throbscottle
Well-Known Member
Ok now my eyes are going round and round from looking at multimeter specs and I can't decide what to get. My budget is supposed to be under £100, but I can go up to £140 if something really special comes up.
So minimum what I want is:
> 2000 counts. I'm going on the principle more is better, except when it isn't.
bargraph, ideally one that responds more quickly than the main display.
10A range - though I've been considering some 8A ones too
better than 1% on DCV
>20M on the ohms range
A decent amount of grunt in the diode test
Low burden voltage in the A & mA ranges
Continuity test only a few 10's of ohms
The nice to have list includes:
They nearly all seem to have frequency, capacitance and temperature measurement these days, so I may as well get the best I can in those as well.
I've noticed a lot of the better meters are able show max and min values, which could be useful, so that goes on the list.
Some meters have duty cycle, which is also nice.
Some meters can do data logging. I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, I'll probably never use it, on the other hand it might be good to be able to graph something or other over time.
True RMS
Backlight.
The likes of Fluke and Agilent I had to discount, purely on the basis of cost.
I don't need industrial/commercial grade build/safety category. I'd like it to have a case as sturdy as my knackered old Mastech though.
I discovered that a lot of Tenma are UNI-T inside, and a lot of Extech and Beha Amprobe are Brymen inside. Fascinating. I discounted them for various reasons.
I've got a list of meters I like (and can afford!) so far:
Kyoritsu KEW1011 - I had a Kyoritsu analogue meter in the 80's so guilty of brand loyalty!
Axiomet AX-176 - These meters look quite appealing but there isn't much info about them apart from what the mfr provides - can anyone provide insight?
UNI-T UT-61E - Looks a nice meter. Seems to be a bit of a standard.
UNI-T UT-70D - You get a lot of meter for the money, though I stopped looking at counts starting with 8 because of the high +digits on the accuracy spec they all seem to have, this one still appeals.
**broken link removed** - UT-71D I think got a very good review/teardown on YouTube. The reviewer didn't think the build quality was great and found the protection lacking. I'm guessing this goes for all UNI-T meters. Can anyone enlighten?
Brymen BM257S - All the Brymen meters are very appealing. EEVBlog Dave reviewed 3 of them and was suitably impressed, they're well built and have good protection. One thing that puts me off is that they all (?) have a pc link cable and software available but unlike the others, you have to buy it separately. I think I'd rather simply not have the option. OTOH they specify a fast sample rate for the bargraph - none of the others give a separate rate for it. Gotta love that yellow backlight!
Brymen BM817S - No picture, but it would look like the other BM81x meters
Brymen BM857S - The only thing against this meter is its insanely bad backlight - see Dave's review! Top end of my budget.
Brymen BM867S - This is more than I want to spend and with postage, just shy of the maximum I have available, but it has everything I could possibly want and is far better specc'd than I'm ever likely to need. I like it!
Axiomet AX-178 - A really pretty meter! I really wish there was a review of these! Again, a bit too expensive...
Looking forward to responses, especially anyone who knows about the Axiomet meters!
So minimum what I want is:
> 2000 counts. I'm going on the principle more is better, except when it isn't.
bargraph, ideally one that responds more quickly than the main display.
10A range - though I've been considering some 8A ones too
better than 1% on DCV
>20M on the ohms range
A decent amount of grunt in the diode test
Low burden voltage in the A & mA ranges
Continuity test only a few 10's of ohms
The nice to have list includes:
They nearly all seem to have frequency, capacitance and temperature measurement these days, so I may as well get the best I can in those as well.
I've noticed a lot of the better meters are able show max and min values, which could be useful, so that goes on the list.
Some meters have duty cycle, which is also nice.
Some meters can do data logging. I'm in two minds about this. On the one hand, I'll probably never use it, on the other hand it might be good to be able to graph something or other over time.
True RMS
Backlight.
The likes of Fluke and Agilent I had to discount, purely on the basis of cost.
I don't need industrial/commercial grade build/safety category. I'd like it to have a case as sturdy as my knackered old Mastech though.
I discovered that a lot of Tenma are UNI-T inside, and a lot of Extech and Beha Amprobe are Brymen inside. Fascinating. I discounted them for various reasons.
I've got a list of meters I like (and can afford!) so far:
Kyoritsu KEW1011 - I had a Kyoritsu analogue meter in the 80's so guilty of brand loyalty!
Axiomet AX-176 - These meters look quite appealing but there isn't much info about them apart from what the mfr provides - can anyone provide insight?
UNI-T UT-61E - Looks a nice meter. Seems to be a bit of a standard.
UNI-T UT-70D - You get a lot of meter for the money, though I stopped looking at counts starting with 8 because of the high +digits on the accuracy spec they all seem to have, this one still appeals.
**broken link removed** - UT-71D I think got a very good review/teardown on YouTube. The reviewer didn't think the build quality was great and found the protection lacking. I'm guessing this goes for all UNI-T meters. Can anyone enlighten?
Brymen BM257S - All the Brymen meters are very appealing. EEVBlog Dave reviewed 3 of them and was suitably impressed, they're well built and have good protection. One thing that puts me off is that they all (?) have a pc link cable and software available but unlike the others, you have to buy it separately. I think I'd rather simply not have the option. OTOH they specify a fast sample rate for the bargraph - none of the others give a separate rate for it. Gotta love that yellow backlight!
Brymen BM817S - No picture, but it would look like the other BM81x meters
Brymen BM857S - The only thing against this meter is its insanely bad backlight - see Dave's review! Top end of my budget.
Brymen BM867S - This is more than I want to spend and with postage, just shy of the maximum I have available, but it has everything I could possibly want and is far better specc'd than I'm ever likely to need. I like it!
Axiomet AX-178 - A really pretty meter! I really wish there was a review of these! Again, a bit too expensive...
Looking forward to responses, especially anyone who knows about the Axiomet meters!