A 70$ multimeter  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: vNawar
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 11, 2018, 09:46:46 pm
content: Hello everyone,can anyone tell me if this 70$ multimeter worth its price?

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2018, 10:32:39 pm
content: Just looking at how they put the fuses in - NO.The meter looks terrible, not worth half the price in my opinion.If you are looking for a cheapish, safe meter, try the Uni-T UT139.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 12, 2018, 01:46:29 am
content: That looks horrible, no......

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 12, 2018, 02:19:04 am
content: Agree.Those wires to the 10A fuse are awfully long and it was the fuses which were the first thing that caught my eye that say bad things to me about the design and construction. The heart of the thing is going to be the bit of COB silicon under that black blob - and to put a 10A fuse right over it means a short of high enough energy is very likely going to dramatically blow - what I suspect is NOT an HRC fuse - and the shrapnel could well carve up the chip's bonding, if not the chip itself.But even just having soldered fuses wrapped in heatshrink is really inconvenient for fuse replacement ... and the heatshrink isn't going to be there for any mechanical containment - it's just there to stop the fuse from shorting to any of the other circuitry.And although I can't clearly see what the Cat rating is supposed to be ... I don't believe it for a second.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2018, 03:14:58 am
content: It claims CAT III 600V, which I agree is unlikely. Looks like there is 1 PTC to the right of the 0.5A fuse.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2018, 04:53:56 am
content: Quote from: vNawar on April 11, 2018, 09:46:46 pmNo, its not worth that much, way too expensive.Locally (southeast asia) here these kind of DMMs usually cost bout $10 up to $25, and at $25 its better comes with nice pouch, fresh battery and probably medium quality probes.

author: TechieTX
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2018, 11:56:02 pm
content: For just under $10USD (including shipping) I got an Aneng AN8008 (9999 count display) from eBay. Just from a quick look, it'll probably do everything that $70 meter will. Dave did a review on the Aneng, and although it's a piece of junk inside, the basic accuracy is amazingly good. Here's Dave's teardown:https://www.eevblog.com/2017/07/15/eevblog-1007-is-a-25-multimeter-any-good/I haven't put it through all of it's paces and ranges yet, but all of the precision sources and components I had show that it meets the specs. There's a 31-page forum thread on it as well, which I haven't read.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/an8008-us-$19-10000count-1uv-0-01ua-0-01ohm-resolution-meter/andhttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/aneng-an8001-6000-count-true-rms-multimeter/I lucked out... the seller didn't know that other people were selling the 9999 count model for twice that $10USD price. Yeah, for that price I'd buy one. Heck, the replacement probes for my Fluke meter run over $30, so I'm not bitchin' about the cheezy little Chinese meter. I've paid that much for a premium cup of coffee before!

author: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2018, 09:09:46 am
content: Quote from: vNawar on April 11, 2018, 09:46:46 pmThe fuse thing is something you won’t even find in cheap Chinese multi meters.For low cost multi meters I’ve had good luck with the UNI-T brand and you could get one for ~50 USD that is way safer and probably performs much better than the 70 USD multi meter you have!

author: lacek
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2018, 09:10:58 pm
content: At that prace tag you can buy BM235.

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 16, 2018, 10:32:06 pm
content: For around that price, you can get a Fluke 101! That Fluke model doesn't have a lot of capabilities - in particular, it lacks current measurement - but the capabilities it does have work very well, and the meter is very safe, rugged, and well-built.

author: lacek
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2018, 05:44:38 am
content: Fluke 101 for electronics use is not that good. This is for electricians.

author: VEGETA
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2018, 06:24:06 am
content: Just get Aneng 8009 for 25$, it is a better choice overall. I think these DMMs made buying 100$ DMM a bad idea.