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Review: Agilent Technologies U1604A, Part 2 of 2
June 5, 2007
(click here for the introduction to this series of reviews of four handheld oscilloscopes)
DMM
Pressing the Meter button gets you a blank (Agilent screen tells you what measurements are available) screen with three soft-key options: Volt Meter, Ohm meter, and Aux Meter. Pressing the Aux Meter (F3) key brings up choices for temperature, current, humidity, and pressure. For the volt meter, you can choose from AC/DC, min/max, or relative measurements. To return to other meter functions, you must press the meter button, which brings you to the top of the meter menu; there’s no “back” button. Pressing the ohm-meter button gives you resistance, diode, continuity, and capacitance measurements. You make your selection by repeatedly pressing the F1 key. The wheel doesn’t let you select from this pop-up menu. It should (Agilent the same),I wouldn’t have expected the find capacitance buried under ohms. You also get min/max and relative measurements. Agilent and Protek DMM functions are idtentical. Only difference is the screen when you enter DMM mode. Agilent screen describes the meter functions. Protek screen in blank.
Logger: This is the most significant difference between the Protek and the Agilent. No logger on Protek. Agilent’s logger works with the unit in DMM mode. It lets you store long-term measurements, including min and max values.
PC Link software: The CD contains the driver and PC Link software. Once installed, the Agilent software is nearly identical to Protek, but the install process differs from Protek. The Agilent CD asks you to download a driver, which I did. I was unable to get the PC to communicate with the instrument, perhaps because of a driver conflict resulting from the Protek software previously installed. They both use identical file names for their drivers. I uninstalled the Protek WaveLink software, then reinstalled Agilent’s PC Link, to no avail. Agilent’s people suggested that I start with another PC. Not having one, I asked my IT department to install a new image on my hard drive, thus wiping off all traces of the Protek software.
I finally succeeded in getting the PC to communicate with the Agilent U1604A, but it wasn’t easy. Perhaps I didn’t follow Agilent’s install instructions to the letter. Agilent’s install required several steps as where Protek’s was easy. Agilent requires you to first install the drive from the CD, but you’d better read instructions first. You must download drivers before connecting USB cable between PC and oscilloscope.
After using a clean hard drive, I was successful but not without trouble. While having problems with first hard drive, Agilent recommended that I manually install the driver’s inf file. I did that with the clean drive as well. After that I was able to control the Agilent oscilloscope from the PC. I must conclude that Agilent’s install process is unnecessarily difficult. Protek does it in one click, installing both the driver and the application. Agilent makes you follow a two-step process. You must install the driver, then the application. That shouldn’t be necessary. Both companies should make sure that their versions of the software will work, even if the other company’s software was previously installed.
The image shows the Agilent version of the software. The up and down controls for time/div and volts/div (blue, red, and gray arrows) can get confusing the first time you use them. Take vertical scale. Clicking on the down arrow decreases the V/div settings, which increases the size of the waveform. But after one use, you’ll get it.
Awhile Agilent’s U1604A uses essentially the same firmware and software as the Protek unit, there are differences. Agilent uses a larger, color screen, has dedicated oscilloscope buttons, and a sturdier stand. The PC software needs a better install process.
Posted by Martin Rowe on June 5, 2007 | Comments (1)
