Review: Agilent U1177A IR to Bluetooth Adaptor

In this review we examine the new Agilent U1177A infra-red to Bluetooth adaptor for the Agilent  U1272A DMM. You can also use the adaptor with the U1240-series DMMs with the optional adaptor. With some PC or Android device software you can monitor or log data from up to three DMMs. So let’s have a look and see what it’s all about.

Introduction

The adaptor arrives in a small box:

… with the following contents:

It was a relief to see the AAA cells included as we didn’t have any in stock. The yellow document is the China RoHS sheet, and the instructions are short but well detailed. The unit itself is quite small:

To fit the battery or reset the device, the front cover slides open revealing the innards to some degree:

and the rear:

The unit clips soundly to the rear of the DMM, however it does stick out quite a lot:

If you need to leave the meter unattended, you’ll need a level and vibration free surface, as the adaptor can be knocked out relatively easily from the top. The adaptor also blocks the hole at the back which some users may use with a hook or loop for positioning the DMM.

Software and Operation

You can use the U1177 with two platforms – Android and Windows, and we tested both. I’m sure if you have Mac Parallels, etc., that there may be some success there but I haven’t tested them. There are two applications available for Android devices – the mobile logger and mobile meter. You can download them both from the Google Play app – just search for ‘agilent‘, and the results should be

The third app is a game that is somewhat entertaining. We tried the applications on two Android devices – a HTC Velocity running Android 4.0.3 (which failed miserably, the software kept freezing) and a Motorola Xoom MZ601 with Android 3.2. I would say now that the software is marked “Beta” so caveat emptor. The data logging software worked on the Xoom but not the “Agilent Mobile Meter”. Moving forward, the logging software is quite good – you can display a graph, table or statistical value of the incoming data from up to three separate DMMs.

Below is a rough video of using the Xoom with data logging. We first make the Bluetooth connection, then measure resistance of a 1k ohm logarithmic pot, change the view to data table, then stop the logging and email the data. The app can email a .csv file which can be opened with any spreadsheet, etc. Using the app you can label each DMM feed to avoid confusion with the data files in the future.

Using the U1177A with a Windows 7 x64 machine was a lot more successful. You can download the Windows-based software from here (97 MB). After pairing the adaptor with the bluetooth connection software, the Agilent software loads but does not connect. You need to alter the data speed to 19200bps and select the COM port from the drop-down list in the “communication settings” on the left-hand side of the window, as shown below:

You can also use terminal software and AT commands to change the parameters of the U1177A, which is described in the user manual. Moving forward, once connected you can measure and log to your heart’s content. You can display a virtual meter:

Or choose a graphing display mode:

Note the short drop in value to zero as the graph increased on the far-right of the measurement in the image above. This occurs when the meter is changing range, just as the LCD will blink off then on due to the same phenomenon. Finally, you can also display the data as a table, for example:

Finally, you can export the data to a .csv file which can be opened with the usual spreadsheet or text editing software:

Using Windows OS Remote Multimeter Use Data Logging Other connection – hyperterminal etc. 

Conclusion

For data logging to a PC that is in Bluetooth range, the U1177A fits the bill. Although you can get a serial to IR cable (and early U1272A owners should have received one when the firmware update was released), the Bluetooth module will certainly be useful when moving around a worksite, or taking remote measurements from extreme temperature or NVH environments. The Android apps need to move out of beta stage – however due to the variety of devices and OS versions in the market this may be a long journey. However considering the price (~Au$52) it is inexpensive enough to keep around just-in-case.

Note – the U1177A was purchased by myself and reviewed without notice. Residing in Australia, ours was purchased from element14.com.

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

Australian Electronics – David Jones interviews Colin Mitchell

Welcome back

In this post I would like to share a series of interviews conducted by Dave Jones from eevblog.com. Dave interviews Colin Mitchell from Talking Electronics. Throughout the 1980s and onwards, Colin published a range of electronics magazines, tutorials and a plethora of electronics kits – of which many are still available today. Personally I was a great fan of the TE products, and sold many of his books through my past retail career with DSE. I hope you enjoy these interviews, and if not – stay tuned for upcoming articles.

Once again, thanks to Dave Jones and of course Colin Mitchell from Talking Electronics for their interview and various insights.

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

SMD Soldering made easier

Hooray – we’re back…

SMD (surface mount device) soldering to some people can seem scary and dangerous. And if done incorrectly, or in the wrong state of mind, and/or with the wrong equipment – it can be. Or like myself, you could be pretty bad at it. To make things easier, I’d like to point you in a few directions to find help and guidance if this technique is new to you. Furthermore, if you find any more resources, leave a comment below and we will investigate them further.

First up we have a new comic from Greg Peek and Dave Roberts from siliconfarmers.com, (written in a similar vein to the “Soldering is Easy” comic that was released in 2010) that is easy to read and makes sense. Here is the cover:

As you can see from the CC logo on the title page, the comic is in the public domain, so please print it out, email it, and generally distribute it far and wide. For more information about the authors see their website at siliconfarmers.com. I have also placed the file here at tronixstuff for you to download.

Next we have a detailed and nicely illustrated tutorial by Jon Oxer from freetronics.

Jon runs through the process of soldering with a toaster over, with great success. So head over and have a read.

For the first video tutorial we have the SMD episide of the series by David L. Jones at eevblog, well worth the time:

Next, the people from Sparky’s Widgets doing some drag soldering:

That’s all we have for now, so if you find any more that are worthwhile leave a comment below.

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

April 2012 Competition Results

April is well and truly over so time to announce the results of our April 2012 Competition!

The winner of the First Prize is Michael F from Germany who will receive a new Freetronics DMD – Dot Matrix Display as reviewed recently and used in Clock One:

The DMD consists of 16 rows of 32 LEDs that can run directly from an Arduino-compatible board, or at a much higher brightness using an external power supply. It is simple to program for yet a load of fun to use. Specifications include:

• 32 x 16 high brightness Red LEDs (512 LEDs total) on a 10mm pitch
• 5V operation
• Viewable over 12 metres away
• Tough plastic frame
• Controller ICs on board, simple clocked data interface
• Arduino compatible library, graphics functions and example support
• Dimensions: 320(W) x 160(H) x 14(D)mm (30mm(D) including rear connectors)

DMDs are also available in blue, as shown below:

The winner of the Second Prize is Hendrik from Germany (!) who will receive one each of the eleven modules from the Freetronics Module/Sensor range, as reviewed recently:

With this range of modules you will be able to sense temperature, humidity, magnetic fields, light and sound pressure levels, sound and shock. Plus light up with the RGB LED, get more I/O with the expansion module, interface with the level shifter board, control high currents with the N-MOSFET, and power the lot with the tiny switch mode power supply. Available from Freetronics or a reseller near you.

For the curious, the questions and answers were:

1. Name three HP calculators that use LED displays – There are many. Just scroll through the list available here.
2. What does CPLD stand for? Complex programmable logic device. (Why CPLD? We were going to review some CPLD gear but it didn’t work out)
3. In which year was Tektronix founded? 1946.
4. Which company introduced the term “numitron”? RCA.
5. Which company invented Bluetooth? Ericsson.

Thanks to Freetronics for the prizes!

In the meanwhile, follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.