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  • Author Author: notdodgy
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Review of Agilent U1272A HH DMM and U1177A Bluetooth Adapter

notdodgy

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RoadTest: Agilent U1272A HH DMM and U1177A Bluetooth Adapter

Author: notdodgy

Creation date:

Evaluation Type: Independent Products

Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True

What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?:

What were the biggest problems encountered?: Connection between PC logging program and device over bluetooth unstable, while making changes to communication settings it locked up completely.

Detailed Review:

This turned up unexpectedly this morning delivered by a UPS driver who wanted £47 cash payment for VAT and fees, because it had been shipped from the US. image

 

It may be worth making it clear to road test volunteers which country items will be depatched from as there can be charges involved.

 

Downloaded the Andriod apps and these ran fine on a HTC desire S, with a stable connection to the meter.

 

I ran a series of temperature measurements and was able to email these as a csv from the phone.

 

One small issue with the phone app are the email settings.

It does not use the email accounts already set up on the phone, so you need to enter the details yourself.

The settings possible will work fine with an ordinary account, like the gmail example, but not for my email account, which uses a none standard port.

 

I found the bluetooth range with my phone was ok in the same room, but 2-3 meters through a brick wall would not work.

 

I decided to try the PC app on my laptop, to see if that would provide a better range.

 

I found that the bluetooth connection was not stable, it would let me turn the display backlight on/off but not recieve any data from the meter.

 

(The pc speed showed as 4800 while the meter settings showed 9600).

I tried changing settings on both PC and the on the meter, but something has gone wrong on the meter.

 

Unfortunately it no longer turns on properly - it just displays "Pro" and is completely unresponsive.

 

So currently I have paid £47 for delivery of a nice looking and well featured multimeter meter which now doesn't work. 

 

I will be contacting Agilent support in the morning!!

 

Apart from the problem I have had, I think the bluetooth range could be an issue.

For some scenarios finding a way to extend this would be a definate requirement, e.g. using a tablet/phone to relay the readings. 

 

Is there such a thing as a bluetooth range extender?

Anonymous
  • in reply to notdodgy

    At the top right corner pf the page there is the blue Actions block. In there should be an option to edit your review. If your not seeing it then report the problem.

  • I am seriously impressed with the capabilities of this tester.

     

    Measurements that used to need an oscilloscope, graph paper and maths are available at the touch of a button.

    The wide range of measurements and eatures means that the manual is pretty large and takes a while to get through.

    Fortunately most measurements are intuitive, so you don't need to memorise the manual.

     

    The remote connection over bluetooth works well.  Range is around 3 meters with a HTC Desire S phone and 6 meters with my laptop.
    I have found it takes 2 or 3 attempts for the laptop to establish a connection, but once connected it is stable.

    I left the meter collecting readings for 14 hours and was able to download the values to a CSV file.

    If I could edit my original review, I would happily mark it higher. image image

  • The latest is that I am expecting delivery of a replacement unit today.  image
    The support from Agilent appears to be very good, given that my meter was not supplied via normal channels.

    Knowing that there is a a good warranty and support is an important plus with a product like this. image

    Hopefully I will get some serious testing carried out over the next week or two.

  • in reply to Former Member

    With the PC connection, it looked like the connectivity was poor in one direction, based on the auto adjusted speed and that it failed to display anything from the meter.

    I had not spotted the instructions about setting speed with AT commands, so I will look into that once I have a working meter...

     

    It is currently still locked up, just displays "Pro". All the obvious actions do not reset it, including the advice from Agilent support..

     

    Because it is a road test item and sent from the US, I do not have a "proper invoice", with any numbers on it, so Farnell UK cannot trace it and the last message from  Agilent suggested that without a "full invoice" with the serial number quoted that they cannot find the /warranty information. No warranty = no replacement image

  • I think you missed a bit on how everything gets set up. When you change the Baud rate on the meter your only affecting the comunication rate between the meter and the adapter. If the Adpter isn't adjusted as well you won't get any communication. If you want to use a differnt baud rate between the PC and the adapter you will have to go into the Hyper Terminal and use the AT commands listed in the adapter's operating instructions to change the Baud rate. I had very little trouble getting the adapter to connect and running the PC software on mine. Other then the fact i couldn't get the adapter to connect with my Win 7 system. Still gotta go back and try that again.

     

    Any time you make changes in the PC software you have to go back and click on the Data Logging button and then the play button to get the readings to diplsy on the screen again.

     

    Hope you get the meter working again. Have you tried pulling out the batteries, turning the unit on and off again then replacing the batteries?