Keysight 6.5 Digit Bench DMMs: 34460A, 34461A, and 34465A - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 12:08:57 am
content: I was a little surprised there was not already a general topic for these bench DMMs, so here's one now.I received a 34465A today, supposedly unused, but a few years old (open box newish?). I've been running it on a 10V ref along with a DAQ6510 and a SDM3065X for half the day. I think it is fairly unused, as stability has improved after a few hours of warmup time, and looked new out of the box. Even though the probes and outdated certificate were lost by the seller. It's okay, I would have been using my ProbeMaster probes anyway.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 12:13:27 am
content: Quote from: mawyatt on February 18, 2025, 11:50:47 pmThanks Mike, I'll definitely mess with that. Though I have the stats on already, and it gave me 7 digits on the average by default?I also really like the name display and startup messages; enjoyable even when not immediately needed. 😉Thanks,Josh

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 12:17:11 am
content: My biggest complaint so far is that it takes 6000 keypresses to get to a screenshot,andit's stupid. No auto-sequencing or anything like that. Gotta manually rename the screenshot or it overwrites the last one. 🙄It's time they update the firmware. It looks pretty good in general, which is probably why Siglent copied the style in general for the SDM3000 series. 😉 But they could certainly use some refinement. So could the Keithley for that matter.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 01:28:01 am
content: Now you have the Keithley and Keysight, you can measure low Ω SMD Resistors on these DMMshttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/different-type-lcr-smd-fixture/Best

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 01:39:07 am
content: Quote from: mawyatt on February 19, 2025, 01:28:01 amI think I have another PCB left from the ones I made for my LCR. Could be fun making it for the DMMs too. 🤔

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 01:41:40 am
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on February 19, 2025, 01:39:07 amFigured soBest

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 08:38:58 am
content: party crasher here, WE do hear about them, the bad way, the problematics ways ...the ONE i don't hear about is the 34470

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 12:44:49 pm
content: Yeah, I've seen lots of random threads for them, but never a centralized thread. The older ones seem to be more problematic. Hoooooooooopefully I don't have any issues with mine. 😉

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 01:48:01 pm
content: We have 3 KS34465As, one is older Tan case, others are Black cases. Never an issue with any of them, fingers crossedThese are good, really good DMMs, and why we have and use them. We've found the low resistance measurements have more "Noise" then our DMM6500 because the measurement current is lower, but still produce very good results. Here's an example using our mentioned Split-Kelvin SMD Fixture with a Precision 10mΩ 2512 SMD Resistor. Three different measurements (DUT removed and replaced), one overnight with 60,000 readings. Note ohms resolution, nanoΩ!!Judge for yourself!!Best

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 05:57:45 pm
content: The Keithley is the clear winner of the 3 regarding stability, though neither the Keysight or Siglent are bad at all. As I mentioned in the other thread, I find it interesting how similar the Keysight and Siglent behave. Did Siglent dissect a couple Keysights before copying the UI? I have to say, I love how the Keysight UI is second nature after using Siglent meters for a couple years. 😉

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 08:06:17 pm
content: Agree the DMM does look better than KS. In those graphs, how is the SD computed? Seems they are really low!!!Best

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 08:43:34 pm
content: Quote from: mawyatt on February 19, 2025, 08:06:17 pmI presume p is shorthand for ppm not pV...

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2025, 08:50:18 pm
content: Quote from: 2N3055 on February 19, 2025, 08:43:34 pmThat makes sense, pV would be a really good reference and meterBest

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2025, 01:05:02 am
content: I did the impulsively obligatory Noctua fan swap...and not much of a difference. The original fan hadn't developed any issues yet, so I'm not surprised that the difference didn't blow me away.

author: Grandchuck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2025, 08:11:27 pm
content: Here is a screen shot from my Keysight 34465A. It is connected to a LTZ1000 reference based on a circuit suggested by Dr. Frank, who frequents the metrology group. Also, this reference has been checked against the one created by TiN and circulated among US Cal Club members. Volt nuttery

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 21, 2025, 02:11:38 am
content: Engage the Math Function MX + B to provide additional resolution in the Statistics Display.Best

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2025, 09:04:56 pm
content: This one is pretty funny.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2025, 04:49:59 am
content: Quote from: mawyatt on February 19, 2025, 08:50:18 pmI dunno, the attached looks like SD is referring to pV and fV. Is it smoking crack? It must be, right? 🤔 SD on the meter screens makes more sense in the low ~2uV range.Reference is VREF10-001 r9.Thanks,Josh

author: 2N3055
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2025, 09:51:51 am
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on February 23, 2025, 04:49:59 amAha if it mentions pico and femto volts than it is smoking something real good....

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2025, 04:30:59 pm
content: Ignoring the SD info for now, here's a better test comparison of all 3 meters.Screenshots show 1 hour and 10 hours. At 1 hour, all 3 are pretty competitive. Longer test time, the Keithley wins every time, with the Siglent being the most sensitive to temperature change. The Keysight shows a little sensitivity to temperature, and often looks similar to Siglent's temperature response but to a smaller degree.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2025, 04:42:39 pm
content: The SDM3065 signal really seems to follow the temperature quite well and the TC seems to be in the 2 ppm/K range, which is reasonable for the meter of this class. The other 2 meters look a bit better in this respect. The 34465 has some nasty extra 1 ppm jump up near the end. It is a bit high for the typical LM399 popcorn noise (more like 0.5 ppm). I would more guess on some EMI effect of similar.The SDM3065 has limited resolution in the data - not sure if there is a way around it. Maybe using math as with many other meters ? In principle the ADC should provide enough resolution to show more digits, even if a bit noisy.The SD calculation of the SD in the logging program seems to be broken somehow - maybe something going wrong with squaring units or an extra factor N.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 23, 2025, 05:02:43 pm
content: I wouldn't be surprised if there was some EMI that affected everything (the DAQ clearly effected the least, whatever the cause).I agree, I don't fault the Siglent's performance at all. It costs about 1/3 or 1/4 compared to the other 2 meters, and certainly well within spec.A more serious experiment would have the lab temp regulated anyway, and when that's the case, it's really tight with the others. In the 1 hour screen capture, it was super close to the DAQ's PP, even with that small temperature change. For shorter tests, the Keysight sometimes outperforms the Keithley.Thanks,Josh

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 28, 2025, 04:34:10 pm
content: Geez. Keysight quoted me $351 for calibration. I thought it was going to be a lot less than that. A local cal company is under $200 including adjustment if needed. I'll probably go with them when I'm ready to calibrate it.