https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400.
Fluke has lost their mind
Started by ●November 8, 2023
Reply by ●November 8, 20232023-11-08
On 11/8/23 11:04 AM, john larkin wrote:> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 > > Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >Sometimes I also question their design decisions. I have the Fluke 8845A bench meter. It puts out around 10V (!) in the ohms ranges. That will easily blow reverse Vbe of a modern RF transistor which is often 2-3V abs max. Some might just zener and still kind of work but their noise figure and possibly hfe might then be shot. The old annealing trick by crunching a burning cigarette butt on top of the transistor won't work well anymore since they are flea-sized plastic packages, and almost nobody smokes anymore. My cheapo Harborfreight meter applies less than 300mV. So right now on an RF board I am using a $5 meter because the $1000+ meter isn't up to the job. At the very least I'd have expected Fluke to provide aselectable lower voltage while sacrificing accuracy. Being off by 0.1% in the ohms range sure beats blowing an unobtanium RF part. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply by ●November 8, 20232023-11-08
On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote:> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 > > Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989. Cheers Phil Hobbs (*) apologies to the late Jim Thompson -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply by ●November 8, 20232023-11-08
On 2023-11-08 18:08, Phil Hobbs wrote:> On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote: >> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 >> >> >> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >> > > I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989.I should add that I'm very fond of these DMM probes: <https://probemaster.com/8000-series-standard/> Cheers Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 http://electrooptical.net http://hobbs-eo.com
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote: [...]> Sometimes I also question their design decisions. I have the Fluke 8845A > bench meter. It puts out around 10V (!) in the ohms ranges. That will > easily blow reverse Vbe of a modern RF transistor which is often 2-3V > abs max. Some might just zener and still kind of work but their noise > figure and possibly hfe might then be shot. The old annealing trick by > crunching a burning cigarette butt on top of the transistor won't work > well anymore since they are flea-sized plastic packages, and almost > nobody smokes anymore. > > My cheapo Harborfreight meter applies less than 300mV. So right now on > an RF board I am using a $5 meter because the $1000+ meter isn't up to > the job. > > At the very least I'd have expected Fluke to provide aselectable lower > voltage while sacrificing accuracy. Being off by 0.1% in the ohms range > sure beats blowing an unobtanium RF part.When Fluke took over Philips Instruments, they tried to sell me a replacement for my Philips PM2518. The salesman was talking rubbish about the Philips putting out RFI on the test leads and the Fluke 'specification' sheet was just a glossy advert full of glib phrases that were obviously designed to cover up the limitations of their meter. I wrote to their technical department requesting a proper specification sheet and received another copy of the advertisment - so I wrote again saying "Have received advertisment, now please send specification as requested". The next day I got a 'phone call from their chief salesman. He was furious and told me I was a fool not to buy one of their meters and nobody expected a specification sheet that showed up where the meter might lose accuracy (the Philips specification *booklet* had graphs to show the areas of greatest and least accuracy). What a way to treat a potential customer! I bought another Philips before Fluke could stop their production. -- ~ Liz Tuddenham ~ (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply) www.poppyrecords.co.uk
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
On Wed, 8 Nov 2023 13:43:05 -0800, Joerg <news@analogconsultants.com> wrote:>On 11/8/23 11:04 AM, john larkin wrote: >> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 >> >> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >> > >Sometimes I also question their design decisions. I have the Fluke 8845A >bench meter. It puts out around 10V (!) in the ohms ranges. That will >easily blow reverse Vbe of a modern RF transistor which is often 2-3V >abs max. Some might just zener and still kind of work but their noise >figure and possibly hfe might then be shot. The old annealing trick by >crunching a burning cigarette butt on top of the transistor won't work >well anymore since they are flea-sized plastic packages, and almost >nobody smokes anymore. > >My cheapo Harborfreight meter applies less than 300mV. So right now on >an RF board I am using a $5 meter because the $1000+ meter isn't up to >the job. > >At the very least I'd have expected Fluke to provide aselectable lower >voltage while sacrificing accuracy. Being off by 0.1% in the ohms range >sure beats blowing an unobtanium RF part.I really like my 8845A. It's much better than the contemporary Keithley or HP meters. It will really measure micovolts. 10 volts on the ohms ranges is good, as long as you know about it. It tests diodes and zeners and such. The current is low so is unlikely to damage anything. My 8845 hasn't been calibrated in human memory. I connected it to a new Keysight SMU and their voltage measurements agreed to a few PPM.
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
On Wed, 8 Nov 2023 18:12:38 -0500, Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote:>On 2023-11-08 18:08, Phil Hobbs wrote: >> On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote: >>> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 >>> >>> >>> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >>> >> >> I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989. > >I should add that I'm very fond of these DMM probes: > ><https://probemaster.com/8000-series-standard/> > >Cheers > >Phil HobbsI was just probing a very tight board with a sewing needle.
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
torsdag den 9. november 2023 kl. 23.58.20 UTC+1 skrev john larkin:> On Wed, 8 Nov 2023 18:12:38 -0500, Phil Hobbs > <pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote: > > >On 2023-11-08 18:08, Phil Hobbs wrote: > >> On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote: > >>> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 > >>> > >>> > >>> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. > >>> > >> > >> I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989. > > > >I should add that I'm very fond of these DMM probes: > > > ><https://probemaster.com/8000-series-standard/> > > > >Cheers > > > >Phil Hobbs > I was just probing a very tight board with a sewing needle.that is basically what these are, https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/accessories/test-leads/tl910
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
Phil Hobbs <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> Wrote in message:r> On 2023-11-08 18:08, Phil Hobbs wrote:> On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote:>> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 >>>>>> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400.>>> > I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989.I should add that I'm very fond of these DMM probes:<https://probemaster.com/8000-series-standard/>CheersPhil Hobbs-- Dr Philip C D HobbsPrincipal ConsultantElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOpticsOptics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog ElectronicsBriarcliff Manor NY 10510http://electrooptical.nethttp://hobbs-eo.comYes these are very good probes, but the reverse banana style for the very old Simpsons didn't fit. Cheers -- ----Android NewsGroup Reader---- https://piaohong.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/usenet/index.html
Reply by ●November 9, 20232023-11-09
john larkin <jl@650pot.com> wrote:> On Wed, 8 Nov 2023 18:12:38 -0500, Phil Hobbs > <pcdhSpamMeSenseless@electrooptical.net> wrote: > >> On 2023-11-08 18:08, Phil Hobbs wrote: >>> On 2023-11-08 14:04, john larkin wrote: >>>> https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-TL81A-Test-Deluxe-Electronic/dp/B000NI2B6A/ref=pd_lutyp_rtpb_sccl_2_1/142-3653234-3875240?pd_rd_w=8wX1f&content-id=amzn1.sym.9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_p=9c90becd-3e6e-4609-85c5-d4298ba525ad&pf_rd_r=W2VAXEFG42ZY2RN15N9V&pd_rd_wg=Tc99b&pd_rd_r=eca67892-4420-4869-8d8e-145a23c7fb1f&pd_rd_i=B000NI2B6A&th=1 >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Some of their handheld DVMs are over $400. >>>> >>> >>> I paid $275 for an original crispy flavor(*) Fluke 87 in about 1989. >> >> I should add that I'm very fond of these DMM probes: >> >> <https://probemaster.com/8000-series-standard/> >> >> Cheers >> >> Phil Hobbs > > I was just probing a very tight board with a sewing needle. > >Darned board. ;) Phil Hobbs -- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
