EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: arivel on November 25, 2021, 11:11:35 am
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Hello.
advise me please?.
I need some multimeter testers which are intended for teenage boys who are seeing them for the first time and have to use them to learn the fundamentals of electronics and electrical engineering.
you can therefore understand that in their hands a short circuit or a wrong use is very likely.
what I am looking for is an instrument that has the essential protections with maximum value for money. I don't need particular functions but the usual ones:
alternating and direct voltage, current, ohm.
price around € 30 or a little more
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Will they use them to measure mains AC?
(stupid question - of course they will, they're teenage boys...!)
For safety on mains AC a meter needs to have good fuses, etc., which the cheap Chinese meters don't provide (the safety ratings on the front of Chinese meters are false). The 30 Euro price is very optimistic for such a meter.
In Europe Brymen meters are the best value for money with genuine safety standards. Even the most basic Brymen is 58 Euros.
https://brymen.eu/shop/bm805s/ (https://brymen.eu/shop/bm805s/)
(It has all the features you would need)
If you want to spend less money then a meter like this Aneng will work:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003342743684.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003342743684.html)
The safety of that meter is probably good enough in a domestic environment with a modern electrical system (correct circuit breakers), ie. the meter won't kill them.
Me? I'd get the Brymen simply because it will beep to warn you when the leads are incorrectly connected for what you want to measure (eg. If the leads are in the amps socket and the dial is set to measure voltage). This feature can save you a lot of replacement fuses.
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I would be tempted to go for meters with manual ranging rather than autoranging. Firstly, you don't have the confusion of the decimal point jumping around as the reading settles, and secondly, it probably gives a better appreciation of the magnitudes expected / being measured.
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For learning purposes, a manual range will have more educational value. However, in practice they are a dying breed.
If your kids can stay away from mains, I would choose a meter with cheap glass fuses such as the SZ17/SZ18 shown by Fungus above - I would give preference for the SZ17 as the batteries will last longer (it uses a normal LCD display).
The Brymen is an excellent meter but its fuses will typically be expensive - it is normal to make these mistakes when you are starting - heck, I even do them after decades on the trade... :-+
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The Brymen is an excellent meter but its fuses will typically be expensive - it is normal to make these mistakes when you are starting - heck, I even do them after decades on the trade... :-+
Yes, Brymen fuses aren't cheap: https://brymen.eu/shop/fuse-0-44a-1000v-10x38-mm/ (https://brymen.eu/shop/fuse-0-44a-1000v-10x38-mm/)
It's good to have a meter with warning beeps, but... you can still blow them if you try.
Aneng fuses are much cheaper: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000563807136.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000563807136.html)
20 fuses (10 of each size) for less money than one Brymen fuse. :-+
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I would be tempted to go for meters with manual ranging rather than autoranging. Firstly, you don't have the confusion of the decimal point jumping around as the reading settles, and secondly, it probably gives a better appreciation of the magnitudes expected / being measured.
True.
Aneng sells an enormous manual ranging meter that actually has a semi-serious safety rating:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33005381639.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33005381639.html)
(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/Hec6805f8c9e846679cfd13bc13f90ab5k/ANENG-V7-Digital-Multimeter-6000-Counts-Avometer-Transistor-Capacitor-Tester-Multimetro-Digital-Profissional-Lcr-Meter-Multimetr.jpg_Q90.jpg_.webp)
They're actually made by Zotek, the safety certificates are on this page: https://zotektools.com/products/ztm0/ (https://zotektools.com/products/ztm0/)
The fuses are only 250V so it's not a true rating, but at least they made an effort.
I'm sure any teenage boy would love to have a huge meter like that one. It also has battery test functions which they'll probably use a lot, a flashlight, temperature probe, and a non-contact mains AC detector (so they can wave it at mains plugs and light switches instead of poking probes into sockets).
Win-win. This could be the meter you're looking for. :-+
Review and fuse sizes are here: https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMAnengV7%20UK.html (https://lygte-info.dk/review/DMMAnengV7%20UK.html)
(I'd buy a bag of extra fuses when you order. :) )
Edit: They also come in different colors so everybody can be different and know which meter is theirs.
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RuoShui 9808+
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000146881199.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000146881199.html)
+ manual ranging meter
+ measures inductance
+ 20 Amps measuring
+ 20 Amps, very good quality probes
+ NCV and Flashlight
(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H92a5005b10944f8a9ea57eca3d64e99fd/RuoShui-9808-High-Precision-Digital-Multimeter-2000uF-Capacimeter-20MHz-Frequency-Temperature-and-Inductance-Measuring-With-LCR.jpg_Q90.jpg_.webp)
(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/Hb812725d4b5e451baef247c01df37eb1K.jpg)