Technical multimeter review and tear-down, more than 110

[HKJ]

Each review contains:

• Lots of photos.
• Schema with most ranges and feature that is easy comparable between my reviews.
• General precision check of some ranges
• Check of input impedance in V, LowZ and mV.
• Check of capture speed for min/max/peak.
• Check of frequency counter sensitivity, bandwidth and input impedance (Impedance is usual not 10Mohm)
• Check of duty cycle maximum frequency and precision
• Check of burden voltage at different currents.
• Check of voltage and current in ohm, continuity, diode .
• Check of speed for ohm, continuity, capacity.
• Meter current consumption
• Behaviour when battery is low/empty.
• Estimate battery life based on actual current consumption and my battery tests.
• Tear down with some explanation

Chronological, newest first
Aneng AN82 - East Tester ET3240 - Mustool MT110 - UNI-T UT258A - UNI-T UT123 - Aneng M20 - Mestek DM90S - Mestek CM81 - Mustool X3 - Mustool MDS8207
Keysight U1282A - Bside ADMS6 - BTMeter BT-570C-APP - DMM BSide ADMS7 - Aneng V8 - Aneng V7 - Brymen BM829s - Mastech MS8211 (Aimo) - Owon B41T+ - UNI-T UT125C
Kyoritsu KEW1030 - Vici VC835 - Kyoritsu KEW1062 - Aneng H01 - WH5000A - UNI-T UT195E - Mestek DM91A - Mastech MS2108A - Hioki 3246-60 Card HiTester - BTMeter BT-39C
Eone ET201 - Mastech MS8340B - Borbede BD-168B - UNI-T UT191T - HoldPeak HP-4201 - Mustool MT108T - BSide ADM20 - Victor 98A+ - PeakMeter PM18C - Owon B35T
Aneng AN8203 - Mastech MS8040 - Mustool MT109 - Aneng AN882B+ - WinApex ET8102 - Siglent SDM3045X - Sanwa PS8a - HoldPeak HP-770D - Aneng V01A - Keithley DMM6500
Mustool MT8206 - Bside ADM92 - Hioki 3244-60 Card HiTester - Aneng AN302 - UNI-T UT61E - NEWACALOX DT33D - Keysight 34461A 6½ digit - BSide ADM04 - UNI-T UT139S - Hyelect MS8232
EEVBlog 121GW - Aneng Q1 - HoldPeak HP-38B - PeakMeter PM8211 - Brymen BM525s - Mastech MS8212A - UNI-T UT118B - ANENG B01 - HY-19E - HoldPeak HP-770C
DT-830D+ - Mastech MS8218 - LAOA LA814103 - VC105 - BSide ZT301 - Mustool MT66 - Fluke 289 - UNI-T UT195DS - DT9208A - Sanwa PM3
BSide ACM91 - Hioki DT4282 - UNI-T UT171A - UNI-T UT120C - Aneng AN870 - Peakmeter MS8229 - Mastech MS8216 - Brymen BM869s - Mastech MS8268 - Brymen BM27s
All-Sun EM3081 - Vici VC8145 - Handskit 117C - Uyigao UA18 - Aneng AN8002 - Amprobe AM-570 - 5 in 1 (VA19) - Aneng Mini 180 - Prova 903 - XB-866
Brymen BM235 - Innova 3320 - UNI-T UT33A+ - UNI-T UT33D+ - Aneng AN101 - Klein Tools MM600 - BSide ZT302 - Peakmeter MS8248S - SNDWAY SW-890C - DT-830B
Keysight U1233A - Aneng AN8009 - Zeast 282 - Mastech MS8229 - Southwire 16040T - XL830L - Amprobe AM-510-EUR - UNI-T UT139C - Aneng AN860B+ - Fluke 17B+
UNI-T UT210E - Aneng AN8008

My list of good meters
This list is meters with all current ranges, temperature, frequency and led test with at least 4000 count. I have also excluded the lowest safety category. Nearly of them will be very good hobby meters (Check reviews) and some of them are also good professional meters (Requirement for professional is good safety up to max. supported voltage, i.e. correct CAT marking)
East Tester ET3240 - Aneng M20 - Keysight U1282A - Aneng V8 - Aneng V7 - Brymen BM829s - Owon B41T+ - Kyoritsu KEW1062 - WH5000A - BTMeter BT-39C
Borbede BD-168B - UNI-T UT191T - Mustool MT108T - BSide ADM20 - Victor 98A+ - Mastech MS8040 - Aneng AN882B+ - WinApex ET8102 - HoldPeak HP-770D - Keithley DMM6500
Keysight 34461A 6½ digit - UNI-T UT139S - EEVBlog 121GW - Brymen BM525s - HY-19E - BSide ZT301 - Mustool MT66 - Fluke 289 - Hioki DT4282 - Aneng AN870
Brymen BM869s - Brymen BM235 - Klein Tools MM600 - Zeast 282 - UNI-T UT139C - Aneng AN860B+

By brands
All-sun: EM3081
Amprobe: AM-510-EUR - AM-570
Aneng: B01 - AN101 - AN302 - AN8002 - AN8008 - AN8009 - AN8203 - AN82 - AN860B+ - AN870 - AN882B+ - H01 - M20 - Mini 180 - Q1 - V01A - V7 - V8
BSide: ACM91 - ADM04 - ADM20 - ZT301 - ZT302 - ADM92 - ADMS6
Brymen: BM235 - BM27s - BM525s - BM829s - BM869s
Fluke: 17B+ - 289
Hioki: 3244-60 Card HiTester - 3246-60 Card HiTester - DT4282
HoldPeak: HP-38B - HP-4201 - HP-770C - HP-770D
Innova: 3320
Keithley: DMM6500
Keysight: 34461A 6½ digit - U1233A - U1282A
Klein Tools: MM600
Kyoritsu: KEW1030 - KEW1062
Mastech: MS2108A - MS8040 - MS8211 (Aimo) - MS8212A - MS8216 - MS8218 - MS8229 - MS8268 - MS8340B
Mestek: CM81 - DM90S - DM91A
Mustool: MDS8207 - MT108T - MT109 - MT110 - MT66 - MT8206 - X3
Owon: B35T - B41T+
Peakmeter: PM18C - PM8211 - MS8229 - MS8248S
Sanwa: PM3 - PS8a
Siglent: SDM3045X
Southwire: 16040T
UNI-T: UT118B - UT120C - UT123 - UT125C - UT139C - UT139S - UT171A - UT191T - UT195DS - UT195E - UT210E - UT258A - UT33A+ - UT33D+ - UT61E
Vici: VC8145 - VC835
Victor: 98A+

Other: East Tester ET3240 - BTMeter BT-570C-APP - DMM BSide ADMS7 - WH5000A - BTMeter BT-39C - Eone ET201 - Borbede BD-168B - WinApex ET8102 - NEWACALOX DT33D - Hyelect MS8232 - EEVBlog 121GW - HY-19E - DT-830D+ - LAOA LA814103 - VC105 - DT9208A - Handskit 117C - Uyigao UA18 - 5 in 1 (VA19) - Prova 903 - XB-866 - SNDWAY SW-890C - DT-830B - Zeast 282 - XL830L

By size/type
Pocket: All-Sun EM3081 - Aneng AN101 - Aneng AN302 - Aneng AN8203 - Brymen BM27s - Hioki 3244-60 Card HiTester - HoldPeak HP-4201 - LAOA LA814103 - Mastech MS8216 - Sanwa PM3 - Sanwa PS8a - UNI-T UT120C - Uyigao UA18 - XB-866
Pen: ANENG B01 - Hioki 3246-60 Card HiTester - HoldPeak HP-38B - Kyoritsu KEW1030 - Mastech MS8211 (Aimo) - Mastech MS8212A - PeakMeter PM8211 - UNI-T UT118B
Small: Aneng AN8002 - Aneng AN8008 - Aneng AN8009 - Aneng Mini 180 - Aneng V01A - BSide ADM04 - Bside ADM92 - Bside ADMS6 - DMM BSide ADMS7 - DT-830B - DT-830D+ - Hyelect MS8232 - Innova 3320 - Mustool MT66 - NEWACALOX DT33D - Southwire 16040T - UNI-T UT123 - UNI-T UT125C - UNI-T UT33A+ - UNI-T UT33D+ - XL830L
Medium: Aneng AN82 - Aneng H01 - Aneng M20 - Aneng Q1 - BSide ZT301 - BSide ZT302 - BTMeter BT-39C - Borbede BD-168B - Brymen BM235 - EEVBlog 121GW - Keysight U1233A - Mestek DM90S - Mestek DM91A - Mustool MDS8207 - Mustool MT108T - Mustool MT109 - Mustool MT110 - Mustool MT8206 - Owon B41T+ - Peakmeter MS8248S - Vici VC835 - WinApex ET8102
Large: 5 in 1 (VA19) - Amprobe AM-510-EUR - Amprobe AM-570 - Aneng AN860B+ - Aneng AN870 - Aneng AN882B+ - Aneng V7 - Aneng V8 - BSide ADM20 - DT9208A - Eone ET201 - Fluke 17B+ - HY-19E - Handskit 117C - Hioki DT4282 - HoldPeak HP-770C - HoldPeak HP-770D - Klein Tools MM600 - Kyoritsu KEW1062 - Mastech MS8229 - Mastech MS8268 - Owon B35T - PeakMeter PM18C - Peakmeter MS8229 - SNDWAY SW-890C - UNI-T UT139C - UNI-T UT139S - UNI-T UT191T - UNI-T UT195DS - UNI-T UT195E - UNI-T UT61E - VC105 - WH5000A - Zeast 282
VeryLarge: Brymen BM525s - Brymen BM829s - Brymen BM869s - Fluke 289 - Keysight U1282A - Mastech MS8218 - Mastech MS8340B - Prova 903 - UNI-T UT171A - Victor 98A+
Clamp: BSide ACM91 - BTMeter BT-570C-APP - Mastech MS2108A - Mestek CM81 - Mustool X3 - UNI-T UT210E - UNI-T UT258A
Bench: East Tester ET3240 - Keithley DMM6500 - Keysight 34461A 6½ digit - Mastech MS8040 - Siglent SDM3045X - Vici VC8145


Suggestions for improvements of the reviews are welcome (I may not follow them). Ideas for other meters to review are also welcome.
I still have most of the meters and can check/verify stuff if there are questions.

A parameterized list of the reviewed meters can be found here Multimeter selection table

Other stuff about multimeters:
Multimeter guide
Multimeter and component testing
Multimeter probes
Multimeter and voltage measurements
Multimeter and pulsed DC current (PWM)
Tolerance specifications for multimeters
Clamp meters magnetization, demagnetization and offset
Multimeters and current measurements
Multimeters and thermocouples

Multimeter design
Multimeter protection and safety

[nctnico]

Nice work. Perhaps you could categorise the meters by handheld and bench models as well.

[HKJ]

Nice work. Perhaps you could categorise the meters by handheld and bench models as well.

I have added a table showing them by the size categories I use on my website. The definition of the different types are listen on my website at the bottom of the multimeter table.

[Fungus]

Suggestions for improvements of the reviews are welcome (I may not follow them).

It would be good to know which meters you like the most. Not necessarily based on their specs or technical merit, which meters you like and enjoy using.

ie. When you need a meter, which one do you instinctively grab?

Which meters are languishing in a drawer and will probably never see the light of day ?

You could maybe have three categories with a couple of meters in each:
Hobby meter, not safe for mains work but fine for low voltage bench work.
Safe for mains work, certified CAT rating.
Overall favorite meters.

[HKJ]

It would be good to know which meters you like the most. Not necessarily based on their specs or technical merit, which meters you like and enjoy using.

ie. When you need a meter, which one do you instinctively grab?

Which meters are languishing in a drawer and will probably never see the light of day ?

You could maybe have three categories with a couple of meters in each:
Hobby meter, not safe for mains work but fine for low voltage bench work.
Safe for mains work, certified CAT rating.
Overall favorite meters.

Mostly I like and use high end meters:
Fluke 179: A fairly simple meter (Compared to the ones below), it has never been my primary meter, but often get used to check stuff.
Fluke 189: My favorite Fluke meter.
Fluke 289: It is good for something, but it is slow to turn on and has low contrast on the display
Gossen Metrahit Energy: I bought it because it could measure power, but I also love that it auto ranges from uA to 10A and you never blow a x00mA fuse in it. It has often been my favorite meter for measuring current, but now I have a power supply with a very good current readout and some bench AC power meters, this means I do not use it as often anymore.
Keysight U1252B: I have been using that for some time, it has a silly layout with the buttons and the rechargeable battery got swapped with a primary before it was empty first time.
Keysight U1282A: I have been using this a bit, but I am not very impressed with its speed.
Hioki DT4282: After my review I decided to try this out as my main meter, I like the speed of it.

Many of the meters has also been used for logging with a computer, this means they have been running for many hours, but mostly I have changed to bench meters for this.

In the multimeter table on my website is a rough safety evaluation of each meter (You can sort on any column)

[Fungus]

Hioki DT4282: After my review I decided to try this out as my main meter, I like the speed of it.

That Hioki has its flaws but it seems well-liked by people who actually use it.

[rsjsouza]

I have seen some of your reviews before; thank you for posting a comprehensive list.

[mqsaharan]

Hi HKJ,
Really nice work. I like your reviews. I read quite a few of them. They are concise and from a practical point of view. I like that you have not censored the drawbacks/bad points.

It has been said countless times that the user of such an equipment should learn how to use it, its shortcomings and its limitations. But unfortunately the manufacturers hide such information and not everyone has access to a full blown electronics lab to understand the behaviour of such equipment and such reviews help a lot. Please keep it up.

May I request you to post reviews for your Fluke 189 and 289. The teardown for these is not that necessary (as you may not want to take them apart) but I was hoping for their reviews along the lines of your Brymen BM869s and Hioki DT4282 reviews.

Regards,
Qasim.

[HKJ]

May I request you to post reviews for your Fluke 189 and 289. The teardown for these is not that necessary (as you may not want to take them apart) but I was hoping for their reviews along the lines of your Brymen BM869s and Hioki DT4282 reviews.

I am a bit in two minds about that, all the meters I have reviewed above are new and I can also  show what you get with the meter.
I have some high-end meters and the technical information for them could be interesting to include, but a review of a old meter is not the same as the review of a new meter.

[nanofrog]

May I request you to post reviews for your Fluke 189 and 289. The teardown for these is not that necessary (as you may not want to take them apart) but I was hoping for their reviews along the lines of your Brymen BM869s and Hioki DT4282 reviews.

I am a bit in two minds about that, all the meters I have reviewed above are new and I can also  show what you get with the meter.
I have some high-end meters and the technical information for them could be interesting to include, but a review of a old meter is not the same as the review of a new meter.

I understand your hesitancy to include old/used meters with new ones. But keep in mind, it seems most of us try and utilize the used market whenever possible. So reviews of older meters such as the Fluke 189 & 289 have merit IMHO.

Determining which ones to include would be the hard part, but suggestions from various geo-locations should help narrow that down considerably (and someone may be able to donate a specimen for review).

For clarity, you could always separate them in NEW & OLD lists. Any personal usage comparative comments would be appropriate in the conclusion section.

Just a thought. 

[mqsaharan]

May I request you to post reviews for your Fluke 189 and 289. The teardown for these is not that necessary (as you may not want to take them apart) but I was hoping for their reviews along the lines of your Brymen BM869s and Hioki DT4282 reviews.

I am a bit in two minds about that, all the meters I have reviewed above are new and I can also  show what you get with the meter.
I have some high-end meters and the technical information for them could be interesting to include, but a review of a old meter is not the same as the review of a new meter.

nanofrog has already put my reason in better words. I am just repeating what he said.
I requested for their review Because they are used and since You are the original owner you can give better comments on their true (and not assumed) quality.
You can also compare their deviation (if there is any) from the "Production Verification Test Data" that you received with them against their current display readings using your higher precision and higher resolution bench meters thus telling us how they held up with your usage, etc. (just another thought).

Regards,
Qasim.

[HKJ]

I have tested on the 289 and started on a review.
I have add a couple more reviews to the list.

[Hydrawerk]

Thank you.

[HKJ]

The Fluke 289 review is now published.

[rsjsouza]

Excellent review; I was always curious about this meter and this certainly was very informative. Thank you!

[HKJ]

Now the list has more than 50 multimeter reviews.

[HKJ]

The list has passed 60 DMM reviews included the EEVBlog 121GW

[coromonadalix]

nice work

[mqsaharan]

The Fluke 289 review is now published.

Hi HKJ
Thank you very much for accepting my request and reviewing your Fluke 289. I appreciate your efforts.
I was more interested in the working details of this meter that you presented very nicely.

In your reviews, Summary table is very useful to see most of the specifications at a glance.
Would you kindly tell me what is the difference between True RMS and True AC as there is also a third box AC+DC? Also what does Fast means or refers to.
If you would like you can add "On/Off Button" to the empty box. There are only a few handheld meters left that have a dedicated On/Off button.

Regards,
Qasim.

[HKJ]

Would you kindly tell me what is the difference between True RMS and True AC as there is also a third box AC+DC?

With True AC means the meter can handle a large DC or AC while measuring the opposite type
The AC+DC means the meter can show the RMS sum of AC+DC.

Also what does Fast means or refers to.

This means the meter has a mode with fast updates and usual less resolution (This is mostly for bench meters).
You can find a explanation of all the items and a bit about how I test here: https://lygte-info.dk/info/DMMinfo.html

If you would like you can add "On/Off Button" to the empty box. There are only a few handheld meters left that have a dedicated On/Off button.

There a some parameters that I do not really see as significant, the on/off button is one of them, (non)latched continuity is another, that is the reason they are missing in the schema.

[mqsaharan]

Hi HKJ,
I was reading your review of HIOKI DT4282. There seems to be a mistake on 2nd line under Measurements, Volt and frequency. The line reads:
"At 100mVrms VAC frequency input range can be stretched to 500MHz that is maximum for meter."

The upper limit I think is 500kHz and not 500MHz.


In your Brymen BM869s review, may I request for a little more explanation regarding point/line number 12 under Measurements, Volt and frequency. It reads:
"Large AC values on DC ranges will prevent the meter from showing a value, except if dual display AC and DC is selected."
Could you please mention how large an AC value on DC range prevent the meter from showing a value at all. Also is the behaviour same for line frequency 50/60Hz and lower/higher frequencies.

And for the line number 15 which reads:
"The DCV & DCmV range has two paths: Directly DC volt and True-RMS volt, they will not show exactly the same value. The 500000 read out the direct DC mode."
Could you please mention the difference between both values. Also which mode shows (closer to) the actual value.

The same is true for BM525s review.

Regards,
Qasim.

[HKJ]

Hi HKJ,
I was reading your review of HIOKI DT4282. There seems to be a mistake on 2nd line under Measurements, Volt and frequency. The line reads:
"At 100mVrms VAC frequency input range can be stretched to 500MHz that is maximum for meter."

The upper limit I think is 500kHz and not 500MHz.

Thanks, it is fixed

In your Brymen BM869s review, may I request for a little more explanation regarding point/line number 12 under Measurements, Volt and frequency. It reads:
"Large AC values on DC ranges will prevent the meter from showing a value, except if dual display AC and DC is selected."
Could you please mention how large an AC value on DC range prevent the meter from showing a value at all. Also is the behaviour same for line frequency 50/60Hz and lower/higher frequencies.

I uses about 630VDC and 230VAC, in the article I link at the bottom of the review I do explain about the test.
My tests at mains voltage are mostly done at 50Hz because I live in 50Hz country (only exception is usb chargers that is tested 120VAC 60Hz).

And for the line number 15 which reads:
"The DCV & DCmV range has two paths: Directly DC volt and True-RMS volt, they will not show exactly the same value. The 500000 read out the direct DC mode."
Could you please mention the difference between both values. Also which mode shows (closer to) the actual value.

The same is true for BM525s review.

There is no mystery in this, the DC range do not need rectification, but the AC+DC range uses the true-RMS converter and that means the meter has a worse specification for this. The actual difference is about 6 count on 1 volt DC on my BM869s

[mqsaharan]

Thanks for the clarification.

In your Brymen BM869s review, may I request for a little more explanation regarding point/line number 12 under Measurements, Volt and frequency. It reads:
"Large AC values on DC ranges will prevent the meter from showing a value, except if dual display AC and DC is selected."
Could you please mention how large an AC value on DC range prevent the meter from showing a value at all. Also is the behaviour same for line frequency 50/60Hz and lower/higher frequencies.

I uses about 630VDC and 230VAC, in the article I link at the bottom of the review I do explain about the test.
My tests at mains voltage are mostly done at 50Hz because I live in 50Hz country (only exception is usb chargers that is tested 120VAC 60Hz).

I did visit the "How Do I Review a DMM" page but I didn't read it thoroughly, gave it more of a cursory look.
The reason I asked the question was I thought you have some variable source for AC and DC and you have been feeding the meter with different voltage levels when you found that anomaly.
I guess these meters work all right at low levels otherwise many users have complained about it.

And for the line number 15 which reads:
"The DCV & DCmV range has two paths: Directly DC volt and True-RMS volt, they will not show exactly the same value. The 500000 read out the direct DC mode."
Could you please mention the difference between both values. Also which mode shows (closer to) the actual value.

The same is true for BM525s review.

There is no mystery in this, the DC range do not need rectification, but the AC+DC range uses the true-RMS converter and that means the meter has a worse specification for this. The actual difference is about 6 count on 1 volt DC on my BM869s

I guess nothing to worry about here too. The meters seem within specifications.
My suggestion is to please do mention this difference of 6 counts on the review pages, makes it more clear.

Regards,
Qasim.

[HKJ]

I did visit the "How Do I Review a DMM" page but I didn't read it thoroughly, gave it more of a cursory look.
The reason I asked the question was I thought you have some variable source for AC and DC and you have been feeding the meter with different voltage levels when you found that anomaly.
I guess these meters work all right at low levels otherwise many users have complained about it.

I have a AC generator that can deliver variable AC voltage, but for that test I only use a fixed voltage. When I test a LowZ range I sweep with the generator.

[HKJ]

I keep adding multimeter reviews and are now past 70.