Faster bench DMM - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: BobH
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 12:49:41 pm
content: I’m looking for a bench top DMM to replace my old reliable Keithley 175 AV. I’d like to stay In the $500-700 range if possible. The reason for upgrading is I’d like to add a meter with capacitor, diode, min-max and continuity instead of dragging out one of my Fluke handhelds. I’ve been looking at reviews and am leaning towards a Siglent SDM3055 or Hantek HDM3055 but the reading time from when you apply the probes seems to be sloooow compared to my other meters. Is that just an illusion? What is the fastest meter out there that has all the features I want? Bob

author: alm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 01:52:34 pm
content: I can't comment on current production models, but I find the Keithley 2000 (and 2015) extremely fast, to the point where on the fastest mode the numbers are changing too quickly to read. The HP/Agilent/Keysight 34401A is also quite quick. These meters were made for system applications where they might be doing hundreds of measurements per second. They will do everything you ask for except capacitance. I use an LCR meter instead of a multimeter to measure capacitors.

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 05:22:32 pm
content: Quote from: BobH on April 08, 2023, 12:49:41 pmI don't know about Hantek but SDM3055 can do 150 Sps at 4.5 digit and 5 Sps at full 5.5digit.. 5 samples per second is 200 ms to first conversion .. Is that slow..?

author: BobH
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 05:49:27 pm
content: I'm not so concerned about the update speed as the time between touching the probes to the part and the first reading on the display. AIM, I want to get everything in one box to reduce the pile of portable meters on the bench now. Thanks so far. Bob

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 07:57:24 pm
content: Quote from: BobH on April 08, 2023, 05:49:27 pm5 or 150 samples per second means 5 or 150 measurements per second. Meaning that at 5 Sps you get 200ms from touch to display. At 150 Sps that is down to 6.66 ms ..

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 08:12:57 pm
content: It is often not the actual conversion rate that matters, but 2 other points:1) the time for the contact beeper to react. In meters with a slow ADC this often is via a comparator, that is faster than even a fast meter that uses the main ADC for this. So a good bench meter may not be that good with the beeper as a cheapo.2) the time it takes for autoranging. Here it is about the ADC speed but also the software. Especially autoranging with small resistor values can be really slow as it may take something like 5 readings plus some settling time to get a result. Here a fast conversion rate and maybe an intelligent autorangung really helps.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 08:26:00 pm
content: Quote from: BobH on April 08, 2023, 12:49:41 pmWelcome to the forum Bob.You would be quite satisfied with a SDM3055 except for Continuity which is not blazing fast.Nevertheless other features work well and display visibility is excellent and far better than any VFD display meter.Unfortunately I know of no recent reviews only old ones that are now so far out of date that probably all issues identified have been remedied with later firmware versions. If you need see something please just ask.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 08, 2023, 11:37:46 pm
content: Quote from: BobH on April 08, 2023, 05:49:27 pmI highly suggest looking for a used Keithley 2000, 2015, or 2700, in that case. They’re all based on the same platform, the 2000. The 2015 adds some audio measurements, while the 2700 adds multichannel data acquisition slots. Any of them will work beautifully.Instant readings is precisely what I love about my 2015.

author: MrYakimovYA
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2023, 02:12:20 am
content: Quote from: BobH on April 08, 2023, 12:49:41 pmHi! Take an old good horse HP34401a. It can do anything you want (and more) except capacitance measurement. It also can measupre up to 6.5 digits. But I think no multimeter can measure caps as good as almost any LCR meter. Another bench DMM that I could recomment is Advantest R6551. It has resolution of 5.5 digits. And no capacitors measurement again. Both DMMs allow GPIB connection.

author: Arts
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2023, 03:45:23 am
content: I have a Siglent SDM3055. Seems quick enough for me, but I'm old

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2023, 04:49:17 am
content: Based on their post in another thread, it looks like the OP is getting the SDM3055, but of course the query does bring up the point that there rarely, if ever, is a perfect solution.For specific use cases, I do like the old reliables that were mentioned, like the HPAK 34401A and Keithley 2000-2015-2700, but these have the major flaw where getting Max/Min/Avg specifically requires a lot of button pushing. They are just not friendly for that feature whatsoever, although depending on your proficiency you could still make do.For future visitors, here are some additional options, with notes:- 34450A - OLED display is a potential liability- EDU34450A - information is limited due to it being new, tricky to find at a good price- Keithley 2110 - small-ish display, continuity function is slow, menu system is not so good, not really a Keithley- 34460A - will have to get lucky to meet the price point- 34410A - could be tricky to find at the price point, noisy fan?- 34405A - decent price and availability, all around good option?

author: BobH
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 10, 2023, 01:57:35 pm
content: Yes, I have settled on a SDM3055. With so many features on the meters now I had to prioritize on what was important to ME and what was not then rate how the choices available would fit my needs. Some of the options given are great but are missing something important to me. All the different opinions help greatly as there are so many choices no one person could possibly be familiar with them all. Thanks to everyone who helped. Bob