Author Topic: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter  (Read 9300 times)

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Offline miegapeleTopic starter

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What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« on: July 12, 2023, 06:58:47 pm »
For the last five years I was using RM303 (basically smaller AN870) as my primary multimeter. It's specified as 0.05% DC accuracy and is very nice multimeter. Now I wanted more accuracy and started looking for 0.02%/0.03% accuracy multimeter.
However, it seems there is not much cheap Chinese stuff available. I found HP-770D, (40000 count, but spec only 0.1%), there is also UT71C, but it's very old and around 200 EUR. The cheapest I found seems to be BM785/BM786 for around 150EUR.
What's the cheapest handheld DMM with 0.02% DC accuracy currently on the market?
 

Offline ArdWar

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2023, 07:04:35 pm »
This just occurred to me, for handheld DMM we often just take manufacturer's spec at face value don't we? Save for select few high end with known and well characterized reference and ADC.
 

Offline miegapeleTopic starter

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2023, 07:14:22 pm »
You don't need super high end reference to get 0.02% accuracy. Flukes are known for being accurate to the last count even if decades old, I expect the same to be true for other reputable brands. Dave did a review of that Chinese special years ago, and it was in spec. Given how much he hates Chinese wonder multimeters, lack of any follow up showing that Chinese DMM drifted 0.000000001% out of spec, can be taken as confirmation that would be in spec too  ;D
 

Offline Martin72

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #3 on: July 12, 2023, 08:06:36 pm »
https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM859s-Multimeter_1

199 incl VAT...I find this very cheap...
...and damn good looking.. 8)
 
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Offline CosteC

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #4 on: July 12, 2023, 08:25:36 pm »
APPA 506
SANWA PC7000
Both around 225 euro, both more modern than BM859S.

BM785 is surprisingly cheap indeed. Wonder why.
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #5 on: July 12, 2023, 08:29:18 pm »
https://www.welectron.com/Brymen-BM859s-Multimeter_1

199 incl VAT...I find this very cheap...
...and damn good looking.. 8)

And probably much better than 0.02% in practice.

(in fact the cheaper BM857s is probably better than 0.02% - mine certainly is)
 

Offline Martin72

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2023, 08:32:48 pm »
Quote
both more modern than BM859S.

 ???

Offline slavoy

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2023, 09:06:36 pm »
I think also of Brymen BM859s (0.02%) or 857s (0.03%). Probably not the cheapest in the world, but generally very good multimeters. Will last decades.

Offline RFDx

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2023, 10:20:20 pm »
APPA 506
SANWA PC7000
Both around 225 euro, both more modern than BM859S.

Sanwa PC7000:
JP: 248€   (eBay)
US: 389$  (Sanwa US)
CN: 435€  (Ali)
DE: 745€  (Conrad)  :o

Looks like purely arbitrary pricing.


Brymen 789 (0.03%, 60000 counts)
Brymen 869 (0.02%, 500000 counts)
Pricerange 190...220€ (incl. VAT). The 789 has a more modern appearance.

 

Offline DaJMasta

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2023, 10:27:16 pm »
It's 0.03% but 500,000 count - the Brymen 867s that's been mentioned a couple of times.  Currently 160 EUR after tax from Brymen.eu or Welectron.

Pretty cheap for the performance and features, I've had mine for a good bit and other than occasionally having the display go blank when first setting a range (the switch now has a tiny bit of play that means the initial position isn't always directly on the contacts), mine has been great.
 

Offline bdunham7

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #10 on: July 12, 2023, 10:42:03 pm »
Now I wanted more accuracy and started looking for 0.02%/0.03% accuracy multimeter.

The devil is in the details.  A stated 0.02% 'basic DC accuracy' is not a complete spec.  You need to look at the total specification for each range, typically expressed as (% of reading + counts) or (ppm of readin + ppm of range) or something like that.  So on your RM303, according to the specs if you are measuring 1V, the specified error is 0.05% of reading (5 counts) plus 3 counts for a total of 8 counts.  And in reality, it may or may not meet those specs, IMO that figure seems a bit aspirational, especially since it is claimed for all ranges.  The Fluke 289, for example, is 0.05% + 20 counts in the lowest mVDC range, whereas your RM303 claims the same accuracy in the 20mVDC range as it does for all the others--0.05% +3 counts. 

A 3.5 digit 4.5 digit 5 digit 5.5 digit 6.5 digit 7.5 digit DMM is good enough for most people.
 
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Offline J-R

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2023, 12:27:30 am »
500,000 count mode is only available for DCV and DCmV and I don't see where the accuracy specifications are defined in that case.
 

Offline David Hess

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #12 on: July 13, 2023, 01:23:18 am »
When looking for higher accuracy, I also expect a fixed 10 megohm input resistance or a gigohm input, which is going to mean a bench meter.
 

Offline J-R

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2023, 03:13:13 am »
Some thoughts on the accuracy specifications.  It is true that some test equipment greatly exceeds published accuracy specifications.  I could imagine some reasons for this, such as the manufacturer wanting to maintain the accuracy over a wide range of operating conditions or life of the product, extra margin for internal component variations from suppliers, shared manufacturing lines, etc.

However, the main issue is HOW do you leverage that accuracy performance?  Some of my methods include obtaining calibration plus data, having a collection of references, and comparing against other test equipment where I have calibration data already available.  Without this information, you are going to be somewhat limited to using the published numbers and the reputation of the manufacturer.

It's a bit tricky to leverage the 500,000 count mode of the Brymen DMMs, so if you are planning to bank on that I would suggest at least a high-quality 5V reference to check it against (or even calibrate it if desired).  At lower points in the ranges it can be particularly trust-worthy, so for example 1V.  I calibrated my BM869s a year or so ago and it's still basically perfect in this case.  Although it's more of an intellectual exercise.  Just get a decent bench DMM if you're bumping into this requirement level.
 

Offline bdunham7

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2023, 03:40:46 am »
However, the main issue is HOW do you leverage that accuracy performance? 

If you are a hobbyist that doesn't need to prove anything to anyone, then your imagination is the limit.  For example, you can use calibration certificates in reverse to imagine you know what a meter actually reads to 10X its spec if you like.  Or dial them in to the last count and ignore the tempco that you can't control for. 

If you need certifiable results, then I think the whole point is that you don't leverage the difference between specified and actual performance to achieve a tighter spec, but rather to get a greatly increased probability--hopfully a near certainty--of meeting the spec.  The two parameters (reading uncertainty vs the probability of being in spec) are intertwined and inseparable.
A 3.5 digit 4.5 digit 5 digit 5.5 digit 6.5 digit 7.5 digit DMM is good enough for most people.
 

Offline CosteC

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #15 on: July 13, 2023, 06:24:10 am »
APPA 506
SANWA PC7000
Both around 225 euro, both more modern than BM859S.

Sanwa PC7000:
JP: 248€   (eBay)
US: 389$  (Sanwa US)
CN: 435€  (Ali)
DE: 745€  (Conrad)  :o

Looks like purely arbitrary pricing.


Brymen 789 (0.03%, 60000 counts)
Brymen 869 (0.02%, 500000 counts)
Pricerange 190...220€ (incl. VAT). The 789 has a more modern appearance.
Late capitalism :) Price has nothing to do with cost of manufacturing or development.
APPA is also available rebranded in many places. BENNING IT 101, RS PRO IDM505 is probably APPA 505. Rebrands are ususally far more expensive however :)

https://ndn.com.pl/en/digital-multimeters/1972-digital-multimeter-pc7000-sanwa-50000-acdc-acc-003.html
https://ndn.com.pl/en/glowna/4164-digital-multimeter-appa-506b-acdc-003-truerms-bluetooth.html?search_query=506&results=11
https://ndn.com.pl/en/digital-multimeters/3930-multimetr-cyfrowy-appa-506-acdc-dokl-003-truerms.html?search_query=506&results=11

 

Offline J-R

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #16 on: July 13, 2023, 06:37:28 am »
No matter how you look at it, published accuracy specifications are far more imaginary than a specific instrument's calibration data.

I see a TE industry where a lot of the accepted product specifications seem to originate from the marketing department.  And that is probably fine, because at the end of the day you need to make a product that will sell.  But on the flip side we have plenty of products that can be hacked to higher performing models and of course as I mentioned, products that exceed their published specs by a significant margin.

I specifically did not mention calibration certificates, only calibration data.  The data is literal proof in print that a "meter actually reads to 10X its spec".  Also, it has the temperature at which the calibration data was taken, so you can match that environment.

In all areas of life we have hobbyists who push things to the limits, both dangerous and not.  Industry, especially for paying customers, takes a much more conservative approach and has to account for a TON of variability, with regard to how standards are enforced, human nature, manufacturing variability, the list goes on...

So with that in mind, there is nothing wrong with a hobbyist discovering that their test equipment performs far better than expected and then capitalizing on that fact.  On the flip side, it is definitely wrong to blindly trust a published spec and/or calibration certificates and that is why many industries have proving requirements as well.
 

Offline CosteC

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #17 on: July 13, 2023, 06:53:13 am »
I am rather on conservative end when it comes to datasheet performance. While my old APPA 72 has "only 0.5%" is it far more stable than cheap chinese no-brand multimeter which drifts with battery depleting. Long term stability for hobbyst is not super important if meter can be validated often. In industry nobody will do it - too much time, just buy better one if needed.

Most magic question for me is what hobbyst application calls for 0.03% accuracy and how to validate this accuracy in hobby environment? Professionally it would require well better instrument, starting from 0.01% but 6 1/2 digit DMM with starting from 0.0050% would be best.

What measurements require 0.03% DCV really? I used to measure small temperature differences for industrial processes, this was one case.
Other case seems to be measurements of small voltages, but there amplifiers come handy, however topic is tricky due to noise.

I appriciate AN870 declared accuracy, yet I do not trust it too much in long term...
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #18 on: July 13, 2023, 06:55:09 am »
The 789 has a more modern appearance.

It's also a lot bigger and has a lot more distractions than the "industrial" BM857s/BM859s.

If you spend all day long looking at voltage/frequency simultaneously then go for dual display, no wukkas.

If you only do that rarely then why have a complicated display? Pressing a button to see Hz isn't too terrible and you can always add a second (or third) meter to see more values in a long session. :-)

Same goes for the selector switch. Do you really want multiple functions on every range when you hardly ever use most of them? The BM857s has separate switch positions for just about everything, only ohms/continuity is shared. This meter seems like the sweet spot to me.

My $0.02...
 

Offline Fungus

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #19 on: July 13, 2023, 06:58:21 am »
I appriciate AN870 declared accuracy, yet I do not trust it too much in long term...

Why not? There's not much inside one to go wrong.

It might have a worse tempco than a more expensive meter, or whatever, but I see no reason why it would go out of spec just because of the passage of time.
 

Offline slavoy

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #20 on: July 13, 2023, 07:29:25 am »
RM303 (basically smaller AN870) as my primary multimeter. 
Regarding the Aneng AN870, I compared my unit to the Siglent SDM3065X as a reference, and it performed according to specifications, even better (@DCV/mV range). The basic accuracy of 0.02% for a handheld multimeter is quite high and approaches laboratory-grade equipment.
If you want to maintain such accuracy, you not only need to follow proper measurement practices but also verify the DMM with a higher-grade instrument. Otherwise, that precision will be compromised, and the measurements will simply not be meaningful. I'm not sure why such high accuracy is necessary for you, but it's not just about buying the right multimeter.
Personally I don't see the practicality of buying a higher-grade DMM than this Aneng in terms of accuracy (only). I'm curious about what you actually need such accuracy for  :)
« Last Edit: July 13, 2023, 07:32:52 am by slavoy »
 

Offline CosteC

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #21 on: July 13, 2023, 08:13:38 am »
I appriciate AN870 declared accuracy, yet I do not trust it too much in long term...

Why not? There's not much inside one to go wrong.
Lot of stuff already went wrong :)
1) Manufacturer does not provide anything remotly similar to proper specifications. What is long term drift? Nobody knows.
2) What manufacturer? https://anengmultimeter.com/ Sells clothing... Aliexpress shop?
3) Reference is only one thing among many responsible for accuracy. None is particularly recognisable or look stable

I do not say it does not work. It works. But will it work next year? Probably. Will it permanently shift after ESD zap or long term application of high voltage? Probably. Is it resistant to radio interference? Rather not.

Is it great for hobbyst? YES.
 

Offline armandine2

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #22 on: July 13, 2023, 08:14:41 am »
I'm not sure why such high accuracy is necessary for you,

This reaction comes up on many threads - which always reminds me of Zipf's Least Effort book - bedtime reading  ;)

https://cseweb.ucsd.edu//~rik/foa/l2h/foa-3-2-1-1.html


In a mature society in which a variety of jobs and tools have existed for some time, a ``reciprocal economy'' forms. That is, there is a set of tools good for doing certain jobs, and there is a set of jobs requiring certain tools. The Principle of Least Effort asserts that a person attempting to apply a tool to a job does so in order to minimize the probable effort in using that tool for that particular job.
In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught - Hunter S Thompson
 

Online AVGresponding

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #23 on: July 13, 2023, 08:16:21 am »
FWIW, my own philosophy is not to buy the cheapest I can find, but to buy the best I can afford...
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Offline MiroS

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Re: What's the cheapest 0.02% accuracy handheld meter
« Reply #24 on: July 13, 2023, 08:19:44 am »
The basic accuracy of 0.02% for a handheld multimeter is quite high and approaches laboratory-grade equipment.

0,05%+3 not 0.02%, the question was for 0,02% not for something worest.


 


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