Searching multimeter - U1282A good choice? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Hagrid
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: March 15, 2017, 11:29:23 pm
content: Hello everyone, like i said in the title am looking for a good general purpose multimeter.I am not very active in this forum so i will briefly introduce myself ( I'm not the real Hagrid btw).Like many here i started whith this hobby when i was pretty young, mostly disassembling my toys, rather then playing with it.One day i got a cheap DMM of the flea market. Many kits and some time later i started to get into arduino which really blew my mind.So after time went on i got more and more stuff to play with. Now i have a scope, a signal generator, lab psu and components lying around everywhere to happily spend a lot of time with this hobby.And guess what, i am still unsing this cheap DMM i once got. Like you can imagine this had to take some beatings. So now it is more likely an "assuming amplifier" than a functional DMM.I was searching the web for a new DMM which suits my needs. Those were: Long lasting, it should really hold its rated accuracy for a decent period of time. I don't really want to buy a new DMM every two or three years. It should have 50000 counts or better and a good accuracy to make use of all the digits. It should be able to measure the usual stuff (voltage, current, resistance) and capacity. The resolution should be decent, what i really like on the u1282a is that it measures resistance down to a resolution of 1mOhm and capacity down to a resolution of 1pF.Finally it should have features like autoranging, Min/Max, hold, ability to do relative measurements (null button).A thing i already mentioned was, that i really like the resolution on the u1282a. I really like the dual display and in general the speed of this DMM too.The only things i would not use that often whould be the frequency counter and the data logging.So the u1282a is quite expensive, but when i compare it to Fluke or Gossen Metrawatt the Keysight DMM seems to offer really a lot of features for its price. I am really looking for a long term investment, i have an old CRO which is older than me but still works great. It would be great if a DMM could offer a similar long lifetime.Do you think this device can offer what i am expecting? Looking on the web i can finde some really extensive u1272a reviews, but less extensive u1282a.A last word: Sorry if i did some crude spelling or grammar mistakes, i am not a native english speaker.Greetings, Hagrid

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 15, 2017, 11:44:15 pm
content: I am not trying to dissuade you from buying a U1282A. I need to say this at the start so you will understand, and so will others, that I am speaking only in general terms about any test equipment.You say you want a meter that will hold its accuracy for a long time without drifting. A newer model such as the U1282A has no long term history of drift on accuracy. If low drift is what you want, the UR1282A is not your new multimeter, nor is any newer model without a history.Probably the manufacturer that has the longest running history on its multimeters is Fluke. Most people will tell you that even old beat up meters are still within spec after decades. Fluke has a good reputation for many reasons. it is hard to go wrong buying a Fluke. The price you pay for a Fluke is usually lower features for the price, and higher prices than some people want to pay.It doesn't appear that you will get useful information on long term drift on many brands, not even Fluke. So what you buy should be more focused on what you want in functions and features vs price.