B&K Precision bench multimeters, good?

[Joerg]

Dang, that sucks. I thought Keithley was a leader in test and
measurement.

Is there some dynamic that can go wrong when a company gets too big,
or too old?

Don't know about Keithley. But some other companies clearly have become
too complacent. When I bought my last scope and had to shun Tektronix
for the first time I could not believe it. They honestly thought that in
this day and age they could get away with 4k of sample memory and still
charge 50% more than the Asians (who had 25k standard). That's like
seeing a new car in a showroom with naugahide seats.

 

[George Herold]

Don't know about Keithley. But some other companies clearly have become
too complacent. When I bought my last scope and had to shun Tektronix
for the first time I could not believe it. They honestly thought that in
this day and age they could get away with 4k of sample memory and still
charge 50% more than the Asians (who had 25k standard). That's like
seeing a new car in a showroom with naugahide seats.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Of course you know that tek and keithley are now the same
company... :^(

George H.

 

[Joerg]

Sorry, I meant the 34410A (the 34401A is the predecessor). It's LXI
Class C compliant as well as having USB.

http://www.teknetelectronics.com/Search.asp?p_ID=20596&pDo=DETAIL

Not too bad for such a nice instrument.

Hmm, and it's on sale for under $1k. Tempting, tempting ...

 

[Nico Coesel]

Gents,

In the market for a new bench meter, 4-1/2 digits is sufficient. To my
surprise I saw on their web site that B&K is an American company which,

B&K is selling mostly rebranded Asian equipment nowadays.

 

[Bill Sloman]

Gents,

In the market for a new bench meter, 4-1/2 digits is sufficient. To my
surprise I saw on their web site that B&K is an American company which,
of course, I'd gladly support. Is it true for their meters and stuff
that they are at least engineered here? Are they good? Looking at the 2831E:

http://www.bkprecision.com/products/multimeters/2831E-4-1-2-digit-tru...

I really like VF displays, much more so than LCD.

I've had good results from the Thurlby-Thandar Instruments 1906 5-1/2
digit multimeter. It's ten years since I've bought one, but Farnell
Australia still seems to offer it - though they've not got any in
stock - for $A1,378.27, which might be $US 1450. It does do true RMS
and Kelvin four terminal resistance measurements.

Clive Sinclair was involved in the start-up of Thurlby-Thandar, but
the guys involved were smart enough to stop him from wrecking the
quality of what they shipped.

 

[Mr Stonebeach]

when I saw B&K I thought Brüel & Kjær , but I guess it is not the same
company

This is an eye-opener. I have seen them around and took for granted
that
they are Bruel&Kjaer. Only now I realize that the B&K rather stands
for
Philip Ban & Carl Korn.

Regards,
Mikko

 

[Nico Coesel]

Gents,

In the market for a new bench meter, 4-1/2 digits is sufficient. To my
surprise I saw on their web site that B&K is an American company which,
of course, I'd gladly support. Is it true for their meters and stuff
that they are at least engineered here? Are they good? Looking at the 2831E:

http://www.bkprecision.com/products...-digit-true-rms-bench-digital-multimeter.html

I really like VF displays, much more so than LCD.

I have this one which seems to be just as accurate as the B&K:

http://www.storeinfinity.com/vichy-vc8145-dmm-digital-bench-top-multimeter-meter-pc.html

I bought it because it is one of the very few meters with backlight
and 20A current handling capability.

 

[Nico Coesel]

I'm getting disappointed with Tek too. We just bought a $50K LeCroy
scope.

You are not the real John Larkin....

 

[Joerg]

I have this one which seems to be just as accurate as the B&K:

http://www.storeinfinity.com/vichy-vc8145-dmm-digital-bench-top-multimeter-meter-pc.html

I bought it because it is one of the very few meters with backlight
and 20A current handling capability.

Is the display big and easy to read out? I started needing glasses at
age 40 and then LCD became much less pleasant than VFD, even when
backlit they just don't have the same contrast.

Does the build quality look ok?

 

[notbob]

that they are at least engineered here? Are they good?

I wouldn't buy one.

Waaaay back when I first got into hi-tech in SV, I worked for a
company requiring skills in both mech and elect. Us techs were hard
overworked and ALL tools took and unbelievable beating. I soon
noticed all the MMs were pretty much hosed, including the few B&Ks I
found in a junk bin. All the B&Ks electronics still worked, but the
test lead sockets on all of them were trashed beyond repair, and so
useless. This is 30 yrs ago, when B&Ks were considered a quality
instrument. In fact almost all other brands we had lying around,
except Fluke, had trashed test lead sockets, also. This included a
new Simpson DMM. The only useable MMs I found were all Flukes and one
ancient Simpson lunchboxed-sized analog meter. I've stuck with Fluke
ever since.

nb

 

[Joerg]

No eBay account? You pay full price for stuff when there's such a
bonanza of good cheap gear available?

I don't pay full price. For new stuff you can always find a sale
somewhere on the web.

Reminds me of an old joke about why God made gentiles--somebody has to
pay retail.

 

[Joerg]

Sorry, I meant the 34410A (the 34401A is the predecessor). It's LXI
Class C compliant as well as having USB.

http://www.teknetelectronics.com/Search.asp?p_ID=20596&pDo=DETAIL

Not too bad for such a nice instrument.

Strange: The price is clearly marked on this page yet one must submit
for quotation. Really strange. Well, I'll see what they answer.

 

[Nico Coesel]

Is the display big and easy to read out? I started needing glasses at
age 40 and then LCD became much less pleasant than VFD, even when
backlit they just don't have the same contrast.

The digits are about 22mm high.

Does the build quality look ok?

There is not much inside:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu3rBqV9a9YUuYazWVCxRJsOdv3H22d6BdVYrY56x8g6mK8dPPD6m3HayO

I wouldn't count on the CAT rating being accurate but that is only
meaningfull if you connect a multimeter to a source which can deliver
a substantial amount of energy by means of arcing (IOW mains).

 

[Joerg]

The digits are about 22mm high.


There is not much inside:
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu3rBqV9a9YUuYazWVCxRJsOdv3H22d6BdVYrY56x8g6mK8dPPD6m3HayO

Oops, that looks just like the Uni-Trend meters. I think I'll buy the HP
from Spehro's link then unless they fail to honor their web price.

I wouldn't count on the CAT rating being accurate but that is only
meaningfull if you connect a multimeter to a source which can deliver
a substantial amount of energy by means of arcing (IOW mains).

Sometimes I have to stick my probes into rather high-cost stuff so the
meter can't cause a meltdown there.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

Strange: The price is clearly marked on this page yet one must submit
for quotation. Really strange. Well, I'll see what they answer.

Something is a bit fishy about that. I've also asked for a quote.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Joerg]

Something is a bit fishy about that. I've also asked for a quote.

So let's see if they treat you as a Canadian and me as a US customer the
same

Beats me why they don't just provide an order button like everyone else.

 

[Nico Coesel]

So let's see if they treat you as a Canadian and me as a US customer the
same

About 8 years ago I bought a logic analyser from Teknet. No problems
and well packed even though it only cost $66!

Beats me why they don't just provide an order button like everyone else.

That seems to be normal these days for equipment dealers. They like to
get you to call them (or allow them call you) for their sales pitch.
Ofcourse they can't compete with prices on Ebay.

 

[John Miles, KE5FX]

Hmm, and it's on sale for under $1k. Tempting, tempting ...

Be prepared for an annoying whirring fan. Adding a Zener in series
with the fan (5V IIRC) helps a lot.

Also, my 34410A powers up in 1000V DC mode about half the time, for no
apparent reason. So I have to hit the "DC V" button or the
"Autorange" button to get any usable precision.

Overall the 34410A is fine, but the 34401A has some ergonomic
advantages. Don't spend extra money on a 34410A unless you need it to
do something the 34401A can't do.

-- john, KE5FX

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

So let's see if they treat you as a Canadian and me as a US customer the
same

I've asked for a shipment to a US address as an option, just in case
they like padding their shipping costs.

Beats me why they don't just provide an order button like everyone else.

Yes. Maybe they don't have them in stock.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

That seems to be normal these days for equipment dealers. They like to
get you to call them (or allow them call you) for their sales pitch.
Ofcourse they can't compete with prices on Ebay.

They should be able to- they're not paying eBay's rather substantial
cut and probably getting a better deal on the CC cut than PP.

The small guys are sometimes better on shipping- I paid one nice
fellow in North Carolina $50 to make a really secure crate for an
olddly shaped machine that had to be shipped freight (hundreds of
pounds).. I think there was $40 worth of lumber and screws in it, and
at least an hour's hard work. He probably had the bits lying around so
it was mostly labor, but a real business couldn't operate that way.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany