There is absolutely no way that this thing could meet its CAT rating. When a company lies about one part, the important part, what else are they lying about. It might be an OK meter for the bench, but being marked with a lie about its safety rating means I would never buy nor recommend it to anyone. People have died using equipment that didn't meet its claimed safety rating.
I know that people are probably rolling their eyes, but I don't care. If this meter is lying around with its false ratings and someone picks it up to use it where they need the real protection because they see the marks, it could kill them or injure them severely. These falsely rated meters should be exposed here and ridiculed as the dangerous lies they are.
I have made a couple of videos that I think contribute to the problem. It is time for me to correct some things I have said in those.
If this meter is lying around with its false ratings and someone picks it up to use it where they need the real protection because they see the marks, it could kill them or injure them severely.
It shouldn't be too difficult to alter the rating to something more realistic.
All fixed! You can leave it lying around now.
Old Fluke 27 has two OFF positions. One on top, one on the bottom. So yes, the designers are being clever, but this feature has been around since late 80s, at least on Flukes.
If this meter is lying around with its false ratings and someone picks it up to use it where they need the real protection because they see the marks, it could kill them or injure them severely.
It shouldn't be too difficult to alter the rating to something more realistic.
All fixed! You can leave it lying around now.
Why do you troll so much?
If this meter is lying around with its false ratings and someone picks it up to use it where they need the real protection because they see the marks, it could kill them or injure them severely.
It shouldn't be too difficult to alter the rating to something more realistic.
All fixed! You can leave it lying around now.
Why do you troll so much?
Who's trolling?
If somebody's likely to use that meter "where they need the real protection" based
only on the numbers printed on the front then it means they know what a CAT rating is. Lowering the rating 'manually' will solve the problem.
In real life it's more likely that don't know what the numbers mean. In that case don't leave that meter lying around. Get a Fluke 101 and leave it in a prominent place.
The 8002 was pretty nice for the price. For low voltage, low energy it's way ahead of the free meters from HR.
Because it failed at a low enough level, it made it a prime candidate to run on my half cycle generator. Still not a lot of energy with this setup.
https://youtu.be/HrcxnbkkhYg?t=1793
I do not like the small non-standard size fuses in AN8008.
I do not like the small non-standard size fuses in AN8008.
Just wondering, what is the disadvantage of the smaller fuses? Does the fuses being smaller make arcs more likely and would that be an issue?
I do not like the small non-standard size fuses in AN8008.
Just wondering, what is the disadvantage of the smaller fuses? Does the fuses being smaller make arcs more likely and would that be an issue?
breaking capacity will definitely be affected.
HRC fuses are filled with powder to dissipate excess energy when you severely overload the fuse.
those little guys can't possibly even have 5kA breaking capacity. Maybe not even 1kA.
obviously, if you're only on low energy circuits, this won't be an issue. just don't poke anything that might dump more than 1kA into your meter. I probably wouldn't even risk 250A
Bussmann has some videos (others probably do too) to show you how HRC fuses explode when you overload them to >100kA
Interesting. I wonder what features can be added.
I ordered 3pcs of AN8002 for adding logging output and extra buttons.
When they want to use non-HRC fuses, at least they should use standard 5mm × 20mm fuses as most chinese DMMs do.
Interesting. I wonder what features can be added.
I ordered 3pcs of AN8002 for adding logging output and extra buttons.
Logging output sounds attractive, I wonder how difficult the mod is (I'm sure it was mentioned here somewhere, well worth a search or two).
Interesting. I wonder what features can be added.
I ordered 3pcs of AN8002 for adding logging output and extra buttons.
Logging output sounds attractive, I wonder how difficult the mod is (I'm sure it was mentioned here somewhere, well worth a search or two).
IIRC it requires editing I2C ROM content. Then UART TX is enabled. I planned to add an optocoupler and a cheap CP2102 board. Also range and delta buttons would be good.
I do not like the small non-standard size fuses in AN8008.
Just wondering, what is the disadvantage of the smaller fuses? Does the fuses being smaller make arcs more likely and would that be an issue?
Yes, arcover wittstanding voltage, smaller breaking energy rating, they are also likely non-branded and unrated, and also the non standardness of them might be bothersome. But they are better than M205 glass fuses.
those little guys can't possibly even have 5kA breaking capacity. Maybe not even 1kA.
obviously, if you're only on low energy circuits, this won't be an issue. just don't poke anything that might dump more than 1kA into your meter. I probably wouldn't even risk 250A
Bussmann has some videos (others probably do too) to show you how HRC fuses explode when you overload them to >100kA
I think even 20A will be very unlikely where I'm going to use mine.
If you're poking
anything into undiagnosed devices with 1kA+ available then you'll need more than just a "safe" multimeter. I suggest gloves, face shield, hearing protection and somebody else standing 10 yards away with a 'phone in their hand.
When they want to use non-HRC fuses, at least they should use standard 5mm × 20mm fuses as most chinese DMMs do.
If I ever blow a fuse I'd look at replacing the socket before I tried to find those little fuses for replacement.
I do not like the small non-standard size fuses in AN8008.
Just wondering, what is the disadvantage of the smaller fuses? Does the fuses being smaller make arcs more likely and would that be an issue?
breaking capacity will definitely be affected.
HRC fuses are filled with powder to dissipate excess energy when you severely overload the fuse.
those little guys can't possibly even have 5kA breaking capacity. Maybe not even 1kA.
obviously, if you're only on low energy circuits, this won't be an issue. just don't poke anything that might dump more than 1kA into your meter. I probably wouldn't even risk 250A
Bussmann has some videos (others probably do too) to show you how HRC fuses explode when you overload them to >100kA
It is going to take a lot more than a CAT rating to get me poking probes into something with capability to source 5kA for more than milliseconds. In fact anything I work on would need to have a couple of protective devices fail to support 250A.
Those that actually have to do this better be doing more than glancing at a label on a meter.
Those that don't have to do this should stop and think for a long time why they think it is a good idea before proceeding.
Interesting. I wonder what features can be added.
I ordered 3pcs of AN8002 for adding logging output and extra buttons.
Logging output sounds attractive, I wonder how difficult the mod is (I'm sure it was mentioned here somewhere, well worth a search or two).
IIRC it requires editing I2C ROM content. Then UART TX is enabled. I planned to add an optocoupler and a cheap CP2102 board. Also range and delta buttons would be good.
Do you get access to the TX-pin on AN8002? It's easy to enable TX on the VC-921, but the TX-pin is not visble on the AN8002 as far as I know.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hacking-the-victor-vc-921/
The big question is: Will Dave use this chipset in his next meter?
If they can sell meters this complete for $17, how much would it cost to put in some MOVs, proper fuses, etc.?
Could somebody make a super-meter and sell it for $50?
How many UT-61Es are sold every year? That's the potential market size.
IIRC it requires editing I2C ROM content. Then UART TX is enabled. I planned to add an optocoupler and a cheap CP2102 board. Also range and delta buttons would be good.
Do you get access to the TX-pin on AN8002? It's easy to enable TX on the VC-921, but the TX-pin is not visble on the AN8002 as far as I know.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hacking-the-victor-vc-921/
I quickly checked the Russian forum and it looks like no one has added TX output to this model. I guess I have to decap one to check the connections.
Bought two for general purpose low voltage measurement stuff out of curiosity. Suitable for those measurement scenarios when one runs out of multimeters
Did anyone's meter arrive yet? Any experiences?
Did anyone's meter arrive yet? Any experiences?
Still waiting for mine....
Did anyone's meter arrive yet? Any experiences?
Still waiting for mine....
I guess a couple of weeks is minimum. Although for some it will surely be faster than others (maybe some even paid extra for premium shipping?). Well, I'll be happy when someone does get a chance to share a few things about it - hopefully there's no unexpected disappointments.
Did anyone's meter arrive yet? Any experiences?
Still waiting for mine....
I guess a couple of weeks is minimum. Although for some it will surely be faster than others (maybe some even paid extra for premium shipping?). Well, I'll be happy when someone does get a chance to share a few things about it - hopefully there's no unexpected disappointments.
I just checked eBay and this is what I get for delivery estimate:
(I got a tracking number, woohoo!)
eBay stuff's been taking 2 to 3 weeks to arrive recently. Maybe it'll be here next week.