EEVBlog BM235 or Fluke 175? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Federico993
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 12:37:14 pm
content: Hi, I need to buy a new multimeter, which one to buy among the EEVBlog BM235 (247$) and a Fluke 175 (290$)?Thanks

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 01:20:54 pm
content: For that much money you can get a much better meter:https://brymen.eu/product-category/multimetry/

author: Federico993
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 01:31:02 pm
content: Thanks for the answer, do you mean the Brymen BM869s?I don't know them, are they reliable as Fluke?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 02:02:06 pm
content: Dunno if as reliable, but they are pretty good. You can get much better bang for the buck. $247 for BM235 is crazy. BM869 has better capabilities than any Fluke which costs twice as much.

author: Federico993
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 02:53:54 pm
content: Thanks for the answer, what is the difference among the 869 and the 869s? Is the 869s the best one manufactured by Brymen?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 03:00:38 pm
content: The '869s' is the updated version of the 869.Quote from: Federico993 on December 10, 2020, 01:31:02 pmYes.Quote from: Federico993 on December 10, 2020, 02:53:54 pmFor general purpose? Yes.

author: Federico993
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 03:17:54 pm
content: Thanks for the answer, I have seen that there is also the 786 version, is the 786 better than the 869s?What is the Fluke with the same characteristics as the Brymen 869s?I can buy the Brymen 869s for 217,5€ (263$), it is a good price.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 03:51:24 pm
content: Quote from: Federico993 on December 10, 2020, 03:17:54 pmThe EEVBlog 786 is eagerly awaited but hasn't shown up yet. It is positioned below the 869s and should be a lot less expensive. Still, it may be very good for your needs.The Fluke models that might be compared with the 869s would be the 87V and the 289. Neither is really directly equivalent and the Flukes are more expensive, especially the 289, and even more so in the EU.The Fluke 175 would be difficult to recommend on a feature-based comparison. It is a 6000-count meter with no backlight and an adequate but basic feature set. It would be appropriate in a commercial setting where the lifetime* warranty and ruggedness would be the most important considerations. It wouldn't be a terrible choice for you (although I'd really recommend stepping up to at least the 177) but it would be a big loser in the 'bang for buck' competition.The Brymen 869s is feature-rich and I'm not sure how many of those features are useful to you. You should dig in and figure out what is important and what isn't. The price you quoted looks good to me (is that with VAT??) and a lot less than we can buy it for here in the US.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 04:15:33 pm
content: Quote from: bdunham7 on December 10, 2020, 03:51:24 pmYes, Brymen website prices are with VAT (23%). 217 Euros is with VAT+shipping.You can get it even cheaper from welectron because they're German and German VAT has been lowered until the end of the year, plus you get free shipping:https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM869s-Multimeter_3For 217 Euros you can have the meter plus a case and some alligator clips.

author: Federico993
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 11:16:55 pm
content: Thanks for the accurate answer! The Brymen 869s looks to be the best choice!But I wanted to ask about the EEVBlog 121GW, I have seen that it has also the Bluetooth. It is more expensive, but how is it compared to the 869s?

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 10, 2020, 11:57:23 pm
content: Quote from: Federico993 on December 10, 2020, 11:16:55 pmIt's actually cheaper. It's just that Brymen is cheapest in Europe but EEVblog products are expensive here. Thus you might see 121GW being more expensive at the same place. 121GW has some unusual features, if you need them, go for it. But BM869 is a better multimeter in general.

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2020, 06:33:57 am
content: There is one other thing to consider, that is buying an EEVblog product supports the web site we all use! I really believe it is worth considering.As for the meters you are considering and frankly all the others on the market, it really comes down to the features you really need and the service you can get. In the end the price isn't a big concern (if within an assigned budget) and for many users the specs are not all that important.I look at it this way, for many uses a modern handheld DVM has more precision than many users need. It is better to make sure the meter has the features you need. For example the ability to handle temperature transducers is often important to many users. Even here there are some manufactures throwing every function, done half assed, into a meter to the point that many of the functions are useless or never get used.Going back to temperature reading, if this is extremely important it might be better to have a dedicated meter to handle such duty. The same idea goes for things like LRC functionality, a handheld dedicated meter will do the job better. So you have to weigh the value of all the odd functions found on some meters against their value to you.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 11, 2020, 08:11:45 am
content: Quote from: wizard69 on December 11, 2020, 06:33:57 amThere's no need to restrict yourself because of that. It's a one-off sale so you can buy another brand and make a donation.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 01, 2022, 07:58:14 am
content: Defpom has a look at the Fluke 175