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Review: Fluke 199C ScopeMeter, part 2 of 2
May 21, 2007
Fluke 199C ScopeMeter, part 2 of 2
(Return to Part 1 of this review or click here for the introduction to this series of reviews of four handheld oscilloscopes.)
DMM
Pressing the 199C’s Meter button takes you to DMM mode. Here, you can press the F1 soft Key (Measure) and select your measurement--ohms, diode, Volts (AC, DC, AC+DC), current (AC, DC, AC+DC), or temperature. Use the arrow keys to maneuver through the selections. Using the DMM is clean and easy.
The User button gives you several configuration options. You can adjust battery save options, set time and date, and go to a printer setup. There, you can select a type of printer and baud rate, assuming you can get a printer with a serial port, that is.
Recorder
Fluke put some unique features into its easy-to-use recorder. It has three modes, of which two are for the scope. The scope trend plot lets you record scope measurements such as Vpk-pk, VAC, rise time, and frequency. I used it to record Vpk-pk and frequency because they’re easy to change in the function generator. The 199C records them and lets you store the data. The Scope Record option lets you store a long string of scope acquisitions into the units deep memory. The DMM recorder lets you plot a selected DMM measurement. I chose Vrms and produced a trend plot.
I selected scope trend plot first. This required me to look in the manual. Trend plots are good for looking at long-term changes in a signal. The 199C will record data to memory until memory fills, then compress data to free half the memory and thus double the capacity. Record size is 27,000 points per input. You can set the instrument to stop recording when the memory is full. You can use the time/div button to increase or decrease the time/recorder screen.
Software: FlukeView 4.4:
My 199C came with Version 4.0. I installed 4.0 and downloaded version 4.4. The upgrade went smoothly once I found the folder where version 4.0 was installed. The PC immediately identified the 199C over its optional RS-232 cable. Fluke offers a USB data cable, but didn’t supply one for this evaluation.
FlukeView’s Instrument menu provides two options for viewing, the scope screen or waveform. In waveform, you get a bigger image and measurement details on the side. The image shows the waveform version. You can save images in BMP or PCX formats. I chose BMP format for import into Microsoft Word. You can also save as waveforms as FlukeView files or as data in comma-separated variable (CSV) or text format. I saved data in CSV format and easily opened it in Excel.
The software lets you take a snapshot instrument’s screen, but doesn’t provide oscilloscope updates in real time. It does, though provide online control of the instrument, but you have to find that feature in the program’s Instrument, Remote Control menu. You have limited control, too. You can change mode (scope, meter, logger) and you can recall setups. You can operate the recorder to capture DMM measurements in real time. You can save setups, print, and log data to the PC with FlukeView. You can also get a spectrum display of an input signal (see image). To get the spectral display, you must first get a waveform display. The software calculates FFT offline, in the PC.
The Fluke 199C is a powerful handheld oscilloscope. If you’re left handed, it’s the one for you. It’s hanging strap is also quite useful for electrical applications or applications such as troubleshooting equipment racks. The software is good for downloading data for offline storage and analysis. Perhaps the only drawback is the highly reflective screen cover.
Posted by Martin Rowe on May 21, 2007 | Comments (0)
