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U1271A/U1272A/U1273A/U1273AX models/likes/dislikes/tips
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plurn:
Dislikes
  -  Dark grey display background on U1272A


One other dislike I have for the U1272A. Took me a while to notice but the background grey of the display is really quite a dark grey so there is not much contrast between the display characters and the background. So I find myself straining to read it and then remember to put the backlight on - so I am very often using the backlight using up the batteries. It is quite annoying.

I have other multimeters that are cheap and don't even have backlights, but the background of the display is much lighter grey and I rarely have problems reading it unless the room is dark.

It probably does not help that my apartment is not as brightly lit as it used to be due to the government basically banning proper light bulbs in favour of less effective fluorescent replacements - but that is the situation I am in.

I wonder if the LCD polariser can be changed to a less dark one (if that is the cause of the problem)?

Note that my U1272A is a Keysight one built early 2017 - don't know if displays changed over the years.

I wish the backlight worked like the backlight on A&D SJ-WP scales (eg SJ-15KWP). These scales have comprehensive backlight settings so you can get it to turn on the backlight automatically if the reading changes and then auto turn off after a selectable timeout. Also the backlight can be on at the start without you having to turn it on, and then it can use those mentioned backlight settings. With a multimeter I suppose you could also add a tilt/motion/gyroscope sensor so if you tilt the multimeter a bit it could light up. This would allow you to have the backlight available most of the time without having to think about it - and it would only be on when you need it so it would limit wasting the battery. There you go multimeter manufacturers - you can have those ideas for free - please implement them.

Screenshot of one of Dave's videos showing how dark the display background is compared to some other multimeters. Not exactly a fair comparison as the U1272A is on a bit of an angle, but it is quite representative of the difference I notice at home when I compare it to my other multimeters:
sasmit:
Apologies for waking up an old thread, but problems seem to find their way onto this meter. It was lying unused for sometime and one fine day I checked the  duracell alkalines had leaked. In the process the plastic for the battery holder was all crumbly and broke. I got the whole back case as replacement from keysight India and cleaned up the pcb with IPA. I powered it on but now it keeps saying "A-err" , the jack sense for current mA/A range. I did a very close inspection of the pcb and the jack sense contacts to check if any tracks shorted/corroded from the battery leak but everything looks fine.
I even re-flashed the software to make sure its not a firmware issue, it still shows A-err. Tried tracing the jack-sense tracks to the opamp where the detection circuitry is there , unfortunately its leading to a blind via  and I am not able to trace it any  further.
Really appreciate any help on this, keysight themselves quote almost the cost of a new meter for repair...rather replace with another meter.
My meter was replaced twice initially , once for the faulty firmware issue and once for the emc related issue. After the emc related replacement I could see quite a few hand soldered mods on the pcb, is this what is causing something to fail in the jack detection circuitry ?
voltsandjolts:
Seems like you have been unlucky, I think the U1272A is the best option right now for electronics engineer handheld.
HighVoltage:

--- Quote from: sasmit on June 10, 2019, 02:00:12 pm ---... and cleaned up the pcb with IPA.

--- End quote ---

May be IPA is still under some components.
Wash it again with clean IPA and use a soft brush.
Then dry it in an oven at 50 degree C for several hours.

What annoys me with these meters is the sudden loud beep after a few minutes, when it goes to sleep mode.
Otherwise they are really great handheld DMM's

rsjsouza:
In addition to HighVoltage's tips, make sure there is no corrosion or foreign material under SMD parts or even inside the massive input Jacks. A thorough cleaning with IPA (by that I mean IPA flowing down like a stream of water), a brush and use one of those compressed air cleaning sprays - the spray will not only dry the IPA but may also displace some solid material away from under SMD ICs.

Looking at Dave's hi-res photos, it seems there is a thin PCB track coming out of the middle of the 11A fuse, which may well be part of the detection circuit.

Just be careful to not "wash" the board around the display, buzzer, pots, etc. 


--- Quote from: plurn on December 09, 2018, 07:33:54 am ---
--- Quote from: LaurentR on April 24, 2015, 05:03:39 am ---- For safety reasons I am not fully understanding, the new recent firmware has a default LPF on DC measurements. I have found that this noticeably slows down the display rate and stabilization time of DC measurements. I turned it off in setup.

--- End quote ---
So Low Pass Filter is the devil - well unless you actually need it.

--- End quote ---
I agree - the LPF on DC is extremely obnoxious.
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