Do not buy the Keithley 2100 DVM
Neil Kalo
bought one. I cannot post a reply as the thread it too old.
DO NOT BUY THE KEITHLEY 21000
It is the most disappointing device I have ever bought. It promises so
much, and delivers so little.
I was moved to write a few notes about it, but my review doesn't show
up in Google so people are still buying this cheap meter. It may be
half the cost of a fluke, but it is worth only 10%.
You can see my comments here:
Martin Griffith
It must have been programmed in PL/M
martin
Charles
OK, I won't buy one.
John Larkin
<mart_in...@yah00.es> wrote:
>On Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:09:10 -0700 (PDT), in sci.electronics.design
>Neil Kalo <neil...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>I just saw another post about this meter, from some poor sod who had
>>bought one. I cannot post a reply as the thread it too old.
>>
>>DO NOT BUY THE KEITHLEY 2100
>>
>>It is the most disappointing device I have ever bought. It promises so
>>much, and delivers so little.
>>
>>I was moved to write a few notes about it, but my review doesn't show
>>up in Google so people are still buying this cheap meter. It may be
>>half the cost of a fluke, but it is worth only 10%.
>>
>>You can see my comments here:
>>
>>http://neilkalo.googlepages.com/keithley2100
>
>
>It must have been programmed in PL/M
>
>
>martin
It's a Chinese rebrand. The hardware seems good, but the firmware is
absolutely brain-damaged, and the engineers at Keithley are powerless
to fix it.
I have 4 of them. No Keithley, ever again.
John
jo...@jjdesigns.fsnet.co.uk
Neil Kalo wrote:
And yet my Keithley 177, (cost a fiver two years ago!) is the best
DVM I've ever used.
Probably 'cos it's uses those big, bright, red LED thingies to display
numbers and numbers only and it's got a whole row of those clickey,
interlocked, mechanical, selector switch do-dahs and it can be zeroed
using a mechanical device called a pot' and it does real microvolts
and (even better ) I never had to read one of those damned "operating
manual" things.
Neil Kalo
> OK, I won't buy one.
Sorry to shout, but I was furious!
Neil Kalo
The original instrument seems to be here:
http://www.array.com.cn/M3500A.htm
But it has more features (including themocouple temperature and GPIB).
It's so sad that the hardware seems great, but the firmware is a
disaster. This must be tarnishing the Keithley brand. I will never buy
anything from them again.
Scott Newell
>
> It's a Chinese rebrand. The hardware seems good, but the firmware is
> absolutely brain-damaged, and the engineers at Keithley are powerless
> to fix it.
>
> I have 4 of them. No Keithley, ever again.
Do you know which micro it uses? I'm wondering if it would
be possible to reprogram with custom firmware. Of course, if
Keithley can't fix it...
--
newell N5TNL
John Larkin
wrote:
I has three microprocessors. It would be a lot cheaper to trash-can
the Keithleys and buy the new Flukes.
John
sky4...@trline4.org
>>It must have been programmed in PL/M
>It's a Chinese rebrand. The hardware seems good, but the firmware is
>absolutely brain-damaged, and the engineers at Keithley are powerless
>to fix it.
>I have 4 of them. No Keithley, ever again.
With nothing to loose maybe one could make shoot at trying some own
firmware?
If it becomes bricked it can be used a doorstop ;)
JosephKK
I like that line of thought, but the reverse engineering cost is going
to atrocious. I could buy many Chinese made Flukes or other
copy/knock-offs for that amount of money.
John Larkin
I'd rather try to embarass Keithley into fixing their own hideous user
interface.
If they had any sense, they would send every 2100 owner a 2 Gig USB
memory stick. On it would be the necessary firmware upgrades to make
the damned thing usable. The instructions would say...
1. Plug stick into the 2100's USB slot
2. Power up the 2100
3. Keep the memory stick, with our apologies for your inconvenience.
Of course, they won't do anything like that, partially because they
don't know how, partially because they don't care.
John
Glen Walpert
It seems they have figured out what to do with them; extracted from an
email advertisement:
-----------
Keithley’s Model 2100 6½-Digit USB DMM. Every lab could use one. But
sometimes you want to set voltage and/or current when making
resistance measurements. You could turn to either:
* Keithley’s Model 2400 SourceMeter Instrument, or
* Model 6517 Electrometer/High Resistance Meter
Can’t afford a DMM and one of these instruments? Yes, you can!
From now through September 30, 2008, purchase one of these
instruments and get a Model 2100 6½-Digit USB DMM at no extra cost!*
But hurry! This offer ends September 30, 2008. Order now for fastest
delivery!
----------------
Ben Bradley
<neil...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I just saw another post about this meter, from some poor sod who had
>bought one. I cannot post a reply as the thread it too old.
You cannot reply because you're using Google Groups to interface to
Usenet, and Google Groups finally fixed that problem of Thread
Necro-whatever.
Read up on Usenet newsgroups (even google.com indexes webpages on
it) and how they are not the same as "Google Groups." Newsgroups are a
lot easier and faster to read and write with a news reader.
>
>DO NOT BUY THE KEITHLEY 21000
>
>It is the most disappointing device I have ever bought. It promises so
>much, and delivers so little.
>
>I was moved to write a few notes about it, but my review doesn't show
>up in Google so people are still buying this cheap meter.
And even if it did, not everyone checks Google before buying
something...geez.
John Larkin
I turned mine on this morning and all it does is beep continuously and
show this:
ftp://66.117.156.8/Stupid_2100.JPG
I'm actually relieved... I can finally dumpster the piece-o-crap.
John
JW
<jjla...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in Message id:
<hctid4daiei4v9cg0...@4ax.com>:
Really? I'll take it off your hands - The VFD may be good for repairing
some of their other models. What do you want for it?
John Fields
John Larkin
"More than twice as fast as the competition" is Chinese for "you can't
read the display."
John
Michael A. Terrell
If you are really going to trash it, I'd like to have it.
--
http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
aioe.org, Goggle Groups, and Web TV users must request to be white
listed, or I will not see your messages.
If you have broadband, your ISP may have a NNTP news server included in
your account: http://www.usenettools.net/ISP.htm
There are two kinds of people on this earth:
The crazy, and the insane.
The first sign of insanity is denying that you're crazy.
John Larkin
BobW
"John Larkin" <jjla...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
news:3iaqd4t7qrgoq8s4a...@4ax.com...
Yep. In this case, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly
true. Fluke makes good meters.
Bob
--
== All google group posts are automatically deleted due to spam ==
John Fields
<nimby_GIMM...@roadrunner.com> wrote:
>
>"John Larkin" <jjla...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
>news:3iaqd4t7qrgoq8s4a...@4ax.com...
>>
>>
>> I solved the problem:
>>
>> ftp://66.117.156.8/KeithleyFix.jpg
>>
>> ftp://66.117.156.8/MadeInUSA.JPG
>>
>> John
>>
>
>Yep. In this case, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly
>true. Fluke makes good meters.
---
I haven't bought anything from Keithley for a while but, in all
fairness, I paid a good price for this old girl more than a few years
ago and she's always stood me in good stead:
news:ompqd41vhl03ec3cd...@4ax.com
JF
Jim Thompson
Yep. But that's like old Tektronix stuff versus the new crap :-(
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
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I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food
John Larkin
<To-Email-Use-Th...@My-Web-Site.com> wrote:
>
>On Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:05:32 -0500, John Fields
><jfi...@austininstruments.com> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:58:47 -0700, "BobW"
>><nimby_GIMM...@roadrunner.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>"John Larkin" <jjla...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
>>>news:3iaqd4t7qrgoq8s4a...@4ax.com...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I solved the problem:
>>>>
>>>> ftp://66.117.156.8/KeithleyFix.jpg
>>>>
>>>> ftp://66.117.156.8/MadeInUSA.JPG
>>>>
>>>> John
>>>>
>>>
>>>Yep. In this case, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is certainly
>>>true. Fluke makes good meters.
Fluke got out of the precision $1000-range benchtop DVM biz for a
number of years; I'm glad they're back.
>>
>>---
>>I haven't bought anything from Keithley for a while but, in all
>>fairness, I paid a good price for this old girl more than a few years
>>ago and she's always stood me in good stead:
>>
>>news:ompqd41vhl03ec3cd...@4ax.com
>>
>>JF
>
>Yep. But that's like old Tektronix stuff versus the new crap :-(
>
> ...Jim Thompson
I like all the color digital Tek scopes we've bought lately, maybe a
dozen by now. They work great and none have broken so far. Have you
had problems?
I was disappointed when Keithley slapped their name on a Chinese
re-brand, apparently without testing it much.
John
Jim Yanik
news:5arqd416hqoabfjml...@4ax.com:
>
> Yep. But that's like old Tektronix stuff versus the new crap :-(
>
> ...Jim Thompson
What really bugs me,a 21+ yr. TEK employee(ex-TEK now...),is their
eliminating component-level circuit schematics from their "service"
manuals.
DAMN those TEK beancounters/upper management!
you can't believe how much "well,H-P doesn't do that" crap from management.
I wonder if Danaher will turn them around? Doubtful.
--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net
JosephKK
<jjla...@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:
>ftp://66.117.156.8/Stupid_2100.JPG
Send it to me please. I want to "crawl" through it and see what
oddball tricks they used.
John Larkin
<Anima...@petersbackyard.org> wrote:
> Big mistake, John.
>
> You are giving access to the entire directory.
It's my public FTP site.
John