Products > Test Equipment
Rigol DM3068 Calibration
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slugrustle:
Rigol seems to say in the service manual that outside parties cannot adjust the DM3068, and it must be sent back to Rigol for repair.

I say "seems to" because the language is a little unclear.  But Rigol has clarified this in email.  Look at reply #7 in this thread.

I'm still working with Rigol on this, but all they did was replace the main board.  It turns out that the main boards are calibrated at the factory in China, but calibration certificates are not sent along with the replacement main boards to the service center in the USA.  And the service center doesn't have a calibrator.
J-R:
OK, still trying to figure this out, cal lab says which:
- "we can't adjust this, it's broken"
- "we can't adjust this because we don't know how and Rigol won't tell us"
- "we can adjust this but we need more money"
- "we didn't adjust anything because you didn't ask us to"
bdunham7:

--- Quote from: slugrustle on February 06, 2024, 12:10:20 am ---Rigol seems to say in the service manual that outside parties cannot adjust the DM3068, and it must be sent back to Rigol for repair.

--- End quote ---

That might be outdated information and they may be disorganized enough that you will not find anyone there who can actually answer that question.  People get a little hung up on metrological semantics over what is "calibration", but in my experience is that for an instrument like a modern 6.5-digit DMM a calibration service includes adjustment if needed (sometimes at extra cost)  and "calibration failure" means that the adjustment process did not complete properly.  Most reasonable calibration providers will not take in an instrument that they can't adjust without having a conversation about it first. 

I'd recommend you get a quote from Transcat and not bother with anyone else.  Transcat actually sells these units and I doubt they would do so unless they had the in-house capability of calibrating them for their customers.  They list an accredited calibration service for this instrument at $364, but that is for a certificate with a new meter.  You can get a quote and ask them specifically if they can do the adjustments on this form.  The thing is I think you really want the calibration data in cases where you suspect the meter is misbehaving.

https://www.transcat.com/quote-request

Obviously the lesson here is that if you need a calibrated meter--and why one would need an uncalibrated 6.5-digit DMM I don't know--it's cheaper to buy an A-brand meter that is stable for decades and just have your local yokel cal lab whack a no-data cal sticker on it once a year for $80 or whatever they get these days. 

It all seems a bit Kafkaesque.
DaneLaw:

--- Quote from: slugrustle on February 05, 2024, 07:24:27 pm ---.. I just received the unit back, and they did not include a calibration certificate of any kind.  I'm guessing they just replaced the mainboard and ran self test.  I'm following up with them on this because it's unacceptable.  It's like they don't even understand what these meters are for. The whole point in buying one is to get a device that measures within its specifications.  That was also the whole point of me sending it back.  Mindboggling.

As a Rigol owner, I highly recommend either Keysight or Tektronix for bench DMMs.

--- End quote ---

Then you should purchase a new 6½ digit meter from either Keysight or Tektronix / Keithley..
Pursuing the lowest common nominator from CN, and being annoyed that you don't get lab-grade calibration certification..then don't pursue the lowest bang for the buck.
Aint a Rigol DM3068 like 500 to 600 bucks for 6½ digit DMM, if you pay 300% to 400% more, you will likely get a better service with segmented cal reports and a western service that actually gives a damn about their customers.

There is often a reason why they cost a fraction of the bigger brand names.
Same with Hanteks 5½ & 6½ DMMs.. they will ditch a few hurdles to obtain these impressive specs/tolerances, and some customers are okay with that if the price is 1/3 but it goes without saying the experience, software & build-quality, will be of a lower standard.
A bottom-of-the-barrel 6½ digit meter to 500 to 600 bucks, aint gonna be the same as a +1500 bench DMM.. and even in this higher price-ballpark with the likes of Keithley & Keysight, you can also get a lackluster experience.
bdunham7:

--- Quote from: DaneLaw on February 06, 2024, 06:15:48 am ---Then you should purchase a new 6½ digit meter from either Keysight or Tektronix..
Pursuing the lowest common nominator from CN, and being annoyed that you don't get lab-grade calibration certification..then don't pursue the lowest bang for the buck.
Aint a Rigol DM3068 like 500 bucks for 6½ digit DMM, if you pay 300% to 500% more, you will likely get a better service.

--- End quote ---

I agree that he should purchase Keithley (now that Fluke has abandoned that particular market point for now) but Rigol is marketed as an up-and-coming competitor to A-brands, not low-bux junk on Aliexpress.  That meter costs $882 today.  The Keithley DMM6500, which has way more functionality, two-year calibration cycle, better specs, is $1670--less than 2X--and it used to be quite a bit cheaper when they had competition.  In addition, the Keithley 2100 is about $1300 and Keysight has two models similarly priced.  So it's not like the Rigol is dirt cheap.

Rigol wouldn't have to do much--just answer the phone, respond to reasonable questions and maybe make arrangements for routine calibration services which are a pretty standard thing for that product line.
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