Multimeter for a beginner which meets spec, price range: 100€

[winfreak]

Hello guys,

I hope I am "allowed" to ask this question multiple times because it was solved multiple times by and for others - even by Dave himself.
Now, I've looked at botht the 50$ shootout and the 100$ shootout video. From what I've seen, I've made a list of what I liked and disliked and selected three meters which should suit my needs:

1.) The UNI-T UT61E
2.) The AMProbe AM220
3.) The Extech EX330

"All nice and dandy" I thought to myself. While the UNI-T looked a bit dodgy construction wise, I've read many good things about it, but all in all I thought it was a between the AMProbe and the Extech, but then I went to the EEVBlog Forums and found out all of those meters are out of spec, what a bummer! Also, I've read on here that the quality control that Extech does is just nasty, so why even bother with it.

Now, my main question is: What meter can you suggest that is like those 3 and is actually in spec but in a price range that doesn't go well beyond 100€?

Thanks for all your suggestion, I hope I didn't make a mistake by asking this again. If so, have mercy please, I'm just a beginner.

Best regards
- Thomas

[markce]

Brymen BM257S

[winfreak]

Wow that one looks like a winner!
Thanks very much. Any general thoughts about this product or alternatives?

[EEVblog]

Brymen BM257S

It is very nice:

[winfreak]

Wow, just saw the review, seems like an absolute winner - all in all just like 15 bucks more expensive than the UT61E, but it meets specs AND has more/better functions, if I compared them right

Thank you guys really much, I'll be looking into getting that one next month then. It's exactly what I wanted. One last question though, does it the stupid fall over thing like the Ideal meter you once reviewed? I definitely want to use the stand, that's why I want to know - is it at least a bit stable or is it EX330 like horror? You don't really show that in the video, that's why I'm asking.

Anyways, thanks for your answers

[markce]

There is also a EU review from Kiriakos Triantafillou. His comment about the tilting bail is that it is small (the BM257 itself is compact) but well made.

[winfreak]

There is also a EU review from Kiriakos Triantafillou. His comment about the tilting bail is that it is small (the BM257 itself is compact) but well made.

OK thank you very much for that info... I think I'm set now!! Thanks guys. I'm glad I didn't buy the UT61E straight ahead, but instead made a bit of research and asked other people

[torr032]

ut61e beats the crack out of bm257 for bench electronic use.

bm257 is more like a meter for electrician and its not 15$ more expensive its 2.5 times more expensive.

This all thread looks like a paid Brymen advertise though.

[dannyf]

This all thread looks like a paid Brymen advertise though.

[mtdoc]

bm257 is more like a meter for electrician

Clearly you've never used one.

It's all about buying quality...

[Lightages]

The UT61E is fine for bench use and has 22,000 count vs the 6,000 count for the BM257S. It also has a bit higher accuracy and comes with a PC communications kit and software. It does not have temperature, back light, speed, good input prtection nor the build quality of the Brymen. The BM257S is 2x the price.

If you are just going to use your meter for electronics and stay away from high energy circuits then I would say that the UT61E is maybe a better buy. You can get two almost for the same price and have dual measurement capability which is quite useful. You could also just get a UT136C as a second meter. It has temperature measurement and costs less than $25.

If you have any idea that you will be measuring high energy circuits like house wiring then get the BM257S. It is a great meter and built safely. It will outlast any Uni-T product easily.

[SeanB]

I have both, and use them both. they are mostly aimed for different applications, the BM251 I have is more aimed to electrical work and the UT61E is more aimed for electronics where you want the larger number of digits. But both do the basics and both work well. YMMV.

[mtdoc]

I have both, and use them both. they are mostly aimed for different applications, the BM251 I have is more aimed to electrical work and the UT61E is more aimed for electronics where you want the larger number of digits. But both do the basics and both work well. YMMV.

The Brymen BM251 is a different meter than the BM257.  The 257 is in an entirely different class and has several electronics specific features lacking on the 251 --  Capacitance, true RMS, LoZ, Crest, min/max record, temperature, etc.
See HERE

The 251 would not be a good choice for an electronics bench multimeter IMO. But the 257 is an excellent choice.

As stated the UniT has higher counts (occasionally important) and a lower price but is lacking some of the useful features of the BM257, is less safe for anything high energy, and most importantly IMO - it is a much, much lower quality build.

[Flump]

i have the ex330 and the 61E

the 61E is really a very good meter and streaks ahead of the ex330
and my 61E is well within spec on every mode and more accurate
than the ex330 when i tested them using my refferences

[winfreak]

Guys, please don't confuse me, now I don't really know what to do lol.
And no, the UT61E is only 15€ less here in Germany.

I want to work with high voltages as well as very low voltages at the same time, so I'd want my meter with a bit of protection, and to me (and according to this board) the UT61E just looks a bit dodgy to me compared to the BM257S (which btw. also has data logging functionality), so do the upgraded counts really weigh up to the missing build quality?

i have the ex330 and the 61E

the 61E is really a very good meter and streaks ahead of the ex330
and my 61E is well within spec on every mode and more accurate
than the ex330 when i tested them using my refferences

I meant security specs, not measurement specs - if they had been out of spec in measurements, I wouldn't have considered them in the first place.

Still, thanks anyone for commenting. It really helps. Or confuses lol.

[mtdoc]

Do you really need more than 6000 counts?

Most people don't.  Have you ever seen Dave need more than 6000 count resolution in any of his videos?

I have several meters including a Fluke 87V, and HP3478A and Fluke 8842A bench meters.  The BM257 gets used the most.

If high counts is what you crave - get the UniT

If a high quality, safe, accurate, feature rich electronics bench multimeter is what you want- get the BM257.

How's that for a Brymen advertisement?

[rolycat]

I'd get the BM257 and something like a UT136C if your budget will run to it.

Total cost should be around 100 Euros and two multimeters are much better than one.

[gildasd]

Apparently you can do a lot with a cheap "SInometer":

[winfreak]

Wrong thread?

[gildasd]

Woops...

Multimeter,  oscilloscope, smuzimeteroscpe...

[winfreak]

Actually, there IS such a thing: http://www.pce-instruments.com/deutsch/index.htm?id=FROOGLE&_artnr=19632&_p=291.55&_pmode=0&_pbexkey=4&_date=20140714015002&_pbhash=8816e432fc5e01d602b58584e78e4dc44d15beadc5978da975ff0332466d0157&gclid=Cj0KEQjw_42eBRDHqcG1psmtneEBEiQAWPL8WKUVVS1gX2A7QsLpuah3J1bH_VJF-el521mPj6-OIrwaAt6a8P8HAQ

But that's wayy too offtopic right now

[markce]

In EU UT61e is Eur 80 and BM257s Eur 84 nearly the same price.
Just to clarify, in no way am I commercially involved in Brymen or resellers of Brymen.
For me, it's just that the BM257s would be the MM of choice if I needed one now.
And how much is 5% of 2000? A 6000 count meter is really sufficient for the real accuracy offered
in this price range.

[winfreak]

Well, I also kind off tend to the Brymen - but I'll read what the others have to say. You never can have too much info

[Lightages]

Well if you insist on buying inside or Europe, the BM257S, without a doubt. The German GS version of the UT61E is different than the international version in that it has improved input protection but still not as good as the BM257S.

The UT61E can be purchased on ebay for under $58 USD shipped.

Get the BM257S and don't look back. If you can swing the extra money the PC connection kit is a nice addition.

Disclamer: I intend to start selling Brymens soon. This choice was made after buying 3 different Brymens and using them. My opinion on how good Brymens are is not swayed by my selling them but rather the other way around.

[jay]

Do you really need more than 6000 counts?

Even less is enough most of the time. There are situations when a lot of digits is nice.. I have these small solar powered devices (IoT stuff) that charge really slowly. With enough digits I can see the battery voltage climbing slowly up or slowly declining if it's not charging. Sure, measuring current is an option but connecting the meter between the device and the battery is much more effort. In this use case I don't really need absolute accuracy, just enough digits. I can think of few other use cases but those are rare for me.

One vote for UT61 series.