Products > Test Equipment

Looking for a decent sub $1500 bench multimeter

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PushUp:
For me the DMM6500 is a total "no go", only because of its dimensions, as I don't wanna have a digital benchtop DMM in 2022 looking like an analoge oscilloscope from 1970.


As mentioned by Martin72 from above:

Here is a video, showing the transformer problem with comments beneath having the same hum noise:

"...The hum of the DMM6500 transformer will get worse over time. It makes me really sick and I never use this multimeter just because of this annoying noise..."

ht*****tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxa9Q3N5JlU




Cheers!  ;)

Hydron:
Can't speak to the KS3446x meters, but I have a DMM6500 and while not without it's flaws, I really like it.

Pros:
- Was _significantly_ cheaper than the KS34461 when I bought it (UK early 2021)
- Very fast readings (plus digitiser mode), good graphing, triggering etc built in, lots of memory for readings
- Touchscreen is great for complicated setup tasks, and entering numbers into the unit
- Can extend with DIY or purchased scanning cards
- Lowest ohms range has a 1uohm resolution (not that you're gonna find it easy to get the last digit stable though!)
- No crazy plugins or anything needed for the web interface, just works seamlessly as a remote UI, and you can download readings in .csv directly from it
- You can write your own scripts to run on it (sadly they often don't play nice when you try and exit, sometimes you need to reboot the meter)
- Boots in just over 15s, which seems a lot quicker than what I saw on youtube for the KS3446x meters
- You can get support and warranty even if you're a private buyer

Cons:
- Continuity and diode mode aren't as good as a decent handheld meter, no auto-hold (you can improve things and add auto-hold with scripting, but then you need to deal with the flakiness of the script/app system)
- As previously noted, the low ohms ranges do NOT like highly inductive DUTs
- Not as fast to boot as the trusty 34401A (nothing modern except a handheld is though!)
- No hard power-switch (mine draws a little over 3W in standby with a fairly high line voltage, annoying but not enough to require drastic measures)
- Early units did have a hum problem, seems to be solved on later ones (and Tek will do a RMA to fix it, even if you're a private buyer and not a company, and you get a free calibration when it leaves the service centre)
- Not the best viewing angles in the world on the screen, a little care is required in placement for best visibility
- Slightly slower to change functions etc than something with dedicated buttons like a 34401A
- 10A input is rear-panel only
- Pretty long case as noted above (partly justified by the scanner card support)

AFAIK the coin cell going flat problem was solved with in a reasonably early FW revision so might not be an issue any more. Unit is not hard to open up to change it if needed though.

MarkMLl:
An observation from a non-specialist if I may: leaving aside issues of stability and autoranging for a moment, a fundamental question is whether any provided datalink can change the mode and range or if this has to be done from the front panel.

MarkMLl

Hydron:
Any decent modern bench meter can be fully controlled from its remote interface (lan/gpib/usb/rs232). If you've got a scanning card you can even switch inputs.

thm_w:
You'd be crazy not to get a DMM6500 for that budget.


--- Quote from: PushUp on November 09, 2022, 11:24:13 am ---"...The hum of the DMM6500 transformer will get worse over time. It makes me really sick and I never use this multimeter just because of this annoying noise..."

--- End quote ---

Haven't heard any buzz, so no it doesn't get worse over time. New units shouldn't have the issue anyway.
Mine is a few years old.


--- Quote from: Hydron on November 09, 2022, 11:32:39 am ---AFAIK the coin cell going flat problem was solved with in a reasonably early FW revision so might not be an issue any more. Unit is not hard to open up to change it if needed though.

--- End quote ---

Yes its fixed maybe a year ago in the FW.


--- Quote from: nctnico on November 08, 2022, 01:06:17 pm ---I get that but the thing is that an LCR meter usually sits somewhere in a desk drawer. When I need to measure a capacitor quickly to check the value, I always use my bench DMM because it is always there and has enough accuracy.

--- End quote ---

Do any bench meters have ESR?
I mean if you just want to check the capacitance thats fine, but for a proper check of a used/old cap it wouldn't be suitable.

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