Cheap handheld DMM with best accuracy - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Jan Audio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 02:28:29 pm
content: Hi, i have a Aneng AN8008 handheld multimeter, i like it a lot.I am looking for a replacement with better guaranteed accuracy from any brand.So it has be be well calibrated that i can measure exact 5 volt with certainty.It need to be handheld.Need to have at least 9999 count.Need to measure small capacity ( nf or pf ) and good diode range.Small and maybe cheap, not like the hioki that is large and need to remove the cables when powering on or changing mode.Impossible ?, any recommendations.thanks

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 03:45:37 pm
content: "Cheap" is a rather subjective term. What's your personal definition?

author: Jan Audio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 03:59:14 pm
content: As long as the measurements are correct i dont want to pay more.Ok lets forget the cheap for now.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 04:09:15 pm
content: Well the best new one I've seen recently in terms of bang for your buck would be Dave's own EEVblog BM786 (NAWTS).

author: Jan Audio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 04:23:01 pm
content: Yes i was looking to it, it is the same as the BM-785 right ?, the 785 cost €150,- here.

author: AVGresponding
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2021, 06:12:41 pm
content: I believe it has some extra, exclusive features.I'd have to read through the 786 thread to be sure...EDIT: It has nS and temperature measurement, in addition to the 785 features.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 02, 2021, 11:55:21 pm
content: If you want a meter that you can be confident in to meet accuracy specs, then I'd suggest avoiding low cost meters like Aneng or Uni-T. They may appear to be quite accurate initially, but at the price they sell at it isn't reasonable to expect them going through the same level of QC, let alone having the design and testing effort put in to meet long term temperature or aging specs. And unless you have good references to compare against, you'll just never know.I'd say you can't really go wrong with a Brymen. Very positive feedback here from lots of members. I have had a BM869S for a couple of years, and three BM235's for 4 or 5 years, they're really nice to use, and they all still easily meet specs compared to my voltage references and 34465A bench meter.

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 02:15:57 am
content: I don't like to see the word "exact" when referring to measurements as there is always error. You need to better specify what you mean by that. Accurate to what, 100 millivolts, 1 millivolt or a microvolt maybe?Depending upon what your are doing you will likely need a digit beyond what you need your 5VDC reading to be accurate to. If you need to read 5 volts to 5.00 volts they you will need a meter that can read to 5.000volts and maybe more depending on the specifications of the meter. So maybe you 9999 counts will be an issue.For high resolution or calibration work I don't even bother with handhelds and instead use bench top meters that are keep calibrated. I don't even bother with the calibration of handheld meters and simply check them time to time against a calibrated meter.There are a couple of reasons for this. I work in a large plant and if we kept every handheld meter on a calibration schedule it would be a big headache. Also we would be buying high end meters that are not needed for 95% of the field work they are used for. It is far better to keep important work on traceable and calibrated hardware. The same applies for home use.So you need to consider the calibration schedule you will have for this meter as it will not be convincingly accurate without proof via regular calibration. Since we have no idea what you mean by "exact", at 5 VDC, there is a good possibility that a 4 digit or 3.5 digit meter will not be good enough for you even with a calibration schedule.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2021, 03:32:10 am
content: If you want something cheap, the Aneng 870 has much better accuracy than the 8008. Mine matches my 500,000 Brymen against a voltage reference.Getting much more accurate in a handheld is difficult because temperature comes into play. Handhelds don't have heaters for the internal voltage reference like bench meters do so handheld readings vary with the weather.Quote from: Kean on February 02, 2021, 11:55:21 pmThere's no evidence so far that they drift with age.