Agilent1241B short review - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: psycho0815
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 08, 2012, 09:25:45 pm
content: Hi, i recently asked for advice on buying an 200€ class multimeter and with your help i decided to get an agilent U12421B, so i figured i do a short review.I won't go through any measurements, because i don't have any precision voltage sources and so on to actually judge it's accuracy so I'll have to rely on the cal certificate which tells me it's well within spec. So I'm just gonna point out what i like/don't like. if you have any further questions or want something tested, just drop me a line and I'll see what i can do.Pros:comes with a cal certificate, which gives a lot of confidencecrazy fast update ratejust feels good. i actually like touching the thing, plastic feels very solidcase is held together by threaded screws in metal insert which is nicespecs are pretty nice. 10000 count 0.09% base dc accuracyatm it comes with the bluetooth adapter, because of a special offer. Haven't done much with the android app, but it seems very decentthe tilting bale is actually totally usable. you can knock it over if you try, but generally it just works.doesn't slide on the bench when switching rangesruns on AAAs. YMMW but i kinda like itCons:Range switch is a tad small, might be a non-issue for you, but for my sausage-like fingers it could be biggerif you want to change the 10A fuse, you not only have to open the meter, you actually have to remove the pcb, because it's on the top side. Now that's just stupidyou need an adapter bracket for the bluetooth module. It's not overly expensive but it should come in the box imho.it does temp but it doesn't come with a probe. tight asses.continuity is pretty damn slow. not quite unusable, but closeConclusion:I think for the money it's a really good meter. Sure it has it's cons but they all do, you have to decide whether or not on of them is a showstopper for you.the specs are quite nice and it feels really nice which is quite important for me. i mean you're not gonna use any peace of equipment much if don't like to touch it right?I suppose you could get similarly spec'ed meters for less, but with the agilent i#d bet money on it still being good in 10 years time. I'm probably gonna get another one of these. Or maybe a 1272A I'll let you know.To finish it off, here a few pictures.Edit:moved the thing about the AAA to pros, which is where i meant to put them in the first place.

author: r90s
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2012, 05:08:11 am
content: Nice Little Review... Thanks for going to the trouble.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2012, 07:09:32 am
content: Thanks for all the trouble, AAA batteries are actually a plus rather, PP3 batteries are expensive and very low on capacitynow i just want AA batteries

author: Fox
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2012, 07:27:35 pm
content: I have a Agilent 1241B too, and i agree with psycho0815 it is a pretty good meter and it is worth its money.Psycho0815 forgot to mention another two pros:- it has a touch Hold like the Flukes ( not sure if the 200€ Fluke179 has this)- it has a relative Function ( Fluke 179 has not for example)And mine is much better than the specs, according to the calibration certificate. For example in the 10V Range it states 0.000% deviation from the reference value

author: psycho0815
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2012, 08:19:55 pm
content: Quote from: Fox on October 09, 2012, 07:27:35 pmYes according to the cal certifiacte mines is actually 0.01% on most ranges. as for the touch hold, I just noticed that after i posted the review. I've never actually used it and since it doesn't say auto hold or something on the button i assumed it's a normal one. It's printed on the button on the 1270 and 1230 series though, which i think is kinda odd.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2012, 11:52:45 pm
content: Quote from: Fox on October 09, 2012, 07:27:35 pmYes, the Fluke 170 series has touch hold. I just used that feature today on a Fluke 179.When you first press the hold button, it freezes the display. If you press hold again, it becomes touch hold.None of the Fluke 170 series have relative function.