UNI-T UT204A Clamp Meter Review - Not the one with the TrueRMS - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2012, 11:02:12 am
content: Aye lads, I know some people here have this clamp but it hasn't been any talk existing here about this clamp meterSo i bought this clamp meter a month ago and i'm fairly happy with it except for 1 small thing ... I realized i bought the WRONG one right after ordering!I wanted the True RMS version which is the UT204 and didn't realize the 'A' stood for having the temperature scale above the UT203 which was a bummer for meFirst up i want to talk about some oddities you usually won't find in a clamp meter : RELATIVE and not ZERO ... but fair enough the UT204/A is cheap enough as a clamp that i wouldn't worry about that.But well it's got HOLD (Which is pretty useless) Relative and a fairly good side rotary knob (Kinda like the ones you find on a 11X fluke meter)I don't have any accuracy references as many factors go into account like where i position the wire and the REL offset ( which is important in electronics, 2.01A offset is a bit misleading) as well as much copper is actually inside (1+ohms for a 1meter wire sounds suspicious doesn't it?)Inrush? Supposedly you won't find such luxuries here, it's like a NoFrills (yeah ... supermarkets here use this branding for the cheap stuff ...) Clamp Meter with everything you need, DC and AC amps.The very good portion of this clamp meter is that it can do DC and the NOT so good thing is that it only has 10mA resolution ... not too good but i guess you can't get cheap and decent with 1mA resolution to boot because that requires a tighter area in the hall sensor to work properly with better accuracy but this meter is much more useful than a GTC CM100 1mA resolution clamp meterWant Inrush want TrueRMS and ZERO-ing? Get the UT207 (No temperature) or the 208 which IMO looks nice to me, if you want capacitance the UT209 solves thatThat aside i shall talk about qualityIt feels pretty good though, just slightly below the quality of a UT61E's body which is oddly tough for a 50$ meterHow much tension is in the clamp? Quite a lot, to prevent accidental unclamp and that's a good thing to me and the pressure certainly isn't unevenProbes? I think they aren't bad at all, it's not AWG18 but really it's just for voltage, fairly flexible tooThe leads are made of PVC and trust me, it's good PVC and certainly the probes themselves quite sharp too, CAT I 1000V rated is abit of a downer but really it's not faked ratingsCarrying Bag? Ah. That's not bad too.Oddly these are all physical details (Yeah, the seller decided to give me a catalogue too)The meter's functionality itselfResistance autoranging is fairly quick although not as quick as the UT61E and i'm not surprised, i have seen much much, much worse (VC99! Slow as a wet wick!)Continuity is quite fast but it's not latched so ... i'll fit UT-L07s or a TL-175 on this meter and see how it goesBut there's a few issues i have with the positioning of the rangesThis is a clamp meter isn't it? WHY THEN UNI-T DID YOU PUT THE DAMN CURRENT RANGES ON THE END! But yeah even fluke does that ...Apart from that i like that this clamp meter has capacitance/ What's the chance of using a clamp meter to measure capacitance?Handy i know but it's a feature that's never used on a clamp but certainly it's useful if you happen to be Dave recently? Checking current possibly while checking capacitance of a possibly dead aircondioning motor start capHow about temperature then? That's a nice bonus. Don't need another meter for this but you can use this to check the ambient temperature or something in the vicinity like a coil temperature off a fridge or aircon compressorDC/AC volts is a good addition too as stated by SeanB. As well as continuityNice screen but the font is a tad too small ... Not that i have problems viewing the screen but it can be a problem for people with presbyopiaWhat else do i like about this meter? Well i was fairly surprised when i found out they used PCB mount battery clips on a low-end clamp meter like thisWant a teardown?Oh sure you can have

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2012, 11:42:00 am
content: Capacitance nice feature. Motor capacitor ( like what died with the aircon in Dave's office) checking, and the coil temperature off an aircon or fridge. Looks like a nice service meter. DC/AC volts, continuity, capacitance, frequency to check inverters and temperature, in addition to current measuring. Not bad, 6 meters in one.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 08, 2012, 05:32:46 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on December 08, 2012, 11:42:00 amNice features but luckily for me amps come in DC first ... that's a downer for a service meterBut it's a excellent clamp meter for those on a budget

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 09, 2012, 04:39:41 am
content: I just got one of these too. Wow, I have another Uni-Trend. I feel ashamed. But for the price it is a reasonable meter. I too was caught off guard that I had purchased a non TRMS meter but my main use for a clamp meter is for DC current so I am not too disappointed.My tests using my standards that I have showed it to be within spec on everything I could check. Although I seem to be against Uni-Trend meters I keep buying their crap and this is one of their crap that is worth buying. My rule for Uni-Trend is to spend less than $60 and don't have any expectations of high quality. The UT204A seems to be just right for the price.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 09, 2012, 05:20:50 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on December 09, 2012, 04:39:41 amYour testes sure are sensitive!

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 09, 2012, 08:03:26 pm
content: Actually they are and the clamp is quite tight. lol

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2012, 04:58:03 am
content: The innards actually look quite nice, i'm puzzled by those holes in the ground plane, what are they for?Doesn't even look like vias stitching! OhIt isn't a vias so i have no idea and the spring does have nice tension and pressure but only time will tell if it will hold up

author: SherlockOhms
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: December 29, 2012, 07:39:02 pm
content: Interesting review.I recently got the UT202 clamp meter. External construction seems to be quite sturdy. It's already had one hard fall to concrete with just a couple nicks to show for it.I picked the 202 model because it has a 2A scale, which seems like it could be useful for checking the current draw of small appliances. It does have temperature measurement as well. Other than that, it's pretty basic, but I have other meters that cover RMS, capacitance, etc.I just wanted a basic clamp meter to monitor the output of a small gasoline powered AC generator and so far the UT202 is working just fine.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2013, 08:38:51 pm
content: Quote from: SherlockOhms on December 29, 2012, 07:39:02 pmAwesome drop performance. I didn't really test that aspect as i didn't really want to go out to the main road and look like a weirdo dropping a red clamp-ish thing on the walking path

author: Spawn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2013, 09:43:31 pm
content: Interesting Clamp meter there Dave, I was looking for one since I can’t find mine for more than a year now, I lend it out I believe but I don’t remember to who…So I was looking for a Fluke, but Uni-T has build up some good credit on me lately, I might consider checking this one out. In China made Fluke 302+ are for decent price but I am not sure if it's original Fluke.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 13, 2013, 10:09:48 pm
content: Before you buy the Uni-T, consider this one.http://dx.com/p/1-5-lcd-multi-function-digital-clamp-multimeter-green-yellow-138290Yes a bit more expensive but it has inrush and TRMS. Reviews I have seen on it on amazon.com seem relatively good. I have one coming on my next order from DX.

author: Spawn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 13, 2013, 11:10:08 pm
content: That’s looking good indeed, but I never owned a Mastertech, and it is ending with ...techso after my nice experience with ExtechI have to see some reviews about this one.I need to measure AC Ampere with it soFluke 302+is more than enough for me, doesn’t have much functions but I dont need it either, I will wait till your review before i order one

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 14, 2013, 12:00:31 am
content: After spending days scouring dozens of clamp meters, I'm about the hit the button on this one -www.test-equipment.com.au/clamp-meters/chauvin-arnoux-f05-multifunction-kw-power-factor-clamp-meterIt's come down to this one or an AEMC, also seem to be good quality / accuracy. The price is very comparable to Fluke,and it has some awesome features. The F09 is only ~$50 more and even more impressive.If anyone has any experience with this brand, I'd like to hear, otherwise I guess I'm the guinea pig :-)

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2013, 12:34:45 pm
content: Quote from: digsys on January 14, 2013, 12:00:31 amCharvin Arnoux makes solid stuff, they're decent and great, in short i like them. Except their graphing multimeter which costs a small house

author: JoannaK
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 30, 2013, 03:59:51 pm
content: Nice to see some pics and review.. I have some need for AC clamp meter and I thougth that this Uni-T series (203) might be good cause it also has DC current measurement with Clamp.

author: hgg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 09, 2013, 07:28:41 pm
content: Hi,I recently bought the Uni-T UT203 clamp meter to measure the small parasitic current drain that waskilling my car battery and I indeed found the cause. It was my car's stereo amplifier. Anyway, what Iwould like to ask is that every time I switch it on to DC current 40A, it shows 0.9 to 1.2 amps currentwith no cable clamped.You can REL this out, but is this normal? It seems too high. Is it possible to calibrate it?If you select AC it shows 0.05 amps which is much better.If I REL out the DC offset, it can actually measure the current of a white LED quite accurately.Powered with 12V it fluctuates between 0.02 and 0.03 amps. The actual value is 26mA.Not bad, but why the huge offset?Apart from that, the meter is quite accurate in V/Ohms/Hz and of decent quality.The only stupid thing is that the dial starts from Volts and ends in Amps...How many PhDs in electronics do you need to think that the Amps should be firston a clamp amp meter?...

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 09, 2013, 08:01:57 pm
content: Yes, the offset is not abnormal. Just live with it and zero the meter each time you open and close the jaws.

author: hgg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2013, 05:18:34 am
content: Ok, thanks!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2013, 06:59:32 pm
content: Did you not read the OP?I said there was an offset but it's entirely normal for any clamp meter, that's why you absolutely must have a REL or ZERO function on a clamp meter. It's a MUST. Definite MUST.And yes it starting with Volts is a damn stupid idea. Don't know which blockhead came up with it

author: malagas_on_fire
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2018, 12:13:22 am
content: Well i bought one in a store to measure big currents, for AC / DC, thinking it was True RMS but so far is doing great for it's specifications.Mine was Intertek aproval on the battey case.

author: Mkdsime
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2019, 08:24:07 pm
content: Hi i have UT204A clamp meter it fell softly and now when i press the select or rel or hold button it beeps sometimes display goes crazy and shuts down. I have cleaned the connections on the pcb, measured the transistors with diode test directly on the board all 'Y1' SMD transistors have short between 2 pins. What could be the problem if someone knows please help somehow thanks and take care.