Uni-T UT61E Insomnia. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: microherb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 03:28:47 am
content: I've recently received my new UT61E multimeter and am very happy with it.Except it does not have sleep mode, auto power down, whatever you want to call it.I'm a bit disappointed as I always forget to turn my meters off.Also the information I went off prior to purchase athttp://www.uni-trend.com/UT61e.htmlsays that it does have a sleep mode.I can't rely on these UNI-T specification pages at all to help choose a meter because the same page also says the UT61E has backlight which it doesn't.Anyone got any other recommendations for a similar spec meter that has auto power off.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2012, 08:48:55 am
content: There is, but it's pretty expensive and not easy to find.It's called the "87v"No kidding, the next one in line is from mastech but that isn't cheapSomething around $80 it's the MS8240D and i can hardly find it anywhere...Or if you want something even more advanced the MS8218 is your choice 50000 counts with dB measurement

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 03:23:54 am
content: The only UNI-T DMM I have ever used was some years ago,& it had "sleep mode".The trouble was,it would go to sleep in the middle of a measurement.Apparently,it had no way of aborting this function automatically when the meter was actually doing something.My old Fluke 77 will turn itself off if it is left unused for a reasonably long amount of time,which is useful,but these silly functions that interfere with work are a waste of time!

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 04:27:56 am
content: Point there!Really APO is pointless, in datalogging instrumentsunless you can turn them off

author: microherb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:28:48 am
content: The operating manual states the the sleep mode can be turned off on the UT61B and UT61C versions by pressing the blue button while turning the meter on. The B and C models have the datalogging serial port as well. Why didn't they do the same with the UT61E?Even though I like the UNI-T meter for the price I don't know how you're suppose to choose one with confidence when you can't rely on the features tables from their website. I really don't want to have to read the whole manual and fine print to choose which model I want.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 05:58:32 am
content: Quote from: microherb on July 05, 2012, 05:28:48 amThere's a difference A BIG DIFFERENCEGo read up on the chipset if you can.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 07:28:37 am
content: The trouble with Uni T is that the spec sheets and instructions appear to have been written by a dyslexic chimpanzee. That is probably why they are cheap for what they are, good technical authors are expensive.

author: microherb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 11:18:24 am
content: Well, I'm just a bit peeved I bought a multimeter advertised on their website as having sleep mode and backlight when it turns out it doesn't. Otherwise I really like it so started looking for a UNI T model that does have sleep mode. But how the hell am I supposed to know which models have the features I want when I can't trust the manufacturers spec sheets? Ahhhhhg.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 12:30:56 pm
content: Like it's already said, the meter has no auto power off because it's constantly sending data though that optically isolated port to the computer.Yes, the specs page on their site does say backlight and auto power off in 15 minutes but if these are the biggest issues you find... at 60$ the meter is way above other meters of similar price in my opinion.There's a thread here with UT61E review, pictures and so on - at the end there's a backlight and auto power off circuits, and somewhere a few pages before there's another mod with just the backlight. It's relatively easy to add.Auto power off should also be relatively easy to add, could be done with a simply 4-8 pin microcontroller a resistor and a pnp and a button or something like that... maybe even simpler circuits could be made.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 03:17:40 pm
content: Quote from: ErikTheNorwegian on July 05, 2012, 10:44:35 amI mean what's wrong with the UT61ETHERE'S NOTHING WRONG!

author: microherb
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 10:13:40 pm
content: QuoteRead through the thread if you can and I think you will find that I didn't say there was anything wrong with the UT61E.The problem is with the manufacturers website specifications advertising it as having sleep mode and backlight when it turns out it does not.QuoteThe UT61B and UT61C models have the datalogging serial port as well and there is a function to turn the power off mode on those.QuoteI really don't have time to read the datasheets of the $60 multimeter I'm buying. I'm busy reading the datasheets of the parts I'm using in my designs. I would have thought it should be sufficient to rely on the manufacturers specifications for a multimeter.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2012, 10:45:42 pm
content: Sorry my quote got lost in the post... didn't notice