Brymen BM869(867) alternative software.

[luisprata]

Anyone working on Bluetooth version with android App?

[enut11]

Any idea if this would work with Brymen BM-525?

[Sairus]

Any idea if this would work with Brymen BM-525?

BM869(867) and BM525 have different display mapping so for correct work software need to be modified. It relatively easy to do and maybe later i will add another brymen DMMs,but for now i see that people don't interested (no info about successful or unsuccessful software using) so i make conclusion that no one need that software.

[milamber]

Hi,
what is the maximum update Rate over the optical connection of the BM869s (or others)?
As I remember the internal logging feature of the BM525 has up to 20Hz. Is the PC capturing with the BM869s also that fast?

EDIT: Just found it - about 2Hz:
           https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/brymen-bm869-review-by-the-eye-of-the-industrial-electrician/msg77287/#msg77287

-mil

[Sairus]

what is the maximum update Rate over the optical connection of the BM869s

Up to 5hz in some modes. (DC,VFD)

[giannit]

Hi,

This is to let a little bit of steam out... 

You have the OP, who developed his own alternative software for the Brymen BN869/867. As I understood, one of the reasons to develop this software was to use his own custom made cable (he explains how to assemble one), instead of having to purchase the official cable. Building a custom made cable has the issue, that one lacks the official software - hence why he made his own.

Now pay attention: he offers his software for FREE. A non-intrusive Paypal add is decently asking for any donation.

And what is the general tone in this thread? People say it is not secure to run executables of the internet!!! WTF??? This is a known user of EEVblog! I cannot imagine anyone here using Windows who NEVER downloaded any software and installed it! It's not like he is offering an obscure link to some cracking/keygen site!

And then people say "oh, yeah, all nice, bla bla bla, how about you share the SOURCE CODE, so we can check the software is clean...".

If I was the OP, I would close this thread and not even reply.

It's not just that people want things for free - now they want the source of other people's work, too. Just because.

 

When I read stuff like this, I really wonder what goes on in people's head.

Sorry if I offended anyone, but I surely got offended by this:

"Besides it being a fun little project for you to work on, what's the benefit?" -> You don't have to use it, if there is no benefit for you! And if this is a "fun little project", you must have done bigger projects and given them away for free, right?

"If you are interested to share the software, which is an admirable thing to do, then I suggest sharing it through a medium like GitHub. That way others can learn from what you have done, maybe extend or enhance it, maybe fix some bugs. You may get feedback from others that could in turn help you. Just something to consider." -> The OP was expecting some donation, not people asking to share his whole source code!

"Obviously buying the official $40 kit from Brymen will be a fully-working solution straight away and very unlikely to have bugs/issues." -> Just buy the offical kit then! Why implying the OP has bugs/issues in his software? Have you tried it?

"I think we are suggesting to share the source code so it can be examined and compiled safely on a local system." -> No comments...

Regards,
Vitor

Totally agree... given also that if you are somewhat smart, the source code is there in the .net exe for any verification!
I've done it (work for msft) and there's any "criminal" intent, just a genuine & generous guy willing to contribute to the community!

Come on, wake-up gents!!!

Cheers

[pro_info]

Hi all & Sairus,
I will soon buy a BM867s after a long day to compare a bunch of reference and I came across this post what made me want to sign up.
This little program looks very nice, and the cable very simple to do.
I will try when I have a moment to see if it is possible to use a Bluetooth module and integrate an arduino mini directly into the multimeter (if there is room).
Thank you for your work.

Good day and sorry for google translation (original message below if it's incomprehensible ^^)

-----------
Je vais prochainement acheter un BM867s, après une longue journée à comparer tout un tas de référence et je suis tombé sur ce post ce qui m'a donné envie de m'inscrire.
Ce petit programme a l'air fort sympathique, et le câble vraiment très simple à faire.
Je vais essayer quand j'aurai un moment de voir s'il est possible d'utiliser un module Bluetooth et d'intégrer un arduino mini directement dans le multimètre (s'il y a de la place)

Bonne journée et désolé pour la traduction google (message original ci-dessous si c'est incompréhensible)

[Sairus]

I will try when I have a moment to see if it is possible to use a Bluetooth module and integrate an arduino mini directly into the multimeter (if there is room).

i think this not good idea...
1)Multimeter is shielded so there are can be issues with signal.
2)Inside DMM not so much space and i don't know how placing of something will influence on actual CAT rating.
3)At IR connection DMM use more energy + arduino have linear voltage regulator + bluetooth it all reduce run time.

[pro_info]

i think this not good idea...
1)Multimeter is shielded so there are can be issues with signal.
2)Inside DMM not so much space and i don't know how placing of something will influence on actual CAT rating.
3)At IR connection DMM use more energy + arduino have linear voltage regulator + bluetooth it all reduce run time.

I will think more when I have the device in front of my eyes.
The only real issue for me would be the point 2.
For point 1, simply displace the antenna (again, pay attention to point 2). And for the point 3, the use of a lithium battery of 1200mah + the addition of a small switch to activate the power supply of the arduino and the card Bluetooth only when it is useful.

If really point 2 is problematic, I will make in this case a small adapter that attaches like the original but is wireless. The only disadvantage would be to add a small battery to power 2 modules. But it is to see.
I will initially study the device and then see if I can modify it at best. Personally, I will use it only on a very low voltage and some electronics, but I would like to do a trick as clean as possible.

--------------------
Je vais réfléchir davantage quand j'aurai l'appareil devant les yeux.
Le seul véritable problème pour moi serait le point 2.
Pour le point 1, il suffit de déporter l'antenne (encore une fois, il faut faire attention au point 2). Et pour le point 3, l'utilisation d'une batterie lithium de 1200mah + l'ajout d'un petit interrupteur pour n'activer l'alimentation de l'arduino et de la carte Bluetooth seulement lorsque c'est utile.

Si vraiment le point 2 pose problème, je ferai dans ce cas un petit adaptateur qui se fixe comme l'original, mais qui est sans fil. Le seul inconvénient serait de devoir ajouter une petite batterie pour alimenter les 2 modules. Mais c'est à voir.
Je vais dans un premier temps étudier l'appareil puis voir si je peux le modifier au mieux. Personnellement, je vais m'en servir uniquement sur la très basse tension et un peu d'électronique, mais j'aimerais faire un truc le plus propre possible.

[coromonadalix]

@Sairus   did you have poked the signal from an Brymen 857S ??

I would like to build one ...  they sell the usb adapter for a mere 100$ ?

great stuff

[Sairus]

Unfortunately i not had possibility to use bm856...
but you not first who ask about supporting another models.
As I understood TME is not option for you?
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/kitbrua-85xa/meters-software/brymen/kit-brua-85xa/

[coromonadalix]

With the exchange rates  etc ... it will cost me 100$    can't find this on ebay ... and in my country Brymen is not sold.

Sent Emails to TME before no answers back ??

I managed to find a very sligthly used BM857s  for half the price. I think Extech are the same / cloned models or vice versa ??

[Sairus]

I think Extech are the same / cloned models or vice versa ??

Brymen is OEM for many brands

[JackM]

With the exchange rates  etc ... it will cost me 100$    can't find this on ebay ... and in my country Brymen is not sold.

Sent Emails to TME before no answers back ??

I managed to find a very sligthly used BM857s  for half the price. I think Extech are the same / cloned models or vice versa ??

Some Extech models are manufactured by Brymen, but not all. The Greenlee brand in North America has Brymen as their OEM.
I also live in Canada and I actually bought my Brymen multimeter from tme.eu about two years ago. Their prices were so low that even with the additional shipping and duty charges it came to about the same price if I had bought a similar brand locally. With the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar now though, I'm not sure if this is still the case. The duty charges were the biggest hit actually; I ended up paying something like 30% of the price as import duty when I picked mine up from the post office.

[iamruss]

I have received my new DMM (867) and I also purchased the BM-X86 usb cord and it came with CD-disk which has some pdf files that describe the protocol. I assume all the work is done already. But if anyone interested, I can share files on the enclosed cd-rom.

Also, is someone managed to read data using mac osx, I would appreciate if someone is willing to share some pointer. Thanks.

PS: posting here for the first time , yay!

[Scotty17819]

Thanx Sairus for your excellent work.

I've modified the interface using a 10F320 instead of the 12F683. Teamed with a PL2303HX-cable it works great on my BM867s.

Furthermore I've created a test board that adds a BTM222 bluetooth module to the interface. When using a terminal program I can successfully receive the raw data from BM867s on the notebook. Unfortunately the DMM SW 1.03 doesn't connect. Looks like it cannot open the serial port.

[acid3]

Hello
I've just want to play with this soft and DIY cable but I've got this.

Downloading , the same version I have, not helped.

[Sairus]

Hello
I've just want to play with this soft and DIY cable but I've got this.

DOUHHHH  I forgot to upload new version.
Fixed. You can download new.

[acid3]

Thanks a lot !

[ElectronicCat]

I know you have previously stated that you will not open source this software, but would you at least consider making documentation on the protocol analysis available and/or some of the key algorithms from the software?

The main reason I ask is that I would like to develop an (open source) application for Linux for interface/logging with the 867/869, as I haven't seen anything other than Windows applications available yet.

[IanB]

Brymen has published the USB interface details and software protocol for the meter, so it should be relatively easy to create Linux software using the USB interface based on the Brymen documentation.

What is special and additional in the work done by the OP here is to create a hardware interface using a COM port instead of USB. That is useful for people who prefer the simplicity of COM port programming over the complexity of USB programming.

[JackM]

You can download the Brymen published protocols from their site: http://www.brymen.com/Download2.html

They have PDFs for all series of multimeters describing the LED segment mappings and the communication protocol.

[ElectronicCat]

Interesting, I didn't know Brymen had published information on the protocols. This should make things easier, big thanks to Brymen for doing that!

[GuidoK]

This might be an odd question, but does the software support the original Brymen cable?

[Sairus]

This might be an odd question, but does the software support the original Brymen cable?

nope