Agilent U1253A Multimeter Video Review

Thanks Alistair.

No, it's unusable while charging. I forget to mention this. This is almost certainly a deliberate safety feature, as the DC jack could potentially be exposed to live voltages from the probes in this case. And it probably wouldn't meet UL type safety requirements in this case.

Seems there has been an uproar over my qualified "thumbs up" rating at the end!, so I've just made another video on this aspect. Stay tuned...

Dave.

Thanks for the review - I didn't watch all the way until the end because once you had told us how it charged (through the measuring terminals so you can't use + charge) I decided it was a waste of space.

An 8 hour battery life is bad enough but if you were caught short at least you would expect to use it plugged in - who can afford to loose an hour or so because a battery runs down !?

The rattle, silly battery contacts, cheapo sockets and inaccessible fuses just add more poo to the ice cream !

Yeah,  great review!

Bottom line, I'd rather squint than change the batteries.  Esp for that kind of dough. :-)

My followup video responding to why I still gave it the thumbs up when the battery life sucks.

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Will be interesting to compare this with the new B model when (hopefully) I get it in the next few weeks.

BTW, Agilent also sell the exact same meter in an LCD version, the U1252A (and U1251A) for those who want to trade OLED for battery life.

I have been writing up a review of the Altera Nios II Evaluation Kit, and these videos and responses have made me think quite a bit about what I have written, and the way I have written it. No videos for me I'm afraid (although I have done a few short silent videos of the product itself) but I think some editing is going to happen before i dare show it to the world.

Anyway, I think the cause of all the commotion has been the shock at seeing how a modern piece of HP (Agilent) test equipment looks when compared to the 'old' stuff. I get the impression that all the engineering effort has gone into the fashionable software area and the hardware design has been farmed out somewhere. I don't care where something is made and designed, but the hardware design does look like it was done by inexperienced people who don't especially care about doing things the best way. It smacks of being a marketing-led product, rather like GM and Chrysler were, not engineering-led.

One of my hates is the cheap squishy rubber buttons many manufacturers use. Perfectly acceptable on budget gear (heaven knows I have specced it myself) but not on quality stuff. Change those, do a bit of PCB re-design, put in a decent Li-Po battery that can run it for a working week (hey, if my cheap phone can have a battery like this, I'm sure this meter can) , get rid of the cheesy tunes is plays and put in a good fast continuity tester and they could charge a chunk more cash for it.

How about adding an induction coupled charge/run dock powered by USB? They could run out the logger data that way without any spike problems. They could probably even charge $50 more for that too!

Hi Mike,

I wouldn't be too overawed at Dave's review, I'm sure he'll admit himself it does take practise to get to that type of standard. I'm sure our readers are interested in hearing about the Altera kit, what it does, and of course what it doesn't do than the actual presentation.

We did do a RoadTest of the U1253A DMM in the Tech First Journal originally, and there are two reviews posted here, I'll link them here so people can maybe get another perspective, although I think they also backs Dave's thumbs up conclusion.

http://www.element-14.com/community/thread/1528?tstart=0

http://www.element-14.com/community/thread/1527?tstart=0

Dave,

Just a small point, but do you think you concentrate too much on the name? I know Agilent are huge, but if the DMM cost the same price and was unbadged would you have come to the same conclusion?

Dave,

I have to admit I was a bit surprised about the thumbs up initially, but on reflection I think I see your point, (more or less) on the whole the negatives aren't show stoppers, it still works, provides accurate fast readings is usable (for 6-8 hours) and brings some nifty additional features.

I think the performance of the display outdoors is a little disappointing, it is after all a ruggedized handheld device, so field use would I presume be a large part of where you would expect it to get used. The battery life seems a bit of an issue, but I suppose 6-8 hours gets you through the average working day, and I guess if you get in to the habit of charging it in your down time, it's workable if not desirable. I assume you can also use a standard PP3 to get you out of a fix if the battery dies. Having read the manual briefly, looks to me like the things out of action while it charges, why not supply with two batteries and a separate recharger (ideally one that will work from the mains and a cigarette lighter socket).

The rattles a bit of an oversight, maybe they should have used sprung connectors rather than cable, but if it really bugs you, you can pack it yourself, I notice the box you had for the U1253A was a little beaten up, I'm guessing it wasn't new, maybe it originally had a little foam filler to stop the rattle and someone's removed it.

I'll be interested to see the review of the new meter, to see if any of the negative issues discussed in your review have been addressed. Will it still get a thumbs up if changes are just cosmetic and the negatives remain?