Mastech MS-8233E, MS-8240D and MS-8250C

[tlu]

The MS-8240D resembles the Amprobe AM-270 in my opinion. Very much similar in the physical layout.

[iloveelectronics]

The MS-8240D resembles the Amprobe AM-270 in my opinion. Very much similar in the physical layout.

But the Amprobe should be a rebadged Brymen 817a, with a modified housing. Lower counts but much better internal build quality than any Mastech.

[tlu]

Thanks for the info. Nice to know.... Great reviews of these DMM...

[Wytnucls]

Wow, Mastech really went to town with the beefy fuses! They should be commended for that.
I don't understand the input protection on the volt range though. The usual layout is to first have a PTC in series at the jack, then a MOV or GDT (Spark Gap) in support behind it, to give the PTC enough time to clamp the voltage.
I don't think a tiny gas discharge tube, right across the input jacks, will do the job, but I'll let the experts decide on that.
There is a PTC in the middle of the board, but one would have to follow the traces to see what it actually protects.
Still not impressed with the wire connections to the PCBs (USB and piezo speaker), but they look neater than on the baby Mastech.
I'm not fond of the overall industrial look of the case, but that is just personal taste.
At that price point, I think it should have an aural warning on the amp jacks, to avoid mishandling of voltage measurement.
Overall, not a bad meter, but your reported questionable sturdiness of the case would be a deal breaker for me.
Apart fom the Uni-T 61E, what would be the other worthy competitors in that $80.00 price range, with a 20,000 count?

[chickenHeadKnob]

The MS-8240D resembles the Amprobe AM-270 in my opinion. Very much similar in the physical layout.

But the Amprobe should be a rebadged Brymen 817a, with a modified housing. Lower counts but much better internal build quality than any Mastech.

Hello Iloveelectronics, I don't want to thread hi-jack but could you source me a Brymen 867 or 869 at a decent price? These are only sold in Canada (and only the 869) rebadged as greenlee  with 100% or more markup. Pisses me off.

[Wytnucls]

Hello Iloveelectronics, I don't want to thread hi-jack but could you source me a Brymen 867 or 869 at a decent price? These are only sold in Canada (and only the 869) rebadged as greenlee  with 100% or more markup. Pisses me off.

This one?:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brymen-BM867-50-000-500-000-count-Digital-Multimeter-Fluke-87V-alternative-/200843831633?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec339a951

[iloveelectronics]

Hello Iloveelectronics, I don't want to thread hi-jack but could you source me a Brymen 867 or 869 at a decent price? These are only sold in Canada (and only the 869) rebadged as greenlee  with 100% or more markup. Pisses me off.

Not sure about your idea of "decent price" but I have one last Brymen BM867 for sale in my eBay store. I can give you a $20 discount if you trust me enough to deal outside of eBay because I can save the eBay fees that way. The price already includes standard air mail shipping fee. I can offer other forms of shipping but there will be extra costs involved.

Link to my eBay store is in my signature.

[chickenHeadKnob]

Not sure about your idea of "decent price" but I have one last Brymen BM867 for sale in my eBay store. I can give you a $20 discount if you trust me enough to deal outside of eBay because I can save the eBay fees that way. The price already includes standard air mail shipping fee. I can offer other forms of shipping but there will be extra costs involved.

Link to my eBay store is in my signature.

I think I looked at your ebay site some time in the past but missed seeing the 867, my ebay search-fu is crappy though 

The price is quite a bit more than tme in poland 130 euro for 867, 183 euro for 869 but ordering from europe is a hassle for  a canadian. I will have to think about it.

best regards

[iloveelectronics]

I think I looked at your ebay site some time in the past but missed seeing the 867, my ebay search-fu is crappy though 

The price is quite a bit more than tme in poland 130 euro for 867, 183 euro for 869 but ordering from europe is a hassle for  a canadian. I will have to think about it.

best regards

I understand it's isn't cheap but unfortunately that's the best price I can offer without losing money. I'm basically selling it at cost (and I guess my cost was a bit too high).

[Wytnucls]

Well, the only other 20,000 count meter I could find in that price range is the Uni-T UT-71A. So it might be worthwhile having a look at that one, if you can't find the Mastech at a reasonable price.

[iloveelectronics]

Well, the only other 20,000 count meter I could find in that price range is the Uni-T UT-71A. So it might be worthwhile having a look at that one, if you can't find the Mastech at a reasonable price.

The UT71 series of meters seem to have a rather mixed reviews from comments I've read before, especially in regards to its internal build quality/input protection. Let me research more and see if it's worth taking a closer look at. Thanks for pointing it out.

[Wytnucls]

I really think its tepid reputation is undeserved.
I have two of them and they behave as advertised.
Of course, the input protection is flimsy, but the requirement for beefy fuses is quite recent. Before, if the FF (very fast blow) glass fuses ruptured cleanly, with no potential injury to the user, it basically passed the test.
In many ways, the protection is not worse than the UT-61, which has cheap ceramic fuses, not intended for multimeters, rated as medium/fast by the manufacturer.
Uni-T really offers a fantastic package at a low price, with the 71 range.
The meter is sturdy, offers USB connectivity as standard and does true RMS AC+DC measurement; but the glorious feature is the LCD screen. Multi-data display with high contrast and stunning backlight, which is only challenged by the Agilent OLED screen.
It has a decent Cyrustek ADC, which can go up to 400,000 counts if paired with a 10 MHz crystal. It is also equipped with the same low power microcontroller as the expensive Flukes (Texas Instruments).
I wish someone qualified would do a proper review of the 71 range, because I feel people are missing out on a true gem here.

[Monkeh]

In many ways, the protection is not worse than the UT-61, which has cheap ceramic fuses, not intended for multimeters, rated as medium/fast by the manufacturer.

I assure you, BS1362 fuses are vastly more suitable than glass fuses for multimeter usage. Unlike a glass fuse, they will contain 6kA faults.

[Wytnucls]

Ideally, you want a fast blow HRC fuse in a multimeter. The BS1362 doesn't qualify with 6kA, otherwise it would be used in all multimeters, being so cheap. Is a fast medium BS1362 better than a very fast glass fuse? Probably, but the glass fuse will open at 100A in 40ms. So there may not be much damage in the meter afterall.
I was thinking about the overall protection anyway. The 71 has an aural warning on the whole range of meters, to warn of dangerous probe connection to the A/mA jacks, while measuring voltage.
The latest safety regulations do require HRC fuses, so let's see what Uni-T will come up with in the next batch of meters.

[Monkeh]

Ideally, you want a fast blow HRC fuse in a multimeter. The BS1362 doesn't qualify with 6kA, otherwise it would be used in all multimeters, being so cheap.

It doesn't qualify for a whole host of reasons as a fuse for a high-end multimeter. It's still worlds ahead of glass fuses and adequate for usage on ELV DC or domestic LV AC.

Probably, but the glass fuse will open at 100A in 40ms. So there may not be much damage in the meter afterall.

And at 2kA 250VAC, it will 'open', shatter, and let the arc run rampent inside the meter. A BS1362 will open faster than 40ms with that sort of current, too.

[Monkeh]

Ah, and here comes the pot.

[Lightages]

I see this latest exchange as being an intrusion on the topic, Mastech meters. There are threads for discussing the other meters mentioned here, and for CAT ratings. Why don't we leave this thread for its owner's intention and not hijack?

[T4P]

Not impressed by the board on the 8233. Lay-out is very confused. Floating watch crystal. 205 ceramic fuses, but are there fast blow (FF)?
Also, the spark gap was left out, even though the footprint is on the PCB. Mastech didn't even try to secure those connecting wires properly. I know it is a cheap meter, but they should be ashamed to sell something put together in this fashion.
How does this meter compare to the Extech MN36, EX320 or the VC99, selling for about the same price?

Right ... the MS8233B does not sell for the same price, it goes for only 15$

[Wytnucls]

The MS8233E sells for USD 26.00 on line, in Europe. Perhaps you have a better source for these meters.
The Extechs are more expensive at about USD 40.00.

http://www.electronic-shop.lu/EN/category/5852
http://www.ebay.com/itm/new-VC99-3-6-7-Auto-range-digital-multimeter-with-bag-/280732106486?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415ceffef6

[T4P]

Whoops, i mean shops in china

[neel]

Hello there,

The MS-8250C is catching my attention.

I'm looking after an entry range meter (50€ price range).
I'm not going to do high energy work so I'm not concerned by poor input protection.

At the very top of my priority list is the update speed for both the autorange and the measure reading. Autorange is a nice feature I'd like to have, but when it is slow the feature becomes an annoyance (personal opinion) hence why this MS-8250C is catching my attention. Though I'm wondering about how fast it is, as "lightning fast" can differ from one person to another. Also what about the measure update speed ? Is it 2 or 3 per second like most meters in this price range or is it better too ?

So how does this MS-8250C compares to the Agilent U1272A for exemple, or the UNI-T UT71D in "fast reading" mode (hold blue button at powering on, drops count but updates becomes almost as fast as the Agilent) ? You can see their speed in this review.

So does the MS-8250C compete with those in the autorange speed area only or in the reading update speed too ? It would be very nice if you could make a short video showing the MS-8250C autoranging speed and reading refresh speed.

[ales22]

MS-8250C

Cons:
2. Defaults to AC on all voltage and current ranges.

This can be hacked with one transistor and two resistors. Let me know if you are interested in more details.

[neel]

Just found the answer to my question in another thread so I'll copy-paste here as it is the main thread for this meter:

Just checked the MS8250D manual again. It says digital display is updated 2.5 times per second, but I timed 85 updates in a 30 second period, which is close to 3 times/sec, in V, R and AC current ranges. DC Current measurement is only undated once per second. Analog display is claimed to be updated 25 times per second, I don't know how to verify but it looks smooth enough for me.

So it seems acceptable. I'd still be interested in a short video to have a better idea though.
Also I guess you won't find anything faster (reading refresh rate) in this price range (?). Otherwise let me know !

@ales22 I'd be interested into this hack indeed.

edit: @iloveelectronics I guess MS8250D is a typo and you meant C ? (Mastech website doesn't mention any D version of the MS8250)

[retiredcaps]

The MS-8250C uses the Cyrustek ES51968 like chip as per post #11.  According to the datasheet,

http://www.cyrustek.com.tw/spec/ES51968.pdf

the ADC conversion rate is 2.8 times/sec and bargraph is 28 times/sec.

[neel]

Thank you.

I would have liked something faster of course but I guess I will have to deal with that as to have a step above in speed it seems you have to put twice the price you can get this Mastech on ebay (Brymen BM811A, 5Hz measurements, 60Hz baragraph, 92€ incl. ship.). Of course if it's like other Brymen EEV has reviewed you get way better build quality and input protection (but you lose features too).

Still, 2.8Hz measurement and 28Hz bargraph should remain "bearable". I guess the MS8218 Martin reviewed is way slower than this (judging by the video). I wish he reviewed this MS8250C instead of the MS8218.