How has the 121GW meter come along? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: live2fish88
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 21, 2024, 07:31:03 pm
content: I have a fluke 179 and a TPI 194 II that I like. For some reason, meters are something I enjoy buying and using. I’ve seen many complaints over the 121GW but the specs interest me. Have the software bugs or any hardware issues been worked out of these meters or are they still not there yet? From what I remember hearing, slow auto ranging and ohm readings were the two big ones. Have they made hardware improvements? Do they regularly update the FW or have they not in a while?

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 01:10:30 am
content: I think I would primarily suggest someone buy the 121GW for the "features" not necessarily the "specs".It has quite a long list of interesting "features" in my opinion. Just to name some unique ones:- user calibration with back up & restore- dual display can show battery voltage or internal temperature- good battery capacity if you like using the backlight- someone hacked the firmware so you can fully control mode memory- built-in amplifier circuit can be handy for certain current measurementsWith regard to "specs", as in accuracy specs, I will say the 121GW is on the weaker side which should not too be much of a surprise because the general consensus is that Brymen is better than UEi in this area for example. But it is hard to pin this down too much since every DMM that rolls of the assembly line is slightly different, they are exposed to different conditions and many times the products have had multiple hardware revisions.With that said, if you are digit hunting, go for a bench meter.Now with regard to bugs and firmware, it's a mixed bag where they HAVE fixed bugs over the years, but there ARE a couple somewhat obscure minor issues that haven't been addressed, and the odds are good that we'll never see another firmware from UEi. This is really a shame because the 121GW has a lot more potential. I'm sure from a business standpoint UEi is going to take the stance that ANY improvements to the 121GW would hurt sales of UEi products, so those are strictly saved for UEi's use. Although it does also paint UEi in a somewhat bad light in that regard. But on the flip side I've contacted UEi multiple times and their US customer service has been great.The 121GW is slow, there is no getting around that statement. From initial release, they did improve things a bit, though. Currently, I would say 2 seconds to power on, almost 3 seconds to autorange resistance from one end of the range to the other, 1 second to for it to display numbers when switching modes and there are also sometimes 1 second delays when ranging for voltage and current. Continuity is fine; there are better. The display update rate is under 2 per second, so that is somewhat slow as well.Again, certain bench meters are insanely fast, so if I were checking a pile of random resistors, I'd probably use my Fluke 8842A.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 02:46:46 am
content: Quote from: J-R on January 22, 2024, 01:10:30 amTry setting the RATE button to "F" (or "M" if you don't want a complete blur) and then go from open-circuit, where it will read the overload symbol "1" and then connect it to say a 1k resistor to see how fast it autoranges down and settles. The 8842A is somewhat special in that it is not an integrating design so it reacts a bit differently, most notably in having a very fast settling time after step changes.

author: BILLPOD
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 01:41:17 pm
content: What other meters does UEi produce??

author: armandine2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 02:09:38 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/kane-555-multimeter/Kane 555 Multimeter?

author: DaneLaw
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 07:42:26 pm
content: Quote from: armandine2 on January 22, 2024, 02:09:38 pmYep, alongside a few others.https://www.kanetest.com.cn/product.html

author: J-R
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 22, 2024, 09:06:32 pm
content: Yikes, nobody knows how to use a search engine any more???UEi started as Universal Enterprises Inc. about 50 years ago in Beaverton Oregon. If you search for something like "uei test" on eBay you'll get a good idea of all the equipment they've been making. It's definitely budget oriented, but still OK, primarily made in Korea.About 70 years ago, Douglas Kane started the Kane Group in London, and in 1992 they bought UEi.In 2010, Klein Tools purchased a 50% interest in UEi. Have a look at the Klein MM2300, which clearly has the display UEi currently uses and a selector switch from a slightly older UEi design. I think they have parted ways now, though, since all the current Klein DMMs are made in China.