UNI-T UT61E+ cross platform CLI/GUI application

[antoinecellerier]

Hi all, I'm new here, apologies in advance if I'm breaking forum etiquette.

I purchased a UT61E+ a few years back and was looking for a way to read data over USB on Linux. A few people had already reverse engineered the protocol - most notably https://github.com/ljakob/unit_ut61eplus and https://github.com/mwuertinger/ut61ep - but none had a GUI to interact with the meter. I gave it a go with Claude Code yesterday and am quite amazed by how quickly I was able to get something functional working.

The project is published at https://github.com/antoinecellerier/dmm-tools under GPL-3 license. It currently runs on Linux & Windows. I do not have a Mac to test it on. I've tested it with my UT61E+ but other variants probably will work. The CLI includes a capture tool to capture traces to implement missing features if anyone's willing to contribute. If anyone has a UT61B+ or UT61D+ and is willing to validate, please do share.

Key features of the GUI include real-time value display and time-series graph with minimap - PPK2 style -, statistics (min/max/avg), cursor measurements, reference lines with threshold triggers, recording with CSV export, remote control buttons (hold, rel, range, min/max, peak). The CLI also exposes live measurement streaming with text, CSV, and JSON output, remote control — send button presses (hold, rel, range, min/max, peak, light), guided protocol capture wizard for bug reports and raw hex dump mode for protocol development

For example here it is measuring power draw of a three color e-Paper display updating:


I'm trying to get back into hobby electronics but am starting from close to zero ... feedback on what might actually be helpful to others or a waste of time is very welcome!

[antoinecellerier]

I've also added tentative support for UT161B, UT161D, UT161E and very tentative UT8803, UT8803E, UT171A, UT171B, UT171C, UT181A. Please let me know if you confirm any of these as working ... or not.
And feature wise

• UT61*+ now render the current mode's resolution, accuracy, etc. specifications from manual;
• A / V unit modes now include value integrals.

[Bobson]

It is supported by HKJ's Test Controller for years.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/program-that-can-log-from-many-multimeters/

[antoinecellerier]

Ah interesting, thanks for sharing. For some reason that had not come up in my research. Will definitely look into it.

[antoinecellerier]

Looks like it supports the RS232 based UT61E but not the CP2110/HID UT61E+, likely explains why it didn't come up in my research. Thanks for sharing anyways, definitely looks like a gold mine of device support in case I ever need more in the future.

[Bobson]

You're right. TestController doesn't support USB_HID yet, AFAIK. One can rebuild USB cable using  RS232-USB_serial converter. I'll try your code next week with my 171B and 181A.

[antoinecellerier]

Thanks! that'd be amazing. Note that those 2 models were reverse engineered from binaries and confirmed against other open source implementations where possible ... but very likely to be buggy at best. There are docs in the github project issues on how to capture debug traces as needed for each model pending confirmation.

[antoinecellerier]

Thanks to another user on github, UT181A are now confirmed to be partially working, still waiting on full mode confirmation. They also were able to confirm things were working on MacOS ARM. If anyone has some of the other devices for testing, please do submit feedback!

I've also add more experimental device support for UT8802, UT803, UT804, as well as a few voltcraft meters VC-880, VC650BT and VC-890.

Each device has their own issue for feedback on github.

[mb-3000]

I just found this app today, you're a lifesaver, thankyou so much for sharing/making this available, works great on MacOS against a UT61E+. 

[antoinecellerier]

Amazing! thanks for the confirmation. Do let me know if you have any feedback of areas to improve.

[antoinecellerier]

FYI the app is now also verified to work against UNI-T's UT61E+ over Bluetooth, the UT61B+, UT181A & UT804 over USB, and the ZOTEK ZT-5B over Bluetooth.
Other USB HID & Bluetooth meters are tentatively supported pending verification on a real device across UNI-T, ZOTEK, ANENG, Brymen, EEVblog & OWON branded meters such as the AN9002, BM869s, 121GW, OW18E or B41T+. The full list is at https://github.com/antoinecellerier/dmm-tools#supported-devices .

Quite a few additional CLI & GUI features were added as well to improve meter detection, annotations, control and overall display options. Happy to take feedback if anyone else tries it.

GUI feature highlights:

• Live reading with the meter's flags, sub-values and range specifications, and buttons to switch mode, range, HOLD, REL and MIN/MAX from the screen
• Time-series graph with sub-values, a minimap, cursors, mean and min/max overlays, and reference lines with threshold triggers
• Recording for hours at a time, with notes on marked moments, exported as CSV, JSON or a replay file and imported again
• Alarms on a low or high limit for unattended runs, each crossing marked
• Software scale, offset and unit relabel for clamps, shunts and sensors
• Big meter mode for bench-mount use

CLI feature highlights:

• Stream readings as text, CSV or JSON, at any interval
• Switch mode, range, HOLD, REL, MIN/MAX and Peak by name, or press the meter's buttons
• Alarms on a low or high limit, each crossing marked in the output
• Coulomb counting / energy integration (--integrate)
• Software scaling (--scale, --offset, --unit) for clamps, shunts and sensors
• Guided protocol capture wizard for bug reports and verifying new meters