UEi DM397..... Rather surprised in a negative way, short notes - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 10, 2013, 11:02:28 pm
content: I just received my UEi DM397. I was happy with it for a few minutes until I realized it had something moving around inside. I opened it up to find one of the circuit board mounting screws floating around inside. It mounting hole was totally stripped. There are also white clips holding the display to the front, plus a plastic shield, and two had sprung out and cracked so they no longer hold.The test leads are a total joke IMHO. I can see them maybe being included in something that would cost maybe $30 instead of $250.It meets all its specs on testing, but I would now hesitate to recommend this meter based on the quality control problem I have encountered.I have sent an email to Test Equipment Depot, where I purchased this from, and I await their answer.Iam very busy right now and that is why I have not provided any pictures. Maybe next week, depending on the replies I get I might be able to do a full report in video or photos.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 12:06:45 am
content: I aslo sent an email to UEi directly and I received an immediate response. They will be shipping a replacement to me immediately at no charge. I have to say I am impressed with the response at this point. I will update as I have more information.

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 02:57:16 am
content: Good to hear they're standing behind their product.Hope the next one fairs better.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 12, 2013, 02:29:18 am
content: I have also no received a reply for Test Equipment Depot. Apparently they did not receive the information from UEi that they were taking care of the problem. Their response to me was that they were willing to take care of whatever costs there were to get me a replacement and for me to return the faulty meter. They also offered a full refund or to apply full credit to another purchase of my choice and they would again take care of any shipping involved.This is the kind of service that we should expect from any business and I appreciate how they have handled my complaint. At this point I can say the Test Equipment Depot is concerned about their customer's satisfaction and I will buy from them again for sure.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2013, 03:03:41 pm
content: Further weirdness with this meter!I had not bothered to completely check the function and apparent accuracy of all functions when I saw the other flaws. I know I had said that it met all its specs earlier but I had missed this problem. This morning while checking things further I noticed that when I switched to capacitance measuring that with leads connected and no capacitor connected that the display read exactly zero. This should not be the case because with the leads wrapped together there should have been 10s of picofarads being displayed. I grabbed some caps and measured and the result is that this meter is "blind" to the first 50pf or so of capacitance before it reads anything at all. It is also consistently out by that 50pf on all measurements.I am still waiting to hear of the replacement meter being shipped.