Bunch of keysight U1252B meters around

[bitseeker]

New batch listed. Going to get more, usagi?

Update: The seller said that he's got plenty of these available, so if anyone wants needs to buy more than one, you don't have to worry about depriving someone else from being able to get one.

[Iwanushka]

Mine should arrive tomorrow if local guys won't f**kup as always took two weeks to get it from US to LTU (in EU) via ebay shipping, will have to check invoices I think they charged ~20-30usd more than what total near buy button showed.

Edit: mine just arrived, everything is brand new even the battery is sealed, cal is 31-Aug-2012, FW: V2.17;
        now need to figure out why ebay charged more than it showed at buy button, but I don't have time and I think 20usd is not a problem, after all it costed me 320usd (220 for seller instead of 200 which he accepted, and 102 usd for shipping+customs, Ebay showed total: Meter 200, shipping 45, 65 for customs, ebay instantly took 45+65 for the shipping/customs and later charged 220 for meter to the seller WTF? it should have been 200 for meter, 45 for shipping +65 for customs)

Best Regards,
Mantas

[aargee]

Arrived yesterday... seems to be working well.

30 June 2012 Cal, 2.17 FW

My screen had a large over-size protection sheet on it, underneath was another 'fitted' screen protector underneath on the screen.

[BU508A]

This is the output of the square wave generator of the U1252B I received some days ago:

[usagi]

i'm going to have a go using the laser cutter at work to cut some glass screen protectors.

[tooki]

i'm going to have a go using the laser cutter at work to cut some glass screen protectors.

Any chance you could make a few and send some my way? 0:)

[nanofrog]

My screen had a large over-size protection sheet on it, underneath was another 'fitted' screen protector underneath on the screen.

FWIW, mine did as well.

I bought mine from Arrow years ago when Agilent was running a $100 rebate. It was still quite a deal, so I'm not suffering buyer's remorse. 

[timelessbeing]

I paid on 13-Feb.
Seller says he put it in the mail 15-Feb.
Estimated delivery was 21-Feb
Now, 22-Feb end of day, USPS website still says "USPS Awaiting Item"
 

Mine got returned to sender for some damn reason.
Gotta wait another week.

My meter finally arrived at my parcel receiver on Mar 1. I finally got around to picking it up the other day. Declared it at the border but they didn't ask for any tax or duty 

I got a cal cert from June 2013. Also in the box, was a quick start guide (no manual), a bunch of regulatory paperwork, and some stupid skins. The display had a protective film over it to protect during transportation, which I pulled off. Beneath that is a another fitted film, which protects the plastic display cover. That plastic display cover is integrated into the meter shell, which when you lift off, reveals the actual LCD display glass inside, STD free!

The meter comes with some nice silicone probe leads. They are the kind with shrouded 4mm plugs at both ends (90deg @ the meter), so you can change out the implements. You get some OK looking croc clips, and some not especially sharp probes, which have thick plastic sleeves covering all but the last few millimeters. I was unable to remove the sleeves, meaning that they will not fit into tight sockets. I'm glad I recently bought a nice separate Mueller probe kit. The probes also come with some little plastic condoms, which I think are for protecting the tips. They are complete rubbish though because they fall off really easily.

Inside the meter are some fancy, German made, sand filled fuses. The battery cover is kind of fiddly to install and takes some getting used to. I haven't figured out the tilting bale yet. It looks like you can use it to hang the meter, but it's not immediately obvious how. The back cover screws into threaded inserts, and the whole shell feels pretty robust and has a molded rubberized grip. The display is sharp and visible from all angles, and the backlight is nice and bright. The smooth plastic window is very prone to reflections though.

The meter is supposed to be powered by a standard PP3 9V battery, or the included rechargeable 7.2V, 300mAh NiMH battery. The battery that came with my meter was totally flat, and wouldn't charge. I take issue with this, because the meter is being sold as "Brand new and undamaged". I think the seller needs to disclose in the item description that the battery will not work. The included Powerex MH-72V300 battery is no longer in production and has been superseded by the MHR84VP, which presumably has a longer shelf life. For charging you get a rather large 24V, 2.5A switcher power brick. The power supply has banana jacks, which plug into the meter probe sockets for charging. This is nice, because if you don't have the brick, you can charge it from a lab power supply. However, this system can also destroy your meter if you don't have it in the OFF position. Presumably, there is charge control circuitry inside the meter which steps down the voltage. One major complaint I have with this system, is that there is no charge indication whatsoever, so you have no idea what it's doing. It needs an LED or something, which tells you if it's actually charging, and when it is complete. (Unless I'm missing something due to my faulty battery). The little brochure says not to charge the battery if capacity is still over 90%, so it sounds like the meter is not smart enough to terminate charging by itself.

That's my first impression. I haven't used the meter much yet, but I tried the continuity test and it doesn't feel very good. It's noticeably slow, and flaky. When you hold the probes together you don't get steady tone unless you really force it.

[nanofrog]

. I haven't used the meter much yet, but I tried the continuity test and it doesn't feel very good. It's noticeably slow, and flaky. When you hold the probes together you don't get steady tone unless you really force it.

Try cleaning the probe tips, and see if that helps (common enough complaint; also keep in mind it's not a latching continuity meter). 

Mine did the same thing with the stock probes (cleaning helped), but it was fixed instantly when I used a Probemaster set.

[grumpydoc]

. I haven't used the meter much yet, but I tried the continuity test and it doesn't feel very good. It's noticeably slow, and flaky. When you hold the probes together you don't get steady tone unless you really force it.

Try cleaning the probe tips, and see if that helps (common enough complaint; also keep in mind it's not a latching continuity meter). 

Mine did the same thing with the stock probes (cleaning helped), but it was fixed instantly when I used a Probemaster set.

It also helps to set a fixed range - it still autoranges in continuity so you get a little delay while it decides what range to use, then another little delay while it decides if it needs to beep.

[usagi]

i find it baffling to nitpick over a $12 battery for an excellent BNIB meter that is >50% off street price.

sorta like complaining about getting a brand new $150,000 ferrari for $60k and complaining about a flat battery.

[timelessbeing]

i find it baffling to nitpick over a $12 battery for an excellent BNIB meter that is >50% off street price.

sorta like complaining about getting a brand new $150,000 ferrari for $60k and complaining about a flat battery.

Totally irrelevant. If you buy a "brand new" car, and it doesn't run because the battery is faulty, then you are entitled to new battery.

I cleaned the tips with IPA which helped a bit with continuity. Setting the range to megaohms helped a bit too, but it still doesn't work as well as my cheap-o meter.

[bitseeker]

It's not surprising that the battery would be flat given that it's been sitting in the box for almost four years. It would've been better had the listing said, "New old stock".

[sdouble]

I cleaned the tips with IPA which helped a bit with continuity. Setting the range to megaohms helped a bit too, but it still doesn't work as well as my cheap-o meter.

why would you want to use a good beer to clean a tip ?
.

..
...
 

[timelessbeing]

It's not surprising that the battery would be flat given that it's been sitting in the box for almost four years. It would've been better had the listing said, "New old stock".

That's exactly what I was thinking. Or "As-is"

why would you want to use a good beer to clean a tip ?

Perish the thought!

[Iwanushka]

My battery from 2012 meter charged, just fine, and meter tells you when it's finished, but that battery is useless, It will self-discharge in 6 months (I bought one meter from Farnell at end of 2014 at full EU price  ) and I have to charge that crap every 6 months with 0 use, also sometimes it does not charge from the first time, keep it plugged for 10 min disconnect wait some time then connect and there we go it's charging, Need to get some Lithium batteries for those meters, but then I need to find quality charger

Edit: Conclusion don't worry about that battery its POS that will need to be charged every few months even if meter is never used and get quality Lithium batteries.

[aargee]

Never use it for six months? 

I know what you mean though, these rechargeables are not really up to the task. How are you finding the meter running from a Lithium battery?

The battery supplied with mine charged just fine.

[1Ghz]

July 2012: v217

Great deal! 

[bitseeker]

The 8.4V Powerex that came with my meter has been holding charge very well. I last charged it five months ago and, after a few hours total runtime, it's still at 70%.

[Iwanushka]

Never use it for six months? 

you know how it is, either you have tools but don't have time or vice versa, also I have too many meters, thus my primary one is Amprobe 35XP-A when I'm not working on my projects that need more digits  , it's still kicking after almost 10 years, and I hate the idea to keep something like u1252b in tools box with all metal saws, screw drivers, hammers, and so on.

I know what you mean though, these rechargeables are not really up to the task. How are you finding the meter running from a Lithium battery?

I still have to buy the battery/charger but never have time for that...

[Fohdeesha]

Can someone with this meter confirm the backlight behavior? Is there a way to keep the backlight on indefinitely or does it always time out?

[grumpydoc]

Can someone with this meter confirm the backlight behavior? Is there a way to keep the backlight on indefinitely or does it always time out?

Set the backlight timer to "off", see the manual.

[mstck]

I just couldn't resist. Just received my meter. 2012 version. Looks good. The 7.2V battery  appears to have accepted the charge and the meter works OK.  However when I push the batter test the bar graph advances to 2.6 on the display.  Took the battery out and measured the terminal voltage  at 6.7V.  Is this to be expected?
I note that the meter can take a 9V alkaline battery also. If you decide to use one of these, do you have to change the battery voltage in the setup  to 8.4V. Currently mine is set to 7.2

[Fohdeesha]

Can someone with this meter confirm the backlight behavior? Is there a way to keep the backlight on indefinitely or does it always time out?

Set the backlight timer to "off", see the manual.

Awesome! Exactly the capability I was looking for. Going to bite the bullet and order one next week. Will be my first non garbage (unii-t) meter

[Iwanushka]

I note that the meter can take a 9V alkaline battery also. If you decide to use one of these, do you have to change the battery voltage in the setup  to 8.4V. Currently mine is set to 7.2

This setting is for charging battery using Agilent Brick, if you have 8.4V battery and you want to charge it via meter's charger/brick you set it to 8.4V and so on. If you use regular battery it does not matter what setting you have.

Note: you can't charge Lithium batteries, only NiMH and maybe NiCad too, check manual!.