New ANENG multimeter

[Fungus]

Btw Fungus, did you decide to buy that mini Aneng in the end? The one even smaller than DT.

Yes.

It's exactly what I was hoping for, a tiny little multimeter!

Plastics are good, screen is good, probes are quite good, it measures quite well (...and it's easy to calibrate - just turn a pot!)

Here it is making a DT830B look massive:

I can't wait to take it to Arduino club in September. 

[kalel]

Btw Fungus, did you decide to buy that mini Aneng in the end? The one even smaller than DT.

Yes.

It's exactly what I was hoping for, a tiny little multimeter!

Plastics are good, screen is good, probes are quite good, it measures quite well (...and it's easy to calibrate - just turn a pot!)

Here it is making a DT830B look massive:

I can't wait to take it to Arduino club in September. 

Looks neat. If known, are they based on the same IC?

[floobydust]

Beginning of Joe's AN8008 robustness testing, he shows results of  Meguiar's PlastX polishing compound for car headlights. It worked great on his multimeter display bezels 

The ANENG AN8008.  Enjoy.

[rsjsouza]

Fungus, I got the same mini and have the same impression as you: plastics are good, the rotary switch is pretty tight, the contrast is remarkable and it is pretty simple to calibrate. Contrary to you, I found the probes just passable, but for the price I am not complaining. Also, the unit specifies a non-existing 250mA fuse. At least is does not have BS CAT ratings, but it is somewhat optimistic at 500V_AC and 500V_DC. I like the battery tester.

Looks neat. If known, are they based on the same IC?

Yes, it is clearly a 7106-based DMM.

[kalel]

Beginning of Joe's AN8008 robustness testing, he shows results of  Meguiar's PlastX polishing compound for car headlights. It worked great on his multimeter display bezels 

The ANENG AN8008.  Enjoy.

I doubt I could find that one. Maybe I could find something similar. Although $8 is better if you are going to use it on multiple things (or something expensive).
I guess it's hard to compare these things unless they list all of the ingredients and quantities. Or at least the ingredients.

Microscopic Diminishing Abrasive™ Technology (MDAT)

doesn't mean very much to me.

[kalel]

Fungus, I got the same mini and have the same impression as you: plastics are good, the rotary switch is pretty tight, the contrast is remarkable and it is pretty simple to calibrate. Contrary to you, I found the probes just passable, but for the price I am not complaining. Also, the unit specifies a non-existing 250mA fuse. At least is does not have BS CAT ratings, but it is somewhat optimistic at 500V_AC and 500V_DC. I like the battery tester.

Looks neat. If known, are they based on the same IC?

Yes, it is clearly a 7106-based DMM.

Regarding the fuse, the DT830D I have also specifies "please install..." Fuse, but there isn't even a Fuse holder inside. That said, I guess one could install a fuse with some work if necessary.
As for the probes, they look better than the DT830D (no hot glue necessary?), without having seen them first hand, that's all I can say.

[rsjsouza]

Fungus, I got the same mini and have the same impression as you: plastics are good, the rotary switch is pretty tight, the contrast is remarkable and it is pretty simple to calibrate. Contrary to you, I found the probes just passable, but for the price I am not complaining. Also, the unit specifies a non-existing 250mA fuse. At least is does not have BS CAT ratings, but it is somewhat optimistic at 500V_AC and 500V_DC. I like the battery tester.

Looks neat. If known, are they based on the same IC?

Yes, it is clearly a 7106-based DMM.

Regarding the fuse, the DT830D I have also specifies "please install..." Fuse, but there isn't even a Fuse holder inside. That said, I guess one could install a fuse with some work if necessary.
As for the probes, they look better than the DT830D (no hot glue necessary?), without having seen them first hand, that's all I can say.

The ones I have are fused, but the quality eroded over the years. Several years ago I did a small teardown and years later I got another one that barely had a fuse... 

[Fungus]

Fungus, I got the same mini and have the same impression as you: plastics are good, the rotary switch is pretty tight, the contrast is remarkable and it is pretty simple to calibrate.

Contrary to you, I found the probes just passable, but for the price I am not complaining.

OK, not great, but better than the ones I got with my DT830.

[kalel]

Just curious, do we know if the AN850B+ has the same PCB contacts inside for the rubber buttons as the AN860B+, and only the actual buttons are removed, or is it a different PCB?

Well, apart from the temperature missing, but those things are programmed in.

[Fungus]

Regarding the fuse, the DT830D I have also specifies "please install..." Fuse, but there isn't even a Fuse holder inside. That said, I guess one could install a fuse with some work if necessary.

The DT830 is/was quite a good meter but the design was massively cloned and people have been removing anything they can just to save $0.0001 in manufacturing. Fuses were one of the first things to go, followed by buzzers, etc.

[kalel]

I'm getting about a 3 degree difference from the TM-902C.

I'm not yet sure if that might be due to the measurement method (I'm not sure how to get two probes to measure exactly the same spot).

I tested it on, flat surface and attached with some tape to a 1w resistor (obviously not exactly the same spot, and each spot will have a slightly different temperature).
In both cases there was a similar difference.

[i4004]

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPjCNpJMf60HOrnCO2RDKxX5pzcgO19hhYET1hpyagABU1fVbjPTrG5qbOnyCj-2w?key=ekU1VHE2T3QySlg0a3dXUXByQ2FMQjZKSkhub3R3

works normally once supply voltage passes 3V....

works normally if you "boot" it at 3V and then bring voltage down to 2.4V...reset it at 2.4V and then back to the bug...

[Stinger]

the DT830D definitely has great contrast from all angles. No backlight though, maybe it's related?

I often wonder why big manufacturers like Fluke/Brymen/etc. can't get their LCDs as good as the freebie DT830Bs. 

(can anybody explain it?)

I can try explain. The DT830 appears to use 9VDC power and direct-drive (no multiplexing) ala ICL7106. This is pretty much the highest LCD contrast you can get.

The DMM0660 used in most meters runs off less with 3VDC. But has a LCD charge-pump inverter which is programmable with 4 LCD bias levels, at EEPROM F9H: 3.3V, 3.05V, 2.8V, 2.55V. The meters come set to level 3/4. I have not tried cranking it up or if I translated this properly.

So you get ~6V drive to the LCD but it uses multiplexing 1/4 duty cycle 1/3 bias, to cut down the pin count, so again you lose contrast there.

Extended temperature LCD fluids, good to -20C or -30C require high drive voltage and more finicky with temperature, you'd need a pot to keep adjusting it.

Hello,

Thank's for explanations.

I have DT830b and other newer DMM (AN8009, UT210e and AN860b+).

DT830b have better contrast.

It is possible to improve contrast on AN860 and AN870 by changing EEPROM F9H at 3.3V ?