fault, for not ensuring that their dealers are aware of running promos. But they've probably emailed management at the dealers about it, and either it's sitting in someone's inbox, or they disseminated it to staff who didn't bother to read it. I don't know, but that's how it used to go when I was in retail...

[Adrien]

Maybe we can compare notes in a PM to see if they are consistent.
I'm doing it as a private purchase, so no special trade discounts etc

Sounds like a plan, I am also doing it privately for the warranty mainly. So if anything goes wrong it is all under my name.
Let me know what you mate says at RS perhaps he could get a better deal if he had to get 2 of these meters?

[samgab]

Maybe we can compare notes in a PM to see if they are consistent.
I'm doing it as a private purchase, so no special trade discounts etc

Sounds like a plan, I am also doing it privately for the warranty mainly. So if anything goes wrong it is all under my name.
Let me know what you mate says at RS perhaps he could get a better deal if he had to get 2 of these meters?

Well, I got a quote back from E14, and clearly they are not interested in getting the sale. They quoted the same price as RRP, no change, and made no mention of the promo which I had specifically asked about in the comment field. I know there is some wiggle room in there... I'm not expecting a big discount, just a few dollars perhaps, but seriously, they've made no effort whatsoever, and not paid any attention to what I actually asked them. They lose.

PS, I've emailed Dee at RS NZ, but not until this evening, so I don't expect a reply before Monday.

[Adrien]

Well, I got a quote back from E14, and clearly they are not interested in getting the sale. They quoted the same price as RRP, no change, and made no mention of the promo which I had specifically asked about in the comment field. I know there is some wiggle room in there... I'm not expecting a big discount, just a few dollars perhaps, but seriously, they've made no effort whatsoever, and not paid any attention to what I actually asked them. They lose.

Same here. Exactly the same. I mentioned the promotion with the code and they didn't mention anything back. I won't be buying it from them that's for sure

[Adrien]

Just a little update, so far I haven't received any quotes from RF Test Solutions Ltd

[samgab]

Just a little update, so far I haven't received any quotes from RF Test Solutions Ltd

Neither have I... and RS replied that they don't stock it. Slack.

[Adrien]

Neither have I... and RS replied that they don't stock it. Slack.

I have emailed the person that was in contact with me from RF Test Solutions
This is what they have to say:

"I have passed your inquiry to our Sales Manager to respond. My apologise for the delay. We had a price change at the end of February and our March prices have not come through yet"

So I guess we just have to wait. Hopefully the price is going to be lower than before!

[samgab]

Neither have I... and RS replied that they don't stock it. Slack.

I have emailed the person that was in contact with me from RF Test Solutions
This is what they have to say:

"I have passed your inquiry to our Sales Manager to respond. My apologise for the delay. We had a price change at the end of February and our March prices have not come through yet"

So I guess we just have to wait. Hopefully the price is going to be lower than before!

Yeah, hopefully they don't put the price up to counter the freebie BT connector!