Which multimeter (considering UNI-T 171B vs 171C)

[grumpydoc]

The age old question.

I've not needed to buy a new hand held multimeter for a while so I am out of touch with the state of the art. However I have a property in France and the venerable UT61E that I keep there has finally succumbed to the fact that it's a bit damp and has started to give erratic readings so I'm looking to replace it.

I'm looking for something which is OK for electronics and electrical work (as I'm sure everyone is). It doesn't need to be up to higher than 230V three-phase but ideally should not blow up in my hand if use in a domestic environment (I realise that the 61E might not actually have met this standard).

The UT-171B (or perhaps C) looks a good fit, I can get the 171B ex stock in the UK for ~£155 (plus postage) [approx $200], the 171C perhaps £10 more.

Is there anything else in this price bracket I should be considering (should be readily available in the UK, not everything is)

The 171C looks interesting though with the OLED display but lacks true RMS which is a definite negative point and I'm assuming battery life takes a hit.

Thoughts welcome.

[Kean]

How about the EEVblog (Brymen) BM786

UK seller https://simonselectronics.co.uk/product/bm786-eevblog/

[grumpydoc]

Worthy of a look certainly - in fact I'd searched for Brymen meters including the EEVBlog ones in Europe but did not find any stockists at sensible prices.

i don't think the 876 has a USB/data logging interface though which would be useful as I'm pretty certain my mains supply is dropping out of spec well before I draw the 60A that I'm supposed to be able to pull - which is upsetting some equipment notably my induction hob and I'd like concrete proof before complaining.

[Fungus]

Get Brymen meters in Europe at www.brymen.eu or www.welectron.com

[u666sa]

Neither. 
Uni-T is bad firm, avoid all their products.

This is UT-61E+ user telling you. I wanted to add bluetooth to it, so I bought the dongle only to find out that it does not work. I spend two days figuring out how to make it work, and now it somewhat works, but guess what, there is no software to support it.

There is some guy on these forums that wrote software to support it, but he says he made hundreds of videos and won't give link to download it. There is another guy who started writing his own software in python.

That's right there is UNI-T. 


I have another meter from Owon, no problem with that. Avoid Uni-T just like Fnirsi, IHMO
Just some bad hardware wrapped in pretty body and beautiful advertising
But when it comes down to it
it's just not worth the money

[sonpul]

The 171C looks interesting though with the OLED display but lacks true RMS which is a definite negative point and I'm assuming battery life takes a hit.

Uni-T UT171C has TrueRMS and even measures AC+DC, unlike UT61+ in which this measurement is a sham.
But I would really pay attention to the Brymen BM789/786, even despite the lack of connection to a PC.

[RogerG]

The UT161E is way better protected than UT61E and UT61E+. It has ETL Approval and fuses for high current interruption.

BT data logging isn't important for me, but the rest of the UT161E is really fine. The only thing I'm missing is the range between 220mA and 20A. UT161B and UT161D are better in this aspect.

OLED is something I don't like for long term used equipment because it dims after a while and can show burn in effects.

[Fungus]

But I would really pay attention to the Brymen BM789/786, even despite the lack of connection to a PC.

Why? They make plenty of similarly specced meters that DO have a PC connection.

[grumpydoc]

Uni-T UT171C has TrueRMS

Not according to the UNI-T website.

OLED is something I don't like for long term used equipment because it dims after a while and can show burn in effects.

Fair comment.

[csuhi17]

Uni-T UT171C has TrueRMS

Not according to the UNI-T website.

yes in the downloadable datasheet.

[J-R]

Brymen BM257s?

[grumpydoc]

yes in the downloadable datasheet.

Nice to be consistent

[grumpydoc]

Brymen BM257s?

Of the Brymens the 867 looks like it might be the best. Annoying that you have to get the USB adapter separately though.

[Fungus]

Brymen BM257s?

Of the Brymens the 867 looks like it might be the best. Annoying that you have to get the USB adapter separately though.

I like my 857s for simplicity on the dial and display ("KISS" principle). Most functions have their own dial position, only one is shared (Ohms/continuity).

Also smaller than the 867s - the 867s is huge!

[grumpydoc]

Also smaller than the 867s - the 867s is huge!

Hmmm, the 171B was already as big as I wanted to go.

[coromonadalix]

oled   for sure it's a no no   what ever the brand / model

the ut-16xx  series   seems better build and specced ....   my 2 cents,  but i dont own them

for the serial / ir interfaces / bluetooth

there is some bluetooth enabled ones  in the owon series if i recall,  but as for safety    

and  eevblog members for some brands,   built usb interfaces for them at very low prices .. ftdi chip, some ir leds ... low cost

you have some websites who reviews many meters, here too and still here you have some meters list / compare ...

[Fungus]

Also smaller than the 867s - the 867s is huge!

Hmmm, the 171B was already as big as I wanted to go.

Size comparison, 857s on top, 867s below:

[J-R]

I frequently recommend the Brymen BM869s for the dual display and feature set, but the cost is about double the BM257s, so I suggested that initially.

There are the BM839s and BM867s in the middle of those two.

Ultimately, Brymen is a popular suggestion and there are quite a few models to choose from depending on your budget and desired functions.

[Fungus]

What do you need dual display for?

How often do you actually use it?

(to me it's just permanent screen clutter for a feature I never use)

[grumpydoc]

857s looks nice

Not easy to find in UK though and over £200 with the USB adapter. Hmmm 

[coromonadalix]

and their prices have gone way up   

check for some amprobes,  Mastech  and others  based on the same 500,000 counts option chipsets

the mastech  become very bulky  on the biggest models / options / features

[Fungus]

Wow, I hadn't noticed the USB adapters have shot up in price!

Is it just my memory or did they used to cost about 15 Euros...?

[J-R]

There are different versions of the Brymen USB adapters, which can impact the price slightly.  But I don't think they were ever 15 Euro.  I paid 33.53 Euro for the BU-86X back in 2019 and it's still that price today (Welectron).

[Fungus]

Yeah, you're right, I must be getting old...

I checked with the wayback machine, here's  December 2020:


Before that there's no price, it says "inquire about this product..."