New ANENG multimeter

[Fungus]

My 860B+ turned up today.

I really like it. It's definitely worth every penny of $20.  I have a feeling I'll use it a lot more than the AN8008. 

If I have to recommend a cheapo meter for a beginner, this is the one.

(until they release the mini version - I had a peek inside and I think there's actually less components in this meter than in the AN8008. They'd have no trouble at all making it smaller. Please, ANENG...! )

[plazma]

My 860B+ turned up today.

I really like it. It's definitely worth every penny of $20.  I have a feeling I'll use it a lot more than the AN8008. 

If I have to recommend a cheapo meter for a beginner, this is the one.

(until they release the mini version - I had a peek inside and I think there's actually less components in this meter than in the AN8008. They'd have no trouble at all making it smaller. Please, ANENG...! )

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

[Fungus]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

[Fungus]

I just noticed that in mV mode with nothing connected it counts downwards slowly.

I understand this is normal but it's disconcerting.

nb. Even fancy Flukes do it: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-8800a-quick-question-about-fault/

I'll leave it going, see how low it goes.

[kalel]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

I think that's from Joe's video:
https://youtu.be/4PjmFqzlfLc?t=1542

[Fungus]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

I think that's from Joe's video:
https://youtu.be/4PjmFqzlfLc?t=1542

Oh, I didn't know joe had done this one. Well... there you have all the accuracy testing results!

(edit: His is called a KT6000 not an AN860B+, but it's the same meter)

One weird thing. I noticed there's a little mark on the plastic under the "OFF" indicator, like a scuff mark. Joe has one too! Maybe they came out of the same mold. 

(from joe's video)


Joe paid $37? I got mine for $22 from the ANENG official store. 

[plazma]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

Measure some AC voltage (outlet?) and see if it reads correctly. The bug shows low AC voltage when switching from DC even through there should be 220VAC or something.

[kalel]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

I think that's from Joe's video:
https://youtu.be/4PjmFqzlfLc?t=1542

Oh, I didn't know joe had done this one. Well... there you have all the accuracy testing results!

(edit: His is called a KT6000 not an AN860B+, but it's the same meter)

One weird thing. I noticed there's a little mark on the plastic under the "OFF" indicator, like a scuff mark. Joe has one too! Maybe they came out of the same mold. 

(from joe's video)


Joe paid $37? I got mine for $22 from the ANENG official store. 

Prices change over time. Does AC work differently for you? I don't know if they make revisions and fix things over time. I can't wait until mine arrives (well, yet another brand). I can't actually do any advanced testing (I don't have any precision references or higher end multimeters to compare to), but let us know how happy you are with yours.

[Fungus]

Measure some AC voltage (outlet?) and see if it reads correctly.

Scary! 

The bug shows low AC voltage when switching from DC even through there should be 220VAC or something.

I put my big gloves and Raybans on and tried it. Nothing exploded.

I switched from AC to DC a couple of times. It always read 230V in AC mode, no problem.

(230V is correct for Spain)

[kalel]

Measure some AC voltage (outlet?) and see if it reads correctly.

Scary! 

The bug shows low AC voltage when switching from DC even through there should be 220VAC or something.

I put my big gloves and Raybans on and tried it. Nothing exploded.

I switched from AC to DC a couple of times. It always read 230V in AC mode, no problem.

(230V is correct for Spain)

Good to know it works well and that you're okay. Those Raybans must have saved a lot of lives. I guess here the switching is the most risky thing, as AC mode itself is less likely to make anything explode.

[don.r]

Those Raybans must have saved a lot of lives.

Thermonuclear protection... or is that Oakleys?

[Fungus]

Does AC work differently for you?

See above.

I can't wait until mine arrives (well, yet another brand). I can't actually do any advanced testing (I don't have any precision references or higher end multimeters to compare to), but let us know how happy you are with yours.

I'm very happy so far.

I have reasonably good volts/ohms/amps references, it's within a digit on all of them.

The diode test voltage seems to come direct from the batteries, ie. 3.2V with new batteries. That's plenty to light up LEDs (something I do a lot).

The probes are much better than the ones shipped with the AN8008. Just the right length, too, not like those ridiculously long Fluke probes. The case is really solid, good plastic.

Temperature function knows the room temperature even when there's no probe attached. That's handy!

Nothing really negative so far. The LCD lacks a little bit of contrast IMHO, but no worse than the AN8008.

[Mark Hennessy]

I checked with a bench PSU - the diode test voltage is independent of the battery voltage - there's a charge-pump circuit and a separate regulator built into the IC. The fact it is suspiciously close to the voltage of 2 fresh AAs is a coincidence

The test leads I got were the same as the AN8002 and AN8008.

I have the same marking just below the "OFF" text. Hadn't noticed that until just now...

[Fungus]

I checked with a bench PSU - the diode test voltage is independent of the battery voltage - there's a charge-pump circuit and a separate regulator built into the IC. The fact it is suspiciously close to the voltage of 2 fresh AAs is a coincidence

Cool!   3.2V is quite a decent diode test voltage.

(better than a Fluke 87V)

The test leads I got were the same as the AN8002 and AN8008.

I think there might be various 'distributions'.

In joe's video he shows one in a box. Mine arrived in bubble wrap.

Edit: No, the probes are the same! I was thinking of those horrible screw-together ones that come with the AN8008. 

I have the same marking just below the "OFF" text. Hadn't noticed that until just now...

Maybe they make all the cases in the same factory.

[glarsson]

Measure some AC voltage (outlet?) and see if it reads correctly. The bug shows low AC voltage when switching from DC even through there should be 220VAC or something.

I have two AN8002, one blue and orange.
With rotary selector in V position the yellow button toggles between DC and AC on the orange meter. Placing the test leads in a wall socket and pressing the yellow button alternates between 234V AC and 0V DC. Ok.

With rotary selector in V position the yellow button toggles between DC, AC, Hz and % on the blue meter. Placing the test leads in a wall socket and pressing the yellow button displays the horrible sequence 0V DC, 234V AC, 50Hz, 50%, 0V DC, 2VAC... Showing safe 2V AC with 234V AC on the input is NOT Ok.

The orange meter has Hz and % on mV position instead. Weird.
Btw, the orange meter has a later serial number.

[plazma]

Measure some AC voltage (outlet?) and see if it reads correctly. The bug shows low AC voltage when switching from DC even through there should be 220VAC or something.

I have two AN8002, one blue and orange.
With rotary selector in V position the yellow button toggles between DC and AC on the orange meter. Placing the test leads in a wall socket and pressing the yellow button alternates between 234V AC and 0V DC. Ok.

With rotary selector in V position the yellow button toggles between DC, AC, Hz and % on the blue meter. Placing the test leads in a wall socket and pressing the yellow button displays the horrible sequence 0V DC, 234V AC, 50Hz, 50%, 0V DC, 2VAC... Showing safe 2V AC with 234V AC on the input is NOT Ok.

The orange meter has Hz and % on mV position instead. Weird.
Btw, the orange meter has a later serial number.

My blue AN8002 works fine. Tested tens of times by toggling DC AC Hz and %. Also tested by switching from mV to V and AC. I have not heard before about AN8002 having the bug. The bug was in AN860B (non + model).

[plazma]

My units serial number is 171305916.

[glarsson]

AN8002 serial 171518146, blue, Hz on V, dangerous AC bug.
AN8002 serial 171530132, orange, Hz on mV.

[Mark Hennessy]

Just checked my AN8002 (170206748) and my 860B+ (171009044), and both are fine. My AN8002 has Hz and duty cycle in the V mode. Like plazma says, I thought it was only the AN860B (non +) that had it, so it's rather alarming to hear that there's an AN8002 out there with that bug.

[Mr. Scram]

How is the low current and voltage accuracy compared to the AN8008? Having a cheap and accurate meter is great for lower voltage bench work, but I am unsure which would suit me better.

I like the extra features the AN860+ brings, but not at the cost of the rest.

[Fungus]

How is the low current and voltage accuracy compared to the AN8008? Having a cheap and accurate meter is great for lower voltage bench work, but I am unsure which would suit me better.

The lowest voltage range is 60mV so that's 10uV resolution.

The lowest current range is 600uA so that's 0.1uA resolution.

An AN8008 has an extra digit on both of those ranges.

(those two ranges are the main reason to buy an AN8008, IMHO)

FWIW the AN860B+s weak points seem to be:
a) Frequency measurement. It only goes up to about 10kHz (according to the manual).
b) The TrueRMS frequency is also quite limited.

AN860B+ is the best all-rounder.

To get complete functionality you'll need two small ones: eg. AN8002+AN8008. It's a good starter kit for $30-odd bucks.

If you already own some meters then you can buy individual small ones to fill in the gaps.

Edit: I forgot to mention... none of the small ones have REL/MIN/MAX buttons.

[Mr. Scram]

The lowest voltage range is 60mV so that's 10uV resolution.

The lowest current range is 600uA so that's 0.1uA resolution.

An AN8008 has an extra digit on both of those ranges.

(those two ranges are the main reason to buy an AN8008, IMHO)

FWIW the AN860B+s weak points seem to be:
a) Frequency measurement. It only goes up to about 10kHz (according to the manual).
b) The TrueRMS frequency is also quite limited.

AN860B+ is the best all-rounder.

To get complete functionality you'll need two small ones: eg. AN8002+AN8008. 

If you already own some meters then you can buy small ones to fill in the gaps.

I guess the AN8008 wins out. Having a temperature and relative feature is nice, but having accurate voltage, current and capacitance readings is something I can actually use right now, or in the near future, or could use in a past project. I have been looking for something that can do capacitance properly and am amazed that a sub $20 meter now turns out to be the answer. Having accurate voltage and current readings will be nice when working on microcontrollers and their supplies for figuring out power consumption and efficiency.

Considering I never really do much with anything else than low voltage stuff, I have not been able to convince myself to spend big bucks on a 'real' meter. Somehow it feels it is necessary to become 'part of the club', but there are other tools that I would rather have and open up much more possibilities.

[FrankBuss]

The lowest voltage range is 60mV so that's 10uV resolution.

The lowest current range is 600uA so that's 0.1uA resolution.

An AN8008 has an extra digit on both of those ranges.

(those two ranges are the main reason to buy an AN8008, IMHO)

I wouldn't trust the 1uV resolution on the AN8008, and it has a quirk: it shows 0 for anything from +5uV to -5V. See my test, where I compare it with a Fluke 8842A. Of course, it is still very nice for its price, the Fluke is a little bit more expensive

[Fungus]

The lowest voltage range is 60mV so that's 10uV resolution.

The lowest current range is 600uA so that's 0.1uA resolution.

An AN8008 has an extra digit on both of those ranges.

I guess the AN8008 wins out.

If that's what you need then, sure. I'm not trying to sell anything here, just pointing out what amazing value this meter is.

FWIW the Fluke 87V only has 100uV and 0.1uA resolution so they're both better if small voltages are your thing.

[joeqsmith]

Does it have the AC measurement bug? If you switch from DC to AC it may show low AC voltage.

Info?

I just connected it to a 5V supply in DC mode then switched to AC. The reading went down to zero (as expected).

I think that's from Joe's video:
https://youtu.be/4PjmFqzlfLc?t=1542

This is why I asked Fungus to repeat the test on the first page.  I may be able to shed some light on it or some confusion.  If you watch the video you will notice that there is a DC and AC component to the waveform.  I have stated many times that the output from this generator is a 220VACrms 60HZ that was full rectified and unfiltered.  This normally provides me with a quick check of the AC, DC and AC+DC functions.   In this case, the meter can not seem to handle the rectified signal reliably.  The 8002 had a similar problem.  Both of these meters were damaged far beyond repair however, I did buy a second 8002 for a future video. 

I used my arb to get us away from the AC mains so others could perhaps repeat the test in a safe manor.   Again I full wave rectified the output of the Arb.  Yes, a basic function generator is all you would need.   At 400Hz, sine, 10Vrms, full rectified  the 8002 will read 10.01VAC.  My HP will read 10.002.    Switching the 8002 to DC, it reads 20.19 and the HP reads 20.198.  Switching back to AC and the 8002 read 10.01.  So no problems.   

Now lets increase the amplitude to 15VACrms with no other changes.   The 8002 reads 15.01AC and the HP reads 15.004.  Switch to DC and the 8002 reads 30.62 where the HP reads 30.63.  No problem.  Now switch the 8002 back to AC and it reads 3.093AC!  Of course, the HP still reads 15.004.  With the 8002 still in the AC mode, disconnect the leads and reconnect and the meter still reads 3.040.  I disconnect again and reconnect, 15.01.  Hit and miss. 

There are inexpensive meters out there that may have poor quality, may be sensitive to ESD or not very robust but at least they throw up correct numbers with some basic waveforms.   Personally even for basic bench hobby work, I have no use for these cheapo meters.  When you have to stop and thing under what circumstances is your meter not going to work, what's the point?