RoadTest: Keysight U1461A Insulation Resistance Tester
Author: peteroakes
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?: None
What were the biggest problems encountered?: One range (6V DC) was slightly out of calibration but Keysight stepped up to the plate and immediately sent a replacement and allowed me to keep the first one to perform a few more adventurous tests with as well as to explore the built in software calibration procedures. Thanks Keysight Technologies
Detailed Review:
This review is going to be in the form of several videos and where needed additional support material, the ratings above will be adjusted as we go and more evaluation has been completed. The marks will reflect my opinion a the time of the latest post.
#1 post here U1461A Insulation Resistance Meter - Torture Test to test some IP67 ratings
Primary review;
so to start, this is a high resolution picture of the meter and some accessories
As you can see there are a couple of extra smaller sockets next to the uA and +V input jacks, this is for the remote trigger probe cable that allows the user to energize the high voltage test outputs by pressing a button on the probe tip rather than having to look at the meter, a nice safety feature. (I have yet to figure out what the tip in the middle of the cable pic above is for??
The meter comes in a sturdy carry case and is complete with Bluetooth and USB adapters for logging and automated reporting abilities (To Be reviewed later)
and a set of cables including new style crock clips that i took a picture of because there not shown on the site yet, I show them with the older crock clips for comparison, man those are clips from Hell, when they grip, there not letting go !!!
Finally the Thermocouple probes, the meter comes with two, a K type and a J type.
So that completes the inventory of parts supplied, and I must say it is a great improvement over previous meters, granted this one is a tad more expensive but nice to see a complete kit.
OK, so now the first of the videos, Un-Boxing and first look where i check out a bit of DC accuracy and the resistance ranges, this meter is a little lacking on the low range but nothing that will matter for most folks needing this meter, it only goes down to a 600R range and therefore with 4.5 digit that equates to a 10mOhm resolution, in the video I had not yet figured out how to get the additional digit of resolution, i found it afterwards, buried in the set-up menu, you can adjust it from 3 to 5 digit as desired, I assume this will affect the update speed.
The rest of the videos will be linked to as separate blog posts as it will be easier to track, but links to them will be posted here,
Up next is the torture test where I subject the meter to Ice, Snow and Rain (Bucket of water 
) in order to validate a few of its IP67 ratings and temperature usable range, stay tuned
Top Comments
When connected to the meter, this remote probe can carry up to 1100VDC at the point of connection, right under the push button. Here is where one would connect a probe tip or an alligator clip to perform…