Cheap Multimeter

[BobLab]

Hello Guys, I need  to buy a cheap  multimeter, unfortunately I can't afford a bryman specially the bm 235 or a fluke at the moment.
Well I mostly use for eletronic repairs, it have to measure capacitors and be autorange, sometimes i use to measure mains 220VAC max.
I know there is a ton of topics here but most of the DMM i can't find in my country sadly, like the Extech 330 or a mastech who looks like have a good quality construction, any advice will be very appreciated, thanks and sorry any english mistakes.

[rsjsouza]

BobLab, I did a number of reviews of multimeters over the years (in portuguese - I link some of my reviews below).

As an absolute low cost I can recommend the Richmeters RM113D, which is 6000 counts with TRMS, well built and compact. Next on the line with higher counts (20000) and a bit more features is the Richmeters RM219 (also known as Aneng AN870), which is larger and reasonably built. Next in line would be the UT61E, which features a decent bargraph and is more responsive than the other two (and it has one of the best capacitance meters) but it is more expensive and is being replaced by its newer generation UT61E+. I also tested the popular UT139C (also Minipa ET-1649) and I thought it was a good and robust (with less features) alternative to the similarly priced UT61E, but some people reported it is electrically fragile.

Keep in mind these are not electrically robust, but for the occasional mains measurement should be absolutely fine - the only one that requires more attention is the RM113D, which shares the µA/mA input with the Volts. Otherwise, it is fine.

On my pipeline of reviews are the AstroAI M6KOR (Kaiweets HT118A) and a Greenlee DM200A (Brymen BM251S) that are proving their value on my current usage here in my bench. 

Boa sorte!

[BobLab]

rsjsouza , thanks for the help, I'll take a  look on this multimeters you listed and in your  channel aswell, looks like you have a good content there..appreciate the help again pal.
Obrigado, é nóis  .

[mkaluza]

+1 for AN870 - I just got two of those from Aliexpress and they are everything a beginner could want or need - Aneng also has cheaper units, but they make some compromises with uA/mA ranges (and have fewer counts) that could make them uncomfortable to use, so unless you're on a really tight budget, get at least one AN870

[magic]

One thing I dislike about Aneng (and Zotec/RM/...) in general is that their probe connectors are not standard and barely make a contact with third party probes and cables.

What I dislike about AN870 in particular is that it's not really accurate down to the last digit, so its 20000 counts is a bit of a gimmick. Those 5 digit panel meters with MCP3421 outperform it on volts DC

I would look what UNI-T has to offer these days just for better connectors alone. You want an autoranger, but for manual ranging, it looks like the old UT56 might still be a better choice for 4.5 digits simply because it uses a decent ADC chip from Maxim instead of that mystery blob of Chinesium with uncorrected offset voltage which they try to hide by displaying low readings as zero, but only on certain ranges

Input protection is nonexistent on all cheap meters. People use them with mains every now and then and it works, but a few kV transient will cause PCB arcing at one place or another and likely magic smoke.

[nvmR]

Agree with mkaluza above, the AN870 is a good starter meter.
Even when you expand your collection, it could still serve as a third+ meter to throw on the bench for an especially thorough measurement, or in a toolbag for jobs away from the bench.
For some reason, the green costs less than the red (if you don't mind ).

Don't forget to snatch the ali coupons!

[matej_cro]

Buy for cheap UNI-T UT89XD. Build quality and accuracy is excelent. You will not regret if you buy this instrument.
https://www.uni-trend.com/meters/html/product/General_Meters/Digital_Multimeters/UT89X/UT89XD.html

[rpiloverbd]

You did not mention your budget by the way. My personal favourite is Sanwa CD800A Digital Multimeter. In Bangladesh, one can buy it costing 2800 Taka now. Among the very cheap ones, I used 9205A Digital Multimeter (480 Taka). The meter performed OK but the probes were not good at all. Often they got disconnected and I had to solder those again and again. UT33B+ Palm-Size Multimeter is better than  9205A. The price is also double.

[tooki]

One thing I dislike about Aneng (and Zotec/RM/...) in general is that their probe connectors are not standard and barely make a contact with third party probes and cables.

Huh? I have an AN8008, and while the jacks are a bit shallow, they do in fact make reliable contact with every banana plug I insert. I just verified (in continuity mode) with Probe Master, Fluke, Keysight, Mastech, Oldaker, and Hirschmann (all shrouded safety banana), as well as some (probably Oldaker) probes with unshrouded banana plugs.

What I dislike about AN870 in particular is that it's not really accurate down to the last digit, so its 20000 counts is a bit of a gimmick. Those 5 digit panel meters with MCP3421 outperform it on volts DC

Is it out of spec? It claims 0.05% ±3 counts, so 10V could be 9.9992-10.0008V.
One rarely needs absolute accuracy in the least significant digit, so as usual, the real question is whether it will show a change of 1 least significant digit.

From what I read, the AN870 is like many Aneng meters in that they have left out some power supply smoothing caps that there are actually pads for, and that adding those in will improve settling time and accuracy. (I have been meaning to do this to my AN8008.)

[magic]

Huh? I have an AN8008, and while the jacks are a bit shallow, they do in fact make reliable contact with every banana plug I insert. I just verified (in continuity mode) with Probe Master, Fluke, Keysight, Mastech, Oldaker, and Hirschmann (all shrouded safety banana), as well as some (probably Oldaker) probes with unshrouded banana plugs.

My Electro PJP and Hirschmann plugs barely go into my AN870 and while they do make contact fully inserted, they easily fall out. UNI-t probes fit it surprisingly well, but Aneng probes suck in UNI-t. I believe shallowness may be the problem indeed, I guess somebody saved a few mg of plastic per jack

Is it out of spec? It claims 0.05% ±3 counts, so 10V could be 9.9992-10.0008V.

Well, yes, it's barely in spec at 6~7 counts off near 10V. But this only shows that the spec is equally mediocre as the ADC, or Aneng's calibration, or whatever it is

One rarely needs absolute accuracy in the least significant digit, so as usual, the real question is whether it will show a change of 1 least significant digit.

Don't get me started on noise, another instant win for MCP3412

From what I read, the AN870 is like many Aneng meters in that they have left out some power supply smoothing caps that there are actually pads for, and that adding those in will improve settling time and accuracy. (I have been meaning to do this to my AN8008.)

I'm not entirely sure, but I may take a look inside. I'm not holding my breath for improvements in noise, unless it's the reference IC.

[tooki]

From what I read, the AN870 is like many Aneng meters in that they have left out some power supply smoothing caps that there are actually pads for, and that adding those in will improve settling time and accuracy. (I have been meaning to do this to my AN8008.)

I'm not entirely sure, but I may take a look inside. I'm not holding my breath for improvements in noise, unless it's the reference IC.

It is, apparently. Take a look: https://www.jackenhack.com/aneng-an8008-modify-for-better-accuracy-faster-readings/

[magic]

Looks like AN870 is similar - a dodgy electrolytic, a few MLCCs and several more empty footprints
https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMAnengAN870%20UK.html

Still not sure if it will do anything for noise or just for settling time (which is another thing, it does take a second or two), but I could give it a try.

The reference has 1Ω output impedance so 4.7µF in parallel with it should make no difference in principle, unless there is some arcane problem like oscillation or code-dependent current pulses drawn by the ADC which are too fast for it or other black magic stuff

[tooki]

Looks like AN870 is similar - a dodgy electrolytic, a few MLCCs and several more empty footprints
https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMAnengAN870%20UK.html

Yep. I’d seen that before, which is why I said

From what I read, the AN870 is like many Aneng meters in that they have left out some power supply smoothing caps that there are actually pads for, and that adding those in will improve settling time and accuracy. (I have been meaning to do this to my AN8008.)

(I wasn’t speculating or making my own observations.)

Still not sure if it will do anything for noise or just for settling time (which is another thing, it does take a second or two), but I could give it a try.

The reference has 1Ω output impedance so 4.7µF in parallel with it should make no difference in principle, unless there is some arcane problem like oscillation or code-dependent current pulses drawn by the ADC which are too fast for it or other black magic stuff

Well, given that settling time is precisely something the capacitor “mod” improves significantly on the 8008, it’s likely to do the same here.

[BobLab]

what you guys think of the Uni-T UT139C, wich our friend rsjsouza mentioned above, looks like very well constructed, got ceramic fuses, nice probe connections also the voltage jack separated from Amps, and miliamps, but its a little bit expensive, I want something similar to this one but around 50$ bucks.

[mkaluza]

I'm using AA rechargeable batteries (old white Sanyo Eneloops to be precise) and settling time is really good compared to what I've seen on YT reviews - haven't check with oscilloscope yet, but I assumed those AAs have lower internal resistance (I was using them in photo equipment where normal AA batteries were killed very quickly due to high internal R), so they should handle any transients better.

[rsjsouza]

what you guys think of the Uni-T UT139C, wich our friend rsjsouza mentioned above, looks like very well constructed, got ceramic fuses, nice probe connections also the voltage jack separated from Amps, and miliamps, but its a little bit expensive, I want something similar to this one but around 50$ bucks.

This UT139C is around $50 on Aliexpress. Despite the reports, it is a very good meter: responsive, with good features and mechanically well built.

[ElectricPower]

I have 7 multimeters. Actually 9, bau only 7 i have pictures of for now.

Det best one in of course the Brymen 869S No doubt:



But i also have 6 unexpensive multimeters bought on AliExpress showed on picture under. The best ones here i think is the Aneng Q10 and Aneng 8009. Q10 is more robust and compact, but a little larger than 8009. 8009 is wery small and handy.



The Aneng AN870 feels a little cheap i think. It works fine, but i just think Aneng Q10 is alot better regards to build quality.

[BobLab]

I have 7 multimeters. Actually 9, bau only 7 i have pictures of for now.

Det best one in of course the Brymen 869S No doubt:



But i also have 6 unexpensive multimeters bought on AliExpress showed on picture under. The best ones here i think is the Aneng Q10 and Aneng 8009. Q10 is more robust and compact, but a little larger than 8009. 8009 is wery small and handy.



The Aneng AN870 feels a little cheap i think. It works fine, but i just think Aneng Q10 is alot better regards to build quality.

Thanks dude, nice bench!

[ElectricPower]

No problem