I've reviewed the Megger AVO835, this feels like it fell under the radar.

[Perrin21]

I think you do yourself down.  your channel like daves is fun to watch and whilst it isn't to a particular rating standard or not isn't relevant if you are doing the same tests to all and some survive whilst others don't.  it certainly helped me change my mind from the Yokogawa to the Brymen. I hope you keep it up.

I'm not putting myself down.  The internet is filled with fantasy.  Handheld DMMs to me in many cases appear to have cult like followings based on religious beliefs.       Using the transient generators to benchmark the meters removes all that bull shit.  The transient generators don't care what meter is connected to them.  The meters are on a level playing field. 
   
If I misrepresent the testing I have shown, it helps no one.  People who propagate misinformation are also not helping.  I suspect this isn't because they are trying to puff themselves up as some sort of expert in safety but rather more than likely they are just ignorant about what the actual safety tests involve.   Sadly, today we have Google and most of the information is a mouse click away but it seems we don't always utilize it.   

20 Joules is hardly enough energy to do a lot of damage, even when a meter fails.  You will never see the cases coming apart like Fluke will show in some of their safety videos.   Again, it's wasn't my goal.   

I agree, and i wouldn't want to misrepresent any meter or other item i review.  If i was even asked to be overly enthusiastic about something id refuse to review it.  my credibility matters more to me than that.  Any views expressed are my own, people are free to agree or disagree with them but ive shared them. 

[Perrin21]

I would have liked to have seen the switch contacts.  Hard to say how it would hold up to my tests.   At least it looks like it has potential.   It looks like they are using the 5mm PTCs but also increased what is normally a 1K resistor to a 2K.   What I normally see with the 5mm parts is they will break down which will setup a chain reaction, but these may hold up.   Hard to say if it would survive to the same levels as the Flukes, Brymens, HIOKI and Gossen.   Then again, the normal defense of the buyer is "I don't do anything with high voltages"   

Hi Joe, i did try to remove the switch cover but as it didn't come off easily i did not want to break the switch altogether.  I also don't have the equipment you have access to to test the way you do.  I would love to see you test one of these to destruction to see how well it holds up.  I suspect it will do as well or better than the Brymen but only testing will answer that.  You could always ask Megger to send you one for that purpose of course.

Odd, you normally just press the two tabs together and it slides right out.  From there we could have seen some nice closeups of the wiper contacts and pads. 

I became interested in testing the meters because of people posting complete BS, grounded in religion rather than data.   Some meters that I would think would hold up really well have performed poorly.  It's rare it goes the other way.  I wouldn't have thought that cheap little $50 Fluke would take the abuse I have exposed it to.   Had to eat some crow on that one.  Actually on the Fluke brand in general.   

A company would really have to know their product and stand behind it before they would hand one over for public testing.  Basically, telling a company you are going to expose their product to ever increasing transients until it fails to benchmark it against their competitors, I doubt you will find many takers.  Especially when you tell them the data will be made public.    I've seen that level of confidence with Brymen which with as many of their products that I looked at, I can understand that confidence is not misplaced.               

As we have seen, the layout plays an important part in getting the meter to survive.   I keep thinking about that UNI-T UT181A as the best example I have seen.   All the right parts, a pretty nice meter but it's life was cut short because of a layout.     The small PTCs seldom survive.  You won't find them used in the more robust meters I have looked at.   

What we're your thoughts on the traces from the pictures you asked for that I posted up?

[joeqsmith]

What we're your thoughts on the traces from the pictures you asked for that I posted up?

No comment on the traces.  The switch pads look alright.  They appear to be dry, not that there is anything wrong with that.  The best meter I have ran to date was the Fluke 17B+ which had dry contacts as well.   IMO the wear or life of the switch would just need to be tested.  That brand new 87V I ran chattered really bad and the stupid Keysight meter's detent spring cracked all four prongs after only a few thousand cycles.  Not what I would expect from name brands.  Then again, the cheap meters I have looked at were ground to dust.  In some cases, the wiper contacts wore through and then they started to cut into the PCB.   On your meter, at least they didn't place the vias in the middle of the pads where the wiper contacts ride.  Your meter appears to use wiper contacts like I have seen in several low cost meters.   

When I spoke with Brymen about running this test on their BM869s, the explained how they run a similar test as part of their process.  They shared with me some video clips of their test jigs which they allowed me to include in my video.    The were very confident the meter would fair well even though I was running it for more cycles.    I did crack one of the wiper springs our of the 8 or so in the meter.  I sent them the pictures but they had never seen that.  Other than that, the meter held up very well and is still in use today.  That's after abusing the meter in several other tests. 

Now that you have a contact, you should ask them what they think about these tests I ran and how they feel their product would hold up against them.

[Perrin21]

What we're your thoughts on the traces from the pictures you asked for that I posted up?

No comment on the traces.  The switch pads look alright.  They appear to be dry, not that there is anything wrong with that.  The best meter I have ran to date was the Fluke 17B+ which had dry contacts as well.   IMO the wear or life of the switch would just need to be tested.  That brand new 87V I ran chattered really bad and the stupid Keysight meter's detent spring cracked all four prongs after only a few thousand cycles.  Not what I would expect from name brands.  Then again, the cheap meters I have looked at were ground to dust.  In some cases, the wiper contacts wore through and then they started to cut into the PCB.   On your meter, at least they didn't place the vias in the middle of the pads where the wiper contacts ride.  Your meter appears to use wiper contacts like I have seen in several low cost meters.   

When I spoke with Brymen about running this test on their BM869s, the explained how they run a similar test as part of their process.  They shared with me some video clips of their test jigs which they allowed me to include in my video.    The were very confident the meter would fair well even though I was running it for more cycles.    I did crack one of the wiper springs our of the 8 or so in the meter.  I sent them the pictures but they had never seen that.  Other than that, the meter held up very well and is still in use today.  That's after abusing the meter in several other tests. 

Now that you have a contact, you should ask them what they think about these tests I ran and how they feel their product would hold up against them.

I mentioned your tests a day or so ago and they said they have confidence in the product but that for a company like megger the AVO835 is one of the lowest price product they sell and it is a tiny part of the overall business.  I know they have the equipment on site to test their claims in full, they should know what they are doing.  A quick search online shows what I mean. I'd be very dissapointed if they couldn't make a safe and durable multimeter

[joeqsmith]

I mentioned your tests a day or so ago and they said they have confidence in the product but that for a company like megger the AVO835 is one of the lowest price product they sell and it is a tiny part of the overall business.  I know they have the equipment on site to test their claims in full, they should know what they are doing.  A quick search online shows what I mean. I'd be very dissapointed if they couldn't make a safe and durable multimeter

Brymen never told me the BM239 is one of our lowest price products so go easy on it.     I doubt many people felt I went easy on it.     I put one of their rebranded pocket meters to hell and back after a member here had posted about damaging several of them.  Sadly they never did post again.   That meter is still fine, even after sitting outside over the entire fall and winter.   Well, inside a zip lock bag to keep the water off it.   

[Perrin21]

I mentioned your tests a day or so ago and they said they have confidence in the product but that for a company like megger the AVO835 is one of the lowest price product they sell and it is a tiny part of the overall business.  I know they have the equipment on site to test their claims in full, they should know what they are doing.  A quick search online shows what I mean. I'd be very dissapointed if they couldn't make a safe and durable multimeter

Brymen never told me the BM239 is one of our lowest price products so go easy on it.     I doubt many people felt I went easy on it.     I put one of their rebranded pocket meters to hell and back after a member here had posted about damaging several of them.  Sadly they never did post again.   That meter is still fine, even after sitting outside over the entire fall and winter.   Well, inside a zip lock bag to keep the water off it.

Megger never asked me to go easy on it, I'm just not sure it matters to them how many they sell or don't sell as they have more profitable and more expensive products.  if you Tested one I think you would be happy with it but I don't know how well it will stand up to your testing until you test it.  I expect it would do well but who knows? that's why you test   I like it, there's things the Brymen does better but the Brymen doesn't auto hold properly.  neither are perfect.  I still Consider £230 a budget/mid range product but for many that's their top budget. its a qtr what someone would pay for a phone these days lol. As a complete package the 869s is the one I'd buy myself (and have) but that doesn't mean the Megger is bad in any way, its a top branded product with quality to match. I think I showed its shortcomings in my video when I dressed it in the Brymen case and used the Brymen Probes. The board layouts, Soldering and design look a decade apart though between the two products.

[CDaniel]

For that money you better buy an used Fluke 187 - 189 , a top meter for electronics . Why would someone buy an electrician's meter with less features and much lower specs And is not proven that Megger multimeters are top quality since it's not their main business ... as you repeted yourself many times .

[joeqsmith]

Megger never asked me to go easy on it, I'm just not sure it matters to them how many they sell or don't sell as they have more profitable and more expensive products.  if you Tested one I think you would be happy with it but I don't know how well it will stand up to your testing until you test it.  I expect it would do well but who knows? that's why you test   I like it, there's things the Brymen does better but the Brymen doesn't auto hold properly.  neither are perfect.  I still Consider £230 a budget/mid range product but for many that's their top budget. its a qtr what someone would pay for a phone these days lol. As a complete package the 869s is the one I'd buy myself (and have) but that doesn't mean the Megger is bad in any way, its a top branded product with quality to match. I think I showed its shortcomings in my video when I dressed it in the Brymen case and used the Brymen Probes. The board layouts, Soldering and design look a decade apart though between the two products.

Sorry, I don't watch very many reviews.  I find the background music a distraction and as soon as you started begging for subscribers I skipped to the few minutes you had it apart.   So if you were playing dress up, I missed it.  If you went to that detail,  I assume you also show some useful things like hooking it to and RC and battery to show that lame bargraph update rate.  I just checked the manual and it appears they still don't mention it. 
 
I tested the meters out of my own personal curiosity and stopped when I lost interest.   Running a series of test now takes a fair bit of time which I donate to the community.  The only reason I would look at a meter now is if it was unique in some way that sparked my interest.

At some point, I keep hoping UEI will release a version of Dave's 121 that corrects the PCB for the shim and other changes they have bodged.  I figured a year but we are coming up on two and there has been very little mention of it.    I would also like to run his pocket meter of choice and see how it fairs against that Brymen pocket meter.   I doubt UNI-T will improve the UT181A but I would run that if they produce it.   

Your meter is not readily available in the USA and doesn't appear to be popular with hobbyist.   At $300, I would hands down take the BM869s.   The again, this is the "EEVblog Electronics Community Forum ".

[joeqsmith]

For that money you better buy an used Fluke 187 - 189 , a top meter for electronics . Why would someone buy an electrician's meter with less features and much lower specs And is not proven that Megger multimeters are top quality since it's not their main business ... as you repeted yourself many times .

      

[Perrin21]

Megger never asked me to go easy on it, I'm just not sure it matters to them how many they sell or don't sell as they have more profitable and more expensive products.  if you Tested one I think you would be happy with it but I don't know how well it will stand up to your testing until you test it.  I expect it would do well but who knows? that's why you test   I like it, there's things the Brymen does better but the Brymen doesn't auto hold properly.  neither are perfect.  I still Consider £230 a budget/mid range product but for many that's their top budget. its a qtr what someone would pay for a phone these days lol. As a complete package the 869s is the one I'd buy myself (and have) but that doesn't mean the Megger is bad in any way, its a top branded product with quality to match. I think I showed its shortcomings in my video when I dressed it in the Brymen case and used the Brymen Probes. The board layouts, Soldering and design look a decade apart though between the two products.

Sorry, I don't watch very many reviews.  I find the background music a distraction and as soon as you started begging for subscribers I skipped to the few minutes you had it apart.   So if you were playing dress up, I missed it.  If you went to that detail,  I assume you also show some useful things like hooking it to and RC and battery to show that lame bargraph update rate.  I just checked the manual and it appears they still don't mention it. 
 
I tested the meters out of my own personal curiosity and stopped when I lost interest.   Running a series of test now takes a fair bit of time which I donate to the community.  The only reason I would look at a meter now is if it was unique in some way that sparked my interest.

At some point, I keep hoping UEI will release a version of Dave's 121 that corrects the PCB for the shim and other changes they have bodged.  I figured a year but we are coming up on two and there has been very little mention of it.    I would also like to run his pocket meter of choice and see how it fairs against that Brymen pocket meter.   I doubt UNI-T will improve the UT181A but I would run that if they produce it.   

Your meter is not readily available in the USA and doesn't appear to be popular with hobbyist.   At $300, I would hands down take the BM869s.   The again, this is the "EEVblog Electronics Community Forum ".

I'm sorry you didn't like the way I made the review, it was my first multimeter video.  You refer to it as my meter, did you not see my Brymen 869S in the video? ironically I bought that after watching your review of it.  Yes the Brymen is in many ways the superior meter for features and on paper, however I still keep finding myself reaching for the Megger and I have both sitting on the side.  Maybe it's a usability thing or I just prefer the display.  I'd guess 80% of the people with a meter don't use 80% of its features anyway and just stick to one or two with their business. 

[blacksheeplogic]

Yes the Brymen is in many ways the superior meter for features and on paper, however I still keep finding myself reaching for the Megger and I have both sitting on the side.  Maybe it's a usability thing or I just prefer the display.  I'd guess 80% of the people with a meter don't use 80% of its features anyway and just stick to one or two with their business.

I have a MIT485 and I'm very happy with it. BUT, this forum is largely targeted towards electronics where Megger has not been a major player. There's nothing compelling about this meter at the price point and it is not seen as good value. Outside of the electrical trades Megger is relatively unknown compared to say Fluke and apart from your 'I like this meter' I'm not seeing a reason why I would buy this over another. Maybe compare it with the Bryman you have, and a Fluke 87 and differentiate it to me in a compelling manner that's non-emotive, i.e. what specifically would make me chose this meter over my 87?

[joeqsmith]

I'm sorry you didn't like the way I made the review, it was my first multimeter video.  You refer to it as my meter, did you not see my Brymen 869S in the video? ironically I bought that after watching your review of it.  Yes the Brymen is in many ways the superior meter for features and on paper, however I still keep finding myself reaching for the Megger and I have both sitting on the side.  Maybe it's a usability thing or I just prefer the display.  I'd guess 80% of the people with a meter don't use 80% of its features anyway and just stick to one or two with their business.

I'm not sure why you would be sorry.   You should make content the way you want to.  If I watch a video, its for technical content or entertainment.  I only watched the opening and the partial tear down.   I have seen you mention owning a Brymen.  It's not rare so I don't get real surprised if someone owns one.     

Personally, I have nothing to gain from what brands of meters people buy.  If you like the Megger over every other meter out there, it really doesn't matter to me.     I do keep a lookout for a better meter to replace my Brymen but it may be a while.  Maybe when UEI finishes up Dave's meter.   

****

Actually, I pulled that thing out the other day for the HV diode check feature.   I would like to see a feature like that in the Brymen if it did not cause the design to be any less robust. 

[Apofview]

Its a little old thread, but dont like oppening new topic for the same DMM.
Tested device few days in field with 24, 48 and 110 VDC and in for tracing signals feel kinda laggy, almost unusable.
Sent email to factory, asking for firmware update, will see ...

[bc888]

Perrin21, that is an excellent video. First time? Wow, good work. I could have done without the filler music which works great when it's some chinese person who can 't speak english so is using subtitles in english and not speaking at all, but the video is still first rate. I really appreciate you sharing it.  What did Megger say when you told them you tossed the probes in the rubbish bin (2;50 in) ?