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Anyone with an Agilent/Keysight OLED DMM still happy with the display >5 years?
Posted by Faith on 21 May, 2018 01:06 -
Hello everyone. So as per my subject; anyone here with an Agilent/Keysight OLED DMM still happy with the display after 5 or more years?
It seems that these models have been around for 8-9 years now (starting with the U1253A?); so I'd imagine there should be quite a lot of quality feedback about these displays by now.
And while yes I've seen a number of threads here complaining about the display going dark, I thought I'd just try and see if there's actually any happy users after this long (since people usually only post when something breaks, haha.)
The reason for asking is I'm shopping around for another DMM, and I'm down to the Keysight U1272A (LCD) or U1273A (OLED) again.
While I'd normally go LCD no questions asked, the reason I'm considering OLED this time is because I thought that it would be nice to have at least one meter that is super easy to read from a distance and angle.
My bench is extremely wide and there are two on opposite ends of my room; occasionally I'm sitting on one (where my PC is) while simultaneously doing measurements on the other (which would be at least 2 meters behind me (more if at an angle)), and with an OLED display I can easily read the display and thus not have to bother with remote access or whatever.
Having said that I'm not willing to make this commitment if the shelf life of the DMM is going to be crap due to the OLED display since they seem to degrade even when not in use.
So if it's really bad then I guess I can just buy the U1272A (LCD) with the U1117A Bluetooth module and use my phone as a remote display, lol.
Thank you everyone in advance for any feedback
*hugs!!~*
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Whilst it's no secret I'm no fan of OLED displays
the owners of OLED meters that reply at this post should specify not only how many years ownership,
but how long the meter is on, whether continuously or many ON+OFF switching cycles, climate conditions etc
i.e. a casual monthly Arduino troubleshooting user reporting a crisp bright display 10 years later,
with the meter stored in a dry cupboard, tells us nothing...unless it failed under such conditions
Good luck with the thread, let the games begin...
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Haha yes good point. But OLED displays degrade even when switched off and all you're doing is staring at them stupid. So OLED displays have both a "storage life" and "use life."
Unfortunately Keysight don't seem too forthcoming with regards to either of those attributes for their OLED.
Also OLED displays don't like UV a lot, so I guess that could also contribute if the DMM is sitting by a window... if we really want to go there.
The only DMM I've ever owned that I could read from across my room was the Keysight 34465A.
Kinda miss that convenience sometimes haha.
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With all the OLED loaded meter owners here,
at the ready 24/7
to defend their purchase against snickering old school LCD addicts sinking in the boots 
What an unbelievable 'no show' so far
If it doesn't get rocking soon, perhaps consider to modify the Post Title to something like this:
Anyone with an Agilent/Keysight OLED DMM still happy with the display >5 Months ?
consider further time reductions if no luck
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Hahaha! Well at least thank you Electro Detective for the laugh! I needed it >.<!~
Let’s see how it goes! But yes I am definitely leaning very heavily towards just sticking to LCD... since I really do like my stuff to last very long. But definitely surprised at the lack of responses so far considering all the OLED hype at some point and how long these meters have been in the market.
The Keysight app looks not bad so I can definitely use the Bluetooth adapter and my phone if I need a better display... and at least the DMM won’t beeak! -
I have a U1273A used almost daily for a few hours and it is holding pretty well. My experience is also mentioned in the thread quoted below
As another piece of anecdotal evidence, on the lab i work, several equipments have OLED displays running for quite a number of years without fading. My own 2014 manufactured (2017 purchased) U1273A is holding quite well. Also, as bluekull mentioned, it beats the crap of almost everything else indoors.
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I have a 2014-manufactured U1273A and have seen no degradation to the screen. It's on only a few hours a week, so it won't get killed from that, but no noticeable degradation due to old age.
This DMM is my go-to meter in my lab. It is the first meter I turn on when I need something measured. I have had a number of other DMMs (289, 87V, U1282A and a bunch of smaller ones) and this is the one I kept. Lots of useful functions and yes, the display beats the !@#$% out of LCDs indoor. This is a major reason for using this meter as my primary meter.
The U1273A display has two major issues for me:
* It is essentially unusable outdoor. It is supposed to be an industrial meter, so unless you need the U1273AX to work in freezing temps, the OLED is a fail for that application.
* The screen is soft and scratches easily. If you carry the meter around in a toolbox, the screen will look pretty bad pretty quickly.
Neither of these is an issue when used as a lab meter. -
I have been using a U1253B in an industrial environment since mid 2012. Never had any issue with the display, meter battery is a different story of course.
Amount of usage over the years would average out to 2 to 3 hours a week. It is always transported in its carry case from site to site in a boot of a car. Outside of its use, it lives in an office environment.
Kind regards -
I have had a number of other DMMs (289, 87V, U1282A and a bunch of smaller ones) and this is the one I kept.
Ahh the 289 is quite the handful. I borrowed one once and it's a massive brick! Atrocious battery life too (especially given that it's on 6xAA) and I didn't like the display much.
Found it kinda hard to read... much prefer 7 segment LCD's over the 1/4 VGA on the Fluke.
Anyway... I did some searching around Keysight's spare parts site and it seems that they do not sell replacement OLED display assemblies for the U1273A?
They do for the U1272A LCD though -_-"...
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So if it's really bad then I guess I can just buy the U1272A (LCD) with the U1117A Bluetooth module and use my phone as a remote display, lol.
Seems much more sensible.My bench is extremely wide and there are two on opposite ends of my room; occasionally I'm sitting on one (where my PC is) while simultaneously doing measurements on the other (which would be at least 2 meters behind me (more if at an angle)), and with an OLED display I can easily read the display and thus not have to bother with remote access or whatever.
Sounds like a situation where you'd want decent battery life.
OLED fails there, too. Battery life on those meters is awful (about 8 hours I think) and you can't use it while it's charging.
PS: Fluke 233
(actually more of an electrician's meter so may not be suitable, depending on what you measure...)
Or... get a $20 WiFi webcam.
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Ahh the 289 is quite the handful. I borrowed one once and it's a massive brick!
Atrocious battery life too (especially given that it's on 6xAA) and I didn't like the display much.
If you have to use one again, play around with the (MENU) contrast control outside in daylight, then go inside, switch on the backlight etc and repeat till you get a great compromise
and make a note of it for future use
I was frustrated with mine and I can assure you once you get that correct balance, the 289 is good viewing anywhere anytime
Too bad Fluke don't have that in the manual, might score more sales
The battery life and weight I'm still working on, perhaps a meter boot camp and diet regime?
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Funny that I just saw this pop up.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142805012733?
The one in the middle looks a bit dimmer.
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I just remembered today that Keysight sent me a modified U1461A to try and resolve an issue I was having with mine and that had a seriously dim screen in comparison to mine.
Obviously I have no idea of the history of the unit Keysight sent to me, I think my unit is circa 2 years old but has had very little use since I found it didn't work properly on the apparatus I was testing.
First photo is the screen from my unit, second is the screen from the unit form Keysight.
Kind regards
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Funny that I just saw this pop up.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/142805012733?
The one in the middle looks a bit dimmer.
I was just thinking that when I saw your post: The second hand value of one of these things must be close to zero. Would you buy one of unknown age? Would you sell one to somebody if you knew it was four or five years old?
(that seller seems hopeful though...)
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I just remembered today that Keysight sent me a modified U1461A
Ah ha thank you for that! You actually also reminded me that I was given a U1461A demo unit a year or two ago and I remember thinking to myself “wow this screen looks really dim!” even on maximum brightness.
Also regarding your suggestion on the Fluke 233, yep seen that meter but doesn’t fit my needs.
Yeah I’m just going to stick with the U1272A (LCD) and save myself any potential headaches >,<“... will be buying the Bluetooth module and my iPhone 8 can act as its fancy display when desired
Base price aside I wouldn’t have been able to go OLED without extended warranty... so that just made matters worse. And even with extended warranty I would only have peace of mind during the warranty period since Keysight doesn’t sell replacement OLED assemblies for the U1273A. Blerh. -
I have had mine U1273A for around 5 years now and so far the display works as good as new.
Tho i did run mine on a lower brightness setting to make the batteries last longer. Indoors its just as well readable on lower settings and it makes the batteries last longer than some LCD multimeters.
Out of the 5 handheld DMMs that i have i end up using the OLED one the most just because of the convenience of the display. It also ends up coming with me if i go troubleshoot any mains wiring and similar because you often end up using it in some poorly lit corner (Well and half of my DMMs i wouldn't trust with there CAT rating) -
... since Keysight doesn’t sell replacement OLED assemblies for the U1273A. Blerh.
They should at least sell replacement screens for these.
I have had mine U1273A for around 5 years now and so far the display works as good as new.
Tho i did run mine on a lower brightness setting to make the batteries last longer. Indoors its just as well readable on lower settings and it makes the batteries last longer than some LCD multimeters.
It's luck. The screens fail almost as fast sitting in a shelf as if you use them 24/7. It all comes down to how well the individual screen is sealed against moisture.
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They should at least sell replacement screens for these.
Funnily enough they do actually sell replacement LCD's for the U1272A... https://www.keysight.com/my/faces/partDetail.jspx?partNumber=U1272-39300
It's luck. The screens fail almost as fast sitting in a shelf as if you use them 24/7.
Yep, really does seem like lottery! I think if they'd have made spares readily available I might've gone with the OLED model, but as it stands I will be ordering the LCD model instead.
The backlight on the U1272A is pretty kickass too so I don't see it being an issue to use in low-light conditions.
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It's luck. The screens fail almost as fast sitting in a shelf as if you use them 24/7. It all comes down to how well the individual screen is sealed against moisture.
Its clear that this is their mistake on the decision to use an un-proven OLED technology, and looks like they're going to bury it deep and hopefully forgotten.
Also piling up this particular OLED screen as spare parts is also a suicidal as the aging & storing difficulties, a nightmare for sure. -
Its clear that this is their mistake on the decision to use an un-proven OLED technology, and looks like they're going to bury it deep and hopefully forgotten.
Also piling up this particular OLED screen as spare parts is also a suicidal as the aging & storing difficulties, a nightmare for sure.
Dunno, the U1461A (OLED) has only been released about three plus years ago I think? So Keysight does still seem to believe in OLED (granted it does seem to be a different display given the change in colour.)
Also they're still producing the U1273A (OLED) so surely if they're able to acquire stock they'd be able to sell us some? Unless they've already reached a point where they're just clearing inventory of the fully assembled DMM... but they do sell spares for the U1253B (OLED)... https://www.keysight.com/my/faces/partDetail.jspx?partNumber=U1253-66007
So what gives?
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Also piling up this particular OLED screen as spare parts is also a suicidal as the aging & storing difficulties, a nightmare for sure.
Good point! Maybe that's the reason they don't.
(although if they're sealed in bags with desiccant...who knows? I'm not an expert.)
Ecology aside, there's nothing intrinsically WRONG with making fancy multimeters that only last about 5 years.
People have no problem accepting that $1000 smartphones aren't going to last 20 years and we all know somebody who very vocally and religiously upgrades to every new model.
If you're in that camp then maybe this is the multimeter for you. If not, get the LCD version.
You're not watching movies on it, you're reading a five digit number FFS.
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Dunno, the U1461A (OLED) has only been released about three plus years ago I think? So Keysight does still seem to believe in OLED (granted it does seem to be a different display given the change in colour.)
So what gives?
The real question is: Whats wrong with TFT screens? What makes them unusable for Keysight multimeters?
Cheaper, less power, readable in bright light, lasts for decades... where's the problem?
(And the only possible answer to that is "marketing". These meters are aimed squarely at the "Ooooh, shiny!" and "Take my money!" demographics)
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Well I do honestly believe that I have a use-case scenario which sufficiently warrants OLED displays (due to my working habits, layout, and lighting conditions.)
I usually prefer to work in natural light (i.e. indirect sunlight) and I've got solar film on my windows which means I do actually have an extremely pleasant daytime light that's coming in from one side of my room.
Despite that though it's still a little on the dim side due to the film (especially from about 4PM onwards), but I love it.
I actually previously owned a pair of Keysight E36103A's which came with green OLED displays and it was absolutely perfect for my environment (I sold them for unrelated reasons, but I originally purchased them due to their tiny size).
So /: ... ugh!~ -
Well I do honestly believe that I have a use-case scenario which sufficiently warrants OLED displays (due to my working habits, layout, and lighting conditions.)
Exactly this. The OLED display on my U1273A really has me grabbing it a lot more often than all the other meters I have due to readability indoors (outdoors it is terrible).Quote from: FungusThe real question is: Whats wrong with TFT screens? What makes them unusable for Keysight multimeters?
In my experience, any matrix display technology will definitely use more power than fixed-character LCD, given that the core processor will need to scan and activate much more pixels to build a character or symbol. This is valid for LCD (Fluke 28x is not a power savvy meter as well), OLED and TFT. In the case of TFT, the backlight tends to be quite power hungry as well.Quote from: FungusIf you're in that camp then maybe this is the multimeter for you. If not, get the LCD version.
FFS, don't bundle up everyone in your presumption of naiveté or gullibility to feel superior. Not everyone that makes a decision to buy into this specific technology is thinking about bling or shiny or other idiocy like that. Besides, the OP was looking for data and not unfounded opinions.
(...)
You're not watching movies on it, you're reading a five digit number FFS.
(...)
(And the only possible answer to that is "marketing". These meters are aimed squarely at the "Ooooh, shiny!" and "Take my money!" demographics)
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Quote from: Fungus
The real question is: Whats wrong with TFT screens? What makes them unusable for Keysight multimeters?
In my experience, any matrix display technology will definitely use more power than fixed-character LCD, given that the core processor will need to scan and activate much more pixels to build a character or symbol. This is valid for LCD (Fluke 28x is not a power savvy meter as well), OLED and TFT. In the case of TFT, the backlight tends to be quite power hungry as well.
Power is nowhere near as much as OLED.
Power is secondary though, the real point is that TFT doesn't die and the visible difference between TFT and OLED is minimal.FFS, don't bundle up everyone in your presumption of naiveté or gullibility to feel superior. Not everyone that makes a decision to buy into this specific technology is thinking about bling or shiny or other idiocy like that. Besides, the OP was looking for data and not unfounded opinions.
I'm not saying people are gullible, Agilent's marketing division is.