APPA DMMs Retailers? (USA)

[impetus_maximus]

i'm looking at mid/high range ($80-$150) digital multimeters and found APPA is a manufacturer out of Taiwan. 
are there reputable retailers for the US market? or at least ones that ship to the United States?  i don't want a Chinese clone.

thanks
/max

[Veteran68]

From what I know of APPA (I don't own one) they make a good meter. However there are many good meters that are made in Taiwan and China. The Fluke meters made in China are still very good meters.

$150 is not "high" range. That's decidedly in the mid-tier market. That's not to say you can't get a great meter for that price, but it's far from a high-end meter price. Hioki, Fluke, Keysight, Gossen, etc. can run $400-800 and even higher.

Brymen is generally going to be your best bang-for-buck meter in terms of quality, features, and price. Unfortunately if you want a US retailer your options are limited. You can buy Greenlee branded Brymens, which provide a lifetime warranty but at a significant increase in cost over the same OEM meter. The FLIR DM64/65 is a Bryman BM235 and the DM64 is on sale right now for $50 direct from FLIR, which is a great buy, but it's not a feature-rich meter. Then of course Dave's eevBlog BM235 and BM786 can be had on Amazon.

Otherwise to get the full line of Brymen meters, I can strongly recommend buying from Welectron.com in Germany. Shipping is $10 to get here in a few days, there is no sales tax, and their prices are great. You can also try the marcoreps5 discount code for another 5% off. I bought my BM869s from them and they are a pleasure to do business with. As easy as any US retailer (and easier than some).

[bdunham7]

Nothing direct, AFAIK.  APPA imports to Fluke (Amprobe) and Greenlee, so at least some of their products are OEMed or rebadged APPA, but neither appears to carry anything remotely close to the entire APPA line.  Benning has rebadged APPA models in the EU, but I'm not sure how cost effective that would be.

[impetus_maximus]

@Veteran68 thanks for the reply. 

i don't want to get political, (nothing against The People of China) but i prefer to support Taiwanese manufacturers.

edited out the high end of my OP as i see what you mean about pricing. $150-$200 being high end for me, doesn't make it high end. 

i've looked at Brymen. the BM235 looks great feature, size, and price wise. unfortunately i plan on using NiMH batteries. also hate AAA cells. 
that FLIR DM64 on sale at that price is pretty tempting though! i know some follks use Lithium batteries (after a slight discharge?) but i hate the idea of paying rechargeable prices for one (albeit long) time use. the BM789s uses AAA batteries, but seems to play nice with NiMH a bit better. guessing because there are 3 of them? wish manufacturers would still use AA or Transister (9v) batteries. i know some hate 9v and they are more of an US thing, but there are 8 cell 9.6v NiMHs, as well as rechargeable Lithium-Ions. the BM869s is a sweet meter, but i'm looking for a more handy all-arounder instead of a bench meter.

ah Welectron.com. i was wondering about shipping. thank you for that. no tax, but what about VAT? i know nothing about that. i know TME in Poland exports Brymen as well. was a little bummed a discount code TME sent me wouldn't work with a BM689s in my cart.  so i never pulled the trigger. now i've since changed my mind on the BM689 anyway.

i reached out to APPA's American location 'MGL AMERICA, INC.'
they got right back to me and said
"We do not have any retailers in the US for Appa products.

We do have a brand that shares similar technology between Appa products that is in the United States, it goes by the name KPS."

coincidentally similar to the Greenlee, they are green. i'm waiting to hear back from the about KPS United States retailers.

@bdunham7 thanks. i'll check out Amprobe, and Greenlee. i'm hoping the markup isn't as bad as with the Greenlee Badged Brymens.

cheers
/max

[Veteran68]

i've looked at Brymen. the BM235 looks great feature, size, and price wise. unfortunately i plan on using NiMH batteries. also hate AAA cells. 
that FLIR DM64 on sale at that price is pretty tempting though! i know some follks use Lithium batteries (after a slight discharge?) but i hate the idea of paying rechargeable prices for one (albeit long) time use. the BM789s uses AAA batteries, but seems to play nice with NiMH a bit better. guessing because there are 3 of them? wish manufacturers would still use AA or Transister (9v) batteries. i know some hate 9v and they are more of an US thing, but there are 8 cell 9.6v NiMHs, as well as rechargeable Lithium-Ions. the BM869s is a sweet meter, but i'm looking for a more handy all-arounder instead of a bench meter.

I'm using either Energizer Ultimate Lithium or NiMH Eneloops in my AA and AAA meters. For my 9V meters I use Li-Ion rechargeables. I don't have a BM235 but I do have a FLIR DM64 (which is a BM235 in a FLIR case) running the Energizer Lithium AAA's. My one gripe with the DM64 is no beep in diode mode.

ah Welectron.com. i was wondering about shipping. thank you for that. no tax, but what about VAT? i know nothing about that. i know TME in Poland exports Brymen as well. was a little bummed a discount code TME sent me wouldn't work with a BM689s in my cart.  so i never pulled the trigger. now i've since changed my mind on the BM689 anyway.

You don't pay VAT from the US. The price you pay is the price they show in Euro's (converted to USD) plus $10 shipping. That's it. Oh, and minus any discount code. I think they do charge an extra 3% for using PayPal though.

i reached out to APPA's American location 'MGL AMERICA, INC.'
they got right back to me and said
"We do not have any retailers in the US for Appa products.

We do have a brand that shares similar technology between Appa products that is in the United States, it goes by the name KPS."

coincidentally similar to the Greenlee, they are green. i'm waiting to hear back from the about KPS United States retailers.

@bdunham7 thanks. i'll check out Amprobe, and Greenlee. i'm hoping the markup isn't as bad as with the Greenlee Badged Brymens.

cheers
/max

Yes the KPS meters look very nice. I've been interested in the DMM9000BT but cannot find it anywhere in the US, only a couple of European sellers. Plus it's a $375-400 meter. I really don't need another $400 meter, but I have a DMM addiction and that meter speaks to me for some reason. When they become more available in the US, I will probably get one.

[impetus_maximus]

thanks for sharing which batteries you use.

good to know about VAT into the United States. 

Eddy from 'Kiss Analog' has 'shorts' DMM9000BT video on youtube. i'm assuming he'll do a full video on it. $370 is out of my price range as well. 

thanks again. 
/max

[Veteran68]

Yes I think Eddie is where I first saw the meter. He raves about it but hasn't done a full review yet.

[bdunham7]

i've looked at Brymen. the BM235 looks great feature, size, and price wise. unfortunately i plan on using NiMH batteries. also hate AAA cells. 
that FLIR DM64 on sale at that price is pretty tempting though! i know some follks use Lithium batteries (after a slight discharge?) but i hate the idea of paying rechargeable prices for one

BM235/DM64 can't use lithium for reasons discussed a while ago on a different thread.  Discharging won't help because the Energizer Ultimate Lithium have a very flat open-circuit voltage, it can be >1.7V for a completely dead cell.  Have you heard of problems with AAA NiMH on the BM235/DM64?  Other people have reported that they work OK.  At the very most you may not get full use out of the charge, but that's not a huge deal IMO.  Clearly a slightly bigger meter with AA cells would have been better, but there's no changing that now.

[Veteran68]

BM235/DM64 can't use lithium for reasons discussed a while ago on a different thread.  Discharging won't help because the Energizer Ultimate Lithium have a very flat open-circuit voltage, it can be >1.7V for a completely dead cell.

So you have my attention. I'm running Energizer Ultimate Lithiums in my DM64. Why can't they be used? I have Eneloop AAA NiMHs too but so far the lithiums have been working in the DM64. Granted I've not used the meter much.

[bdunham7]

i'm waiting to hear back from the about KPS United States retailers.

There seem to be a few select models at Home Depot.  Nothing fancy and they don't look particularly inexpensive. 

[J-R]

In another thread, you mentioned you had the TekPower DT9602R.  If that is the case, what are the shortcomings that you are trying to resolve by purchasing something like a Brymen BM789?

[David Hess]

APPA was also apparently the contractor who made the DMM series of handheld meters for Tektronix.

I have tried for many years to find of source for APPA meters in the US, although they do not make exactly what I want.

[BeBuLamar]

APPA was also apparently the contractor who made the DMM series of handheld meters for Tektronix.

I have tried for many years to find of source for APPA meters in the US, although they do not make exactly what I want.

I don't think Tektronix sells DMM any more handheld or bench top. I think they leave the handheld to Fluke and the bench DMM to Keithley as they are all in the same company.

[helius]

The DMMs sold by Ideal (a maker of hand tools) are OEMed from APPA.

[David Hess]

I don't think Tektronix sells DMM any more handheld or bench top. I think they leave the handheld to Fluke and the bench DMM to Keithley as they are all in the same company.

Fluke sued Tektronix and the settlement required Tektronix to exit the handheld multimeter market and their handheld multimeter IP was turned over to Fluke.

This was before they all became part of the same company.

[BeBuLamar]

I don't think Tektronix sells DMM any more handheld or bench top. I think they leave the handheld to Fluke and the bench DMM to Keithley as they are all in the same company.

Fluke sued Tektronix and the settlement required Tektronix to exit the handheld multimeter market and their handheld multimeter IP was turned over to Fluke.

This was before they all became part of the same company.

Fluke sued Tektronix for making DMM's look like Fluke DMM not for making handheld DMM. The 2 DMM's ended up as Fluke 183 and 185.

[David Hess]

Fluke sued Tektronix for making DMM's look like Fluke DMM not for making handheld DMM. The 2 DMM's ended up as Fluke 183 and 185.

As I recall, it was over the color of the holster which Tektronix then changed to blue, but given the punitive nature of the settlement, I do not think that was the point.  The result was less choice and competition in the handheld multimeter market.

Those Tektronix DMMs were awfully good, and a real threat to Fluke, and it was not because of the color of their rubber holster.

[Bibbin Tools]

Eddie did a teardown review on the 9000BT and had nothing but great things to say about it.

It looks like CES is a carrier of KPS products in the U.S. while also having online distribution, they actually have a shopify to sell direct to customers too! https://kps-intl.myshopify.com/

Funny enough, for the CES branches, they are in their system as "Power Probe" so many supply houses aren't aware that they can order inventory from the manufacturer.

With a 3 year warranty how can you go wrong?

[David Hess]

Well, there is one product and distributor that I will never buy from.

[Bibbin Tools]

Why's that?

[guswin95]

Noticed the BK Precision 393B new multimeter, looks very similar to the ones mentioned here.

https://www.tequipment.net/B&K-Precision/393B/Handheld-Multimeter/?Source=googleshopping&/?utm_content=bk%20precision%20393b&utm_term=&utm_campaign=Shopping%20Campaign(BSC-Main)&utm_source=Bing_Yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&msclkid=1e7519ca2eba1e50858d7c1d778da7b4

[Bibbin Tools]

Yeah BK looks to be doing a private label deal with MGL, that's the same Appa housing that is being used there, but the specs aren't the same, the 9000BT has LowZ, Bluetooth, larger datalog capacity, and auto voltage. The BK simply has a larger count display.

[mwb1100]

Yes the KPS meters look very nice. I've been interested in the DMM9000BT but cannot find it anywhere in the US, only a couple of European sellers. Plus it's a $375-400 meter. I really don't need another $400 meter, but I have a DMM addiction and that meter speaks to me for some reason. When they become more available in the US, I will probably get one.

Eddie Aho has a link to a KPS DMM9000BT from Amazon that is $300: Eddie's affiliate link  Cleaned link if preferred

(please let me know if posing the affiliate link is not allowed and I'll remove it).

And here a link to a DMM9000BT for $265 (from a vendor I've never dealt with or heard of, so buyer beware): DMM9000BT from eAutoTools.com

I look forward to a review after you've emptied your wallet a bit!

[Veteran68]

Yes the KPS meters look very nice. I've been interested in the DMM9000BT but cannot find it anywhere in the US, only a couple of European sellers. Plus it's a $375-400 meter. I really don't need another $400 meter, but I have a DMM addiction and that meter speaks to me for some reason. When they become more available in the US, I will probably get one.

Eddie Aho has a link to a KPS DMM9000BT from Amazon that is $300: Eddie's affiliate link  Cleaned link if preferred

(please let me know if posing the affiliate link is not allowed and I'll remove it).

And here a link to a DMM9000BT for $265 (from a vendor I've never dealt with or heard of, so buyer beware): DMM9000BT from eAutoTools.com

I look forward to a review after you've emptied your wallet a bit!

I had stopped looking after awhile. Glad to see they're finally becoming available here, at less than MSRP to boot. Pretty sure I've run across eAutoTools before and believe they're legit. I still need to question myself as to whether I need to spend $300 on another handheld DMM when I'm up to over 35 of them right now.

I just lost a bid on a well used Fluke 189 on eBay for around the same amount. Maybe I'll console myself by buying this one. Thanks for the peer pressure. 

EDIT: Trigger pulled with eAutoTools. What pushed me over the edge was the $265 price with free shipping and no tax. Yes, I have a problem...

[David Hess]

Why's that?

It was literally your first post, which reads like an ad, with a link to a "manufacturer" who provides no specifications and no support.

[David Hess]

Noticed the BK Precision 393B new multimeter, looks very similar to the ones mentioned here.

That does not surprise me, although I might consider BK Precision reliable.  Outsourcing never seems to stop.

I need to replace my old Beckman RMS225, and temporarily refurbished my even older Beckman DM25L, but was considering the BK Precision 391A.  Unfortunately, they discontinued it not too long ago.  Nobody really makes what I am looking for anymore.

[Bibbin Tools]

Why's that?

It was literally your first post, which reads like an ad, with a link to a "manufacturer" who provides no specifications and no support.

I'm sorry you got this impression. That site is just to purchase their products, their main site is https://kps-intl.com I found this forum and people talking about KPS products and them wanting to buy them, or products like them. Felt like it was the easiest way to do so.

[Veteran68]

EDIT: Trigger pulled with eAutoTools. What pushed me over the edge was the $265 price with free shipping and no tax. Yes, I have a problem...

Hmmm. Just got this email today:

Hello David,

Once again, thank you for your patronage.
But I’m sorry to state that the item you order is back order for about 5-7 weeks, approximately.
It could be a little bit earlier or a bit later.
Please let us know if you are willing to wait for it.
If you’re not able to wait, please let us know as soon as you can.
We will refund your payment and cancel the order.
Sorry if this has caused any inconvenience.

Amazon claims to have 13 in stock, the price would be about $320 with tax. Not sure I want to pay an additional $55 for a meter I really don't need. Trying to decide if I should cancel, or let the order ride and get it when I get it. Decisions, decisions...

[BILLPOD]

Trying to decide if I should cancel, or let the order ride and get it when I get it. Decisions, decisions...


Well, the seller did contact you, instead of ignore you, like many others do, so that should play into your decision.

[Veteran68]

I'm cancelling. I can't really justify another $300 DMM right now. They're probably just starting to arrive at distributors in the US which is why stock is sparse. When they're more plentiful later I'll decide whether to try again. In the meantime I can put that money to good use somewhere else -- perhaps sell my DHO to buy a Siglent SDS1000HD. I'm also eyeing another 3D printer.

[shakalnokturn]

Radiospares ISO-Tech and RS Pro brands are usually made by APPA.