Voltcraft VC870 - Any experiences?

[Leon]

The VC880 is a 40000 count DMM. I think it's a different design, built around fi. the ES51966. Otherwise they would claim it to be 60000 count too.

[Lightages]

Ah, I somehow missed the counts difference. I still think the VC880 is a better meter though especially when it looks like the multi display on the 890 only shows date and time as extra information. Just my opinion without experience of either.

[Wytnucls]

The VC890 logs a time stamp with the 1000 data points in internal memory. The VC880 probably doesn't. That feature could be important for some logging applications.

[5ky]

I picked up a VC890--and due to the almost non-existent information on the internet about this meter, I figured I'd do a full review on it and share it here.  (did a full teardown and basic testing)



Oh and I saw a previous comment stating the 880 might be better because it uses a dual display.  I can't confirm if the 880 is better or not, but I can confirm that the one on the 890 does have a dual display that shows more than just the time/date.  When you measure voltage, it shows frequency in the secondary display.  When you enable AC/DC rms mode, it shows the DC offset in the secondary display.  When you're in min/max/avg mode, it shows the live readings from the probes in the secondary display.  It's also used during data logging.  Not sure how the 880 screen is so I honestly can't compare.  Just sharing what I know 

Sorry for grave-digging--I didn't figure this deserved its own thread.  Cheers!

[commie]

For U.K. residents it's available from here, http://www.rapidonline.com/Test-Measurement/Voltcraft-VC-890-OLED-Display-Digital-Multimeter-51-5900

Now the thing is, it boasts +-0.8% basic dc accuracy which is a pile of shit but I must admit it looks nice.

[Lightages]

That must be a typo. The basic accuracy listed on the Conrad site is 0.03%.

It still looks like a nice meter and thanks for doing the review. I am still not going to buy anything with an OLED display as they still seem to have very shorts lives.

[commie]

That must be a typo. The basic accuracy listed on the Conrad site is 0.03%..

I thought something was funny    , yes I confirm the basic accuracy is +-0.03% which is about the best you can get for a handheld.

[Lightages]

I also just watched this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0HfQGNnG4&feature=youtu.be
What firmware version do you have?

[5ky]

I also just watched this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK0HfQGNnG4&feature=youtu.be
What firmware version do you have?

01545

[5ky]

That must be a typo. The basic accuracy listed on the Conrad site is 0.03%..

I thought something was funny    , yes I confirm the basic accuracy is +-0.03% which is about the best you can get for a handheld.

I've never actually considered oled lifespan as a factor, but I guess it's something to keep in mind.  I'll report back to this thread if I ever have a problem with the screen at all.  Thanks for bringing that up--I never thought about it. 

[Leon]

There do seem to be some slight changes to the PCB over the past few years.

[Candid]

I got one this week from Conrad Germany (I am german), it replaced my about 20 year old Voltcraft VC670 that is still doing fine and has very good accuracy. Firmware is 1624. Thanks für the Videos you made 5ky. In total it's a really good meter. Only some things I don't like:

• only about 2 to 3 updates of the displayed value per second. That's not bad but more would be fine.
• bargraph is updated not faster than the displayed value so it's more or less useless. Even bargraph from my often discussed UNI-T UT71E is much faster
• probes are very bad, I replaced them by Probemaster probes and now the continuity tester is working with absolute no lag and extremely fast and stable. I would await better probes from Conrad for a meter of this price.
• No bag inclued. The standard UNI-T bag would be fine. For this price I would expect a bag included.

Over all its a nice meter with good input protection and very good accuracy.

BTW pushing RANGE and REL/PC while turning the meter on shows the firmware version, pushing the red button while turning it on starts the oled display test but does someone know what the 00000 display is for when pushing MIN/MAX and H/LIGHT button while you turn the meter on?

/EDIT: Now I know what MIN/MAX+H/LIGHT when Power on is for, I got the calibration manual from Conrad Electronic...

[Hydrawerk]

Is there any UNI-T equivalent for VC870? I could not find any here. http://www.uni-trend.com
And this web does not work for me. http://www.uni-trend.com.cn/

[Candid]

I think the UNI-T UT171C is a similar but not identical model.

[olewales]

/EDIT: Now I know what MIN/MAX+H/LIGHT when Power on is for, I got the calibration manual from Conrad Electronic...

Sorry for digging it out but... Do you mind sharing that manual? This topic seems to be the only thing that pops up in google regarding close-case calibration of this meter

[Candid]

Here it is. I never calibrated it and I sold it long time ago.