BM786

[MrBond]

Hi, i just started in electronics and i don't know much of what im doing, but i know one thing and that would be that i need a good multimeter. I have like 6 of them but none are anything special. One of them is 50 dollars and the best performing of them all but the rest are cheap 10-15 dollars and quite crappy. After watching one of David's videos in which he recommended the BM786 i wanted to find a review and a honest opinion, things which i could not find. David said its an exceptional multimeter and at what is a very competitive price for what it offers and while i have no reason to doubt it i still have no idea what it is, what's David's affiliation with it and how good it is.

Any help is much appreciated, i really have no idea what the best option for me is.

Thanks

[Doctorandus_P]

Brymen has made name with making pretty good multimeters  for a modest price. As far as I know all of them are good, so you just choose the functions and resolution / accuracy you want and that sets the model number and price point.

[RayRay]

Look, BM786 by itself is a great meter, but there are also cheaper meters which will serve you well, and you don't have to spend a huge amount of money to get a good one. For example, you got the UNI-T 139C for $50:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32820879256.html
And the 191T for $72:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002872663211.html
Both are great meters (I have em myself). The 191T has the better display though.
Anyhow, you might wanna invest a bit more in high quality probes, such as these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/171162377470
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001557245171.html
https://www.ebay.com/itm/200979921195
I have both the Brymen & Best, and for electronics work, I prefer the Best ones (as the thickness really helps to get into smaller spaces). To sum it up, you don't have to "break the bank" to get a good meter, but it's up to you how much you wanna spend.

[ejeffrey]

There brymen meters are all pretty good for the money.  But for the most part if you already have several sub-$50 meters that work and you have no idea what you need then I'd suggest maybe getting nothing until you know what you need.

One thing Dave focuses a lot on is safety.  This is critically important for working on electrical installations, mains power supplies and non isolated mains powered appliances.  None of your cheap meters are likely adequate for those purposes but you can do a lot of electronics without touching mains voltages.  If you aren't doing that you can probably just use the meters you have until you are limited by their functionality and then get something based on the limitations that impact you.

[RayRay]

One thing Dave focuses a lot on is safety.  This is critically important for working on electrical installations, mains power supplies and non isolated mains powered appliances.  None of your cheap meters are likely adequate for those purposes but you can do a lot of electronics without touching mains voltages.  If you aren't doing that you can probably just use the meters you have until you are limited by their functionality and then get something based on the limitations that impact you.

I think this part is often overrated. I mean, sure, if you're working with high voltage on a regular basis, then having proper input protection on the meter is important, but for a meter used primarily for electronics and maybe for occasional high voltage stuff every now and then, it's not that critical. Just for the record though, both of the UNI-T meters I've mentioned have good input protection (it's a lil more robust on the 139C, but the 191T doesn't fall too far behind)

[wizard69]

In all honestly if you are just starting out and already have meters, no matter how crappy, I wouldn't be looking to buy another right away.   Yes eventually you will want a better one or maybe even a few, however when starting out you will find yourself buying or building a lot of stuff.   If you don't need a meter you can allocate that cash for other stuff and maybe move upscale.

Now I don't know how you are fixed with respect to tools and instruments, but It is fair to say you very likely don't have everything you will need.   Even if you DIY some of this stuff, power supplies for example, you will need to purchase parts.   By the way I'm a big proponent of finding very simple circuit to implement as a learning opportunity.   Even skills like soldering require a bit of time to perfect and so does a projects mechanical construction.   The real trick is to figure out when to start building projects.   You should cover the basics by following a technicians oriented course in electronics as a starting point.   

In any event I drifted a bit there.   I recently purchased a 786 from Dave for a meter to use at home, even if I already have one.   In part I made the purchase to support EEVblog and also to get a slightly more modern meter.   Interestingly I got to put it to use the day the meter arrived due to a failed furnace.   It worked as expected and the backlit screen was awesome.   As for other uses I have a broken welder to repair and a hobby lathe upon which I will be upgrading the electrics.   As you might note much of this is highish voltages and thus you really ant a meter able to protect you from those voltages.   Well in reality it is the power levels that make a difference, in the context of home use I have no regrets and expect that the meter would work properly.   In industry arc-flash training is annual, at least at my employer and you really want up to snuff equipment to work on these tools  This is one reason I lean towards Fluke at work as there is a big issue of trust involved.   I might one day trust a Brymen meter isn't such a location but you really don't want to be thinking about the meters safety while working on 800 volt DC motor drives or power supplies to AC servos.   I'm biased I admit, but I've worked with Fluke for just about as long as I've been in industry and  have a great deal of trust and really appreciate the support I have gotten in the past.   This does not mean that there is anything wrong with the 786, from my perspective it is a decent mid range meter.   So I don't think you would go wrong with the 786, in your case I wouldn't suggest buying it until you have better outfitted yourself, for studying / learning about electronics.   On the other hand supporting EEVBlog is pretty smart.

Hi, i just started in electronics and i don't know much of what im doing, but i know one thing and that would be that i need a good multimeter. I have like 6 of them but none are anything special. One of them is 50 dollars and the best performing of them all but the rest are cheap 10-15 dollars and quite crappy. After watching one of David's videos in which he recommended the BM786 i wanted to find a review and a honest opinion, things which i could not find. David said its an exceptional multimeter and at what is a very competitive price for what it offers and while i have no reason to doubt it i still have no idea what it is, what's David's affiliation with it and how good it is.

Any help is much appreciated, i really have no idea what the best option for me is.

Thanks

[Siwastaja]

There are two different hobbies, one is electronics design/repair, another is collecting multimeters (or fanboying about certain multimeter brands). The latter does not lead into former.

If you have 6 "nothing special" multimeters; even if just two of them work and seem to give consistent readings, you are more than good to go. Don't buy anything more until you know what you actually need. If you specialize in hanging in the EEVBLOG metrology section, calibrating your meters instead of designing and building actual projects, then I'm sure you'll need many more multimeters.

On the other hand, I have done numerous complex professional designs using a single $10 store brand ("Biltema") multimeter which happens to work, and yes, it has correct CAT rating printed, and yes, I have opened it up and verified the input protection is better than the classic dangerous Uni-T meter with bogus CAT rating.

It simply does the job despite being cheap and noname, and has worked completely reliably for over a decade, before that I used another cheapo store brand multimeter for 20 years.

Replacing a cheapo multimeter with a $50 less-cheapo-but-still-cheapo multimeter, or a $200 Fluke might not bring you any additional feature you would use. Chances are once you have a special requirement, then you'd need a $1000 benchtop unit for its accuracy and resolution, or something completely different.

[PixieDust]

You don't need any more multimeters if you have 6! You would be surprised at how much stuff you can make with a basic $10 multimeter! With your $50 meter, you're set for quite some time.

If you want another multimeter, look for a used bench multimeter. Handheld multimeters are designed for portability, not accuracy and speed which is the domain of bench multimeters.

As others have suggested, don't take out your wallet until you know you need something for a specific purpose.

[BeBuLamar]

If someone has 6 multimeters it's very likely that he would need another one.
I tell you a story. I live in Dallas TX and my brother in Houston TX. One day he called me said go pick up a Honda HR195 lawn mover. He said he paid for it already I just need to pick it up and I can have it. I told him I don't need it as I already have a working one. But he insisted so I had to pick it up and bring it down to Houston for him because he has 10 of them already he really needs the 11th. I have one and I don't need the second.

[MrBond]

You don't need any more multimeters if you have 6! You would be surprised at how much stuff you can make with a basic $10 multimeter! With your $50 meter, you're set for quite some time.

If you want another multimeter, look for a used bench multimeter. Handheld multimeters are designed for portability, not accuracy and speed which is the domain of bench multimeters.

As others have suggested, don't take out your wallet until you know you need something for a specific purpose.

I really appreciate this, i keep being told that if i want to do anything electronics related i need a good multimeter. I will follow your advice, thanks.

[Siwastaja]

i keep being told that if i want to do anything electronics related i need a good multimeter. I will follow your advice, thanks.

[emphasis mine]

I hear it a lot too but it's really not true. You can get quite far with any half-decent multimeter. I know many cultists do not like this, but it is true as evidenced by myself and many others.

A good multimeter doesn't hurt, obviously, but a good soldering iron, for example, is much more important.

In other words, a $20 multimeter totally enables hobby and professional electronic design no problem whatsoever. A $150 unit may or may not change something, maybe, perhaps.

But a $20 soldering iron is a disaster, it makes the whole ordeal much more challenging than it needs to be. But if you get a decent soldering station (even the cheapest Hakko) + set of commonly used tips (I'd recommend chisel types of different sizes, say 1 to 5 mm), your productivity and success rate goes up a big notch.

Having a well equipped lab (don't forget "trivial" consumables like wires in different sizes, component assortments, strip board, Kapton tape, flux, cleaners, etc.) is everything, and there usually is limitation in money (otherwise we wouldn't be discussing this, right?), so spend it wisely.

I always put the money where it's most needed by factual basis and that's why I'm still on the cheap no-name multimeter... I could totally use a Fluke even at my home lab, but just hasn't happened so far.