Slightly disappointed with Fluke [moved, causal chat] - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2019, 07:39:39 pm
content: Guys,this is going to be a one of my silly posts here on the forum. You've been warnedI have had more than ten different multimeters in my life. Most of them were just cheapest options from China such as "Range" or "Uni-Trend" brands. About three years ago, I purchased two Flukes to finally become a man. It is the 177 and 83-V. I got it from eBay and they are in grat condition. However, the 83-V has recently started showing EEPR ERR message which means that the EEPROM memory is corrupted. It is probably the first time in my life I see a dead multimeter***. What a coincidence that this is the most expensive DMM I host at home. It is rather disappointing because my super-old Chinese meters from times when I was 12 y/o still work.I went to the Fluke'swebsiteto find a repair service (preferably in Germany, where I temporarily live). The e-mail address is misspelled (.cm instead of .com). Sign of quality...Additionally, It has been already three weeks and nobody bothered to reply to my email either. I'll try to reach them with my poor German but, Hey Fluke, why do you publish an email address when nobody gives a shit?Well, I started thinking if Fluke is really that good or a group of individuals promotes the brand like a religion. I bought a whole bunch of Brymen's for work recently and can't tell the (practical) difference...*** Actually, my uni-t old UT70D was acting funny from time to time too.Rant over, have a great evening.

author: tomato
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2019, 09:15:47 pm
content: If you had purchased it new, it likely would be covered by warranty.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2019, 09:36:52 pm
content: I had a BM867s. I didn't like it. It remembers what mode it was in and it's hard to work out which one that is from the display contents. With the fluke, if you change range it resets the sub-mode so you always know you are after one click. Plus the backlight on the Brymen goes off every few seconds which is just shit. It is quite possibly the second most frustrating thing I have ever used in this space if I'm honest, only marginally less annoying than the Uni-T UT33A.When I saw a second hand 87V last year I picked it up. Turned out to be new unused! Very happy. Usability is much better, the interface is better and it's just much nicer to use. You can drive it hands free. Tools need to be an extension of you and that does the job very very well.However, I got a knackered 87 today via ebay. It's 27 years old. Cleaned it up. Works fine and matches my in cal 87V perfectly! I prefer a couple of things with the earlier 87 as well: it's slightly faster, the viewing angle is better when it's flat on the bench and the amps range defaults to DC instead of AC like on the 87V.What you're paying for with a Fluke isn't a religion. You're paying for good usability, a lot of little details that make it a better user experience and a quite frankly ridiculously good calibration retention.As for support, you're probably right. I'll let you know if I need it.So 25 years between these. One on the left went out of cal in Nov 2018. The one on the right went out of cal in 1993:Pricing for ref: Left one was £150. Right one was £40.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 30, 2019, 10:06:24 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on March 30, 2019, 07:39:39 pmWhenever I don't get a reply via email within 72 hours, I always CALL to talk to a live person.Depending on your email address, perhaps it went into Fluke's spam filter and got junked?As mentioned, since you bought it used off ebay, the warranty doesn't apply to you according to Fluke's terms and conditions which are clearly documented in the manual, but it never hurts to ask NICELY a Fluke support person if it qualifies for a free fix.Several members have reported success getting out of service warranty fixes/replacements for free. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but if you never ask a person NICELY, you will never know.

author: TiN
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 03:02:10 am
content: This thread belongs to T&M section. There is no metrology here, sorry.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 08:33:45 am
content: Quote from: TiN on March 31, 2019, 03:02:10 amYou're right, would an admin be able to move the thread, please?Quote from: retiredcaps on March 30, 2019, 10:06:24 pmI also agree with everything you said. As I mentioned, I did not call them because of my not-yet-fluent German. I used my corporate e-mail for contacting the support. It would be disappointing if @ti.com went to the spambox. Also, I was willing to pay a reasonable price from the beginning. I believe I asked nicely too.Dear Fluke customer service,My handheld multimeter Fluke 83-V s.n. 89xxxxx3 started showing “Erpr err” after turning it on. I checked the internet and it seems to be an issue with the EEPROM memory on the board. If I am not mistaken, Fluke comes with a lifetime warranty. Please note that I am reaching out to you as a hobbyist who invested in Fluke multimeter(s) due to superior quality and reliability. Would Fluke service center be able to resolve the issue, eventually by replacing the EEPROM?Best Regards, XXXQuote from: bd139 on March 30, 2019, 09:36:52 pmDon't get me wrong. Flukes are great. We have Agilent, Fluke and Brymen multimeters in our lab and I mostly prefer Fluke for the reasons you mentioned. Now, with a bunch of BM257s in our lab, I often end up with these tiny puppies. We have also one 867s and it is simply too big. I don't like Agilent meters much. I don't get the UI and have zero time to RTFM everytime to use it. However, my colleague loves it.</rant>tl;dr;- I will try to call Fluke again, no reason to rant here.- If they can't offer a reasonable price for the fix I'll try to fix it on my own.- If I get it fixed, Ill share information on the forum.Have a great Sunday,Jiri

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 08:54:56 am
content: Quote from: Warhawk on March 31, 2019, 08:33:45 amAs the author of this thread you have the ability to relocate it yourself, you should see a "Move Topic" icon located at the lower left of this page, click the icon and select the board that you want to move this thread to. You can also include a redirect notice if you so wish but it's probably not necessary in this instance.

author: H.O
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 03:32:52 pm
content: QuoteI don't get why it differs who bought the product in the first place. Either it's "lifetime warranty" or it isn't.QuoteYeah, I'm one of the lucky ones (apparently). I rescued a FLUKE multimeter from the dumpster where I used to work, it must've been at least 10 years old, had issues on the ACV range IIRC.I called FLUKE (or the company responsible for their service here in Sweden) and they asked me to send it in for evalutation. IF they determined the issue with it was NOT caused by the user they'd fix it. If, on the other hand, they determined that the issue WAS (somehow) casued by the user I'd pay an investigation fee and then having the option to pay for the repair. I took the chance and sent it in, a week later they called me up and said they'd take care of it and asked me if I'd accept a new FLUKE 175 as a replacement. The 175 was on par with whatever model it was I sent it, just a newer model. Needless to say, I accepted.So, absolutely do give them a call and tell it like it is. Chances are they'll take care of you even though they might not STRICTLY need to. Let us know how it works out.Give them a call, tell it like it is

author: Cnoob
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 03:48:51 pm
content: When I emailed Fluke about some TL175 test lead issue I had a reply the same day, which I asked for some clarification and they sent me another email with a PDF file attached all in the same day.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 04:43:24 pm
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on March 31, 2019, 08:54:56 amI did not know about this feature before. Thanks!

author: Neilm
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 05:47:39 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on March 31, 2019, 03:11:00 amWhich is why you should always measure voltage both before and after throwing the disconnection switch

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2019, 10:22:09 pm
content: Quote from: blueskull on March 31, 2019, 03:11:00 amSomething 'not fancy' may fail in the 101,wonky tarnished sockets, loosened/cracked internals from one drop too many, the leads may be dicky, a loaner returned from a now 'former friend' that knackered it without telling,or a combo of these in no particular order, to drive you nutswhich in turn may get you zapped real good on a deceptive 'OL' or similar reading!Multimeters of any class, brand or price range are not guardian angel 'GO /NO GO' death voltage testersFWIW I bought a 101 to see what all the fuss was about this meter> IMHO it's just a basic bare bones meter (with surprisingly ok cap tester and HZ)that apparently may (or may not) survive carpet surfing or BBQ starter/bug zapper oopsies, better than other meters,but not as functional as a plain 114 which is a great 'current free' sidekick to a fancy featured Fluke, and good enough for most tasks on it's own.The 101 is too big as a 'pocket' meter with those leads attached,and moves and rolls about when in practical use on a job or benchThat said, I'm keeping the Fluke 101 (as a loaner, LOL) and for any odd occasional 'sacrificial meter' duty on suss jobs if they arise,with ample PPE, wooden sticks and plastic cross,A fried 101 will cause less $ $ $ GRIEF $ $ $ than taking out one of its bigger Fluke brother/sistersStay safe folks, when you're playing with electronicals > test, confirm and repeat <because assumptions, rush jobs, and bragging rights at forums and Youtube, ain't worth it if you risk being injured, blind, or in the groundi.e. a 'deadline' you can live without

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2019, 07:05:07 pm
content: Update:One would think that Fluke employees read the forum because I got the answer the first thing in the morning.However, I am not very happy. Prices are simply high. I believe that I don't cross any line when listing them here: The standard repair price 241€, Calibration 114-211.5€, Investigation without any repair 65.50€ and shipping for 20€. All prices without the VAT.The price of the new unit at farnell.de is 443€ including the VAT. Another seller offers it for 400€.I did not expect somebody working on it for free but I was hoping for a reasonable price.I will take it apart and try to fix it on my own. The meter does not fail every time I turn it on. This means that the EEPROM is not completely dead but error prone. If this is an external chip like 93LCxx or 24Cxx I should be able to fix it. If I use gloves and common sense there is a big chance that I don't mess up the calibration much.

author: Electro Detective
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2019, 09:53:44 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on April 01, 2019, 07:05:07 pmShhh, keep them believing we are ignorant and unaware...they get off on thatThose prices are too high1. They have to support the product and pay support wagesand Youtube comment/forum corpotrolls2. To chase off cheapskates, victims of thievery, and cash strapped battlers thinking of buying a used one, and get burnt doing so3. To avoid fixing and or calibrating abused meters handballed around on Ebay and pawn shops4. Keeps their product prestige thing going(nothing wrong with that, as long as the current product quality keeps up)5. Still working on 5. welcome to chime in folks...i.e. avoid suss used Flukes, unless you like to gamble, and prepared to auction it off as parts/not working/knackered/whatever, and cop it in the hip pocket.TBH: you can do a LOT better financially buying a much cheaper meter with similar performance and 12 month warranty (e.g. EEVblog meter and many others),than buying an overpriced used and abused 'you takes your chances' Fluke.and if you do buy a new Flukemake sure they have a good support place nearby or easy to post to etc,and not a clueless turkeys repair wannabee shop adding the Fluke brand to their reception desk wall list'We are ortharized repiair of Fulke meter..."