WTF is the price?!

[EEVblog]

Ok, so I've discovered a bit of test gear that is insanely cheap.
Too good to be true cheap, but it's true, I have one in my hand. Looks to be in spec, teardown looks ok.
It's literally "no name", and now I look it's available in quite a lot of places with stock, yet I'm not sure if it's some sort of one-off buy.
The same meter that's not "no name" sells for 20 times the price on ebay.

I'm kinda perplexed what to do here, I thought about bulk buying them all and flipping for a profit, but once you buy more than two the postage skyrockets from free to more than the cost of the meter. And, well, it's "no name" so I'm not sure what the deal is. So I figured it's better just to let people nab the bargain.
Should I release a "review" video on this no-name thing?

In any case, I think I'll let Patrons and supporters know about it first so they can nab one, because I'm sure if I released a video thousands would be gone within the hour.

Guesses on the back of a postcard...

[umbro]

Just PM me

[Noy]

First PM all the guys here in (Forum) and after some days do the Video...


Maybe Not everybody wants one (Tax (eu) , a lot of others / better gear, or just not needed)

Is it a hand meter or a lab table thing?

I think it is a Multimeter or?

[maginnovision]

Definitely intriguing. I have to wonder if I have one already though.

[001]

Is it about Flir? 

[Mr. Scram]

I'm intrigued.

[daqq]

...keep talking... pls

[maginnovision]

Does it fit, literally, in your hand?

[Nusa]

Thousands being gone in an hour is going to happen anyway with your current plan as well. Assuming the stock levels and price are real and not cross-listings of some drop-shipped supply available to multiple vendors. Unless, of course, even the cheap price is enough to deter those who have little use for the item.

[Kjelt]

Dave, you tease ............. tsssssssssss 

[Noy]

Price Region of the Brand or the OEM one please..

Maybe it is to expensive for some of us

[Noy]

 Or dave needs money and tries to rise his patreon / supporter quantity

 

[SparkyFX]

Too good to be true cheap, but it's true, I have one in my hand. Looks to be in spec, teardown looks ok.
[...]The same meter that's not "no name" sells for 20 times the price on ebay.

Hen or egg problem: is the high price justified by spec and market or the result of warranty costs. Wouldn´t be the first manufacturer that instead of fixing issues rather tries selling cheaper by the dozen (... without marking, so no established brand name's reputation in danger).

Otoh, in the wake of import bans/tariffs and such, this might just be the result of global politics, who knows. You could try to contact the manufacturer and ask.

I'm kinda perplexed what to do here

I know you got the experience in this regard, but nevertheless don´t forget importing and reselling in commercial volume bears risks. Market situation or specs aren´t everything, there is also product safety, support and longevity.

Should I release a "review" video on this no-name thing?

Why not, brand names are better keyword-wise, might be hard to build a reference people would search for in the future, so the more details the better.

[RoGeorge]

1. Buy them all then resell everything at a higher price!
2.  for life.

 

[EEVblog]

Thousands being gone in an hour is going to happen anyway with your current plan as well. Assuming the stock levels and price are real and not cross-listings of some drop-shipped supply available to multiple vendors.

They all seem to have different stock levels.

[SparkyFX]

If it is an actual knock-off, there might be legal issues regarding patents (including design~, software~) as well. Not a fan of those, but they do exist and once stuff crosses borders the importer is legally compromisable. To me it´s more a legal question, i guess, therefore an attorney might be the conversational partner of choice?

[OwO]

Do all sellers of the item have the same nonlinear shipping cost? Is this on one platform only or is it present on all of (ebay, aliexpress, taobao)? It's possible that they are selling at a loss to rack up seller reputation if this is a very low cost item (< $10 BOM cost), but otherwise it's also possible that this is the true price of the meter and they avoid large quantity buys to (1) stay under the radar (2) avoid compromising the profit of the name brand by people rebranding and reselling these (3) give the appearance of being a bargain. If you want you can PM me some links and I can investigate further.

[BravoV]

Contest time, with stricter rules ...

[EEVblog]

Too good to be true cheap, but it's true, I have one in my hand. Looks to be in spec, teardown looks ok.
[...]The same meter that's not "no name" sells for 20 times the price on ebay.

Hen or egg problem: is the high price justified by spec and market or the result of warranty costs. Wouldn´t be the first manufacturer that instead of fixing issues rather tries selling cheaper by the dozen (... without marking, so no established brand name's reputation in danger).

That was my feeling, as the name and model number looks like it's been scraped off.

[EEVblog]

Does it fit, literally, in your hand?

Yep, hand held, and so cheap you'd just buy two for comparison.

[Noy]

Multi or LCR Meter or Thermal Imagjng?

Some hint please...

[sleemanj]

So I'm gonna guess that it's a mid-high spec multimeter, like, Fluke 87V or something, normally in the $4-500 range being flogged off in the $20-40

[TurboTom]

Could be the AIMOmeter AMPX1 combined multimeter / calibrator, usually going around 200...250USD, but a knock-off can apparently be found for <10USD.

I may be completely wrong, though  . Also on some of the photos of the knock-off, the screen contens appears rather dodgy.

Cheers,
Thomas

Edit: Changed first link since the original one was removed by the seller -- "Cheap" option appears to be sold out already, what was to be expected after Dave confirmed that my assumption was correct. This Seller appears to have some stock still -- at least at the time of this writing.

[sleemanj]

I may be completely wrong, though  . Also on some of the photos of the knock-off, the screen contens appears rather dodgy.

I doubt it's that if Dave was thinking about selling it, sounds like it's... not good

[B0B45]

Or could it be that Dave is just fooling us? Like sellers who try to trick people to buy junk with the same method Dave uses in his first post? 

[notfaded1]

Lol I want one and I don't even know what it is now... I've got a test gear problem I think.

Bill

[hugatry]

Lol I want one and I don't even know what it is now... I've got a test gear problem I think.

Bill

"It's much cheaper than usually? I'LL TAKE FIVE!... What is it?"

Been there, done that 

[Aleks]

Sooo, any update on the mysterious item ? :-)

[SparkyFX]

Or could it be that Dave is just fooling us? Like sellers who try to trick people to buy junk with the same method Dave uses in his first post? 

The white van forum multimeter scam

[med6753]

 

[NoisyBoy]

Dave,

I am always interested in adding new toys to my bench, as long as I don't already own it.  Keep us posted, perhaps PM all the ones who has responded with interest with more detail when you are ready to share it.

Any type of FLIR would be of particular interest as I don't own one yet.

[tv84]

FLIR count me in.

[Old Printer]

I am interested, I'll take two

[rodpp]

It's curious, even without having an idea of what it is, I'm very interested...

[maginnovision]

Should really have an easy, and automated, way to subscribe to the special section. I won't sign up for patreon my details are enough places as is.

[ciccio]

I'm too much interested: tonight will stay asleep, searching the Net for being thesecond one to discover this gem...

[RoGeorge]

 

[AVGresponding]

Sounds intriguing.

Naturally since Dave posted this, I had to check it wasn't April 1st

[nctnico]

Sounds intriguing.

Naturally since Dave posted this, I had to check it wasn't April 1st

It's always april's 1st somewhere 

[thm_w]

Could be the AIMO AMP x1 combined multimeter / calibrator, usually going around 200...250USD, but a knock-off can apparently be found for <10USD.

I may be completely wrong, though  . Also on some of the photos of the knock-off, the screen contens appears rather dodgy.

Cheers,
Thomas

Couldn't resist ordering one to try.. I would be surprised if even a knockoff can be built for $9 though (assuming it has the same functionality).
A lot of people ordered (180+) but no reviews as of yet.

edit: the numbers add up, $10 sell price * 20 = $200 (retail price).
edit2: the shipping thing should be a red herring, if the weight or size goes over a certain amount they might have it switch to DHL/etc. Can always make multiple purchases.

[Noy]

Could be... more than 2 rise the postage to >70€

For 10€ i will try...

[sleemanj]

Couldn't resist ordering one to try..

As per the YT video link i posted, at least make sure your antivirus is up to date!

[wilfred]

Couldn't resist ordering one to try..

As per the YT video link i posted, at least make sure your antivirus is up to date!

It could be a false positive.

I've just started another clearout phase. Hopefully this one's the final push.

I have enough multimeters. But that doesn't mean I didn't flirt with the thought for a few minutes.

[vk6zgo]

Too good to be true cheap, but it's true, I have one in my hand. Looks to be in spec, teardown looks ok.
[...]The same meter that's not "no name" sells for 20 times the price on ebay.

Hen or egg problem: is the high price justified by spec and market or the result of warranty costs. Wouldn´t be the first manufacturer that instead of fixing issues rather tries selling cheaper by the dozen (... without marking, so no established brand name's reputation in danger).

Otoh, in the wake of import bans/tariffs and such, this might just be the result of global politics, who knows. You could try to contact the manufacturer and ask.

Or even domestic regulations!

I recall how in the '70s, when the FCC ruled that 23 channel CB radios sold in the USA after a certain date would not be legal to use.
Manufacturers, who had expected a much more gradual transition, were stuck with huge inventories of 23 channel CBs, which they proceded to dump on other countries at "lollipop" prices.

 Countries like Australia where CB was not legal at all!
The place was awash with them, & combined with "CB" movies, it took the  "CB movement" in this country from a trickle to a flood.

I'm kinda perplexed what to do here

I know you got the experience in this regard, but nevertheless don´t forget importing and reselling in commercial volume bears risks. Market situation or specs aren´t everything, there is also product safety, support and longevity.

Should I release a "review" video on this no-name thing?

Why not, brand names are better keyword-wise, might be hard to build a reference people would search for in the future, so the more details the better.

[e0ne199]

let's hope dave's account is not compromised  aka hacked

[Nusa]

Or even domestic regulations!

I recall how in the '70s, when the FCC ruled that 23 channel CB radios sold in the USA after a certain date would not be legal to use.
Manufacturers, who had expected a much more gradual transition, were stuck with huge inventories of 23 channel CBs, which they proceded to dump on other countries at "lollipop" prices.

 Countries like Australia where CB was not legal at all!
The place was awash with them, & combined with "CB" movies, it took the  "CB movement" in this country from a trickle to a flood.

More importantly, they weren't allowed to be SOLD commercially in the USA after that date (USE regulations aren't enforceable at the user level, especially if units are identical to ones that are legal to use). In hindsight, they should have left off the "or marketed" part of the regulation so that current inventories could be depleted. On the plus side, it did get 40-channel units on the market quickly...someone made a lot of money from that decision.

"§ 95.603 Certification required. (c) Each CB transmitter (a transmitter that operates or is intended to operate at a station authorized in the CB) must be certificated. No CB transmitter certificated pursuant to an application filed prior to September 10, 1976, shall be manufactured or marketed."

[1anX]

Is this the meter Dave is on about?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000057162875.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.51.1496337fjw2MyT&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.128125.0&scm_id=1007.13338.128125.0&scm-url=1007.13338.128125.0&pvid=860e0327-a75f-4901-9de5-a87d2125b99f

[CatalinaWOW]

If it is I would be very worried by the fact that the pictures appear to show two very different LCD displays.  One with 5 digits and many annunciators.  Another with 4 larger digits and no obvious annunciators. 

[1anX]

If it is I would be very worried by the fact that the pictures appear to show two very different LCD displays.  One with 5 digits and many annunciators.  Another with 4 larger digits and no obvious annunciators.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000057162875.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.51.1496337fjw2MyT&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.128125.0&scm_id=1007.13338.128125.0&scm-url=1007.13338.128125.0&pvid=860e0327-a75f-4901-9de5-a87d2125b99f

It may be to do with measurement range selected?
Looks identical to the $US200.00 version and looking at specs its dimensions are also the same.
For $US9.70 delivered you are not exactly taking much of a risk.

[maginnovision]

The pictures with "readings" are poorly photoshopped.

[Mortymore]

The pictures with "readings" are poorly photoshopped.

Maybe they had to photoshop it later, because they didn't have 6 AAA batteries to power it on during photo session.   
The batteries may cost more than the meter.

[sleemanj]

Is this the meter Dave is on about?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000057162875.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.51.1496337fjw2MyT&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.128125.0&scm_id=1007.13338.128125.0&scm-url=1007.13338.128125.0&pvid=860e0327-a75f-4901-9de5-a87d2125b99f

That is the same meter as previously written in the thread, and reviewed by this friendly french fellow as I linked on page 1...



You don't need to speak french to see what's going on, this is in the video description

Les plus
- Emballage de qualité
- Cordons Ok

Les moins (éliminatoires !)
- Ne fonctionne pas de base
- Prise négative défectueuse
- Précision en mode géné très loin de celles annoncées
- Mesure capa basse valeurs erratique
- Virus dans le soft livré !

Which translates something like, good points: quality packaging, and the leads are OK, bad points: (I'm not sure what the first translates as, native french speaker please?), there was a defective socket (I think), the voltage output mode is terrible, the capacitance mode is erratic at low capacitance, and the the software had a virus.

[Psi]

Ok, I'll take a punt.
I just grabbed 2.

Hopefully the AMPX1 is actually what Dave is talking about, otherwise i just bought 2 rubbish meters and wasted $20.
Although, I guess i can use the probes, they looked quite good from the pics.

[Daixiwen]

What he meant in the first point was that it didn't work straight out of the box. He put the batteries in and nothing happened when he turned it on.
He then opened it and discovered that there are two contacts used to detect whether the back cover is on, and those contacts were bent. He put them back into place and the multimeter worked after that. He also shows a connector, I think for USB power, that wasn't plugged in.
It at least shows that they have a good quality control and test all units before shipping  You probably can't expect too much at this price

[Psi]

It sounds like someone got hold of like a shipping container of parts to make like 200 of the meters.
Maybe they was all intended to be destroyed due to end of line or whatever and instead they assembled and resold them.

[CDaniel]

From that video the calibrator is very inaccurate ... useless . The measuring part seems OK ,  but only 4000 counts and a few features , even for 10$ I wouldn't bother to collect this chinese crap

[all_repair]

It is cheap, but my shelf/bench space is not cheap.

[ebastler]

Seems a bit speculative to assume that Dave was referring to that meter/calibrator?
@Dave -- go ahead please and post details in the Supporters Lounge section!

[Noy]

It will be enough to say that we are false, if we are.

If it is the wrong meter it will be still a nice Christmas gift for this price. 

[Psi]

Apparently the probes are ok,  so worst case you got some probes for $8

[MadTux]

I get a "WTF is the price?!" quite often with used equipment.
Sometimes requires minor repairs or even sells as broken for like 2000% the acquisition price.

But with chinese crap, I usually regret every penny that I wasted, unless I buy it as throwaway item that gets trashed in the shop anyway, so I don't have to worry about my good gear destroyed.

[Kosmic]

Which translates something like, good points: quality packaging, and the leads are OK, bad points: (I'm not sure what the first translates as, native french speaker please?), there was a defective socket (I think), the voltage output mode is terrible, the capacitance mode is erratic at low capacitance, and the the software had a virus.

there was a defective socket (I think)

The pins from the battery compartment were bent and not making contact with the pad on the PCB. So when he received the meter it was just not powering on.

the voltage output mode is terrible

in meter mode the accuracy was fine. But in Process calibrator mode the output voltage was completely off. Definitely not 0.02%. Hopefully the device can be calibrated to meet it's specs 


The rest of your translation was accurate. Also don't forget that the guy paid 100 euros for the device not 8$ 

[shakalnokturn]

The Chinese stuff even new you'll often be spending time finishing or improving the design. Used equipment you may have the disappointment of it arriving defective when sold as working.
Now if you buy defective stuff cheap you're cutting risks and adding excitement.

As for our valued administrator, we all know how much he loves DSO's, he can't have that much cash to invest (who can claim to live off selling one model of DMM and broadcasting YouTube videos?) so it has to be  WTF  cheap, by the time he's got all the members intrigued enough to want one he'll be buying them and selling them here for four times the price.

Edit: I was wrong again...

[001]

What about soul traders?

[EEVblog]

he can't have that much cash to invest (who can claim to live off selling one model of DMM and broadcasting YouTube videos?)

You'd be surprised.

[AVGresponding]

Haha cue the mass EEVBlog invasion of Aliexpress...

Just ordered 2 myself, worth the risk for just over £12 

[BravoV]

Everything from the "House of Happiness" should make me happy, right ? 

[Kosmic]

Got mine from "My Cozy Life Store " 

[Noy]

ME TOO 

Had the most orders...

[ebastler]

Everything from the "House of Happiness" should make me happy, right ? 

Maybe the residents are the happy ones? ;-)

[BravoV]

Chaos theory, the butterfly effect in making ?

As Dave flaps, typhoon strikes Aliexpress ? 

[shakalnokturn]

As much as I respect Dave, the forum and the PRC, I'm not falling for this rush, I'll save that cash and the CO2 associated with this rush to get one and put it towards some oldies.

[Kilrah]

Les moins (éliminatoires !)
- Ne fonctionne pas de base
- Prise négative défectueuse
- Précision en mode géné très loin de celles annoncées
- Mesure capa basse valeurs erratique
- Virus dans le soft livré !

bad points: (I'm not sure what the first translates as, native french speaker please?)

- Doesn't work out of the box
- Faulty negative socket
- Precision in generator mode way below specs
- Errors in small cap measurements
- Virus in software

[TurboTom]

Les moins (éliminatoires !)
- Ne fonctionne pas de base
- Prise négative défectueuse
- Précision en mode géné très loin de celles annoncées
- Mesure capa basse valeurs erratique
- Virus dans le soft livré !

bad points: (I'm not sure what the first translates as, native french speaker please?)

- Doesn't work out of the box
- Faulty negative socket
- Precision in generator mode way below specs
- Errors in small cap measurements
- Virus in software

- Experience based on a single specimen 

[luma]

- Doesn't work out of the box
- Faulty negative socket
- Precision in generator mode way below specs
- Errors in small cap measurements
- Virus in software

It seems that the generator function is the core reason one buys a process calibrator in the first place.  If that doesn't work well... I can't see the point in buying this at any price.

[maginnovision]

I'm going to assume that can be fixed. Did he showcase that in the video and I missed it?

- Doesn't work out of the box
- Faulty negative socket
- Precision in generator mode way below specs
- Errors in small cap measurements
- Virus in software

It seems that the generator function is the core reason one buys a process calibrator in the first place.  If that doesn't work well... I can't see the point in buying this at any price.

[Kosmic]

I'm going to assume that can be fixed. Did he showcase that in the video and I missed it?

- Doesn't work out of the box
- Faulty negative socket
- Precision in generator mode way below specs
- Errors in small cap measurements
- Virus in software

It seems that the generator function is the core reason one buys a process calibrator in the first place.  If that doesn't work well... I can't see the point in buying this at any price.

Yes at 6:51 in the video.

https://youtu.be/nAa-OGt-DVU?t=430

[maginnovision]

Ah yep, I must have scrubbed passed it, but he didn't check 4-20 output which is pretty important. Either way I bet you can adjust those. If not, it might not be worth $8 unless you really want cheap(quality) probes or a cheap DMM.

[thm_w]

Yes at 6:51 in the video.

https://youtu.be/nAa-OGt-DVU?t=430

It reads:
- 0.957 at 1V (-4.3%)
- 2.886 at 3V (-3.8%)
- 4.774 at 5V (-4.5%)
- 9.545 at 10V (-4.6%)

So if it can be single point cal'd to -4.2%, worst case its out 0.4% (not sure if I calculated correctly)? Good but still nowhere near the claimed spec:

Calibrator
DCV Measure: 0 ~ 100mV, 0 ~ 10 V ±0.02%+2digit
DCV Source: 0 ~ 100mV, 0 ~ 10 V ±0.02%+2digit

If we are lucky there is a clear CAL button inside or documented routine that is easily executed. If unlucky, its undocumented and done purely in software, maybe onto an eeprom.
I don't think there would be many trimpots inside a meter of this "class", but I'm sure Dave will update us soon with a teardown.

[EEVblog]

Yes at 6:51 in the video.

https://youtu.be/nAa-OGt-DVU?t=430

It reads:
- 0.957 at 1V (-4.3%)
- 2.886 at 3V (-3.8%)
- 4.774 at 5V (-4.5%)
- 9.545 at 10V (-4.6%)

So if it can be single point cal'd to -4.2%, worst case its out 0.4% (not sure if I calculated correctly)? Good but still nowhere near the claimed spec:

Calibrator
DCV Measure: 0 ~ 100mV, 0 ~ 10 V ±0.02%+2digit
DCV Source: 0 ~ 100mV, 0 ~ 10 V ±0.02%+2digit

I can confirm that mine is bang on on all ranges, well within the 0.02%, let alone the +digits.

[Psi]

So the question is.
Is this whole thing a scam were someone in china..
1) makes 1000 crappy clone units that cost  $3 to make.
2) sticks them on AliExpress for $8
3) anoyomously leaks to Dave that they exist somehow
4) when they see an order from someone called Dave in Australia they send him a real $200 unit
5) wait for the order frenzy to begin and ship everyone else the $3 units
6) profit!

Note
I don't actually think this is what's happening because it looks like the official name has been scratched off the case. Meaning they came from the legit factory at some point.

I reckon they are old / reject stock.
Where some may have scratched cases but be fine otherwise  while others may have technical faults and be out of spec etc...

[all_repair]

Must be reject.  The meter is not listed on taobao, most of the other items of "my cozy lifestore" are.  The dropshippers on eBay and banggood shall sell these close to non-reject price, and make a huge margin.  After Dave saying his is good, I have loaded 3 myself. - hoping they can be fixed if they are not accurate.

[BravoV]

C'mon guys, don't be too overly serious, imo, this is becoming more like playing DMM's lottery. 

Its either you choose to play gamble, or not, thats it.

[EEVblog]

I reckon they are old / reject stock.
Where some may have scratched cases but be fine otherwise  while others may have technical faults and be out of spec etc...

Mine is 2015 stock, so it's most likely they are all 2015 stock and they made a ton of them and they didn't sell. Company goes under or whatever and they end up on pallets for $3 a pop. The Shenzen market stalls buy hundreds each and make their tidy little profit.
No idea how/why the name and number were scrapped off.

[CDaniel]

Ok , you can get that chinese calibrator cheap ... but you can trust it for calibrating equipment ? Some people have the equipment to check it , but it should be "bang on" without doubts for people that don't have ... this is the point for buying a calibrator , not to calibrate it yourself 

[maginnovision]

I have all the equipment here to check it. When I get it I'll do tests with expensive equipment to verify the 8$ process calibrator.

[all_repair]

Ok , you can get that chinese calibrator cheap ... but you can trust it for calibrating equipment ? Some people have the equipment to check it , but it should be "bang on" without doubts for people that don't have ... this is the point for buying a calibrator , not to calibrate it yourself 

This type of equipment is heavily used in plants/refineries to do troubleshooting by emulating sensor output, or to calibrate setup.  To save cost, a techincal capable plant shall just send one meter out to cal lab to calibrate, and use that as a reference to calibrate the rest of meters and calibrators.  It is a sizeable annual saving of money and time for them.  Beside the maintenance staff are not always fighting urgent work, and has enough spare hours to do these work.   If this $8 meter is cheap
good enough, it can also be deployed.

[Kjelt]

What is the voltage reference used for the 10V?
Is there a tear down coming?

[BravoV]

What is the voltage reference used for the 10V?
Is there a tear down coming?

With +5000 posts count, you haven't look harder enough. 

[Kjelt]

I saw the french video 
Although I had French for three years in high school 35 years ago, love the country and most of the people  ,  I can only speak it a little bit, and on normal speed can't understand it that much, esp tech talk unless it is originating from the english language, then the French mostly retranslate to their own language.

[BravoV]

I saw the french video 
Although I had French for three years in high school 35 years ago, love the country and most of the people  ,  I can only speak it a little bit, and on normal speed can't understand it that much, esp tech talk unless it is originating from the english language, then the French mostly retranslate to their own language.

No ... not that, with your posts count there (hint...hint...), its right in front of your face, try look harder. 

[Kjelt]

Got it thanks

[BravoV]

LOL, you just posted video that is not publicly listed by Dave ... yet. 

Guess the premelinary typhoon is coming. 

[Kjelt]

LOL, you just posted video that is not publicly listed by Dave ... yet. 

Guess the premelinary typhoon is coming. 

Oops removed it, thanks for the head up

[wilfred]

It doesn't matter because all the stores Dave linked to  are out of stock now.

[maginnovision]

One still appears to have about 1000. Just search mulitifuction. Can't be more than one hit, right?

[Psi]

I will be interested to see if they actually ship the 1000 or so orders that appeared in the last few days.
Or if all the sellers cancel the orders and relist at higher price.

[wilfred]

One still appears to have about 1000. Just search mulitifuction. Can't be more than one hit, right?

Oops. You're right. I missed that one. You can watch the stock going down by the minute. I hope Dave makes a nice little commission on the link referrals.

Still don't know why I need one. Two yes.

[Nusa]

I still suspect most, but not all, of the listings were mostly-automated drop shippers with no actual inventory, designed to make a few bucks on price differences. We will find out soon enough. Any that end up not being able to deliver will have to cancel.

[EEVblog]

Oops. You're right. I missed that one. You can watch the stock going down by the minute. I hope Dave makes a nice little commission on the link referrals.

About 60c a meter

[Kilrah]

I'm going to assume that can be fixed. Did he showcase that in the video and I missed it?

He showed the huge errors, but no way to fix them. The bad contacts obviously could be fixed.

Note that he paid 100€ for his, so very much normal he got pissed when the one interesting function is useless and the rest is barely as good as a $15 meter.
Could have been jsut a faulty unit, but it seems the seller didn't take care of him and didn't want to replace it.

[wilfred]

When I went back to check the stores Dave linked that reported no stock I noticed most only took fewer than a dozen orders. Is that all they had or is something afoot and the price is about to go up?

I decided AU$17 isn't too much to lose so I ordered one from Manbo Life Store. But Geez Louise Ali express doesn't make life easy for payments. I don't use it often and I ended up with 6 orders awaiting payment verification (which I cancelled) because the system failed on the check of the card expiry date.

I finally decided to try another computer just to be sure it wasn't a browser problem. It seems it was. There is something about my Linux Mint18.2/Firefox 69 setup that doesn't like Aliexpress.

Edit: Now this seller is reporting item no longer available. The stock dropped from 960 to about 900 before I saw this. I wonder if I'll get mine.

[EEVblog]

I'm going to assume that can be fixed. Did he showcase that in the video and I missed it?

He showed the huge errors, but no way to fix them. The bad contacts obviously could be.

I had some possible contact issues. Didn't looks further as it ultimately worked.

[Xenoamor]

Looks like someone is trying to cash in on it 

[Kilrah]

Everybody seems to, the well has emptied...

[001]

Ahahahah
WTF with display? You get what You pay, isnt it? 

[PA0PBZ]

Edit: Now this seller is reporting item no longer available. The stock dropped from 960 to about 900 before I saw this. I wonder if I'll get mine.

I ordered 2 from him about 4 hours ago, the page now shows '75 orders' so I guess the 1000 they all showed was the total pool 

[amspire]

Here are some more meters:

https://www.dhgate.com/product/2-in-1-digital-multimeter-high-accuracy-mulitifuction/486004131.html#s1-22-1b;srp|1987245471

[sleemanj]

I still suspect most, but not all, of the listings were mostly-automated drop shippers with no actual inventory, designed to make a few bucks on price differences. We will find out soon enough. Any that end up not being able to deliver will have to cancel.

More likely if they don't want/cant send it they will just give you some phoney tracking number, and in a couple months when the shipping times out you'll lodge a dispute with Ali and eventually get your money back.

I have *never* (in many hundreds of ali purchases) had a seller cancel a deal, it always just never arrives, tracking code never works, whatever, but they will always try it on because some people will forget about it and not lodge a dispute in time.

[wilfred]

Edit: Now this seller is reporting item no longer available. The stock dropped from 960 to about 900 before I saw this. I wonder if I'll get mine.

I ordered 2 from him about 4 hours ago, the page now shows '75 orders' so I guess the 1000 they all showed was the total pool 

That's a more generous take on it than I'd give them. I think they are exploiting the EEVblog effect. Dave all but came out and said this would happen. In fact he probably did say it.

Buy now ask questions later. Is the rule.

[Kosmic]

I'm going to assume that can be fixed. Did he showcase that in the video and I missed it?

He showed the huge errors, but no way to fix them. The bad contacts obviously could be fixed.

At the end of the video he is also saying that there's some trimmers on the board and he was suggesting it might be for calibration / adjustment.

I guess we will all know in couples of weeks 

[CDaniel]

That would be very very bad ... pots in a calibrator  . Even recent chinese 10-20$ multimeters ( Aneng for example ) don't have pots anymore .

[NoisyBoy]

I had one in my shopping cart for $6.20 shipping included yesterday, but end up abandoning the cart.  Already too many handheld DMM as is, definitely do not need to add a low quality unit to the mix as I will never use it.

[mnementh]

Edit: Now this seller is reporting item no longer available. The stock dropped from 960 to about 900 before I saw this. I wonder if I'll get mine.

I ordered 2 from him about 4 hours ago, the page now shows '75 orders' so I guess the 1000 they all showed was the total pool 

That's a more generous take on it than I'd give them. I think they are exploiting the EEVblog effect. Dave all but came out and said this would happen. In fact he probably did say it. Buy now ask questions later. Is the rule.

   Yup. Exactly so.

Bought mine on House of Happiness' 1st relisting of the product; they showed 1000 pieces in stock, 2 sold when I bought yesterday at like minutes before midnight Tejas time. It looks like they relisted a 2nd time after that, which was quickly shut down as OOS after just a few sales. We'll see if the fact I sprung the extra $2 for ePacket makes any difference. 

mnem
Lets hope I make it there before they do...

[Kosmic]

That would be very very bad ... pots in a calibrator  . Even recent chinese 10-20$ multimeters ( Aneng for example ) don't have pots anymore .

Trimmers are not necessarily a problem when they are good quality. A lot of metrological instruments have those adjustments. Companies started removing manual adjustments since they automate everything to lower production costs.

Personally I would prefer if the instrument can be manually adjusted.

[CDaniel]

Chinese pots couldn't be good quality  , anyway when you have precision laser trimmed resistors you don't want pots , that's old technology ( and cheaper ) .

[maginnovision]

This is just a process calibrator, it's not a real dc calibrator. .02% isn't going to be hard to get with trimmers even cheap ones. Based on the parts used though I doubt they're the cheapest things they could find.

[ebclr]

I bought 2 just to pick the LCD, IO hope they will ship, because of now all did an uptick one price, and it's quite  a lot

The party is over   

[Kosmic]

Chinese pots couldn't be good quality  , anyway when you have precision laser trimmed resistors you don't want pots , that's old technology ( and cheaper ) .

Custom laser trimmed resistor ? I don't think we are talking about the same 8$ Process Calibrator anymore 

[maginnovision]

Laser trimmed resistors you're not even talking the original 200$ anymore.

[1anX]

Dave's You Tube video linked below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=y3h02BDPMJw

Unsure how to embed video as youtube icon missing from selection 

[wilfred]

Dave's embedded the video in the blog thread for it.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1248-insane-a-0-02-process-meter-for-$9-wtf/

Of course the dreaded "$" embedded character in a URL bug strikes. Isn't about time you fixed this Dave?

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-1248-insane-a-0-02-process-meter-for-$9-wtf/

I think that if you embed a time to start playing in the URL then it doesn't show as embedded. Never tested this theory.

[Simon]

I just felt a bit meh about this one. As a multimiter it's just your everage $5 one but it cantains a very accurate voltage/current source which is nice but who has a need for that. the 0.02% is for the current/voltage source, not the multimeter.

[maginnovision]

People who work at disneyland taking care of machinery?

[Simon]

what machinery needs testing with a voltage/current source?

[Kjelt]

I just felt a bit meh about this one. As a multimiter it's just your everage $5 one but it cantains a very accurate voltage/current source which is nice but who has a need for that. the 0.02% is for the current/voltage source, not the multimeter.

Did you watch the video?
The 0.02% is for the 0-10V and 0-24mA ranges.
You can set these as input as well as output.
Anyway if a lot of eevbloggers bought one we probably will see some rebuilds and spinnoff projects which is always fun

[maginnovision]

You can test any 4-20ma device with it. Meter to verify current is going down the line, calibrator to test the response. Number 1 use case as far as I'm concerned. The voltage source... whatever.

[Kjelt]

what machinery needs testing with a voltage/current source?

All industrial, professional and machine applications that use sensors, 0-10V (isolators) inputs, current loops etc. My cnc router uses a couple, p&p machines use sensors etc

[Kjelt]

The thing is if you never do something like building lathes, mills, printers, p&p machines and the like you miss out on a lot of electronics.
I also came in contact quite late but there is a big world of electronics out there: NEC class2 protection modules, safety relais, motor drivers, cossin and quadrature encoders , tens of different proximity sensors, modbus, ethercat, profibus etcetc. A new interesting world 

[Simon]

Yes I am aware of the ranges of process sensors but disneyland maintenance would be testing these day to day?

[maginnovision]

Yes. Check all shift long. LOTS of equipment so even when things rarely go wrong, it's only rare for a single piece of equipment, not the park.

[Simon]

Well it would appear that all of Daves viewers work at disneyland.

[maginnovision]

Hahaha.

[Nusa]

It's actually been over a decade since I've been to Disneyland, and it's only 100 miles from me. But if you've ever seen the place, it's easy to imagine the many thousands of sensors and actuators associated with all those rides and displays that need periodic checking, many of them safety-related.

[Kjelt]

Disneyland? Tens of billions € profit a year industry , but sleep well english friend we will keep on building them here while you visit Disneyland 

[Kjelt]

It's actually been over a decade since I've been to Disneyland, and it's only 100 miles from me. But if you've ever seen the place, it's easy to imagine the many thousands of sensors and actuators associated with all those rides and displays that need periodic checking, many of them safety-related.

Not that you would get a away with a $8 chinese meter but that aside 

[Kjelt]

Weird, in most industries where lifes are not even at stake you need to periodically calibrate all equipment.
So yeah if they are in spec they could be used I guess.

[maginnovision]

Yea. At least Rockwell metrology would calibrate your gear in house, Boeing would send it out. Maybe it's just times changing. 

[1anX]

what machinery needs testing with a voltage/current source?

Industry runs on PLC's and robotics, so 4-20mA and 0-10V inputs are pretty standard and essential for control.
Its really not the hobbyist realm, but it is the realm of electrical/electronic tech and there are lots employed that use this type of equipment to set up automated machinery everywhere.

[EEVblog]

There is now the main video thread for this topic.