Products > Test Equipment
Keysight 34465A reliability
Smith:
I have a 34465A at work, just died after maybe 40 hours. The transformer is blown (input side is open), I'm still waiting for a replacement from China. Keysight won't sell the transformer to me. This was one from only 2 we have.
I had multiple Keithleys (199, 485, 2000, 6485, 6517) and never had real issues, except for some dirty contacts, blown resistors (my bad). One 6485 at work had troubles with the EEPROM, but it had at least 10 years of almost daily duty and a 199 had lost it's EEPROM after it was written about 30 years ago. I will definitely be looking for a Keithley to replace the 34465A.
alm:
--- Quote from: Smith on April 09, 2022, 03:13:44 pm ---I have a 34465A at work, just died after maybe 40 hours. The transformer is blown (input side is open), I'm still waiting for a replacement from China. Keysight won't sell the transformer to me. This was one from only 2 we have.
--- End quote ---
So it was only used for maybe 40 hours yet it's already out of warranty? Could be an open thermal fuse. But test equipment companies (Keysight, but also Keithley / Tektronix) certainly aren't as helpful with service information and spare parts as they used to be.
--- Quote from: Smith on April 09, 2022, 03:13:44 pm ---I had multiple Keithleys (199, 485, 2000, 6485, 6517) and never had real issues, except for some dirty contacts, blown resistors (my bad). One 6485 at work had troubles with the EEPROM, but it had at least 10 years of almost daily duty and a 199 had lost it's EEPROM after it was written about 30 years ago. I will definitely be looking for a Keithley to replace the 34465A.
--- End quote ---
And I've had numerous HP/Agilent instruments, none of which has had any transformer trouble. I do have a Keithley 6485 with an open primary in its transformer. Tektronix are ignoring my requests to buy a spare, so it's just sitting there. None of this gives any useful data about the reliability of the Keysight 34465A or the Keithley DMM 6500, however. Just anecdotes.
HighVoltage:
--- Quote from: skander36 on April 09, 2022, 02:16:43 pm ---Sad ... I just pull the trigger for Keysight 34465A, choosing between it and Fluke 8846A. Now it is too late to withdraw the order.
I just hope that the black case is not the only revision for the KS 34465A.
P.S. For those interested TME has now in stock Fluke 8846A at a good price for Europe. Though it is little outdated as display.
--- End quote ---
I had a 8846A and I am happy it is gone!
It is such old school instrument with a crappy display, completely outdated and too expensive!
The 34465A is a much better choice!
If one is buying a 34465A in 2022, I would think that all problems presented in this thread have been eliminated.
AVGresponding:
--- Quote from: skander36 on April 09, 2022, 03:03:04 pm ---I have Keithley DMM 6500 from more than a year. It is better than 34356A in most respects and with 400 E cheaper!
I am buiyng KS for a "second opinion" :) as Siglent SDM 3065X is already out of calibration after 3 years.
--- End quote ---
Are you saying the Siglent has drifted out of its calibration limits and requires adjustment?
bdunham7:
--- Quote from: nctnico on April 09, 2022, 02:40:29 pm ---For bench use I'd skip the Fluke 8846A and get the DMM6500 instead. Having some graphing / logging facilities on a bench DMM can be very handy at some times.
--- End quote ---
This seems to be an oft-repeated discussion. IMO any discussion of these three somewhat different meters should include their differences. They're all 6.5 digit bench meters, but that's all they really have in common. I don't recommend the 8846A to people in general because it isn't the best choice for many uses, but for the OP person wanting a 'second opinion' meter, it probably would, in fact, be the best by far. The DMM6500 is simply a different class of instrument and has a lot of features--digitizing, the scanner card option, etc--that probably make it quite attractive for actual engineering use. If I was going to buy another meter, I probably would go with it just for the scanner card function.
The 8846A is a quick and efficient service bench meter, it goes from dormant (standby) to almost any range in 2 seconds and 3 button pushes or less. Maybe 5 button pushes if you want dual display or something special like Hi-Z. It also has 1000VAC, 1G-ohm and 10V diode ranges and is rated CAT I/1000V and CAT II/600V, unlike any competitors. It also has actual and specified accuracy (if you read carefully) that significantly exceeds the other contestants. So if those are the things that are important to you, the 8846A should not be overlooked. I personally don't mind the display and logging can be done with Flukeview Forms (which is admittedly not great), LabView or HKJ's excellent Test Controller. YMMV.
As for the current discussion, as an individual or very small business, I'd be very reluctant to invest in a 34465A given the recent issues with the model and the company. It seems that unless you cycle them out before the warranty ends or you have an ongoing paid service contract with them and are a big enough fish to merit their attention, you may be left with scrap metal for your investment. You might be better off with a decent HP 34401A and a PC for logging. But again, YMMV--I have a high tolerance for things that are a bit odd or cumbersome to learn and use but a very low tolerance for things that are unreliable, don't last or can't be fixed.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version