AN8008 US $19, 9999count, 1uV, 0.01uA, 0.01Ohm, 1pF resolution meter

[mnementh]

Mind you, there's still a chance that the thing was legally acquired somehow. Maybe buying new was the better option, so this got thrown out or sold. The altered markings don't quite fit that story, but I've seen stranger things happening.

It's quite possible that somebody at the company altered that label.

The alteration seems quite sophisticated for the average thief IMHO. Normally they'd rub it off, cover it up, or simply not show it in the photos. Playing clever word games? Not so much.

   LOL... That feels like more of a rationalization to me; just like when I said this a while back:

...Of course, there's every possibility that meter was EOLed and is spoils of a dumpster dive; and that's probably the story I'd tell myself as I eagerly place my bid and hope for the best.

Cheers,

mnem

 If they were going to alter it at the company, I'd expect them to just black it all out, unless it was somebody pranking somebody else.

Of course, anybody who's ever tried to clean Sharpie off the rubber bootie on their Fluke knows that NOTHING will get it off if it's been there more than a few hours; the ink/dye/daemon ichor they use  leeches into the material and nothing short of grinding off a layer of rubber will make the writing go away. I think that's deliberate on Fluke's part.


mnem
*Toddles off to ded*

[Fungus]

If they were going to alter it at the company, I'd expect them to just black it all out, unless it was somebody pranking somebody else.

I don't mean officially altered according to a policy, I mean 'bored engineer' altered.

[mnementh]

If they were going to alter it at the company, I'd expect them to just black it all out, unless it was somebody pranking somebody else.

I don't mean officially altered according to a policy, I mean 'bored engineer' altered.

Yeah, that tangent kindof falls under the "pranking" umbrella. 

There nothing wrong with an engineer being bored... that is how we got electronic bird ornaments on our Christmas trees, therumins, The Wheeze, and XKCD. 




mnem
I used to sort all my resistors according to color... then came SMDs. 

[floobydust]

The AN8008 is a bar of soap - smooth plastic, rounded edges that @#^@#!$ thing leaps out of my hand everytime I try grab it. It's so slick.

I had an idea to glue Velcro to the backside which is really nice as it gives some friction and cush there.
Other side, put mating Velcro on a prototype stand out of scrap wood. It has some weight on the base to stop it falling over.
But next rev I will make the whole thing wider from 55mm -> ~65mm. The multimeter's rounded corners make it still wobble.
Just trying to get the shape right, not make a beauty contest entry 

[rdl]

I actually considered hot gluing mine to the front of a shelf, but it would get in the way of other stuff too much I think.

[Fungus]

I actually considered hot gluing mine to the front of a shelf, but it would get in the way of other stuff too much I think.

How will you change the battery?

[texaspyro]

I actually considered hot gluing mine to the front of a shelf, but it would get in the way of other stuff too much I think.

How will you change the battery?

Telekinesis, of course!

[Fungus]

I actually considered hot gluing mine to the front of a shelf, but it would get in the way of other stuff too much I think.

How will you change the battery?

Telekinesis, of course!

Ah, good! I thought you were going to try and use something useless like a Batteriser.

[Fungus]

How accurate are everybody's AN8008s?

Mine seems to be about 4 or 5 counts high on most readings. Within spec, but not impressive.

Even my AN860B+ is much better than that.

eg. For 5V DC: AN8008 reads 5.004V, AN860B+ reads 5.000V

For 1kOhms: AN8008 reads 1003 , AN860B+ reads 1001

[jnd]

Ordered mine on 11th, received yesterday on 29th, not too bad. Like other mentioned, it came only in bubblewrap without any box but it's fine. The slow autoranging together with the flimsy probes with poor contact can be annoying. I guess in this price category I can't complain.

[Rolo]

My experience with the probes is that a light brush with a fiberglass pen help a lot.

[Kalvin]

How accurate are everybody's AN8008s?

Mine seems to be about 4 or 5 counts high on most readings. Within spec, but not impressive.

Even my AN860B+ is much better than that.

eg. For 5V DC: AN8008 reads 5.004V, AN860B+ reads 5.000V

For 1kOhms: AN8008 reads 1003 , AN860B+ reads 1001

You are seeing +/- 0.1% accuracy on a DMM with +/- 0.5% specifications. I would say that it is pretty good for a sub $20 multimeter.

[Fungus]

You are seeing +/- 0.1% accuracy on a DMM with +/- 0.5% specifications. I would say that it is pretty good for a sub $20 multimeter.

Yes, but there's been a lot of people saying how accurate it is and the AN860B+ is also a $20 meter but it does much better.

I guess if you watch Dave's video closely he's not getting much better results than me.

[Kalvin]

You are seeing +/- 0.1% accuracy on a DMM with +/- 0.5% specifications. I would say that it is pretty good for a sub $20 multimeter.

Yes, but there's been a lot of people saying how accurate it is and the AN860B+ is also a $20 meter but it does much better.

I guess if you watch Dave's video closely he's not getting much better results than me.

If you happen to have an excellent AN860B+ and an average AN8008, then the AN8008 may appear to be inferior.

[Fungus]

If you happen to have an excellent AN860B+ and an average AN8008, then the AN8008 may appear to be inferior.

That's why I asked what everybody else is seeing.

(I noted in my original post that I'm aware that the meter is in spec)

[prof]

Just received mine. A very nice device.

Although I'm using 2 rechargeable AAAs the diode tester has more Oomph than my Fluke. I only did a few quick tests, e.g. I tested the frequency tester quickly against my new frequency generator and it is spot on over the full frequency range it support (seems so be up to around 27MHz here).

[Mark Hennessy]

If you happen to have an excellent AN860B+ and an average AN8008, then the AN8008 may appear to be inferior.

That's why I asked what everybody else is seeing.

(I noted in my original post that I'm aware that the meter is in spec)

My AN8008 and AN860B+ agree to within +/-1 count on DC volts, and those are within +/-2 counts of the Fluke 187 and BM235 that I've just checked them against. Just a quick test, but earlier, more exhaustive testing didn't raise any concerns. Quite the opposite...

[Mark Hennessy]

Although I'm using 2 rechargeable AAAs the diode tester has more Oomph than my Fluke.

The voltage for diode test is generated by a charge pump and regulator circuit, so is independent of the battery voltage. In a way, it's a shame they didn't make it fractionally higher - say, 3.3V - so people wouldn't assume they're seeing the battery voltage.

On the other hand, the square wave output is a function of the battery voltage.

[prof]

Although I'm using 2 rechargeable AAAs the diode tester has more Oomph than my Fluke.

The voltage for diode test is generated by a charge pump and regulator circuit, so is independent of the battery voltage. In a way, it's a shame they didn't make it fractionally higher - say, 3.3V - so people wouldn't assume they're seeing the battery voltage.

Doesn't matter how they do it. My point is it's better than the Fluke despite operating under worse conditions. 

[Kalvin]

Quick test: My AN860B+ shows 1.553V, my two AN8008s show 1.555V and 1.554V.

[Fungus]

Quick test: My AN860B+ shows 1.553V, my two AN8008s show 1.555V and 1.554V.

So at 5V the AN8008s would average about 5 counts higher, just like mine. 

(do you have a voltage reference or a third meter to see which of the two is correct?)

[Kalvin]

Quick test: My AN860B+ shows 1.553V, my two AN8008s show 1.555V and 1.554V.

So at 5V the AN8008s would average about 5 counts higher, just like mine. 

(do you have a voltage reference or a fancy third meter to see which of the two is correct?)

Sorry, I do not have a fancy meter or voltage reference available. My best meter at the moment is UT-61E. Actually I did made a quick test previously against the UT-61E when I received the AN8008s:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/an8008-us-$19-10000count-1uv-0-01ua-0-01ohm-resolution-meter/msg1261915/#msg1261915

Quick test:

Took a 1.5V battery and measured the battery voltage with two AN8008 and one UT61E simultaneously: AN8008s displays 1.565 +/- 0.001 and UT61E 1.5655 +/- 0.0001.

Current measurement test with the three DMMs in series in uA range: 3.37 uA +/- 0.01 uA.
Modify message

All meters seem to agree pretty well.

[Mark Hennessy]

Although I'm using 2 rechargeable AAAs the diode tester has more Oomph than my Fluke.

The voltage for diode test is generated by a charge pump and regulator circuit, so is independent of the battery voltage. In a way, it's a shame they didn't make it fractionally higher - say, 3.3V - so people wouldn't assume they're seeing the battery voltage.

Doesn't matter how they do it. My point is it's better than the Fluke despite operating under worse conditions. 

Surely it's interesting to know what's happening?

Anyway, my point is that there is a misconception that the diode test voltage is equal to the battery voltage. Even Dave says so in his review. It's an easy mistake to make, given that the chosen voltage is so very close that given by a pair of fresh alkaline AAAs, but it's a mistake nonetheless. Meanwhile, I've checked a handful of Fluke meters here, and the only one I've found that can't light a white LED is the Fluke 101. But the others run from 4 AAs or a PP3.

Similarly, others have claimed that the square wave output comes from the charge pump supply, but that is also incorrect. Just trying to get accurate information out there 

[Mark Hennessy]

Quick test: My AN860B+ shows 1.553V, my two AN8008s show 1.555V and 1.554V.

So at 5V the AN8008s would average about 5 counts higher, just like mine. 

(do you have a voltage reference or a third meter to see which of the two is correct?)

I've done a bit more checking, and the biggest error does seem to occur at 5V. I'm not sure why.

Having said that, the AN860B+ is the least accurate of them all - the AN8002 and AN8008 all agree nicely with whatever Fluke I happen to compare them to. But still, we're talking about very small numbers of counts at worst - nothing to worry about IMHO. As you say, they are all meet their spec by quite some margin - how they do in a year or two is the really interesting question 

[MacMeter]

Although I'm using 2 rechargeable AAAs the diode tester has more Oomph than my Fluke.

The voltage for diode test is generated by a charge pump and regulator circuit, so is independent of the battery voltage. In a way, it's a shame they didn't make it fractionally higher - say, 3.3V - so people wouldn't assume they're seeing the battery voltage.

Doesn't matter how they do it. My point is it's better than the Fluke despite operating under worse conditions. 

Surely it's interesting to know what's happening?

Anyway, my point is that there is a misconception that the diode test voltage is equal to the battery voltage. Even Dave says so in his review. It's an easy mistake to make, given that the chosen voltage is so very close that given by a pair of fresh alkaline AAAs, but it's a mistake nonetheless. Meanwhile, I've checked a handful of Fluke meters here, and the only one I've found that can't light a white LED is the Fluke 101. But the others run from 4 AAs or a PP3.

Similarly, others have claimed that the square wave output comes from the charge pump supply, but that is also incorrect. Just trying to get accurate information out there 

Agreed if you don't care "how they do it", you're on the wrong website!