EEVblog Brymen BM235 - LCD issues or normal?

[hgg]

Hi there,

I've just received the EEVblog Brymen multimeter.  Nice little compact meter but I was wondering
if other units are like mine.  The LCD display looks quite dim from most angles except if you look at it
from below the vertical which then has a good contrast.   I've tried to capture it in a photo and this
is what you normally see :



Another thing to notice is that at certain angles you see the following effect on the screen :






Is this normal or is it some kind of defective or strained LCD?

Finally when you switch on the backlight here is what you see from three different angles.

First from slightly below the vertical, which is ok:  (missing segment because values were changing)


then exactly vertical which starts to fade dramatically:


and finally at an angle above vertical where you can't see anything at all:


Did I receive a defective unit, or all BM235s are like that?

On the positive side, this unit has no annoying backlight whine whatsoever.

Regards,
George.

[nidlaX]

Do you see the effects in picture 2 under all lighting conditions? The strains in the plastic should be normal but should only be visible with a polarized light source.

EDIT: This article depicts the effect I'm referring to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photoelasticity

[hgg]

No, only from a few angles. 
Usually when looking from the left.

[Roeland_R]

Perhaps a stupid question. How is the battery?

[hgg]

Not a stupid question at all.  This is the same effect as if you have low batteries.
Unfortunately I've just checked them and they are fine...   
Thanks.

Maybe someone with the same model can compare the photos and comment.  (?)

[PA0PBZ]

I noticed the same, the contrast is only good when you look at the meter from below.

[hgg]

Ok, so its normal.        Thank you.

A bit disappointed though.  I was used the UT61E display which is crystal clear from all angles
and I thought that there was a problem with this one!..   

[Wytnucls]

Hantronix application note about LCD viewing angle:

http://www.hantronix.com/files/down/v-angle.pdf

[hgg]

Conclusion:
Selecting a Liquid Crystal Display with the proper viewing angle is important, but the designer must keep
in mind that the contrast setting is also important as both oft hese parameters work together to determine the
appearance of the LCD and the final appearance and appeal of the product."

Something that Brymen definitely needs to read...

[Wytnucls]

It is a mystery. One would think that buying an expensive meter from a reputable company would ensure a decent display, but it is often not the case. The reverse is true also. Some cheap meters surprisingly come equipped with very effective LCD screens.

[hgg]

Mystery indeed.   Makes you wonder.

If you were the production manager, would you have allowed this kind of LCD into your product ??
Cannot understand it.  And they got into the trouble of designing a backlight function as well.
(which if you see the pictures it amplifies the problem even more.  It reminds me the displays of
some very cheap Chinese wall plug watt meters...)    The LCD is the main feedback you get from
using the instrument.  One of the number one priorities.

Its a petty because apart from that and the dodgy battery case, its a pretty nice multimeter.

[thisguy]

My new BM235 is the same. The image is clear with good contrast viewed from below, starts to fade at 90deg, then disappears completely when viewed from above. The best viewing angle seems about 45deg below vertical.

It also has the moire-like patterns you show in the second and third photos, although they were hard to find and not conspicuous.

Also, no back-light noise.

Viewing angle is not a problem for me. If the meter is not in my hand it's either laying flat on the bench or propped up at 45deg by the stand, so the natural viewing angle is always from below.

[Hydrawerk]

Some cheap meters surprisingly come equipped with very effective LCD screens.

These cheap meters must look good from outside. They use a decent LCD but cheap internal parts that you cannot seen until you open the case.
BTW I think that LCDs with no baclight possibility have sometimes better viewing angle and better reflective layer on back.

[EEVblog]

A common complaint.
The viewing angle seem to be dependent upon the angle to the light source.
Here are two examples, one taken flat on my bench with light below the LCD, and angle taken from above the LCD. Looks fine.
The other taken from the same angle, but with the meter vertical and the light source now above the LCD. Badly faded out.

[EEVblog]

Also, no back-light noise.

All new shipments (in the plain white box) do not have the backlight noise, it was fixed.

[Hydrawerk]

For 500USD, the Keysight U1282A might have a better LCD.
http://www.newark.com/keysight-technologies//digital-multimeter-handheld-4/dp/58Y5948

[joseph nicholas]

Its not at all surprising since all these meters use the same technology for the displays, except for oleds, that they should vary much from the cheapest to the most expensive?  The manufactures want to maximize battery use so this variation seems normal.  Also, I bet the battery life would be better with the slightly weaker display.

[deadlylover]

I think the high end Hioki's have the best viewing angles for LCD's. Instead of fading it just turns a little purple/bluey.

In normal use the BM235 does look a biiiit faded, but it's still very legible. Mine's from the latest shipment and still has the backlight noise, but it's very high pitched and quiet, you have to bring it to your ear to hear it.

[Lightages]

IMHO, the best LCDs I have seen have been in Uni-T. Very ironic.

[Muttley Snickers]

One of my few gripes about the meter is the white text colour on the buttons which I find difficult to read at first glance and unfortunately I wasn't blessed with a steady hand otherwise I would have a go at it with a fine marker pen but I worry that it might end up looking like a dogs breakfast.   

It might also just be that the buttons and fonts are much smaller than I am used to although a small Digitech (CEM) meter that I have also uses white text over grey buttons but they used a slightly larger font so are a bit easier for me to read.

[Wytnucls]

The best LCD screen of all my meters (Fluke, Gossen, CEM, Uni-T), is on the Fluke 185 (Tektronix).
Strangely, it is readable from any angle, close to the horizontal, from any direction. This is old technology, so there is no obvious reason, except cost perhaps, why modern meters couldn't all be like that.

[blacksheeplogic]

The best LCD screen of all my meters (Fluke, Gossen, CEM, Uni-T), is on the Fluke 185 (Tektronix).
Strangely, it is readable from any angle, close to the horizontal, from any direction.

That's a beautiful display on your 185. I have an original 189 which I would describe as having an OK display.

[Fungus]

The best LCD screen of all my meters (Fluke, Gossen, CEM, Uni-T), is on the Fluke 185 (Tektronix).
Strangely, it is readable from any angle, close to the horizontal, from any direction. This is old technology, so there is no obvious reason, except cost perhaps, why modern meters couldn't all be like that.

Yep. You'd think "LCD" would be a done deal by now. 

'Harbor Freight' meters seem to have better displays than the Brymen (judging by those photos - I haven't seen a Brymen in person, maybe you could take pictures side by side to compare them).

[hgg]

IMHO, the best LCDs I have seen have been in Uni-T. Very ironic.

I second that. 
The most readable LCDs from all angles.

The Fluke 185 display looks pretty good !

The best LCD screen of all my meters (Fluke, Gossen, CEM, Uni-T), is on the Fluke 185 (Tektronix).
Strangely, it is readable from any angle, close to the horizontal, from any direction. This is old technology,

This is good technology you mean...         Those days are long gone.     Now quality and functionality is
ruled by marketing/economics rather than need.

Other negative things on the BM235 is the stand which is way to soft for such a stiff function switch.
You have to press it down to turn the switch and if the stand does not have a good grip, the multimeter
start bending down quite a lot.      UT61E again has a very stable stand.

The hold function is a joke.  Same as in the BM869s.   If you have three hands its very useful.
The UT61E has a delayed hold which is perfect.  Not as the Fluke 87V, but still very usable.

The battery case is screwed on with just one screw which is in the middle!  Feels very cheap and
the case flexes from both sides.  You have to be very careful when you remove the holster.
They could have used two screws spaced apart near the bottom.   UT61E battery case is excellent.

On the bench I keep turning to the UT61E simply because its a more functional multimeter.

In my opinion the Brymens are more suitable for the electrical engineer than the electronics hobbyist.
The constant gripe you hear for the UT61E is the lack of input protection which is true, but how many
times will the electronics hobbyist start probing CAT IV installations ?...

The frequency measurement of the UT61E is pretty good and goes up to many Mhz very easily.
Brymens struggle with Hz. 

Another thing I like on the UT61E is the Peak function.   Suppose you have the following
1khz 3vp square wave, with a 3V offset. 



The UT61E will show you the peak value of 3V very easily up to 10Khz.   The BM235 is missing that
function and even the top of the range 869s will go only up to 800Hz.   Same is true if there is no
offset.   UT61E peak function on 230V mains voltage works perfectly as well.

Finally the UT61E is quite hackable with many functions that can be enabled or implemented
like a backlight, VFD function, MIN/MAX, enhanced APO functionality etc.

In my opinion if the UT61E did not have the accuracy drift problem, it would have been the best
multimeter for the electronics hobbyist hands down.   

The EEVblog logo looks cool though.   

[blacksheeplogic]

If you were the production manager, would you have allowed this kind of LCD into your product ??
Cannot understand it.

The display seems on par with most of my meters. LCD's aren't as readable as some of the other options out there but they are right by the work on the bench and's it's not a big issue in actual use.