EEVblog #832 - Keysight U1282A Multimeter Teardown

Inside Keysight's new U1282A IP67 waterproof and 3m drop proof precision dual display 60,000 count 0.025% multimeter with 800 hours battery life

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[russb]

Dave - The inductor is gunked to keep it from breaking in case of mechanical shock (unit is accidentally dropped, for example). This is fairly common practice in industrial electronics.

[MorRobots]

The add on Bluetooth is not a total fail Dave and I can speculate why. Not all facilities are Bluetooth/Wifi Friendly for a multitude of reasons. For example I work in a facility that cellphones/WiFi/Bluetooth devices are not allowed for security reasons. I would speculate that Keysight wanted to keep customers with RF and security concerns in mind while also amplifying the potential to sell an already existing accessory.

[TheChipmunk]

The cat IV things on the probes aren't bull... if you're dealing with high energy circuits, having a probe that can't accidentally short between 2 terminals when it slips off the screw you've got it poked into... is a bloody good thing :)

[matthewzepess]

You should make another budget multi meter video Like a $50, $100, $150 Budget meter. The last one is pretty old and is probably outdated severely.

[mikeselectricstuff]

When you turned it on, it didn't seem to do a full display segment test, just showed its model number - potential safety issue as it could indicate a wrong voltage if segments are out.

[PlasmaHH]

There is a setup, just not via some button (hold setup while switching it on). There you can (like with about all keysight ones) change the setting from auto AC to auto DC voltage when turned on (who wants to have it on AC automatically anyways?). Also when you do the continuity test thing, whenever it doesnt work "fast" enough, you should redo it with high quality probes. It is almost always the probes. 1242B probes are crap, continuity almost unusable with them, using proper ones there is no problem at all.

Also I think in the setup you can enable auto hold (try to have a look at the manual this time)

[murnelbabineaux]

These teardowns are important. It Gives us the info we need to determine whether cost is compatible with quality :)

[alexanderfefer]

Hey Dave, great teardown. Just wanted to point out that the meter does indeed have auto-hold - you need to enable it in the setup menu (hold down the orange button while turning the rotary knob). It's worth looking through the manual, there are a *lot* more capabilities in this meter than are immediately evident from a glance at the front panel.

[TheAmmoniacal]

Seems my U1272A will outcompete another generation, good stuff!

[imortl]

Perhaps they are snotting the inductor to keep it from singing in the audio range. They do it all the time with high performance video cards.

[johnnymotorboat]

It does have touch hold. I'm sure someone had already said this but just in case.

[juliannicholls]

I think this must be the most complimentary review that I've seen you make, Dave.

[dumle]

The CAT IV rating caps are there, so that you don't easilly short out to things, with the long exposed metal

[mikeselectricstuff]

BD5 - ferrite bead for EMC immunity I'd guess

[dougspurell]

Nice tear-down as usual Dave. The SETUP menu is accessed by holding down the "VIEW" key while rotating the function switch. Use the "HOLD" key arrows to select menu items.

[johnnymotorboat]

You can tell that you don't care for that meter. I got a great deal on mine and I absolutely love it. The range switch is difficult to turn, but it's ip67 rated. It has twice the counts as the u1271a. Slow on capacitance.

[electronicsNmore]

Someone stole 2 or 3 very nice multimeters. They made off with $1, 000 - $1, 500 USD worth of test equipment.

[filipsz]

The biggest issue with this bad boy is the range selector... sometimes it can stuck between two positions and the meter is going crazy or turning off by itself.

[drkastenbrot]

The shielding around the battery compartment is against batteriser switching noise (͡ ͡° ͜ つ ͡͡°)

[messedmushroom]

Is it possible that the inductor was covered in gunk to stop coil whine?