I did some comparing of the BM867 and BM869 from the datasheet.
The short version:
Do you work with voltages over 600V and/or AC frequencies over 20kHz, if yes, get the BM869.
If not, take a look and see if the differences are worth the 40% increase in price.
(rough specs) BM869 BM867 Difference
Price (23% VAT) 205 € 145 € 60 €
Input Protection 1000V 600V 400V
AC Band 100kHz 1kHz (20kHz -3dB) 99kHz
Temperature Yes, Dual No
DC Volts 0.02-0.15% 2d 0.03-0.15% 2d 0.01%
AC Volts 0.35-1.5% 0.8-2.0% 0.45-0.5%
Hz range 20Hz - 100kHz 45Hz - 1kHz (20kHz) 25Hz & 99kHz
AC Curr 0.5-2.0% 50d 1.0% 40d 0.5%
Hz range 50Hz - 10kHz 50Hz - 1kHz 9kHz
Max current 20A / 30sec 15A / 30sec 5A
Ohms 0.07-2.0% 2-10d 0.1-2.0% 2-10d 0.03%
Datasheet can be found here :
http://www.tme.eu/en/Document/aa703d3b31d7e20292dd7331fab4a964/BM869.pdf
Nice looking meters, gotta be on lookout for them. Never heard brand thought, but doesn't mean anything
.
That which had B/L issue was bit surpise, otherwise seemed good meter but B/L such disappointment.
Hven't heard of Brymen Multimeters before.. Are they not so common in Germany perhaps ?
Very nice backlight!
:D:D
Looking really forward for the shootout =)
Just orderd the BM867 from tme.eu can't wait to get my hand on it!
cool, tell your opinion when it arrives, not that i don't care Dave's review, its just nice to read other thoughts too
.
And how much did it cost?
After owning my BM869 I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone in any field short of someone working where IP67 is needed or for explosive environments as it is not rated for these uses, but get a set of better leads or a probe kit from Fluke or Probemaster.
Interesting, the guy why reviewed 869 here
http://www.ittsb.eu/brymen%20bm869.html actually liked the leads.
Quoting:
"The BM869 comes with high quality test leads, better than the one found on the BM867 (non industrial version).
Rubberise feeling on the test leads, shrouded banana plugs, soft silicone on the cables, and the leads tips are convertible to:"
Another question (as I never had high quality leads myself): Which one would you recommend?
Interesting, the guy why reviewed 869 here http://www.ittsb.eu/brymen%20bm869.html actually liked the leads.
Quoting:
"The BM869 comes with high quality test leads, better than the one found on the BM867 (non industrial version).
Rubberise feeling on the test leads, shrouded banana plugs, soft silicone on the cables, and the leads tips are convertible to:"
Another question (as I never had high quality leads myself): Which one would you recommend?
IIRC, he was sent an upgraded set of test leads with the meter (they offer such options as an ODM for other companies).
The leads I got with the Brymen I have (BM857), aren't that great, and didn't give good readings. Continuity in particular was really scratchy. Plugged in better lead sets, and those issues were reduced or gone entirely (depending on the leads I tested with). Not a huge deal, but it does add another ~$15 or so + shipping for a decent set (Pomona, Fluke, Probemaster for example).
As per the two units (BM867 or BM869), the meters themselves will come down to what features you need (i.e. 867 is missing the VFD and temperature features, has a lower bandwidth, is rated for 600V protections instead of 1kV, and is slightly less accurate <0.03% instead of 0.02% DC accuracy>). Take a look at page 2 (
http://www.brymen.com/product-html/cata860/BM860_Catalog.pdf).
Fues access - i have a number of meters, and manage to blow one 10A fuse every few months or so. External access (via a battery/fuse cover) is a better bet than distrurbing the insides of the meter, and unscrewing those self-tappers-into-plastic, which are only good for a few times' use.
And the
"I don't blow fuses, because I don't measure hight current" argument doesn't work for most people either - I tend to blow 10A fuses when I was INTENDING to measure voltage, while the meter leads were still plugged into the current socket...
Fues access - i have a number of meters, and manage to blow one 10A fuse every few months or so. External access (via a battery/fuse cover) is a better bet than distrurbing the insides of the meter, and unscrewing those self-tappers-into-plastic, which are only good for a few times' use.
And the "I don't blow fuses, because I don't measure hight current" argument doesn't work for most people either - I tend to blow 10A fuses when I was INTENDING to measure voltage, while the meter leads were still plugged into the current socket...
i hope i dont even witness measuring voltage with current setting....well, there was one close call at school thought: my buddy was checking did mains fuse blow, not even looked settings :S. and, our meters DON'T even have any cind of fuse in 10amp side. My heart skipped beat that moment
.
I tend to blow 10A fuses when I was INTENDING to measure voltage, while the meter leads were still plugged into the current socket...
If you do that frequently, you should consider to get a Gossen Metrawatt.
I never blew up a 10A fuse but I did blew up couple 400mA fuses in my career because of unexpected current while I was measuring.
I did blew up couple 400mA fuses
I've done this before as well, but for the same reason as
LaurenceW (forgot to move the red banana from mA to V socket and went to measure voltage
).
And the "I don't blow fuses, because I don't measure hight current" argument doesn't work for most people either - I tend to blow 10A fuses when I was INTENDING to measure voltage, while the meter leads were still plugged into the current socket...
If you switched the rotary dial to read voltage but forgot the probes on current, definitely Gossens and Brymens will help - Gossens physically prevent switching to the wrong range, and Brymens beep frantically.
If, however, you simply put the probes without paying attention to the settings on the DMM, then I guess there is no mechanism to prevent that...
I am from a time when fail safe mechanisms were absolutely non-existent and attention and double-checking were your only protection... Time of the analog VOMs where an inverted polarity, an overvoltage/overcurrent or voltage applied on ohms range were mostly fatal to the equipment... I am glad these things exist nowadays...
I can confirm that the BM829S is fully compliant with the latest IEC requirements for CATIV/1000V. All Brymen meters have been updated to meet the new IEC requirements.
I wonder how solid these PCBs are with all that cutouts. Especially when the input jacks are soldered into the PCB.
These Fluke multimeters look more solid. The PCBs can hardly break.
New Brymen BM230 series was released. http://brymen.eu/product-category/multimetry/
There is System + Motor – 3? phase rotation for motors and supply systems
feature.
Oooh... a teardown of a 3-phase multimeter would be nice. Dave, can you ask for a sample from Brymen?
