EEVblog #99 – $100 Multimeter Shootout

[Kiriakos-GR]

Not a word about the UNI-T  bar graph ?   Shame on you ..  

Interesting review , the reviewer had made lots of steps of progress .
And I will be gentle and all  ..    

Your love affair with the BK precision , it looks that it was just words ..
Yes by looking an video, its not like having in front of you the real thing.

But in my eyes .... The UNI-T  had the clearest display , the most easy to read ,
and  bar graph & com port ...  and  it looked truly well made .
And it had  high quality parts at the most important sections ,  and it did had an double anti RF shield ,
that you was disliked ..

But the UNI-T took it revenge  on you , by acting beautifully at the True-RMS  test ,
and in all tests ..

I will advice you to paint it with the BK precision colors, and keep it ..  


Great Job Dave , an true well made " review "  job ... well done  and congratulations...
  



 

[EEVblog]

Your love affair with the BK precision , it looks that it was just words ..
Yes by looking an video, its not like having in front of you the real thing.

But in my eyes .... The UNI-T  had the clearest display , the most easy to read ,
and  bar graph & com port ...  and  it looked truly well made .
And it had  high quality parts at the most important sections ,  and it did had an double anti RF shield ,
that you was disliked ..

The bargraph is a wank feature with slow updating and unworthy of mention.
High quality parts? hardly!
It had crap quality radial paper caps bodged onto SMD pads.
Trimmers are likely the cheapest one-hung-low brand.
The input jacks were very ordinary.
It had the cheapest feeling test leads
The shielding and construction/mounting of the LCD left a lot to be desired, it was poorly implemented I thought.

But the UNI-T took it revenge  on you , by acting beautifully at the True-RMS  test ,
and in all tests ..

Apart form the shit continuity tester, slow autoranging, some overshoot, horrible cap offset, single PTC, and probably the worst battery life out of the bunch, yeah it performed just fine.

I will advice you to paint it with the BK precision colors, and keep it ..  

In the end the winner was the meter *I* liked most, that's what people want to hear, and that was the BK Precision.
If its was a "best value for money" shootout, the Uni-T or maybe the Extech would take it out.
Horses for courses, they are all decent meters in various ways.

Dave.

[DJPhil]

I was rooting for the Amprobe a bit, as I've got a Meterman 38XR. Glad to see it did ok, but the sickly beeping made me giggle every time I heard it! I'll bet it's caused by the half-ass mounting job and it'd sound less sick if it was floating or firmly mounted, but I'd be mad I had to fix it at birth. In an office I'd be mortified to bring it to work, but at home I'm weird enough to find it almost endearing. All told I liked the BK the best, as it seemed to trade in the ruggedness I don't really need myself for a good spread of awesome everywhere else.

It's definitely a different beast than the 38XR, it doesn't beep on range changes except for lead alerts. They do share the equally crummy capacitance range. I've used it a good deal, for lack of another option yet, but I don't trust it too much. I'm also a bit miffed that they sell the cable you need for the 38XR's datalogging separately, for $25US or so, and you'll still need a serial to usb adapter if you don't have a spare serial port!

Still, I love my meter. It'll be many moons before I spring for another, just too much other awesome stuff to save for!

Thanks for all the hard work Dave, it was worth the wait!

[cybergibbons]

Not all Uni-T meters are the same Kiriakos. I think the review was entirely fair to the meter.

The UT-61A I think uses the same count for the bargraph as the display, so it's just as slow.

My UT-71D clearly uses a different count for the bargraph as it's much faster than the main display, it's also pretty useful being able to switch it down to 4000 count if you need it.

You get a lot of features for your money with Uni-T, but I don't think that is the end of the story with a meter.

[ArtemisGoldfish]

That reply was a fun read, Dave.

Personally, I was rooting for the B+K from the start. I saw it amongst the list of meters you were going to test, and thought, "Well, it'll go well with my B+K analog scope." The autoranging speed and continuity speed are probably some of the bigger selling points, so next paycheck, I'll definitely invest in one.

[Mechatrommer]

Uni-T just presented their weakest (among) $100 UT60D DMM line, they should present (Dave should have bought) at least the $90 UT71A (20000 count) DMM then we can decide the true winner! hehe Kinda proud that Uni-T can beat the gossen on freq reading! thumbs up Dave! i just missed your nasty rants!

[Zad]

Shafri, any chance you can take the back off your meter and take a photograph, so we can tell if the 'quality' of construction is the same?

[Mechatrommer]

the exterior... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=500.30
the interior... https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=500.45
the spec... http://www.uni-trend.com/UT71a.html
the ads... http://cgi.ebay.com.my/UNI-T-UT-71A-Intelligent-Digital-Multimeters-ut71a-/250663566946?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5cb67e62
but... thats just some aspects. Dave's review consists of many more.

[Kiriakos-GR]

There is some points , like speed , that has to do mostly , with what you had " Try so far " ..

Speed at display , does not bother an " New DMM user " ...  ( 100$ budget )

Test any DMM against the 400$ ones , all the cheap will called "slow"
any  common car in comparison with an Ferrari will called "slow".

Trimmers are likely the cheapest one-hung-low brand.

Its just "Trimmers"     

It had the cheapest feeling test leads

Its just safe test leads ..

The shielding and construction/mounting of the LCD left a lot to be desired, it was poorly implemented I thought.

It survived the drop test !!   

I am not looking for a clear Winner ....   but because of the easy to read display , and the True RMS behavior I just like it more of the pack ..

And I do not care how many PTC has inside , as long it works as it should .. even this single one...


Another thing that I noticed , are that most of them had HRC SIBA fuses ....
MetraWatt favor those , and looks many more brand names ..
Probably due  quality VS cost ..  against the American Fuses .. that are extremely overpriced.





 

[EEVblog]

Uni-T just presented their weakest (among) $100 UT60D DMM line, they should present (Dave should have bought) at least the $90 UT71A (20000 count) DMM then we can decide the true winner! hehe Kinda proud that Uni-T can beat the gossen on freq reading! thumbs up Dave! i just missed your nasty rants!

I deliberately got the 60 series because it was the closest match to the other meters. Comparing a same spec meter at a lower price is easier than comparing a higher spec 20000 count meter at the same price as a 4000 count one I think.

Dave.

[MightyTwin]

*Lots of periods*

This post smells a bit troll-y, to be honest.

Just let it go, Kiriakos. We all know you love the Uni-T multimeters; You don't need to prove it for us. 


-MightyTwin.

[Kiriakos-GR]

*Lots of periods*

This post smells a bit troll-y, to be honest.

Just let it go, Kiriakos. We all know you love the Uni-T multimeters; You don't need to prove it for us.  


-MightyTwin.

Your nose possibly needs a bit of calibration ..  

[Mechatrommer]

yup MightyTwin, buy with our own instinct and never push anybody else to do the same, only suggestion. During the review, i more concentrated on the DMM itself that were shown on the screen and judge with my own instinct, rather than listen too closely on what Dave has said.

Dave, i knew, u mentioned somewhere earlier that u need the closest spec'ed contender, fair enough. i just want to point out, there are other $100 DMM line in Uni-T. And still, i doubt my UT71A can beat the UT61D in frequency reading, i got no proper equipment to test, but i believe there is something special about the "D" series, some aspects of UT61"D" may surpass the UT71"A". in my thinking.

[saturation]

Dave truly excels in reviews, how can anyone make reviewing a DMM worth watching?  I don't think that's ever been done.

I would agree with Dave's conclusion, that the meters were very close together in terms of measuring capability, and differed in specific areas: from the response time and ergonomics of the B&K, to the case robustness of the Extech, the serial port/USB of the Uni-T, but no one had it all.

Its impressive to see all the meters dissected to make comparisons, but like the comments on the eevblog site suggest, it would be easier to stretch out reviews one at a time so as not to rush through things.

One thing you do see for sure, is these meters emulate most features common in the FLuke 87, and given all the trade offs and some improvements over the Fluke, it comes out Fluke still does most best, holding for over 20 years.  The rock solid unambiguous accurate readings, the speed, the ease of use and the ergonomics of the layout.

[MrPlacid]

I agree with saturation, Dave did a fantastic job on the dmm shootout. Most bloggers only review the product's outside appearance & functions, and they give us their recommendations. Dave takes us further and dissects them dmms. Seeing the interior bring a whole new views of these dmms, especially safety, quality, and pride.

We are left at the end to decide which one we like. Dave just chosed the BK one, I can't blame him; but I perfer the Ideal one even with all her flaws. I think she is sexier.  


---edit---
I think I am in love with blond. Now, my RadioShack multimeter even looks cute too

[Kiriakos-GR]

We are left at the end to decide which one we like.

Thats the bottom line , and with so many details , any one can decide what he likes more.

As long none of them ,  offer any spare parts coverage,  they are not an " Long term " solution.
So any decision its not comparable, like " buying a home " ... 

[EEVblog]

Someone pointed out the BK Precison 2712 meter
http://www.bkprecision.com/products/model/2712/true-rms-ac-dc-tool-kit-digital-multimeter.html
Only $10 more than the winning 2709B but it has 0.1%+5, 40,000 count, and AC+DC TRMS.
Shame it doesn't have sub uA resolution or the high cap range though.

Dave.

[McPete]

I was about to jump and get an 87V or equivalent... You've got me thinking now Dave... I'm a fan of the little BK-P, looking at your review, and it's about 1/6th the cost of an 87V from a local supplier. I just wonder if I need a better resolution on the cap range, but otherwise I'm all but sold- Way better than the 1nF and 1mA resolution I have now -_-

[ionioni2000]

Sorry, maybe some one can help me??
I live in ROMANIA, Europe.
Viewing the shootout, I decided to buy an UniTrend UT61E, because of the ecelent bandwidth response on AC Volts,
AND huge scale for caps. ( or, at least, the UT 61D - the one from shootout)
Unfortunately, no store in Romania, nor TME Poland, nor Farnell UK have that type.
Does anyone know where to find it?
Thank you, please help me!
II

[Mechatrommer]

ebay.

[Nermash]

As shafri said, ebay would be my first option.
If you are worried about custom duties or warranty, take a look at Conrad Voltcraft 8xx models.
You will find amazing similarity with Uni-T, only with fat price margins 

[JohnS_AZ]

Um, send an email to UniTrend and ask "Where can I buy a UT61E in Romaina?"

[ionioni2000]

Thank you, all: shafri, Nermash, JohnS_AZ.
I choose to follow all of your suggestions, and take the best offer.
My best regards, gentelmen!

[sacherjj]

I decided to get another multimeter and went with the BK Precision.  I already have a rugged meter for beating up.  

Tequipment.net had 5% off with "CHATFIVE", so I was just over $100 shipped.  I made sure to mention the reasons I was purchasing from them.  Specifically to support them for supporting eevblog.  Hopefully others do the same if they get asked a survey on the site.

[EEVblog]

Tequipment.net had 5% off with "CHATFIVE", so I was just over $100 shipped.  I made sure to mention the reasons I was purchasing from them.  Specifically to support them for supporting eevblog.  Hopefully others do the same is they get asked a survey on the site.

Thanks for that.
It's important that people do that if they do buy from one of my advertisers. If they know sales are coming from my site in some way then they will continue to advertise and support me. And that helps a lot with keeping this my full time gig.

Thanks
Dave.