Help choosing a 1st multimeter

[rsjsouza]

(...) Shipping being between half of what the product costs to more than what it costs is common and is the greatest barrier here to order from abroad.

I am sorry to hear that. I know too well your predicament (my home country of Brazil was not different).

BillyO: No joke, bought these over the years for $0, 2..3..5.

Often as a loss leader on a coupon.

Not a Fluke 87V but for 90% of non critical work its fine...or gifts!

Loose it, break it no loss!

Jon has a point on the "M830B" multimeters - they are very cheap and can get the simpler low voltage jobs quite well. They are excellent second meters. Recently on my channel I did a HV test on a more robust and third party certified clone that held up reasonably well when 280VAC were applied throughout its inputs (including resistance, continuity and diode).

The brand is Hyper tough EM830 (sold in Walmart stores in the US) and is built by All-Sun.
Same downsides mentioned by Jon, except the transistor tester (this model does not have one). Ah, and the fuses are 300V and 1.5kA interrupt current rated.

As for the other suggestions, the UT139C is a good meter, as well as the UT61E - for this family the last letter matters a lot, having huge differences innprice and features between the B, C, D and E variants.

I yend to prefer the older (non-safe) UT61E non-plus, as to me it has better overall features for electronics.

Good luck in your search!

[Andrew Morton]

Can you get a Brymen BM257s at a reasonable price?

Proper fusing, non-smelly bumper, decent gold-plated probes.

[Zico]

Can you get a Brymen BM257s at a reasonable price?

Proper fusing, non-smelly bumper, decent gold-plated probes.

No, I tried before posting even and looked again after it was already suggested a couple of times here.

[Zico]

The Klein 600 is properly fused, which is why I put it on my list in the initial post. It's the UNI-T ones that I don't know if they are fused or not because of the separate Chinese and EU models that are not listed separately in stores, at least as far as I can tell. I will not buy something that doesn't have proper protection.

[bidrohini]

My first was Sanwa CD800A Digital Multimeter. It was good and long-lasting.

[Kleinstein]

The Klein 600 is properly fused, which is why I put it on my list in the initial post. It's the UNI-T ones that I don't know if they are fused or not because of the separate Chinese and EU models that are not listed separately in stores, at least as far as I can tell. I will not buy something that doesn't have proper protection.

The EU models should have a lower, but valid (or at least close to) CAT rating. The other difference is usually an additional GS or similar lable for a testing lab. This may be visible on photos - though there is a chance that the pictures do not show the parts they actually sell. The CAT rating is normally also in the description.

[Zico]

Ordered a UTC139 (branded as UTM 1139C) from China. The seller says it has the CE certification symbol and so do the pics he sent me show, though I doubt anything is stopping the manufacturer from just stamping it like that. Let's see what arrives. 

[mwb1100]

it has the CE certification symbol

CE is "self certified" - basically it's the manufacturer saying they think it's OK to sell the device in the EU.  So don't put much (if any) trust into a product's safety based only on that symbol.

Dave did a video a while back, and while I'm by no means a certification expert I think the info in the video is pretty much spot on:

  -

If you really want some assurance about the safety of a device (multimeter or otherwise), I'd look for a mark from a nationally recognized test lab (UL, ETL, CSA, TUV, etc.).  But still be aware that some manufacturers will just copy/paste a symbol onto a product.  I'm honestly not sure how widespread that kind of fraud is; hopefully not too much.

[tatel]

Well, Dave speaks on that video about the China Export mark, but I think it's worth to put it here, just in case somebody skips watching the video

From (in spanish) https://www.elperiodico.com/es/extra/20160916/china-export-ce-logo-5376788

"For some decades now we have become accustomed to seeing the CE mark (for 'Conformité Européene', in French) on a large number of products, something that consumers and small distributors usually leave calm because we think that what we have just bought meets minimum quality standards and complies with European directives. However, in recent years a usurper logo of this brand has appeared, which coincidentally also bears the letters 'CE' and looks suspiciously similar, but does not indicate anything other than the classic 'Made in China'.

Appearing on many toys, household appliances, various machinery, computer hardware, personal protective equipment such as sunglasses, helmets and life jackets, and small electronics, this upstart symbol stands for 'China Export', and uses the initials to compose an almost Exactly the one that endorses products that do comply with European regulations. According to the European Commission, the letters 'CE' "mean that products sold in the European Economic Area (EEA) have been evaluated to meet high safety, health and environmental protection requirements (...). By affixing the CE marking to a product, the manufacturer declares that the product meets all legal requirements for CE marking and can be sold throughout the EEA."

See attachment to know the differences between "Certification Europeenne" and "China Export" logos.

That said, a friend of me that makes lawnmowers tried to get that certification and while (as Dave says) it could be easy to just put that mark, should there be an accident after that, he could quite surely get his ass handed to him. To be sure, he should go through independent testing, etc. That could be easy but certainly isn't cheap

[Zico]

See attachment to know the differences between "Certification Europeenne" and "China Export" logos.

That's pretty funny, in a bad way. Good to know. Still, even if it's the Certification Europeenne symbol, like the comment above you and mine above it said, the manufacturer could just stamp it anyway.

[Zico]

CE is "self certified" - basically it's the manufacturer saying they think it's OK to sell the device in the EU.  So don't put much (if any) trust into a product's safety based only on that symbol.

I was pretty sure it had to pass checks. In any case, like I said above, I'm aware that anyone can just put that symbol there and the EU is not going to go after them.

[tooki]

I remain unconvinced that the “China Export” thing is anything but an urban legend. There’s no real evidence for its existence, and real evidence that it’s simply a graphically malformed attempt at the CE logo — whether of legitimate or fake intent.

[Kleinstein]

CE is "self certified" - basically it's the manufacturer saying they think it's OK to sell the device in the EU.  So don't put much (if any) trust into a product's safety based only on that symbol.

I was pretty sure it had to pass checks. In any case, like I said above, I'm aware that anyone can just put that symbol there and the EU is not going to go after them.

The CE sign only says, that the manufacturer or importer claims that the products follows the EU rules. Depending on the product the rules (standards) for that type of product can require tests and other certification. Other products can get away without. In most cases it requires an instruction manual that gives more details, like the standards followed and who actually claims compliance.
Not actually following all the complicated rules can be just negligence or just ignorance intentionally not taking it serious.

[Watth]

My €0.02: check the type of batteries it needs, because not everybody has spare 9V batteries at home, while it's more common to have AA or AAA already available when you discover your DMM batteries are dead.
As other said, renouned vendors (RS, Farnell, etc.) have affordable DMM of their own brands, that could be suitable for your needs.

[wasedadoc]

If you just need a basic Volts, Amps, Ohms, Diode and continuity meter that is CAT III TUV certified look out for the Parkside PDM 300 auto ranging DMM that Lidl have in their special buy section every so often.  They also appear on ebay for around 15 to 20 GBP or equivalent.
Manual https://stesbintegrationprod.blob.core.windows.net/public/articlemanual/b6959e95-91da-4ce7-9a9a-d5bfccf312af.pdf
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364108528863?

[Zico]

My UT-139C arrived a couple of weeks ago. I opened it up and it matches the board in https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMUNI-T%20UT139C%20UK.html, including the same fuses. I did a quick test on the temp sensor, VFC and voltage measurement it looks fine.

I ordered from https://www.ebay.com/itm/141493011667. For 39USD with free fast shipping (FedEx), this seems like a really good deal for this meter.

It cam with the leads and temp sensor. A manufacturer card in Chinese and a manual completely in Chinese. I found one online in English.

[Zico]

If you just need a basic Volts, Amps, Ohms, Diode and continuity meter that is CAT III TUV certified look out for the Parkside PDM 300 auto ranging DMM that Lidl have in their special buy section every so often.  They also appear on ebay for around 15 to 20 GBP or equivalent.
Manual https://stesbintegrationprod.blob.core.windows.net/public/articlemanual/b6959e95-91da-4ce7-9a9a-d5bfccf312af.pdf
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364108528863?

The shipping is £22.42 for the £12 meter 

[tatel]

The shipping is £22.42 for the £12 meter 

Yeah, western couriers are the joy of life.

I became addicted to AliExpress Standard shipping and his cousins. If it's only available via FedEx, UPS, DHL, et al, the probability of me buying that thing is near zero

Edit: typo