Info on Kiethley Meter issues? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Rhythmtech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2010, 04:08:09 pm
content: A while back Dave mentioned inthis threadthat Kiethley meters were experiencing many issues. Does anyone have any more information on this? We are looking into buying a new bench meter here at work and due to previous experience with Kiethley they are at the top of the list. Thanks in advance.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2010, 04:33:36 pm
content: Although I have great respect for what Keithley was, there are reports of some devices made in the last decade.From a home lab/hobbyist point of view, new Keithley's maybe more difficult to self service, find schematics, parts, etc., relative to a competing meter from HP/Agilent or Fluke, in preferential order. Its not a problem for professional work if you intend to get professional/factory service and support.http://sites.google.com/site/neilkalo/keithley2100https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=711.msg8506#msg8506https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=900.msg11348#msg11348https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=900.msg11730#msg11730It maybe good to see competitors until Denaher gets their house in order.Here is a Chinese review of bench DMM, to summarize, the more highlighted purple, the better:http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://www.eefocus.com/article/09-04/70850s.html&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhjfV6vVasS0bnEfhPE3aSoJHPW0lgHere Keithley's model is 2000. There is an interesting review of the Rigol DM3061 which the author, Bing, summarizes as an upgraded Agilent copy with drawbacks.The chart:

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 24, 2010, 04:38:30 pm
content: The complaints I've seen were about their recent model 2100 budget bench DMM (significantly cheaper than model 2000, similar specs, more modern features like USB), which appears to be designed by a lesser known manufacturer (like the Agilent/Rigol low-end scopes). Some links:http://sites.google.com/site/neilkalo/keithley2100http://groups.google.com/group/sci.electronics.design/browse_thread/thread/520aef46d718da45/38ad34126edc6e47http://groups.google.com/group/sci.electronics.design/browse_thread/thread/30ef951549b669d/6d9218caffe96b10Older/more expensive models like 2000/2001/2002 don't have these problems. I've seen a metrologist complain about either model 2001 or 2002 drifting out of calibration, but I've also seen positive experiences, and the calibration statistics for the 2000 I've seen (8 year time period, 14 meters) looked pretty good good (on par with the Agilent 34401A, which is a direct competitor).

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 24, 2010, 07:26:56 pm
content: Keithley was recently bought by Danaher, and is supposed to be integrated into Tektronix (also owned by Danaher). Danaher is known not to show mercy when messing with companies. From that point of view I would be reluctant to go with a Keithley meter now. I won't expect that Tektronix will continue carrying all current Keuthley products. And I would be worried about long-term support.BTW, Danaher also owns Fluke. Why Keithley isn't supposed to go to Fluke is anyones guess. Maybe they think they have enough meters with Fluke, anyhow want to drop Keithley meters and Tektronix can make better use of the non-meter parts of Keithley.

author: Rhythmtech
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 29, 2010, 05:05:07 am
content: First off - Thanks all for the responses, they've been most helpful.The main design engineer here at work is pretty heavily swayed towards akeithley 2750, which does have some nice features, but I do agree that the Danaher purchase may be something to consider. I have had confusing experiences with trying to get support from power supply manufacturers who seem to all have turned into Ametek after a while.We are mostly concerned with measurement input isolation and the resistance accuracy where most of the readings being made will be falling in the 1 ohm range. Does anyone have any slick suggestions for a bench meter with good low ohms accuracy and ~300V input isolation?