Input on Vici Vc99+ 6999 DMM

• Input on Vici Vc99+ 6999 DMM
  Posted by whyme? on 14 Jun, 2017 17:52
• Hello,
  
  Newbie here but long time lurker (like 5 years lol) 
  
  Does anybody know if the brand "Vici" is just another name for "Vichy" ? The Vici variant looks identical to Vichy's but no idea if the cct is.
  
  Here's the DMM https://www.amazon.ca/Range-Multimeter-Tester-Meter-Multi/dp/B00KAX4MTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497462087&sr=8-1&keywords=vici
  
  I live in Canada and having a hard time finding an online store of electronics goods + our currency suck atm :/
  If anyone can suggest me another equivalent DMM (~$50CAD range) or a reputable e-store, it would be greatly appreciated.
  
  Thanks !
   
• #1 Reply
  Posted by retiredcaps on 14 Jun, 2017 18:04
• Quote from: whyme? on 14 Jun, 2017 17:52

  I live in Canada and having a hard time finding an online store of electronics goods + our currency suck atm :/
  

  I don't have this meter and if you are not doing high voltage work, this meter goes on sale for $25 CDN every so often.
  
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/canadian-tire-mastercraft-dmm-new-and-old-revision-teardown/?nowap
• #2 Reply
  Posted by MosherIV on 14 Jun, 2017 18:11
• Hi
  yes, as far as I know Vichy and Vici are the same.
  
  My advice is to not go near th vc99
  See these
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/victor-vc-97-multimeter-mini-review
  
  
  
  50 can dollars is not a lot to buy a decent meter.
  
  I find most multimeters can be found on Amazon.
  
  I have never used amprobe before but others on the forum recommend them
  Try this
  https://www.amazon.ca/Amprobe-AM-500-Am-500-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B008E07C1I/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1497463702&sr=8-30&keywords=amprobe
• #3 Reply
  Posted by whyme? on 14 Jun, 2017 18:38
• Thanks for the video, good info! I will probably get that crappy-but-will-do-the-job Mastercraft DMM @ $30CAD.
  I don't intend to use this dmm for more than small DIY projects a la Arduino so I guess it should be fine.
• #4 Reply
  Posted by MosherIV on 14 Jun, 2017 18:52
• If they are anything like these ones
  
  https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/canadian-tire-mastercraft-dmm-new-and-old-revision-teardown/] [url]https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/canadian-tire-mastercraft-dmm-new-and-old-revision-teardown/[/url]
  
  Then they are no better than the vici ones.
  Amprobe is the sister company to Fluke. I only recently noticed this cheap meter by them.
  A Safe meter is better than loads of features!
• #5 Reply
  Posted by Microcheap on 14 Jun, 2017 18:57
• I have used as my main multimeter for hobby a VC97 for more than 8 year and it has served me well. I recently bought a uni-t ut139c and a ut61e and I'm happy with them as overall quality is better than the Vici. I also found useful the capacitance range that goes up to 100mF.
  Particularly, I would recommend the UT139C as it has temperature sense and back-light and it is cheaper.
  
  I order all my stuff from aliexpress and never have a problem
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/UNI-T-UT139C-True-RMS-2-6-LCD-Digital-Multimeters-Electrical-Handheld-Tester-Multimetro-LCR-Meter/32507766514.html
  
  https://www.aliexpress.com/item/UNI-T-UT61E-AC-DC-Modern-Digital-Auto-Ranging-Multimeters-Multitester-True-RMS/32466294145.html
• #6 Reply
  Posted by whyme? on 14 Jun, 2017 21:02
• lol, it takes like 35 days for anything from China to reach eastern Canada -_-"
  Those UNI-T models aren't all that bad though, I might consider them in the future.
• #7 Reply
  Posted by Lightages on 14 Jun, 2017 22:50
• Avoid Vici/Vichy if you want something that will last. For $50 the UT139C is a MUCH better buy. I would recommend it over the UT61E for its better input protection.
  
  If you can spend more then you won't regret getting a Brymen BM235 from Dave or otherwise, nor will you regret the BM257S.
• #8 Reply
  Posted by whyme? on 15 Jun, 2017 00:36
• Yeah, I wanted to get Dave's DMM but it's currently out of stock. Brymen products aren't widely available where I live, ebay is pretty much the only option. A BM235 would come down to $180CAD excluding tax/custom fees as opposed to Dave's $130CAD excluding tax/custom fees which is a great deal. Funny, I actually went for the UT-139C. Got it for $35CAD from a friend visiting Beijing!   
  Hopefully, Dave's DMM will be back in stock in the near future. You can never have too many DMM's lol
• #9 Reply
  Posted by retiredcaps on 15 Jun, 2017 04:36
• Quote from: whyme? on 14 Jun, 2017 21:02

  lol, it takes like 35 days for anything from China to reach eastern Canada -_-"
  

  35 days? My latest batch of stuff from aliexpress is closer to 4 months.
• #10 Reply
  Posted by lordvader88 on 15 Jun, 2017 04:46
• I have a Vici 99, it works fine for the price....EXCEPT there's next to no input protections, and so now it's half broke from me not paying attention and trying to measure voltage when still set to resistance.
  
  All the settings still works when it works, but its like the dial gets stuck between 2 settings and it get confused and freezes. Maybe it is just the dail from me taking it apart a few times???
  
  But for a cheap DMM its pretty accurate and fine for hobby low voltage stuff. I'm also in Canada, and its the 1st DMM I bought last year for a descent price from China on ebay
  
  And yeah its pretty much the same as the Vichy, same main chip anyways, used in a few clones
  
  Very slow continuity buzzer tho, thats my only real complaint for the price. Oh and I bent the fuse holder forward since it was very close to the current shunt wire
  
  It came with 2 mini probes with alligator clips, that was nice. I didn't get those with my $500 Brymen 869
• #11 Reply
  Posted by Lightages on 15 Jun, 2017 05:45
• lordvader88, your "positive" review for the VC99 is the best positive review I have ever seen that shows why you should not buy a VC99!