Budget multimeter

[Menara]

Hi,
I am constituing my small electronics lab and need a good budget meter to do measures on my projects, I do not plan to measure mains voltages (I use a variable PS, so no circuits with primary side).
Looking for something around 30USD preferably on Banggood that ships to my contry.
Thanks

[ejeffrey]

[Menara]

Hi,
I've found these meters and they looks ok in term of resolution and safety for my basic usage, what would you recommend in order ?
UNI-T UT136B : https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UT136B-Auto-Range-Digital-Multimeter-AC-DC-Resistance-Tester-p-89933.html
UNI-T UT151C : https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UT151C-High-Reliability-Handheld-Digital-Multimeter-LCR-Meter-p-1060568.html
UNI-T UT58D : https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UT58D-LCD-Digital-Volt-Amp-Ohm-Capacitance-Inductance-Multimeter-p-91760.html
UNI-T UT33C+ : https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UT33C-Digital-Multimeter-Voltmeter-Ammeter-Resistance-Meter-Temperature-Tester-Palm-Size-p-1213124.html
UNI-T UT33A+ : https://www.banggood.com/UNI-T-UT33A-Digital-Pocket-Multimeter-Resistor-Capacitor-Diode-Tester-Backlight-Auto-Shutdown-p-1213125.html?
Thanks !

[tooki]

Please search the forums, there’s ample discussion of this, multiple videos, and an entire subforum dedicated to test gear. There’s also tons of detailed discussion of the pros and cons of various uni-t models, since they are extraordinarily variable in quality.

[Menara]

Hi,
Of course I did a long search on the forum but most reviews are around 2017's, I think many updates had occurred to meters market. A good recommendation of a meter around 25USD would be great !
Thanks !

[ejeffrey]

The market hasn't changed that much since 2017.  Yes, there have been some new arrivals, but it isn't like all the information out there has become obsolete.  Even with the new arrivals, looking at the "old" threads will help you figure out what features different people find important and what to look for or ask about.  Without any information as to what you are looking for, why you are considering those UNI-T meters in particular it is kind of difficult for anyone to help, and kind of pointless until you do a bit of the research yourself.

[cliffyk]

I recently purchased one of these, a BSide ZT-X from Amazon (US$ 37.99).

It is a 9999 count auto-ranging true RMS meter, is quite accurate and has an amazing display:



Liked it so much I bought one for myself...

[rstofer]

Having the ability to measure capacitance and inductance seems pretty handy although I can count on the fingers of one hand the times that I have actually done it.  I seldom even use inductors and my primary use of capacitors is for decoupling and absolute value just doesn't matter.  I have meters that will measure capacitance even though I don't do it very often.  I have a separate L-C-R meter for measuring inductance and capacitance.

If you think you would like that feature, you can cut your list down by eliminating all those meters that lack the ability.

Dave seems to like the ability to measure uA and while I haven't done it, my meters will all do it.  You can eliminate some more...

CAT ratings are not something I worry about but if you ever plan to work on mains during a lightning storm, you can probably eliminate others based on testing done.  See over in the Test Equipment forum.  I pretty much trust the CAT values from Fluke, Keysight and possibly Brymen.  I may have missed a couple of other major players.  The rest are just paint on the case - they mean nothing.  If it matters, check the test results.  To me, the CAT rating on DMMs is meaningless - I don't tend to use them on mains.  I have other tools and we don't tend to have lightning storms around here.

You could also eliminate meters with glass fuses if you knew which meters came that way.  Glass fuses simply don't have the interrupting capacity of ceramic fuses and, if you mess up on mains, you will probably find out what this means.  Look for teardown videos or reviews.

If you are still choosing between multiple selections, buy the Aneng 8008.  I use mine all the time even though I have several high quality (expensive) meters.  It's just handy!  And it measures uA but I seriously doubt the CAT ratings will really hold up.

Whichever meter you buy, it won't be the only meter you wind up with.  It is not uncommon to need 3 meters at the same time.

[rstofer]

I ecently purchased one of these, a BSide ZT-X from Amazon (US$ 37.99).

It is a 9999 count auto-ranging true RMS meter, is quite accurate and has an amazing display:

Liked it so much I bought one for myself...

I'll probably buy one for the display!  The thing I wonder about is what happens if you are measuring voltage, say 390V, and you accidentally bump one of the buttons - say resistance, or amps?

I wonder how many meters have been destroyed when the user had the alligator clips fastened to a voltage source and turned the range switch?  There was a time when the Simpson 260 wasn't fused.

I guess I better not think about it!  Buttons seem more susceptible to inadvertent change than a rotary switch.

[tooki]

A properly designed meter will not suffer damage from changing modes while connected to voltage.

[tooki]

Hi,
Of course I did a long search on the forum but most reviews are around 2017's, I think many updates had occurred to meters market. A good recommendation of a meter around 25USD would be great !
Thanks !

No, not many changes really, and even some of those changes are trivial. (If the differences were massive, there’d be tons of discussion.) These aren’t smartphones or gaming PCs, after all.

[Shock]

I think an Aneng gets you into a meter the cheapest. In the secondhand market you might be able to pick up a cheap secondhand Fluke 70 series meter if you go a little higher but you need to obviously make sure it's been tested. It won't be amazing feature wise or measuring resolution but Flukes have great build quality.

Multimeters in the lower end of town for most people is more about AC/DC voltage and current measurements, then continuity/diode/resistance checking, capacitance checking falls somewhere after that.

But for proper inductance, capacitance/ESR and resistance measurements you want to work your way into an LCR meter. The best bang for buck is a DE5000 at around $100. Seeking inductance in a multimeter would be limiting your options considerably and as you are doubling up functionality wise chasing capacitance in a low end multimeter is not that important in the long run.

[rsjsouza]

I think an Aneng gets you into a meter the cheapest.

Yes, Aneng and brands that have identical models (Richmeters, Zoyi, Zotek, etc.) are among the cheapest to get into the advanced ( =featured ) meter market.
One model that is quite reasonable for the upper end of your budget is the AN870, which also goes as Richmeters ZT219 (some markets have it as Zotek ZT219).

A very thorough review from the resident expert HKJ is here.

An EEVBlog discussion is here

[rstofer]

A properly designed meter will not suffer damage from changing modes while connected to voltage.

So, I can connect to 480VAC on a 600V scale and switch to Rx1 with no damage?  You are placing a lot of faith in those fuses and not every meter has fuses.  Early Simpson 260s didn't and I have seen the results of attaching to 480V with the switch in the wrong position.  The meter literally exploded.  That's the fun thing about working on 480V, arcs turn to plasma at low current but substantial heating.  Entire swithboards burn to the ground from a simple phase to phase fault.  The plasma current is too low to trip the protective devices but high enough to melt aluminum or copper.

I bought the ZT-X meter just for giggles and it has a little sticker in the lower right corner that says

STOP TESTING
VOLTGAGE IN
CURRENT MODE

TEAR OFF
BEFORE USE

The sticker is covering the A/mA and uA input jacks.

In the instruction manual, they caution about measuring voltage on non-voltage scales.  Over and over!  I don't think they trust the fuses either.  At least they are ceramic fuses.

I was playing with the meter yesterday.  The display is terrific!  The accuracy is just mediocre (1/2% on most scales) but around here, mediocre is outstanding.

[tooki]

A properly designed meter will not suffer damage from changing modes while connected to voltage.

So, I can connect to 480VAC on a 600V scale and switch to Rx1 with no damage?  You are placing a lot of faith in those fuses and not every meter has fuses.  Early Simpson 260s didn't and I have seen the results of attaching to 480V with the switch in the wrong position.  The meter literally exploded.  That's the fun thing about working on 480V, arcs turn to plasma at low current but substantial heating.  Entire swithboards burn to the ground from a simple phase to phase fault.  The plasma current is too low to trip the protective devices but high enough to melt aluminum or copper.

Not only can you do that, it won’t even pop a fuse (they’re across the current inputs, not volts), and the meter will still be in-spec afterwards. Remember my qualifier: in a properly designed meter. And this isn’t a hypothetical — people who test meters do just this to them, and expect them to survive without damage.

Note that I did not say that the current jacks could be used; that would pop the fuse. I only talked about switching from V to any other range, not moving the inputs.

Comparing an old analog meter is kinda pointless, since it wouldn’t meet today’s safety standards. A modern industrial meter like a Fluke 87V is expected to not only not explode when within spec but in the wrong mode, but to handle transient spikes many, many times higher than its maximum range. (Literally 8000V for Cat IV.) Now, the meter will not survive that degree of abuse, but it will remain safe. I don’t know whether it’s feasible to design an analog multimeter that can tolerate that kind of abuse, but for sure it’s expected of any halfway decent DMM.


The Zotek meters are great value for money for electronics use, but they wouldn’t survive the abuse we are talking about. Wrong mode on the volts jacks, maaaybe. (I don’t remember the test results for them.) But an 8KV transient? Not a chance.

[rsjsouza]

Simpson rates one of their VOM models at CAT III 600V.

https://www.simpsonelectric.com/products/test-equipment/vom-multimeters/260-9-260-9sp

Pretty much any early generation DMM or VOM multimeter that goes through a CAT ratings transient will suffer significant damage as well - I still recall an old video from Dave where even a Fluke (28, IIRC) had a high speed ejection of the rotary switch. Some of the modern Chinese cheap meters are at the same level of 30~40 years old in terms of protection.

[Canis Dirus Leidy]

Talking about budget. Currently Banggood offer $18 coupon for some goods if you are newly registered user. Maybe it's worth seeing if you can buy AN8008 for less than $10 (with shipping)?

[rstofer]

Simpson rates one of their VOM models at CAT III 600V.

https://www.simpsonelectric.com/products/test-equipment/vom-multimeters/260-9-260-9sp

Pretty much any early generation DMM or VOM multimeter that goes through a CAT ratings transient will suffer significant damage as well - I still recall an old video from Dave where even a Fluke (28, IIRC) had a high speed ejection of the rotary switch. Some of the modern Chinese cheap meters are at the same level of 30~40 years old in terms of protection.

At some voltage/current level, with some errant setting, it should be possible to blow up any meter.  It's the 'errant' part you need to avoid.  The good news is that most hobbyists are working with low energy circuits.  A little spark, a blown fuse, no big deal.  I like low energy circuits!

[rstofer]

Talking about budget. Currently Banggood offer $18 coupon for some goods if you are newly registered user. Maybe it's worth seeing if you can buy AN8008 for less than $10 (with shipping)?

Might as well get 3 of them!  It is often quite handy to have more than 1 meter.  Transistor base current, collector current, V_CESat - things like that...  Of course you need simultaneous measurements!

Then 3 sets of test leads with mini-grabbers...