UNI-T DMMs for 2018?

[001]

Hi!

There are many treads about cheap UNI-T meters such UT136 etc
Is it still good for 2018? Is UNI-T "brandname" worth of  money?
Or newest ANENGs Meteks and clones is ok too?

Thanx

[sdouble]

see dave's review of cheap multimeter, you'll get your answer.

[001]

see dave's review of cheap multimeter, you'll get your answer.

Dave`s review is great info  But what owners say?

[sdouble]

i'm an owner of aneng 8008 and 8009 DMM and i can just confirm daves' conclusion.

[001]

i'm an owner of aneng 8008 and 8009 DMM and i can just confirm daves' conclusion.

Can You say it in two words? Thanx

[HKJ]

I have reviews of 8 UNI-T meters and will add more later on (My current list contains 58 DMM reviews).

[mcinque]

UNI-T features for me:

CONS
- No or poor ESD protection
- Depending on the country/company where you purchase them, you can have no or poor input protection models (mine has decent input protection with 3 movs, 2 ptc and hrc fuses)
- Poor high voltage clearance in some models
- High Burden voltage in some models
- Calibration drift in some models
- Bodges on the PCBs in some earlier board revisions
- Overpricing for some bench models
- No support

PRO
- 1st: PRICE, for some hand held DMM/clamp meter models that offers decent accuracy for the price
- Decent build quality for 2nd or 3rd revision boards

[joeqsmith]

UNI-T features for me:

CONS
- No or poor ESD protection
- Depending on the country/company where you purchase them, you can have no or poor input protection models (mine has decent input protection with 3 movs, 2 ptc and hrc fuses)
- Poor high voltage clearance in some models
- High Burden voltage in some models
- Calibration drift in some models
- Bodges on the PCBs in some earlier board revisions
- Overpricing for some bench models
- No support

PRO
- 1st: PRICE, for some hand held DMM/clamp meter models that offers decent accuracy for the price
- Decent build quality for 2nd or 3rd revision boards

In my experience, your first four cons are spot on.   That said, I still like their UT210E current clamp, as a clamp only, even without making any changes to it.   I also still have hopes that they will one day roll out an improved version of the UT181.   The UT181 could IMO make a very good meter for electronics but it's not something I would recommend today. 

[mcinque]

I love my UT210E too!
And also me would like a better UT181, with a proper ESD protection would be a nice instrument to purchase, expecially for the logging feature.

[joeqsmith]

On the UT181, I like that it has two temperature inputs (like the BM869s).   I really like how they stole the UI of the Fluke 289.  It's easy to setup and operate.  It's had the lowest temperature drift of any meter I have looked at.  The display is eye popping and I like that they offer so many different ways to display the data.   It's the only meter I have seen with the +/- bar graph.  They used some fairly nice parts inside.   Overall, I really like it.   

I just can't get over that they don't offer a replacement battery.  You can't use the meter when charging.  The charger doesn't include any AC adapters.   I would rather have it loaded with AAAs or AAs.   Materials are not the best.  The LCD lens is easy to scratch.   There's a few other things I don't like but IMO the battery and PCB layout really need to be addressed.   If they resolved everything and added an extra $50 to the price, I would be all over it.

The input protection from a standpoint of preventing damage to the meter is all there.  They didn't seem to cheap out on it.  Proper fuses.  It all looks good and wouldn't take much for them to make the meter hold up to any of my basic tests. 

[spidola]

Hi!
There are many treads about cheap UNI-T meters such UT136 etc
Is it still good for 2018? Is UNI-T "brandname" worth of  money?
Or newest ANENGs Meteks and clones is ok too?
Thanx

It very much depends on your requirements and application. ANENGs and clones are quite good for electronics and will not break your budget.
If you want something better, UT61e represents great value for the features. Anything more advanced and expensive, you can always buy later if you ever need it.

[sdouble]

it mostly depends whether you want to deal with mains.
If so, I'd go for something more serious.

[rsjsouza]

I have a UT136 and a UT61E (the new board version, but without the expensive fuses) and I can tell they are quite decently priced meters for their features and quality. Their CAT ratings cannot be reliably trusted, but for electronics and general use they are quite good. Also, the UT61E is very well documented and therefore open to modifications (if you are into this)

I have a very low cost Aneng (the mini) and I can tell it is terribly built - I got it mostly as a curiosity. I don't, however, have any of their newer models 8002/8008/8009.