Author Topic: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.  (Read 36829 times)

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Offline Extech

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #25 on: October 22, 2011, 05:51:12 am »
Hi Ian/Slipjointed,

Middle-of-the-night greetings from the Northeast US. I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed to hear you got a veritable run-around with your call to our offices. It is unacceptable and we will be discussing it in depth as a learning experience.

We want to make it right and hopefully you would be willing to give us another shot. If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me with your contact information over the weekend, we can work with you to expediently correct this and exceed your satisfaction.

Back to my teething 14-month-old....
Andre
 

Offline Joker94

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #26 on: October 22, 2011, 06:29:55 am »
With the power and standing Dave has on the electronics community and many manufactures, along with the fact that Extech view the forum I am leaning again toward a couple of Extech meters.

Times like this i wished i lived in the US for a day, having to pay %25 more for the meter itself, along with the GST charge which is ~%10 and shipping which is up to $40 it is ridiculous and very limiting on meter selection!!! Extech have distributor that are Australian based/ operate throughout Aus making their meters better value for money and affordable.

Cheers

Joker94
 

Offline IanB

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #27 on: October 22, 2011, 06:55:21 am »
Hi Ian/Slipjointed,

Middle-of-the-night greetings from the Northeast US. I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed to hear you got a veritable run-around with your call to our offices. It is unacceptable and we will be discussing it in depth as a learning experience.

We want to make it right and hopefully you would be willing to give us another shot. If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me with your contact information over the weekend, we can work with you to expediently correct this and exceed your satisfaction.

Back to my teething 14-month-old....
Andre
Such timely follow up is great to see but it is slipjointed who has the problem meter, not I, so I will bow out and leave the continuation of this story to him...
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #28 on: October 22, 2011, 07:18:09 am »
Times like this i wished i lived in the US for a day, having to pay %25 more for the meter itself, along with the GST charge which is ~%10 and shipping which is up to $40 it is ridiculous and very limiting on meter selection!!! Extech have distributor that are Australian based/

TrioSmartCal sell Extech meters in Oz:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/253-extech-instruments

The EX505 is only $135 ex GST and includes a free mains stick:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/1854-extech-ex505-heavy-duty-industrial-multimeters.html
Not bad considering the list price is US$115

Prices are MUCH better in Oz now than they used to be! Even the price-gouge experts Fluke have had to change their ways and drop their prices to reasonable levels in Oz now.

Dave.
 

Offline Joker94

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #29 on: October 22, 2011, 08:02:59 am »
In one of my meters I had a screw strip, it was one similar to that in the extech. My solution was drill out the lugs inside, fill them with a mixtue of 30min epoxy and micro balloons (I had from my aero modeling), when the glue was semi hard i drilled out a hole a size smaller than the machined screw i wanted to use, screwed the screw in and out leaving me with a hardened insert. This allowed me to do away with the poor screws for some decent machined screws with a standard head.

Quote
TrioSmartCal sell Extech meters in Oz:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/253-extech-instruments

The EX505 is only $135 ex GST and includes a free mains stick:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/1854-extech-ex505-heavy-duty-industrial-multimeters.html
Not bad considering the list price is US$115

Prices are MUCH better in Oz now than they used to be! Even the price-gouge experts Fluke have had to change their ways and drop their prices to reasonable levels in Oz now.

Dave.

Yeah, stumbled upon triosmartcal.com.au a couple of days ago, in particular the EX505 model. At this stage I'm looking at 1 EX505 and 1 EX330. then i'll have 2 decent meters. With my current project ideas i am in need of decent meters(at least 2 like you say) for power supply testing and so on.
 

Offline slipjointedTopic starter

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #30 on: October 22, 2011, 08:29:34 am »
Dave,

I'd like to thank you for contacting Extech for me, I really appreciate the help. I just wanted to let you know that I didn't post here with the intention of having anyone do anything for me, but I surely appreciate it. I was just venting. I wasn't trying to damage Extech's reputation, it was more along the lines of finding comfort in having other people agree with my irritation.


Hi Ian/Slipjointed,

Middle-of-the-night greetings from the Northeast US. I'm terribly sorry and embarrassed to hear you got a veritable run-around with your call to our offices. It is unacceptable and we will be discussing it in depth as a learning experience.

We want to make it right and hopefully you would be willing to give us another shot. If you wouldn't mind PM'ing me with your contact information over the weekend, we can work with you to expediently correct this and exceed your satisfaction.

Back to my teething 14-month-old....
Andre

Thanks for your response. I went ahead and PM'ed you some further details. Sorry if I was a bit harsh this morning; I tend to be cranky before my coffee. Truth be told, other than the screw issue, I'm quite happy with the meter itself, and with the accessories it came with. It has a good feel, fast response, and a nice display. My only major gripe- I wish there was an alternate mode for the backlight where it would stay on.

I understand that all companies nowadays are trying to offer a better value for their customers, but I can tell you that I certainly would have no problem paying an extra $5 for any meter that included machine screws with brass press-in inserts instead of plastic self tapping screws. It's one of those "weak link" things.

I understand the need for the special fasteners on this waterproof meter, but it creates a problem for anyone trying to repair the meter down the road. I bought the meter with the intention of having it for some time.

Also, please understand that while I felt the CS staff that I spoke with really didn't go out of their way to help me, I can't say they were maliciously rude. The rude I was speaking of was more along the lines of a rigid, canned response, and the feeling that they didn't have interest or ability to bend a little bit to help out.

I just want to let you know that this isn't something they should be written up over, only perhaps think of a way to handle situations like this where the customer doesn't feel they've been presented Door A, Door A, or Door A.



With the power and standing Dave has on the electronics community and many manufactures, along with the fact that Extech view the forum I am leaning again toward a couple of Extech meters.

Times like this i wished i lived in the US for a day, having to pay %25 more for the meter itself, along with the GST charge which is ~%10 and shipping which is up to $40 it is ridiculous and very limiting on meter selection!!! Extech have distributor that are Australian based/ operate throughout Aus making their meters better value for money and affordable.

Cheers

Joker94

I don't necessarily have any problem with Extech's product. In fact, I very much like this meter. The leads are very nice, and even the case it came with is a very nice touch.

One of the reasons I posted this rant was because I was so surprised... I've done a lot of business with their parent company, Flir, and so had certain expectations of what would happen when I called them.

The other reason I was surprised, was that I had called Extech previously on another occasion for a different reason, and the lady I spoke with went out of her way to help me out.



Such timely follow up is great to see but it is slipjointed who has the problem meter, not I, so I will bow out and leave the continuation of this story to him...

Just to save future confusion on the forum, I am also Ian. ;)

Another easy way to tell that my name is Ian, I also obsess about things like screw head types. :D

My company just hired another engineer named Ian, which is quite nice, because he's even worse than I am, and so has taken some of the heat off.



In one of my meters I had a screw strip, it was one similar to that in the extech. My solution was drill out the lugs inside, fill them with a mixtue of 30min epoxy and micro balloons (I had from my aero modeling), when the glue was semi hard i drilled out a hole a size smaller than the machined screw i wanted to use, screwed the screw in and out leaving me with a hardened insert. This allowed me to do away with the poor screws for some decent machined screws with a standard head.

Quote
TrioSmartCal sell Extech meters in Oz:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/253-extech-instruments

The EX505 is only $135 ex GST and includes a free mains stick:
http://triosmartcal.com.au/1854-extech-ex505-heavy-duty-industrial-multimeters.html
Not bad considering the list price is US$115

Prices are MUCH better in Oz now than they used to be! Even the price-gouge experts Fluke have had to change their ways and drop their prices to reasonable levels in Oz now.

Dave.

Yeah, stumbled upon triosmartcal.com.au a couple of days ago, in particular the EX505 model. At this stage I'm looking at 1 EX505 and 1 EX330. then i'll have 2 decent meters. With my current project ideas i am in need of decent meters(at least 2 like you say) for power supply testing and so on.

Until Dave helped me out, I had planned on using my lathe to machine some small threaded brass inserts, drill out the threads to size, and then epoxy and press fit them in, then use standard machine screws.

Generally though, I like to try to leave things as close to stock as possible due to my OCD.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 08:33:19 am by slipjointed »
 

Offline Kiriakos-GR

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #31 on: October 22, 2011, 10:32:39 am »
Read 534 times    in just 24 hours !!  Wow ..

I bet that you will get a new DMM from Extech, and hold even the troublesome one !! as spare   :D
 

Offline slipjointedTopic starter

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #32 on: October 22, 2011, 11:05:42 am »
Read 534 times    in just 24 hours !!  Wow ..

I bet that you will get a new DMM from Extech, and hold even the troublesome one !! as spare   :D

I know, I'm very surprised. I didn't really mean this to be a big thread, I had just hoped for a few replies so I could vent my frustration, and then move on. I can't say that I'm not happy with getting help though. I do appreciate it.
 

Offline Magicmushroom666

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #33 on: October 22, 2011, 02:28:48 pm »
I must admit i was drawn straight to this thread as soon as i opened the forum, i think its just the bad news seems more interesting!
 

Offline Kiriakos-GR

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #34 on: October 22, 2011, 02:43:42 pm »
The reads counter spins like crazy, about 100 additional views every 6 hours !! 

Extech should award the fresh employ who killed by mistake those screws !!  ;D

A free travel to Greece for one week, sounds reasonable as award .   ;)
 

Offline Bored@Work

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #35 on: October 22, 2011, 03:03:11 pm »
The sad thing is of course that those who happen to have a problem with Extech but don't happen to manage to write a posting that happens to trigger Extech's crisis PR management won't receive a similar 24 hour response and remedy. Those are still screwed.

Therefore I can't join those who see the response as a proof of how great Extech is. No, this is just crisis PR, and I won't get a hard one over it. How likely is it that Extech will fix the real issues pointed out by the thread starter - weak screws, unhelpful support and lack of spare parts? I'd say chances are slim, because fixing those issues costs real money and takes some real effort.

Independent of Extech, I have the feeling that we are in general heading into a two class support system. Those who happen to be lucky and happen to have the means and opportunity to make public noise about an issue will receive support. Normal customers without the those means or without having the luck to pick the right media will be ignored. Do we really want to have a system where you have to start a row on Twitter every time you need to get a company to fulfill their promises?
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Offline Extech

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #36 on: October 22, 2011, 03:08:15 pm »
Bored,
Thanks for your reliably consistent point of view.  ;)
 

Offline Bored@Work

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #37 on: October 22, 2011, 03:23:02 pm »
Bored,
Thanks for your reliably consistent point of view.  ;)

People have found more clever ways to insult me than you.
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Offline EEVblog

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #38 on: October 22, 2011, 09:18:20 pm »
I must admit i was drawn straight to this thread as soon as i opened the forum, i think its just the bad news seems more interesting!

For sure, people love to hear about companies and products to avoid!

Dave.
 

Offline slipjointedTopic starter

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #39 on: October 22, 2011, 09:21:34 pm »
The sad thing is of course that those who happen to have a problem with Extech but don't happen to manage to write a posting that happens to trigger Extech's crisis PR management won't receive a similar 24 hour response and remedy. Those are still screwed.

Therefore I can't join those who see the response as a proof of how great Extech is. No, this is just crisis PR, and I won't get a hard one over it. How likely is it that Extech will fix the real issues pointed out by the thread starter - weak screws, unhelpful support and lack of spare parts? I'd say chances are slim, because fixing those issues costs real money and takes some real effort.

Independent of Extech, I have the feeling that we are in general heading into a two class support system. Those who happen to be lucky and happen to have the means and opportunity to make public noise about an issue will receive support. Normal customers without the those means or without having the luck to pick the right media will be ignored. Do we really want to have a system where you have to start a row on Twitter every time you need to get a company to fulfill their promises?

In all fairness, I contacted Extech for help with another issue several months before this, and the woman I spoke with at that point was exceedingly helpful.

I don't think it was necessarily a problem caused by outright lack of concern for customer support... if that was the case, Extech wouldn't have real human beings in the USA answering the phones. I made a pretty snide joke regarding "The Extech Advantage" but to be completely honest, holding an advantage in this market is the only way a company has a snowball's chance in hell of staying in business.

We have to understand that most CSR's have a certain scope of problems they're trained to deal with. It was quite obvious by my interaction with them, that this was a new one, at least for these two CSR's. They were essentially stumped.

The important thing here is not what happens with me, but what happens with the next person who calls for a replacement screw. Andre told me enough in his email to me, that I feel at least reasonably confident that this issue is going to get a good solid looking at.

I can't say for sure whether Extech will fix this problem in exactly the way we see fit, but I'd like to give them at least the benefit of doubt now that we have attention on the problem.


Andre said a couple things in his email that rang true to me, and not as marketing speak. For companies that are in the import market, there's only so many things besides adequate performance that can make them stand out amongst the crowd. One is packaging, another is color scheme and accessories, and finally, customer service and support.

In a situation where customer support breaks down, so does the advantage that company holds, and the sales along with it. Issues like this, although small on their own, are deadly serious when added together and placed beside a company's reputation.

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty damn happy that Andre is taking care of me (very, very well I might add), but I'm certainly not letting it cloud my judgement in this situation. Andre bought my good will and gratitude by helping me out, but he bought my trust in his company's intentions, with what he told me in his email.

I must admit i was drawn straight to this thread as soon as i opened the forum, i think its just the bad news seems more interesting!

For sure, people love to hear about companies and products to avoid!

Dave.

Yeah, the "drive by slowly and stare at the car crash" factor is incredibly influential in most human beings. :D
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #40 on: October 22, 2011, 09:26:29 pm »
The sad thing is of course that those who happen to have a problem with Extech but don't happen to manage to write a posting that happens to trigger Extech's crisis PR management won't receive a similar 24 hour response and remedy. Those are still screwed.

Of course.

Quote
Therefore I can't join those who see the response as a proof of how great Extech is. No, this is just crisis PR, and I won't get a hard one over it. How likely is it that Extech will fix the real issues pointed out by the thread starter - weak screws, unhelpful support and lack of spare parts? I'd say chances are slim, because fixing those issues costs real money and takes some real effort.

One thing is for sure, it's more likely than it was a day ago!

Quote
Independent of Extech, I have the feeling that we are in general heading into a two class support system. Those who happen to be lucky and happen to have the means and opportunity to make public noise about an issue will receive support. Normal customers without the those means or without having the luck to pick the right media will be ignored. Do we really want to have a system where you have to start a row on Twitter every time you need to get a company to fulfill their promises?

You are correct, but your idea for a better system is?
Let me guess, companies should just provide good service and products, and take everyone's complaint equally seriously, because that's the right thing to do, end of story, right? Yeah, like that's going to happen in big business without a fight...

Before the communications revolution, and companies taking public feedback seriously (PR crisis or not, the reason is ultimately not important), everyone got screwed, and there was even less chance of things getting fixed.
Would you rather go back to that system?
At least I see progress here.

The squeaky wheel always get the oil. That's as true now as it was last century, or last millennium.

Dave.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 09:32:35 pm by EEVblog »
 

Offline SgtRock

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #41 on: October 22, 2011, 09:43:02 pm »
Greetings EEVBees"

--Wow, what a great thread. Major kudos to DJ and slipjointed for sorting this one out. I just wanted to add that I have had very good results buying pieces and parts from Fluke in Oregon, even for old, out of warranty equipment.

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery." Enrico Fermi

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Offline Kiriakos-GR

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #42 on: October 22, 2011, 09:50:11 pm »

Yeah, the "drive by slowly and stare at the car crash" factor is incredibly influential in most human beings. :D

I have the feeling that my English had greatly improved !!
I got the understanding of this joke by the first read .  Lol  ;D
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 09:53:21 pm by Kiriakos-GR »
 

Uncle Vernon

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #43 on: October 22, 2011, 10:18:54 pm »
The sad thing is of course that those who happen to have a problem with Extech but don't happen to manage to write a posting that happens to trigger Extech's crisis PR management won't receive a similar 24 hour response and remedy. Those are still screwed.
The sad thing is that all too often public ranting has to become the trigger for resolution and or policy improvement.

Quote
No, this is just crisis PR, and I won't get a hard one over it. How likely is it that Extech will fix the real issues pointed out by the thread starter - weak screws, unhelpful support and lack of spare parts? I'd say chances are slim, because fixing those issues costs real money and takes some real effort.
I'd argue that it costs more to have such issues and reputations evolving around any business. Sure clueless accountants with 12 month long mindsets can always argue that screwing over the public is good business, but in a time when market competition and product feedback is global, poor support is ultimately corporate suicide.

Quote
Independent of Extech, I have the feeling that we are in general heading into a two class support system. Those who happen to be lucky and happen to have the means and opportunity to make public noise about an issue will receive support. Normal customers without the those means or without having the luck to pick the right media will be ignored. Do we really want to have a system where you have to start a row on Twitter every time you need to get a company to fulfill their promises?
This has always been the case, those capable of expressing their issues sanely and concisely will always get better results. Using media to express concern is good sense, overdoing it and carrying on like a pork chop just serves to have your issue filed into the folder marked "nutjobs". Those able to express themselves rationally will usually triumph over those who cannot.
 

Offline slipjointedTopic starter

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #44 on: October 22, 2011, 10:33:07 pm »
One more thing I feel needs to be said... sqeaky wheel or not, there aren't many companies that would be actively willing to come to a small message board and interact with customers on the front lines.

Regardless of your feelings regarding the motivation behind it, I feel Extech at least deserves credit for that. It is really a nice that they are willing to interact with their end users in a positive and productive manner... and most importantly, listen to and note our complaints with intention of addressing them.
 

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #45 on: October 22, 2011, 11:00:13 pm »
One more thing I feel needs to be said... sqeaky wheel or not, there aren't many companies that would be actively willing to come to a small message board and interact with customers on the front lines.

Regardless of your feelings regarding the motivation behind it, I feel Extech at least deserves credit for that. It is really a nice that they are willing to interact with their end users in a positive and productive manner... and most importantly, listen to and note our complaints with intention of addressing them.
They are doing so for their benefit and not yours. And there is nothing wrong with that. Extech will do themselves more good from such low cost measures than they can hope to achieve from their current (and somewhat annoying) saturation marketing via twitter.

To their credit at least Extech are making efforts to embrace new media, but seriously am I supposed to be impressed with extech instrument based ambient temperature reports from places I'm nowhere near?  I'm keen to see actual news from them, but not if its buried amongst all this other crap. @extech risks losing, not gaining. interest regardless of any potential prize.
 

Offline slipjointedTopic starter

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #46 on: October 22, 2011, 11:05:49 pm »
Something that needs to be realized though, is that as people's attention spans shrink, so does the amount of time a company has to grab one's attention with their marketing.

Nowadays we have so many things grappling for our attention, that many companies have no choice but to infiltrate social media and other forums (including message forums) if they want to get the word out in an effective manner.

I'm seeing more and more marketing based on small bursts scattered across a large area, as opposed to large or long ads.


I'm not saying that coming here to help isn't to Extech's benefit, but to be honest it's more realistically to mutual benefit... Extech's, and their customer's.

I was more speaking along the lines that many companies haven't "caught up" so to speak, and couldn't be less interested in customers complaining about screw heads. Sure they do fine, but the business model of a firewall between the decision makers and the public, is not going to be effective for much longer, based on what consumers nowadays expect from their products and the companies selling them.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2011, 11:07:33 pm by slipjointed »
 

Offline Kiriakos-GR

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #47 on: October 23, 2011, 10:33:20 am »
Read 873 times I am keeping the score  :)

I have be helped by Fluke few months back, and it was about an major technical issue.
Dave helped me out by contacting his contacts, and after that, the Fluke factory acted with the speed of the light to solve the problem.

By participating in web forums or to be a member in organizations that protects the consumers rights,
its the teamwork idea that the consumers have to invest at, so to work out for them at any emergency.

There is many sqeaky wheels out there,  and the one of the EEV is the softer one. 

As European I have large sqeaky wheels in the European committee, but they do not move that fast. 

I would expect that Extech with one so well organized sales network in USA, that it would be less hard to sort out things with out any noise at all.
Its a surprise to me as European that things did not worked  as expected.

I would be more forgiving to Extech if there was an similar issue in Europe, because their network is not that strong in this area of the planet. 

 

« Last Edit: October 23, 2011, 10:38:23 am by Kiriakos-GR »
 

Offline scalar_strings

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #48 on: October 23, 2011, 04:48:35 pm »
I guess "The Extech Advantage" is that when your Multimeter gets a stripped screw, it automatically converts into paperweight mode. :D

You are closer to the truth than anyone will realize.  My misfortune with this dysfunctional brand involved an EX570 shipped from the manufacturer.  Not a good sign of quality when the meter was defective fresh out of the box.  The first indication was the malfunction of a specific and rather basic meter measurement ability.  From there I started to notice severe instabilities/inaccuracies on all voltage and resistance measurements.  When compared to a rather cheap yet accurate meter it became apparent the level of quality defect that I had received.

After sending an email to Extech it was a few days before someone replied.  Long story short, the meter was deemed "scrap in field" and a suitable replacement was shipped out.  My postmortem of the "scrap" meter indicated a totally abysmal level of solder quality.  For those familiar with the IPC J-STD it was easily less than class-1, perhaps class-0 if such a thing existed.  The unit is a test escape that was allowed out the door.  I have updated friends and colleague's as to the outcome and warned many to avoid Extech products which would also include FLIR as well.

When it comes to test equipment that is in contact with high voltages a lack of quality can be fatal.  Only time will tell if there have been enough fatalities for a class-action suit.  I can only comment on the dmm's and ir temp guns as my experience with other Extech products is limited.  The replacement dmm started having issues after about a month or two.  The functions affected are minimally used so it is somewhat tolerable, although a nice example to show people.  Sent an email which was totally ignored, why am I not surprised.  Did I mention that both meters were used in a non-production environment?  Here endeth the lesson...
 

Offline SgtRock

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Re: HUGE thumbs down for Extech.
« Reply #49 on: October 24, 2011, 02:25:54 am »
Dear Scalar_strings:

--I am sorry you are having trouble with your EX570. Looking at the data sheet (which I have posted below) it seems like a lot of DMM for just $250+-. I can see why you bought one. Since you have a 3 year warranty, you should be alright, if you can ever get one that works. You may have to call them on the phone to get a real response, as it looks like they have a back office problem.

--Once you get to them, I would strongly request that they restart the 3 year warranty each time they replace a factory defective unit. Best of luck, and tell us more about the IR feature, if you care to. 

http://www.extech.com/instruments/resources/datasheets/EX570data.pdf

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