Bside.cn ADM01 - $13 multimeter - First impressions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: SA007
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 29, 2015, 05:53:43 pm
content: For our hackerspace we were intrested in a number of multimeters for during arduino trainings etc.So budget is low and this seems to be the cheapest non-toylike multimeters.Received 2 today for evaluation, but it seems we are going to order more.So far it seems very good value for money:Quite a good blastshield embedded in the casing.Ceramic UL marked fuses2 PTC's as input protectionBeeper is non-latching but very quickAutoranging is quite fast, < 1sec for 3 rangesSo far accuracy seems on-par with the manualManual is not useless at allRange selector has a solid feel, but not goldplated or anything specialCasing itself also seems very solid, like it could easily survive a drop from a benchProbes have quite nice finish and good strain relief.Even a threaded insert on the battery coverThe are of course downsidesNo battery includedProbes are not even remotely sharpButtons are cheap trough-hole switches and take quite some force to operate, often shifting the meter, but not falling over.You have to take it apart to swap the fuses, not in the battery compartment.Volt and milli/microamp are on the same connectors, making it easy to accidentilly fry the fuseHz function has a minimum resolution of 10 Hz and can only go to 20kHzSome things I noticed so far:Hz: quite accurate on sine/square/pulse, inaccurate on sawtooth.On the back it says 'PATEN PENDING', don't know where you can register those...View angle of the LCD is reasonable in all directions but up.So far it seems like a very good meter considering the price, can't find any mayor downsides.If anyone has any (not explicitly destructive) tests the want to see you can ask, but I don't have a cal lab or anything.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2015, 06:18:40 pm
content: Made by Mastech.

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2015, 06:46:09 pm
content: Pics would be nice.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 29, 2015, 06:59:37 pm
content: Quote from: Vgkid on April 29, 2015, 06:46:09 pmSomehere

author: SA007
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 29, 2015, 08:05:08 pm
content: Of course picturesI tried to snap some pictures of the meter and insides.Lighting is a bit of a hassle, so some are a bit grainy, but most are ok.Fyi: they are multilevel-clickable up until the camera's full 10mp.Gallery-ish:http://fotos.sa007.nl/Bside_ADM01/

author: radhaz
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 03:16:03 am
content: Looks pretty good for what it is. Are the banana jacks supported on the z axis?

author: Vgkid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 03:42:11 am
content: That actually looks pretty good.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 04:02:48 am
content: Source for the $13 price range would be nice as wellAlthough I did find it on ebay for close that price, I like that you can keep the probes attached to the back of the meter

author: paulie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 04:39:42 am
content: Appears to be a copy of UTI UT136b. Same features, specs, and price too. After the $5 bottom enders it is my favorite. It would be my number one if you didn't have to push the "func" button to get continuity and had signal generator like the cheapies.

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 04:43:28 am
content: I believe it's a rebadged Mastech MS8233D (which usually goes under the brand name Hyelec instead of Mastech, but it's the same factory).

author: paulie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 05:11:37 am
content: I wonder who was first?Anyway looking closer it appears the UT136b has advantages: Separate current jacks and 10mhz instead of 20khz. The jack thing is not that imporant to me but I do wish they had chosen continuity as default instead of diode check. The former is far more useful to me.

author: SA007
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 07:36:51 am
content: I bought them from here:Ebay url...$13.40 and discount is you buy more.for unknown reason the seller does not list it as brand/type...Could be a rebranded MS8233D, it doesn't have the non-contact voltage detector, but some parts are missing.It is a new case though.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 03:32:03 pm
content: It actually says MS8233D on the circuit board. It probably a down featured version. For $13 it is better than many from the looks of t.

author: SA007
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 06:12:55 pm
content: I was also pleasantly surprised by the quality.I've had $20 meters that were 'rated' 600V literally blow up in my face on regular mains voltage.Our initial idea was to buy these, strip off the '600V max' and sticker it with 100V max.But the build quality seems good enough that it would actually survive 600V without issues.For the 'real' measuring we just grab a fluke, but buying 10 of them to measure 3.3 and 5V is a tad expensive.

author: broderp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 10:57:12 pm
content: Interesting find.Can you tell us what the accuracy claimed on this is? Any specs of the meter as stated in the manual vs. what you found?I'm a sucker for decent cheap electronics, but more importantly, would make a good gift for my 13 year old son, and if it breaks or he doesn't stick with electronics~ I would get to use it..

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 12:00:13 am
content: Except for the fuses not matching the CAT rating, I would basically trust this for CATII 600V as rated. I generally don't trust anything made by Mastech but this looks OK especially for the price.

author: 001
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 10:21:15 pm
content: it is actually clone of mastech MS8223EFew my mods:- 8MHz quarz instead 4MHz gets unit more responsive- main chip is FS9952 — You can add manual range. etc- it is simple to combine hold and backlight functions in one button (quick or continuous pressure)

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 12, 2015, 10:29:34 pm
content: Does it measure voltage with the mA fuse blown?Alexander.