New UNI-T UT-197 600,000 count meter  Approx $400 USD - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 03:20:25 pm
content: https://meters.uni-trend.com/product/ut197-industrial-digital-multimeter/From their website:1. True RMS measurement2. AC/DC voltage: 1000V3. AC/DC current: 10A4. Display count: 600,000 & switchable; 9,999(Hz)5. 12kV pulse protection & anti-EMC interference6. IP67 & 5m Drop Protection7. Overvoltage category: CAT IV 1000V8. Working environment: -40 °C ~ 55 °C9. Input terminal visible alarm10. Automatically backlight11. Bluetooth function12. Support UT-CS06A/UT-CS09D current sensorFor the $400 price tag, the single display, non-graphing, why would you buy this meter over a known brand? Do you really thing this meter would survive even my tiny 12kV 50us FWHH with 2ohm source? When it comes to testing these meters, if past history has taught me one thing it is that UNI-T doesn't make robust meters. Why would they change their business model now?I thought the meter did not have data logging but it appears they support Bluetooth. They provide an app for iOS and Android but not Windows. I don't see where they offer a programmer's manual for it and suspect like the UT181A's BLE intereface, you would need to reverse engineer it.***Photo of the 197 taken from the datasheet. The layout, slits and inserts look good at a glance. I can't get over the fact that the last two bottom basement UNI-T meters (125C & 33A+) did so well in my testing. Maybe UNI-T is changing....

author: Aldo22
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 03:45:55 pm
content: In the default setting, it seems to have “only” 60,000 counts. However, you can switch it to 600,000 counts.Do you know why this is so, or what the disadvantages of the 600'000 counts mode are (why switch)?Speed?

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 04:49:18 pm
content: another count gimmick like the 500k of the brymen amprobe and other meters based on the same chipset loll real 50k countswhat is the chipset of this one ?rantnothing beat the real 310000 count of Gossen loll or the 1200000 of the Gossen 30m lollat least 2 fuses is better, hope the quality is better, 400$ mmm too muchDo not the PRO marking ?? MAYBE as Joe wrote they are changing or want to compete with the BIG ones ?? i hope you get one to torture

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 07:29:51 pm
content: Quote from: coromonadalix on March 12, 2025, 04:49:18 pmI've mentioned a few times about using the Brymen's 500k count mode. Without trying the UNI-T, hard to say if it would have any use.With Gossen's brilliant idea about not shielding their Ultra, you may as well buy something much cheap. People have written me claiming that Gossen addressed these problems but I really have no idea.I will say that the one I have, with my custom made shielding, is about as close to my HP34401A as any handheld DMM. I think the current pricing for that meter is about $1000 but you may have to make some extensive modifications to get it to perform well.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 07:33:58 pm
content: Wow UT-197 does have Intertek 61010 safety certificates.(UT61 does not lol, they shit the bed with the UT-61 fiasco, depopulating MOV's yet that VDE safety cert was presented. Death by BBQ lighter).Their OEM products (Besantek, Extech Instruments, Minipa, Actron, Bosch) can have good design and safety approvals - it's just that they intentionally choose to be misleading and cheap with some of their products.First glance, it does not use surge resistors, so I'd expect some weakness and drama in transient tests. Some PTC's have a heatshrink blast shield though, not sure which is for LowZ either. Cat. IV 1,000V is 12kV/2R transient, pretty fierce spacings required to achieve that.It looks like Hycon 50,000 count IC so they might be using decimation to get the extra digit. Not that any electrician needs mV resolution when reading mains - it will just be noise and wandering digits.Batteries are 3 of AA. IP67, 5m drop, -40C looks optimistic.It might have Emtek? EMC certs too , I did not look.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2025, 09:24:39 pm
content: Quote from: floobydust on March 12, 2025, 07:33:58 pmThe UT181A used two series PTCs rather than a surge rated resistor + PTC. While I did chop up the PCB and made a few tweeks to it, the basic front end was still the same when a transient tested it the second time. Still, I don't know what they are expecting when they call out 12kV as they have. I would expect the meter to survive it but that is a tall order.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 07:16:05 pm
content: The surge resistors are large and take up a lot of space but Uni-T has never used them that I know of.These multimeters are priced to the penny, it's on purpose they are left out. Not due to dumbness etc.I see bigger clamp transistors in SOT-223 package in the UT-197, so that might be the strategy - withstand higher transient currents and let the PTC's deal with it.I'm also assuming Intertek did reasonable transient tests during certification.It must be a 4-layer PCB to get HV insulation improved, and for the EMC claim.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 07:36:31 pm
content: I don't recall ever seeing the surge rated resistors in any of the UNI-T products I tested as well.I noticed the larger packages as well and wondered if that was one of the clamps. When I had changed out the transistors in the BM869s to run it up to higher levels, I stuck with a SOT-23. I think if the front breaks down, it's not going to matter much. Assuming they are testing in volts modes only, say the MOVs clamp at 2k, that's still 10k across the two PTCs. Seems crazy.If it would survive to half that in all modes, I would call it good enough. I wonder if Intertek tests them in every mode and what is their pass/fail criteria.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 09:40:15 pm
content: I haven't dealt with Intertek for years.Little known but certification agencies will on request provide their checklist which outlines the tests and conditions of the particular standard. It allows the lab or a junior certifier to do the test suite.It helps immensely to know beforehand what a product is going to be inspected, evaluated, tested to.But these can have cracks and places where "N/A" checkbox gets ticked when it shouldn't.