Hameg HMC8012 Issues - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 08:59:45 am
content: Hello,I have recently purchased a HMC8012 DMM (received it yesterday).Well it's a nice meter, but I have found a few annoying issues. I thought I list them here,to check if anyone have noticed the same behaviour or if it's just me expecting too muchfor this price range...1. The menu system is really sluggish and slow.2. USB stick not always recognized so Logging, Saving Screenshots and Instrument Settingshave a really random success rate.3. When one manages to save "Instrument Settings" not all settings are saved, likeTrigger Mode, Stats, Logging are NOT saved.IMHO the the above listed issues makes the unit useless for even "semi" serious work...Any thoughts or replys would be greatly appreciated cause I'm just about to send the unit back.Thanx in Advance!/AO

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 10:26:20 am
content: Quote from: xandmann on June 06, 2015, 08:59:45 amNot good, but I think that's not uncommon in this price class.QuoteThat may very well be a problem with the USB stick. What size is it? Did you try to reformat it (with different block size)? And have you tried others?QuoteThat's not good, and (together with the slow menu) could as well be a hint that your specific unit has a problem.Have you tried talking with R&S support about these things?QuoteWell, I wouldn't say that a slow menu or issues with USB sticks (which are often itself the cause for problems) makes a DVN "useless", as long as it does its job.Although I can understand your disappointment, I'd try to talk to R&S support first, and have a closer look at the USB sticks you used.At the end of the day, you did buy a entry level benchtop DMM, and in that price class there will be compromises. You could as well send it back and get say one from Siglent or Rigol, but from the reports they all seem to come with issues of their own.

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 11:15:05 am
content: QuoteAccording to the manual, only FAT/FAT32 formatted (max 4 GB) USB sticks can be used with the HMC8012.The ones I tried match the above specification, but you are right I will buy a few more today to makesure it is not a faulty USB memory that's causing the issues.QuoteI have also considered:1. Keithley 21002. Rigol DM3068Any thoughts on those units?

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 11:33:30 am
content: Quote from: xandmann on June 06, 2015, 11:15:05 amI have an 8012 as well, one of my most used bench instruments. I'll have to test #3, but I definitely don't see issues 1-2.If you just got it I'd assume you're already on the latest firmware, but check to be sure.

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 02:34:09 pm
content: QuoteSo far I have got 2-3 different error codes... Now I have tried 3 different Brands of USB sticks, all properly formatted.

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 03:12:09 pm
content: Mmmmmm.I use a 16GB Corsair, formatted fat32, single partition, works no problem.Hameg support is very responsive, might open a dialog with them if you continue to have problems.

author: 0xdeadbeef
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 03:21:29 pm
content: Note that some instruments (from Owon to Agilent) are pretty picky about USB sticks. As are some tools to create bootable sticks. Most importantly, a lot of FAT32 implementations only accept 4kB block sizes.There are specific tools like HPUSBDisk which seem to format in a way that is accepted by these tools/devices.

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 03:57:45 pm
content: QuoteI did that already, waiting for a reply...I'm really a software guy (iOS, Mac Apps and interface design) just getting into "real" electronics cause we are takingthat direction at my company... so maybe I'm a bit more critical when it comes to the "software" and GUI part ofthe instrument.My findings are that there are several other minor bugs in the menu system, like "two-level" jumps to upper levelswhen hitting the back button etc.Overall an inconsistent implementation of the menu system from a logical point of view, but I'm sure it can be fixedwith some firmware updates.Otherwise I'm really impressed with the hardware performance of this DMM (for the price range as mentioned above)

author: Wim_L
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2015, 05:34:16 pm
content: I've had a similar problem with a Hameg 1508-2 oscilloscope. It's picky about USB sticks, will usually refuse to accept Sandisk brand sticks, worked every time with some Emtec brand sticks.

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2015, 11:13:00 pm
content: Update.The faulty units was changed by Conrad.se within a week, great service!Got a new firmware (v01.101) from Hameg support, (also really helpful guys with great service!)... and after a few weeks with my HMC8012 I can say that I love this DMM.There are still some minor firmware bugs to fix, but overall it has a great performance.To make logging even easier, I have written an OS X "Statusbar" App (kind of a light version ofthe HM Explorer for Windows) to extract logs and take screenshots.

author: Muxr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2015, 11:23:20 pm
content: That's pretty slick. Would be cool if it displayed the current main reading on the instrument, dunno how useful though.

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 24, 2015, 11:50:29 pm
content: QuoteThanx, well it would take me 5 min to add that feature ...the App is still a work in progress.

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2015, 12:36:14 am
content: Quote from: xandmann on June 24, 2015, 11:13:00 pmMmmmmm, latest on Hameg site is 1.061.....Willing to share?

author: trevwhite
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2015, 07:43:50 am
content: It would be nice to get some feedback on what you like about this DMM? I have read things about the Agilent/Keysight meters and people seem to suggest they are the best value for money. Not too much information on the Hameg stuff though to enable comparison.Trev

author: xandmann
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2015, 09:53:04 am
content: QuoteSure,http://www.filedropper.com/rshmc8012firmwarev01101

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2015, 10:38:03 am
content: Quote from: xandmann on June 25, 2015, 09:53:04 amThank you Sir.Quote from: trevwhite on June 25, 2015, 07:43:50 amI did a quick initial review and teardown when I first got mine, search back in the forum. I'm on vacation for the next few weeks, but I'll try and make a point to update those thoughts when I get back.

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 25, 2015, 10:46:06 am
content: Quote from: 0xdeadbeef on June 06, 2015, 03:21:29 pmI know that Hantek doesn't handle USB sticks correctly, so I suppose the others didn't implement it correctly, either.

author: JiriB
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 13, 2021, 04:02:33 pm
content: Hi,can you once again send this firmware?Thank you.jb