[WANTED] 6 1/2 digit benchtop DMM - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: aiq25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2025, 02:37:11 pm
content: Hi. I'm looking for a 6.5 digit benchtop DMM. Either Rigol or Siglent (prefer Rigol). I'm located in the USA (Michigan).I'm okay with older models.Other brands I will considerate too! But not looking for models older than 10 years or so.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2025, 05:31:39 pm
content: you can search Usa distributors and check their pricingold is overpriced anywaysand the "under 10 years" will limit you, if you have to repair them, mostly no schematics in many brandsbut many would chime in and ask, what's your needs, logging, connectivity, software interfacing etc ...

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2025, 06:01:21 pm
content: For Rigol and Siglent theircurrentmodels are 10 and 8 years old IIRC. DMMs are not a rapidly advancing area.It would be more helpful to know what you need and expect from your purchase. You might want to review other posts about the Rigol and Siglent 6.5-digit DMMs. While they have a lot of modern features, being precise and staying in calibration don't seem to be their strong points.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2025, 12:00:38 pm
content: You'd at least hope any that old that are still working, will have aged their references enough, by now...

author: voltsandjolts
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 03, 2025, 12:08:19 pm
content: I have a few bench dmm's which vary in age. Having had a newer Keysight 34461A fail, I have renewed appreciation for my old Keithley 2000, which is way more repairable. Don't discount old test gear!

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2025, 04:17:45 pm
content: The Rigol and Sigilent have a 20 V high impedance mode - this could be a vaild reason to look for one of these. Due to the design with SD ADC chip they are a bit prone to drift out of specs over time. An old one may want a check of the calibration.

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2025, 07:42:06 pm
content: Rigol has some DM3068 in the clearance section for $617 (https://www.rigolna.com/clearance/), normally $882, but the display & UI are a bit archaic compared to modern DMMs. So even at the discounted price it's a tough sell in my opinion.So consider this instead:https://siglentna.com/digital-multimeters/sdm3065x-6-%C2%BD-digits-dual-display-digital-multimeters/I believe the Siglent can only be calibrated by them, however.If you're relatively serious, I think the only real choice would be a used 34461A with a fresh calibration. You get some modern features along with long-term stability.Another permutation could be the SDM3045X for daily use, then a 34401A or some similar older DMM for a bit of volt-nut work.

author: jogri
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 03, 2025, 08:06:14 pm
content: Just for reference, the Keithley 6500 was introduced almost seven years ago and that's probably the most modern 6.5 out there...You're gonna pay a pretty penny for "new" models, things like a Keithley 2000 or a Keysight 34401A can be had for around 400$.

author: KungFuJosh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2025, 03:13:06 am
content: Personally, I wouldn't consider anything that doesn't have an ethernet port. Yes, there's other connection options, but they're all annoying to some degree.

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2025, 03:54:52 am
content: Quote from: KungFuJosh on January 04, 2025, 03:13:06 amYes, this is a good goal that I also aspire to, because Ethernet is probably here to stay, like serial. Worse case you can just use Telnet or SSH to control the instrument. USB can be problematic, due to a dependence on drivers and software.However, there is still a lot of great equipment out there without Ethernet, but with GPIB and/or serial.

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2025, 05:21:16 pm
content: and since we do have open source lan to gpib interfaces ... no problems anymore lol

author: philipz
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 08, 2025, 09:40:55 pm
content: Quote from: coromonadalix on January 05, 2025, 05:21:16 pmCan you share with us link? You mean in eevblog or somewhere else? I try to find without success.

author: bateau020
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2025, 08:18:59 am
content: Some:https://github.com/freakyengine/GPIBoE-Gateway/tree/master(raspi hat)https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/poe-ethernet-gpib-adapter-open-source-project-now-public/msg5762141/#msg5762141(recent)https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/yaugi-4-gpib-ethernet-poe-adapter/?all(not finished)

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2025, 10:44:31 am
content: Quote from: bateau020 on January 09, 2025, 08:18:59 amThese all use Prologix command set through right? While that's not a problem in itself, there are a lot of drivers/libraries/examples that only use normal visa.

author: leromarinvit
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 11, 2025, 11:17:01 pm
content: Quote from: Smokey on January 09, 2025, 10:44:31 amUSB instead of Ethernet, but this one does VISA:https://github.com/xyphro/UsbGpib

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2025, 01:41:16 am
content: Quote from: leromarinvit on January 11, 2025, 11:17:01 pmcool. Missed that before:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/open-source-gpib-adapter/