About Aneng AN101 Calibration

[Faissal]

Hello everyone!

I bought an Aneng AN101 multimeter from AliExpress, but it's giving incorrect readings.
Is there a way to fix or calibrate it?
Thanks in advance

Regards.

[Aldo22]

If it's still new, I would ask the store for a refund.
I would buy a slightly better one. This one doesn't seem to be very good anyway.
https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMAnengAN101%20UK.html

[Gyro]

That's not a calibration issue (too far out), it's broken.

You could look for bad solder joints, but as Aldo22 says, if it's brand new...

[Aldo22]

If you're looking for a decent DMM for under €9 and there's an Aldi in your country, I'd check out the Ferrex DMM there.
It's cheap and looks cheap, but it has certified safety (600V fuses) and a few amazing features for the price.
In my experience, it doesn't display any major nonsense like your AN101.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ferrex-ans-24-146-(aldi)/msg6034735/

[Faissal]

If you're looking for a decent DMM for under €9 and there's an Aldi in your country, I'd check out the Ferrex DMM there.
It's cheap and looks cheap, but it has certified safety (600V fuses) and a few amazing features for the price.
In my experience, it doesn't display any major nonsense like your AN101.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ferrex-ans-24-146-(aldi)/msg6034735/

Thanks.
It looks very nice with this price, but unfortunately it's not available in my country.
I also wanted to learn something new about repair. 😉

[IC_Toaster]

If you're looking for a decent DMM for under €9 and there's an Aldi in your country, I'd check out the Ferrex DMM there.
It's cheap and looks cheap, but it has certified safety (600V fuses) and a few amazing features for the price.
In my experience, it doesn't display any major nonsense like your AN101.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/ferrex-ans-24-146-(aldi)/msg6034735/

Thanks.
It looks very nice with this price, but unfortunately it's not available in my country.
I also wanted to learn something new about repair. 😉

I would return the multimeter because I don't think it is possible to calibrate it.
There are a lot of multimeters on aliexpress better than this one. Take a look at Zoyi. Even Aneng has many models better than the multimeter you bought, some of them made by Zoyi.

[indman]

If it's still new, I would ask the store for a refund.
I would buy a slightly better one. This one doesn't seem to be very good anyway.

I think it's quite a decent DMM for your money. It is small, lightweight, compact and has 4000 counts.
Check out the review of this tester here https://mysku.club/blog/aliexpress/94003.html
It's in Russian, but you can view the photos without knowing the language.
Faissal , I would first check the condition of the CR2032 battery.You can temporarily power the tester from another 3V source.
You can also try to connect other test leads for voltage testing.If this does not help, then you need to carefully check the parts on the board, is there a bad soldering or breakage? Another important point is to check the location of the contact plates on the mode switch and compare them with the photographs from the review.
I wish you good luck.

[IC_Toaster]

If it's still new, I would ask the store for a refund.
I would buy a slightly better one. This one doesn't seem to be very good anyway.

I think it's quite a decent DMM for your money. It is small, lightweight, compact and has 4000 counts.
Check out the review of this tester here https://mysku.club/blog/aliexpress/94003.html
It's in Russian, but you can view the photos without knowing the language.
Faissal , I would first check the condition of the CR2032 battery.You can temporarily power the tester from another 3V source.
You can also try to connect other test leads for voltage testing.If this does not help, then you need to carefully check the parts on the board, is there a bad soldering or breakage? Another important point is to check the location of the contact plates on the mode switch and compare them with the photographs from the review.
I wish you good luck.

Maybe this multimeter is quite decent for the price, but for a little more you can chose other options like Zoyi ZT-100 which I think is better.

[indman]

Maybe this multimeter is quite decent for the price, but for a little more you can chose other options like Zoyi ZT-100 which I think is better.

This is undeniable, but why would he buy another tester when he already has this one and just needs to be fixed?

[Aldo22]

I think it's quite a decent DMM for your money. It is small, lightweight, compact and has 4000 counts.

There appear to be different versions under the same name.
It may be that Faissal has the 4000 counts variant.
The one in this review is the 1999 counts version.
Very confusing.

[indman]

Very confusing.

There are simply several versions of this device, 1999 and 4000 counts. It’s very easy to distinguish if you look carefully at the inscriptions on the front panel. I don’t see anything confusing.

[Aldo22]

I don’t see anything confusing.

Of course, it's confusing when two devices with the same name have such different specifications and the difference isn't even clearly stated on the device.

In any case, I was confused.

[indman]

The 1999 counts version of the meter does not have a power test, NCV, frequency meter.

[Aldo22]

The 1999 counts version of the meter does not have a power test, NCV, frequency meter.

Yes, if you know that there are two versions and how to tell them apart, then you can distinguish between them.
But if you just Google "Aneng AN101", you don't know that.
Apparently, it wasn't entirely clear to the advertising department either.
Or what kind of model is this? (From AE):

[indman]

Yes, if you know that there are two versions and how to tell them apart, then you can distinguish between them.

Now you also know that there are several versions of the device. It's never too late to learn.

[IC_Toaster]

Maybe this multimeter is quite decent for the price, but for a little more you can chose other options like Zoyi ZT-100 which I think is better.

This is undeniable, but why would he buy another tester when he already has this one and just needs to be fixed?

Probably he can return the tester and get another one better than that. Is not possible to fix this meter? I don't see the way to calibrate/adjust it.
The Zoyi one I refer to has an EEPROM memory which can be programmed to adjust some measurements.

[indman]

Is not possible to fix this meter?

The reason for this is most likely not in the calibration, but rather there is a malfunction on the board. The readings are overestimated by about 2.5-3 times. This chip does not have an external quartz, so it is possible that the frequency of the master oscillator is incorrect. If this is a malfunction of the chip, then of course nothing can be fixed. But this could also be due to a malfunction of the external parts around the chip.

[Gyro]

Instead of messing about, the OP should notify the seller or return the meter ASAP. Every day waited weakens his case and gives the seller more opportunity to claim that he broke it.

As for the model number, of course it's confusing. Some buyers are bound to receive the wrong count meter if they order from a seller who just states AN101 while being clumsy about stating the details (or receiving different batches of stock). It's never too late for a manufacturer to learn that you don't release products with different specifications under the same model number - that's just stupid.


Edit: I notice from the OP's photos that the meter doesn't show any manufacturer of model number, so who's to know if it is even an Aneng. They have let their meter become prey to the cloners, so you can't trust reviews.

[indman]

Some buyers are bound to receive the wrong count meter if they order from a seller who just states AN101 while being clumsy about stating the details (or receiving different batches of stock).

Unfortunately, such variants of devices under the same marking, but with different functions and hardware filling, are often found. Here is one example.
The review https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMBTMeter%20BT-39C%20UK.html presents the BT-39C DMM model. I showed it in the first photo.
And in the second photo there is also the BT-39C model that I have. Compare them and find the differences, I think it’s not difficult to do?
Yes, they are similar in functionality, but the hardware platform is completely different.

[Kleinstein]

The difference between teh BT39C version is not yet that large. It is mainly a more internal change - hard to tell which version is better.
There are larger differences with other types. Some UT meters come with an EU version (with lower CAT rating printed on the outside and sometimes better fuses and protection) and a version for much of the rest of the world.

With the AN101 example it is quite some difference with more counts and additional functions.

Most likely it is more than a calibration issue. If so it would have been a totally failed calibration / accidently lost memory. Like most modern meters there is likely software calibration and they often don't publish the CAL interface. In some cases it may even be one time programmable only. Such super low cost meters are rarely recalibrated - usually costs more than a new one. It a tests shows they are off they are considered defect and thrown away.

[indman]

It is mainly a more internal change - hard to tell which version is better.

No, it's not difficult at all. My version with the orange case is better because it uses an external EEPROM and a DTM0660 chip.
I increased the number of samples to 9999 without much difficulty and calibrated it very well to the voltage reference.
The version with a blue casing does not have such capabilities.

[Gyro]

Aside from the external EEPROM (and potentially repairability), I see significant difference in protection components and input PCB layout. The orange one looks better but you can never tell without testing. Obviously nobody with any sense would use them on the mains, despite the blatantly fake CAT rating, but it could affect transient / ESD surviveability, Joe's sort of tests. Nasty glass fuses on both.

[Faissal]

I found that the only mode that measures well is the ohm mode.
And if course the NCV/Live mode.
The other modes increase by approximately 2.3 times

[Aldo22]

Instead of messing about, the OP should notify the seller or return the meter ASAP. Every day waited weakens his case and gives the seller more opportunity to claim that he broke it.

Right.
I've never had to return anything that cheap. The AE dealers know that it's ridiculous and far too expensive.
Sometimes you get your money back immediately if you can show the problem with photos or a video.
Once I had to order a new device and then got the defective one refunded.

[floobydust]

Did OP buy it from an ANENG store? They should name the store.
I don't seen the ANENG logo on the front, the shunt protection diodes are missing, buzzer driver transistor too. You can't even use a buzzer with coin cell power. The outer pushbuttons don't even touch much of the PCB.
It looks like a cheap knockoff?

PCB marking "XT-9216G_V1" 20240618.