Author Topic: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM  (Read 2058 times)

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Offline aiq25Topic starter

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[WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« on: January 02, 2025, 02:37:11 pm »
Hi. I'm looking for a 6.5 digit benchtop DMM. Either Rigol or Siglent (prefer Rigol). I'm located in the USA (Michigan).

I'm okay with older models.

Other brands I will considerate too! But not looking for models older than 10 years or so.
 

Online coromonadalix

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #1 on: January 02, 2025, 05:31:39 pm »
you can search Usa distributors and check their pricing

old is overpriced anyways

and the "under 10 years"  will limit you, if you have to repair them,  mostly no schematics in many brands

but many would chime in  and ask, what's your needs,  logging, connectivity, software interfacing   etc ...
 

Online bdunham7

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #2 on: January 02, 2025, 06:01:21 pm »
For Rigol and Siglent their current models are 10 and 8 years old IIRC.  DMMs are not a rapidly advancing area.

It would be more helpful to know what you need and expect from your purchase.  You might want to review other posts about the Rigol and Siglent 6.5-digit DMMs. While they have a lot of modern features, being precise and staying in calibration don't seem to be their strong points. 
A 3.5 digit 4.5 digit 5 digit 5.5 digit 6.5 digit 7.5 digit DMM is good enough for most people.
 

Offline AVGresponding

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #3 on: January 03, 2025, 12:00:38 pm »
You'd at least hope any that old that are still working, will have aged their references enough, by now...
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Offline voltsandjolts

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #4 on: January 03, 2025, 12:08:19 pm »
I have a few bench dmm's which vary in age. Having had a newer Keysight 34461A fail, I have renewed appreciation for my old Keithley 2000, which is way more repairable. Don't discount old test gear!
 

Offline Kleinstein

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #5 on: January 03, 2025, 04:17:45 pm »
The Rigol and Sigilent have a 20 V high impedance mode - this could be a vaild reason to look for one of these. Due to the design with SD ADC chip they are a bit prone to drift out of specs over time. An old one may want a check of the calibration.
 

Offline J-R

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #6 on: January 03, 2025, 07:42:06 pm »
Rigol has some DM3068 in the clearance section for $617 (https://www.rigolna.com/clearance/), normally $882, but the display & UI are a bit archaic compared to modern DMMs.  So even at the discounted price it's a tough sell in my opinion.

So consider this instead: https://siglentna.com/digital-multimeters/sdm3065x-6-%C2%BD-digits-dual-display-digital-multimeters/

I believe the Siglent can only be calibrated by them, however.

If you're relatively serious, I think the only real choice would be a used 34461A with a fresh calibration.  You get some modern features along with long-term stability.

Another permutation could be the SDM3045X for daily use, then a 34401A or some similar older DMM for a bit of volt-nut work.
 

Offline jogri

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #7 on: January 03, 2025, 08:06:14 pm »
Just for reference, the Keithley 6500 was introduced almost seven years ago and that's probably the most modern 6.5 out there...

You're gonna pay a pretty penny for "new" models, things like a Keithley 2000 or a Keysight 34401A can be had for around 400$.
 

Offline KungFuJosh

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #8 on: January 04, 2025, 03:13:06 am »
Personally, I wouldn't consider anything that doesn't have an ethernet port. Yes, there's other connection options, but they're all annoying to some degree.
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Offline J-R

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #9 on: January 05, 2025, 03:54:52 am »
Personally, I wouldn't consider anything that doesn't have an ethernet port. Yes, there's other connection options, but they're all annoying to some degree.
Yes, this is a good goal that I also aspire to, because Ethernet is probably here to stay, like serial.  Worse case you can just use Telnet or SSH to control the instrument. USB can be problematic, due to a dependence on drivers and software.

However, there is still a lot of great equipment out there without Ethernet, but with GPIB and/or serial.
 

Online coromonadalix

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #10 on: January 05, 2025, 05:21:16 pm »
and since we do have open source  lan to gpib interfaces ... no problems anymore lol
 
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Offline philipz

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #11 on: January 08, 2025, 09:40:55 pm »
and since we do have open source  lan to gpib interfaces
Can you share with us link? You mean in eevblog or somewhere else? I try to find without success.
 

Offline bateau020

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« Last Edit: January 09, 2025, 08:50:31 am by bateau020 »
 
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Offline Smokey

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2025, 10:44:31 am »
Some:

These all use Prologix command set through right?  While that's not a problem in itself, there are a lot of drivers/libraries/examples that only use normal visa. 
 

Offline leromarinvit

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #14 on: January 11, 2025, 11:17:01 pm »
These all use Prologix command set through right?  While that's not a problem in itself, there are a lot of drivers/libraries/examples that only use normal visa.

USB instead of Ethernet, but this one does VISA: https://github.com/xyphro/UsbGpib
 

Offline Smokey

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Re: [WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM
« Reply #15 on: January 12, 2025, 01:41:16 am »
These all use Prologix command set through right?  While that's not a problem in itself, there are a lot of drivers/libraries/examples that only use normal visa.

USB instead of Ethernet, but this one does VISA: https://github.com/xyphro/UsbGpib

cool.  Missed that before:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-gpib-adapter/
 


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