Agilent U1241A

[giavra]

Today finally after so many years of waiting I find and buy my first true RMS DMM Agilent U1241A .Yes I know it is a discontinued multimeter but it is a new factory product.I prefer to buy a new one than a use one.First of all I like the scale of the meter and among the rms measurement in AC DC Volt I like most the capability of calibration
of the unit.I'm not a pro man I'm a hobby man who try to spend his free  time  to electronic part.So today the meter dispatch to me and I;m waiting for the delivery and when so it done I try to put some photos.Till my next report be happy.
 

[Phyllomedusa]

Well, as hobbyist I am sure you will be satisfied with the meter. It should have all you need onboard.
The supplied calibration protocol is nice, but as hobby-user you won't really need it.

Receive it, try it out and tell us your opinion.

BTW: The A Series is an older model, but they haven't changed a lot between the U1241A and U1252B. So you're totally fine with the A-Series and get them very cheap.

[giavra]

Hello Phyllomedussa.Thank You yes indeed as hobbyist maybe is  too expert for me,but I can't hold myself when I find it at 113us and i pay extra 34us dollar for the shipping cost this is around 113 euro.I can't find this quality of meter at this price so far and in new factory condition.In my last project I try  tune the bias of the output valves (EL34) of my amplifier and I use to this project my good old Metex M 3650 but because we speaking for mA so little value of current I want a more accurate meter so for that reason and for the joy  I put my self to this buy.
So in the feature  I believe that i need this trusted measurement of the meter for more project.

[Phyllomedusa]

HI giavra,
you don't need to tell me...the price is really nice and if you think you may have paid the same for a Uni-T 71, not a bad deal .
I bought a U1253B for my private use (but use it at work too, as we only have some low-budget meters available there)

Well, and your meter can't be too expert. Maybe there are functions you don't need yet, but they can become very handy one day and you'll be happy to have bought a quality meter. With the time you'll learn how to take advantage of the features your meter offers, so you'll eventually grow into it. Right now enjoy the uA mode. It will bring you a big step forward.

I guess it will also be quite long in specs. When I compare the reading of my old Voltcraft (VC670 from 1999), there is a huge error in Resistance and current measurement now.
So from time to time a new meter or a factory recalibration is a nice choice....but you won't need to to that on a yearly routine....

Great tool anyway...and don't mind if it's blue or orange

[giavra]

Yes that's the point ,with this money you can buy a Chinese meter Clone of Fluke or this.So it was easy for me to decide,it not big deal for me the color of the screen so what the deal if was even yellow,the next step will include some  photos

[Kiriakos GR]

Yes the blue series gives lately many smiles,  from calibrators to multimeters, there is sweet deals occasionally on eBay.
But be warned, those multimeters are fast, use your seat belt before use .. 

[giavra]

Somewhere in the manual of the meter the company suggest the user to make the annual calibration of the meter  via the DMM itself is this a real necessary? also  subscribe it as Closed case electronic calibration at page 36 of the manual that i already download says:
(The meter features closed- case electronic calibration. No internal
mechanical adjustments are required. The meter calculates correction
factors based upon the input reference value you set. The new correction
factors are stored in non- volatile memory until the next calibration
adjustment is performed. Non- volatile EEPROM calibration memory does
not change when power has been off)

[Phyllomedusa]

Well, you need an accurate source for that. I think you could do it with a really good bench meter and some sources, but be careful as you can ruin the original calibration by that pretty fast.
Every manufacturer is telling you that you should calibrate in a one year cycle to keep calibration as good as possible. Well, they mostly mean some ISO accreditation for that, so that you'll stay in the quality management.
For a private person I really see no need for that.
The closed case calibration is meant to use when you have a company for example and operate your own quality control there. It may be much cheaper if you just buy a good calibrator, keep that one calibrated on a regular schedule and then use this one to calibrate your in-house meters.
The Agilent has the ability to go through the calibration without the need to open up the meter and actually need to know which potentiometers you have to turn for a compensation.

..so I would suggest not to mess with the calibration yourself. My guess is that you'll be better off for the next years if you just keep it that way. There are some DMM check circuits available but these suffer the same problems as the meter itself....temperature fluctuations and aging of components.

I think Kiriakos recently attended a webinar about calibration...so maybe he can tell you more about that.

[giavra]

Really thank you,your suggestion much appreciate.I do what you suggest me to do. 

[Kiriakos GR]

Somewhere in the manual of the meter the company suggest the user to make the annual calibration of the meter  via the DMM itself is this a real necessary? also  subscribe it as Closed case electronic calibration at page 36 of the manual that i already download says

The annual calibration is just a printed report which verifies the ultimate accuracy of your meter up to the last count.

The close case electronic calibration has two meanings.
a)  The calibration report can be totally automated.
b)  Adjustments over accuracy does not require screwdriver. 

Who is in need for often calibration reports ?
a) digital Scales manufacturers.
b) repairs of military targeting systems.

My advice would be to not enter in the calibration menu system.
You multimeter it is new and accurate. 

[giavra]

Thank You Kyriakos very much