Think I broke my almost new Agilent U1242B - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 07:58:00 pm
content: I bought an U1242b last year and got the "free" bluetooth adapter as well. The meter didn´t come with the bracket for the adapter though so I have not been able to use it. Anyway the bracket finally arrived yesterday, so I had a go with the Agilent android app thingy. Doesn´t work, connects to the meter and meter bleeps, then disconnects and just keeps doing that. Thinking maybe my phone is screwy I give it a go on my android tablet. Same thing, the meter connects and disconnects randomly. After messing about for an hour trying to get it to work, and failing, I just give up. I am not that fussed about it anyway.Today I turn the meter on and the buttons don´t work anymore. Shift works fine. the backlight only works in ohms and amps. But once the backlight is on, you can turn it off in any mode but volts. Range works randomly, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn´t, more doesn´t than does. Null doesn´t do anything anymore. In the menu (switching meter on while holding shift) no keys work except shift.Whether the bluetooth has changed something in firmware or something I don´t know. It does seem to be a software problem, so unless there is a way to do factory reset or something, without going in to the menu, then the meter is screwed. With where I live warranty claims are a nightmare, so I am mot looking forward to that.

author: Achilles
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 08:22:11 pm
content: I don't think so. It is just an IR to USB converter. Probably the meter is defective. Did it work before without flaws? Maybe try taking out the battery and wait some hours and give it a new try.My U1253B and U1272A were both defective when I bought them but got replaced fast and without problems. The new ones are great.

author: r90s
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 08:41:41 pm
content: I think Achilles has given a good tip, but I don't how long to leave the battery disconnected for either.

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 08:54:07 pm
content: Yeah, it worked great until I used the Bluetooth adapter, never had any problems at all. I use everyday and regularly use the backlight, so I know it was fine before. I got it around August/ September time, so it´s had a bit of use. But still, its not even a year old.I already tried taking the batteries out, but only for a couple of minutes. I´ll try leaving them out overnight.

author: r90s
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 09:21:30 pm
content: Even Quality chips can die, not to mention other components (stating the obvious). I would shoot off an initial email query to HP. I could see a good chance that it could be replaced with a new meter.Good Luck

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2013, 10:10:10 pm
content: Quote from: paul23 on January 16, 2013, 08:54:07 pmHopefully, leaving the batteries out will do the trick. But asAchillessaid, Agilent is pretty good in taking care of a problem if the meter is defective.

author: lowimpedance
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 12:26:41 am
content: See page 26, 27 of the manual,http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/U1241-90063.pdfDo the reset to factory defaults first, (if you can!!), before calling the meter faulty.I recall some time ago playing with the blue tooth on my U1252a and setting the back light to off.When using the meter without the blue tooth and trying to turn on the back light, it would just 'blip on for a second' then off again,certainly not staying on for the timed amount!.Going back to the blue tooth connection and setting the back light to enabled sorted that problem out.good luckLowZ

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 09:50:30 am
content: I couldn´t do a reset because the buttons didn´t work in the menu, so no way to select the option.Anyway, I just tried putting the batteries back in and it seems to be working normally again now. I am not brave enough to try the bluetooth again though.

author: Achilles
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 09:59:07 am
content: Quote from: paul23 on January 16, 2013, 08:54:07 pmAny success?? I hope so! As LowZ suggested, a reset is a nice idea as well if the problem still is there. If it doesn't work you should contact Agilent.You'll find the contact data for Spain here:http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/contactInformation.jspx?nid=-33379.0.00&lc=eng&cc=US&pageMode=PSEEDIT: Just saw your reply. Don't worry about the bluetooth device. I use it fairly often and it works well on Android and OSX. Give it another try.... Did you pair it with the bluetooth password or have you been asked for that? On my Laptop I need to enter the password "1234" to access the bluetooth dongle. Maybe try if you can access the meter then with the App.

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 12:35:04 pm
content: The meter is fine but the bluetooth still doesn´t work.It connects to the meter, and pairs automatically, I don´t need to put a password or anything, then the meter bleeps and "REMOTE" appears in the top left of the screen, then the meter just bleeps like morse code. The display never updates in the apps to give a actual reading, it connects briefly, updates the battery icon and where the reading should be turns yellow, then immediately goes back to red and says disconnected. Then the whole process starts again. It´s exactly the same on my phone and my tablet which both run Android.Anyway, I am not too bothered about the Bluetooth, it would be nice if it worked, but its not the end of the world. The most important thing is that the meter works, which it does now, so thanks for that. the batteries did the trick.

author: Achilles
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 08:14:53 pm
content: Well, I never had the U1242B in my Hands. A shame that it doesn't work. It can be pretty handy from time to time. Maybe store it and give it a try another time or so.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2013, 08:28:31 pm
content: How fresh are the batteries? I've seen stuff do just plain weird things which I thoughtmustbe broken, until I put a fresh battery in.

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 11, 2013, 10:31:09 pm
content: I had forgotten all about this thread until I just checked how many posts I have for the contest.Anyway I tried the bluetooth thing again and it still didn´t work although it did get a 1 reading before disconnecting.And then this...Quote from: grumpydoc on January 17, 2013, 08:28:31 pmThe batteries were brand new in the bluetooth adaptor, but thought it was worth a try, so stuck a fresh pair in their and now it works on my tablet and phone. So that´s all it was, dodgy batteries. Well done grumpydoc, you are a winner.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2013, 02:40:09 pm
content: QuoteThanks <blush>I hope Dave counts it as a "useful" one

author: nixxon
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2013, 11:08:54 pm
content: Is it possible to change a thread title to i.e. "SOLVED: Think I broke my almost new Agilent U1242B"?

author: Harvs
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2013, 05:53:27 am
content: I guess it's worth noting for anyone else reading this thread, from the reverse engineering done elsewhere in this forum, the processor is OTP and fires up with the EEPROM shorted out. So some how corrupting the firmware to make it not boot properly isn't really possible. However, I've played with different combinations of buttons on the meter and it's not hard to get it to lockup and do all sorts of weird things. Just removing the batteries until the RAM clears has always worked. But their are some interesting bugs in the firmware if you play with the buttons.

author: paul23
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2013, 06:40:51 pm
content: Good idea