EEVblog #6 - Part 2 of 2 - Why cheap multimeters suck

[mgregggphone]

I keep one of those cheap $10 multimeters in my car for roadside emergency use.

It's been just fine. It's been infrequently used. I suppose those cheap ones might have their use.

[junwson]

Then what are the decent price range for good quality DMM? I happened to looked at MS8268 and looks pretty good when i saw these in the video.So like usual price range $30-and above consider good DMM?

[milek021]

If U ask me a decent DMM for under 50euro is MS8268. Yes, it's China made but still there is some quality from Mastech company. On other hand U all so can "get" German one, like PeakTech 2010. Those are not like Fluke, Agilent etc, with real-RMS, high MHz readings, and all those perfect components but they DO A JOB ! :)

[Pentium100MHz]

I bought a couple of more expensive meters (about 29EUR, which is quite a lot to me). One of them failed after I accidentally measured the inductance of a 300VDC power supply and the mode/range selector wore out on the other one (the pads on the PCB shorted out). So, now I'm using ~5EUR meter. It does not measure L or C but if I accidentally measure the resistance of a car battery, it's only 5EUR. Unless the expensive meter can tolerate 300VDC across its inputs in all modes, I'm not buying it

[pyrhoe]

A side by side comparison would have been more useful than conjecture and bullshit.

[DiTech89]

Professional tools like Fluke and simillar are for professional usage where you need precise measurements and more important where your multimeter earns money.Chinese multimeters like these on ebay for few euros are for people who need general measurements where is not important if voltage is 12.01V or 12.02V,for amateur usage and so on.I use Voltcraft VC220 multimeter (price range about 50€) and for me where I use it in academic purposes and car and truck electronics it's very good.

[RrahimStruja]

Well I agree that the cheap ones are not accurate BUT although I own an expensive one most of the time I use a 5 euro chinese- the reason I don't need precise reading like most of the people. Just now I was checking the washing machine electric valve and the cheap meter was telling me that the windings inside the valve were good. Now, if my working room looked like yours DEFINITELY I would go for an expensive one.

[guitaneman]

yeah we dont need any cheap multimeters what we need is cheap ''peak voltage adaptor'' for our multimeter i cant find one anywhere.... does anybody know where i can get a cheap one

[Listn2CKY]

No one is going to appreciate the attitude of buying expensive tools until they have to.

Buy once, buy right.

[mndmax]

Useless piece of shvideo...

[DanFrederiksen]

is one of the meter shootouts Dave gives last place to the vichy vc99 but in his own tests it is seemingly the most accurate of them.

although I like my UT61E better which Dave hasn't yet reviewed

[THEtechknight]

ive dropped a fluke by accident a couple times on concrete ground, busted the plastic pretty good but the thing still worked....

[Phenom69ll]

can i trust my mastech multimeter? fuck yes i can. i dont need to know if my battery voltage exactly 1.5020 or 1.5021

[ImperialBluesGuitar]

Most Chinese crap is just that.... crap...... they are getting a little better in some areas though....

[AintBigAintClever]

My Fluke 79-III has outlasted every one of my other meters, well worth the initial outlay.

[westkan]

Your shoot out convince me of the quality of the Extech DMM products. Desiring true RMS I decided to buy the Extech EX410/EX411 Digital Multimeter. Has a 10M input impedance. Frustrates the heck out if me when the specs of a DMM don't include the input impedance. A Fluke would be nice, but won't make that kind of investment until I need to use my tools to earn income on a regular basis.

[meex88hiphop]

i have an "ISKRA" needle multimeter and its more precise than any digital multimeter out there

[KeithWasHere1]

i love my fluke 79

[TheEPROM9]

One day I hope to be able to afford a Fluk

[FullWaveElectronics]

@TheEPROM9 Craigslist fluke 83 III 50 bucks.

[prayag123456789]

looking at my multimeter *facepalm*

[drdreads1]

i agree that cheap meters cant be trusted but theres no way id want to get a fluke anywhere near any of my tesla coil stuff, cheap or expensive its gonna get toasted at some piont so this is a place for cheap meters you can blow up and not feel bad.

[eurokid83]

Looks like 23 people have cheap chinese shit meters.

[JohnMC894]

Just tried to send a post re Maplins WG 020 meter and got stuck out. Got one years ago in their bargin bin. It did not work. Luck for me there was another one in there. Gave that a try and it worked if you turned the rotary switch A/clockwise. Got a can of S/cleaner, opened up and cleaned the switch. Put it all back together and it worked perfect. I'v had that meter now for years and it still works. I even got a yellow case for it from the bargain bin. So for £30.00 I think that I got a bargain

[JohnMC894]

So what gives with posting on here ?

[syncmaster710n14]

I bought a £25 multi-meter in 1998 when i set up my own little electronics shop, at the time i did not have much of a budget so that was all i could afford to spend on a multimeter, since then i have had much business and my budget has increased meaning i could buy fluke and other expensive brands of multimeter. Now 13 year and a lot of abuse later it still works and ok it is only accurate to 0.1 but for basic work that is fine.

[DanFrederiksen]

I think it's worth adding that the Vichy VC99 meter from the 50$ shootout is the most precise in the shootout and you can get that on ebay for 21$.

it's similarly interesting to note that the cheaper UNI-T from the 100$ shootout seems to be the best in that bunch as well.

it seems clear that it's much too simple to say that a cheap meter has to be bad and an expensive meter has to be good. the extechs seem to have quite poor precision for instance. interesting to compare that to a 10$ meter

[eurokid83]

@DanFrederiksen The DCV accuracy is 0.5%+5 counts for the VC99, and the Uni-T UT61D DCV accuracy is 0.5%+1 count. The meters in both the $50 dollar and $100 dollar categories had very similar specs. The two meters Dave chose as the best out of the two price ranges were based on construction, durability, functionality, safety/input protection, ease of use, etc. Not just on how accurate they are.

[bestjunky]

Bought a cheap Chinese multimeter about 14 years ago. It still servers me well. I've tested it against a professionally calibrated meter and there's no drift. I got a specimen with good components. Only thing that broke over the years was one of the probes. That was a minute fix though. One has to remember that nowdays pretty much all of electronics comes from China. Even US made electronics contain Chinese semi-conductors. So it really makes little difference what's written on the label.

[yrofot]

The last multimeter I bought was the Maplin Precision Gold WG-020. They still sell it now, or one that looks just like it. 49GBP new, and I've had it for >15 years, and yes I've given it plenty of abuse. It was made in Taiwan, I guess that's the hallmark of quality these days compared with Chinese stuff. I took the advice of a colleague, who suggested to avoid cheap MMs with autoranging features , since some of them can introduce 'artifacts' into the circuit under test when switching range.

[yeoldeengineer]

I got plenty of mileage out of a little Mastech meter, just about the cheapest DMM you can get (think <=$10). So it didn't have a stand, auto-off, continuity tester or rubber holster, VAC was 200/600V only, and of course the leads were kinda dubious and accuracy was maybe 1% (usually a bit low).

However, quite often you come across people trying to fix some electronic device without any at all. There really is no excuse for not at least having such a very basic multimeter in the household.

[chjens5]

That first meter u got ther is the multimeter used on moust electronic/electric schools in norway.... a shame rlly.

[harindam]

First of all I have to say that many weekend hardware hackers use cheap chinese multimeters including me. We all know that we can't compare 200$+ fluke with a 20$ chinese (I bought mine for 4$ (: and still working flawlessly).

My entire lab worth less than 300$. So Wat's your point? SHould I Sell all of my equipments and buy a fluke???? NO WAY

You cant compare a bugatti veyron with an evolution 3.

[EEVblog]

@harindam See my other meter shootouts. Spending $50 gets you a decent meter.

[athenian10]

@harindam...... If you are measuring only in lab enviroment you can do most of the job with a cheap (not too cheap) instrument. If you step out of the lab things are getting tough. Be in industrial/marine enviroment these intruments are simply danderous innacurate toys. Just check what I'm saying.

[Nibblor89]

u sound like a dork

fluke are the best



[Nibblor89]

u sound like a dork

[miyukiTS]

Flukes in Japan are very very expensive relative to Sanwa. What do you think about Sanwa multimeters such as PC710?

[GoldenDaffsterDuck]

I used one of those earlier and it does not do so bad on safety but definitely it requires a better meter as built in quality.

[eurokid83]

I work in the automotive field and I've seen at least a dozen cheap DMM's fail in the line of duty. In the few shops I've worked in and 20+ people I've worked with, only two people (not including myself) had Fluke multimeters. Everyone else with crap meters always had problems, Everyone always wanted to use my Fluke meter when they're shit meter failed. I told them all to piss up a rope, they bought and used crap meters and treated them like shit, I will not have them do the same to my meter.

[grandam88]

i can tell you straight up, a good quality meter is VITAL to testing components in electronics,When your components have to be within 1% of specs you cannot afford inaccuracy in a crap meter. There things i could not even get a reading on with my snapon/bluepoint meter, but my fluke made childs play of it. The snap on appeared well made(and wasnt cheap), but since when did snap on become a contender in DMM market? stick with a fluke or similar brand unless your testing car batteries or something

[deathventure]

It's surprising the lack of understanding a few of the commenters have. A general consensus is that the use of less than quality parts, as well as assembly procedures will lead to a less than reliable product. Although I use these meters in some cases, I'm only taking general readings, otherwise I'm using a high quality bench meter that I have access to. Even if you get one as a temporary go between, save up and get a decent meter.

[EEVblog]

@deathventure Yes, many people just don't understand the concept of cheap meters. Even I have and still use cheap meters occasionally, you just have to aware of their typical low quality and the limitations/problems that can potentially bring you.

[10oooo01]

Some of the shit that comes out of China is like the very early Jap crap...only worse. Dry joints, solder bridges (short circuits) piss poor etching on the PCBs, the list goes on. I have a SATA/IDE to USB adapter which I got brand new...admittedly only paid a couple of quid for it but it never worked!!. I took it apart and the soldering was like Elephant shit. Maybe 20 pins were shorted. Beware! The Japanese quality control improved beyond imagination but Chinese QC still is in the early days.

[9gmailcom9]

@eevblog just because you are a rich australian fool and you can afford a fluke, it doesn't all the multimeters the poor folks can afford are BAD

[TrickyNekro]

Man, what a bunch of hate talk.... Surely these cheapies can't be compared to a Fluke or Agilent.... But they are affordable for most DYI users and students...

Since you really represent some people or of course the fame of your blog you should use such hate talk... And talk with some proofs...

There are many ways to prove that these multimeters have some bad specs... But you just hate talk.... And believe it or not a 10yo kid can do this better...

No words are bonds today....

[EEVblog]

@TrickyNekro Show us YOUR video then...

[TrickyNekro]

@EEVblog

First of all since, out of curiosity, show your other videos and reviews I got to apologize for my tongue... I also don't mean any contest of who's got the largest thing in his pants.... I probably have less than half your age not to talk about experience...

Back to the point... Being the first video I show on your channel it really left me a bad impression... I had to go to other videos to see that you mean business... And for that I insist it's kinda too hate for a review...

[2ndAsstJizzMopper]

EEVblog, shit logic. show us your DMM.

bonking off criticism by demanding the critic enter the field is lazy sophistry. if that's all you have, don't bother responding. you just look like a quack.

[EEVblog]

@2ndAsstJizzMopper I'm using my considerable experience to warn people about the potential risks of using cheap multimeters that they may not have preciously considered. You offer nothing by trash talking of people who produce useful content.

See my $50 meter shootout for a comparison of some cheap but good meters.

[2ndAsstJizzMopper]

EEVblog, you've made the same logic error while adding a new one. congratulations. and you've still not addressed TrickyNekro's comment. following your example, i may "refute" any of your negative DMM reviews by demanding petulantly that you provide a production DMM you designed and made. this is too difficult for you to understand?

beyond, you've apparently assumed (incorrectly, though it's irrelevant) that i agree with TrickyNekro. then you appear to imply, wrongly, that i've no videos. ergh.

[EEVblog]

@2ndAsstJizzMopper Perhaps you missed the part were I said cheap meters have their place. There is no point to address with TrickyNekco. Some people simply cannot understand the point of my rant, or what a rant actually is. I have done follow up videos and much comment on this.

What part of I am warning people against potential risks of cheap meters don't you understand? If you want to ignore that and use a cheap meter then that's fine by me. My comments are designed as food for thought.

[2ndAsstJizzMopper]

EEVblog, you continue to not understand that i am not TrickyNekro. couldn't care less here about cheap meters or your opinion of them.

if you had no point to address with TrickyNekro, surely silence would've worked better than craven fallacy. that's the point. you can't really be this thick. i hope.

[leroyj333]

i got a craftsman industrial one the 82005 one. It was 120 and works great and waterproof and yes I tried it but not on purpose hehe

[TheBarathbushan]

everyone cant afford a merc or a fluke , lol ,im just happy with my taiwan made mastech

[08yannch]

i have had no trouble with the $10 1s but yes there not the most accurate things ever but for me when i was just starting out it was the best thing ever it beats guessing and putting things 2 chance. and the only reason my 1 pooped it self is because i didnt do my calculations when playing with transformers and put 4,800v through it. lol +4kv will do that

Note " i have a big boy 1 now :D

[darrenhello2]

Hi Dave, I have a meter which looks exactly as the one you have in your hand except that its a velleman (DVM890). Is this brand and avergae brand or just another cheap one?

[poweredBYGDK]

Here in Romania 20$ is the payment for one day of 12h of labor, so it's not that cheap for romanians, but here you can find asian multimeters at 2-5$.

[ciprianwiner]

@poweredBYGDK ai ziso bine :D si eu folosesc unul de vreo 25 lei ,asta e mai bine decat nimik :)

[theamberco]

The main difference in Chinesse products is mainly the way they are build, the parts 99% of them come from china. China is getting better though. I agree with EEVblog I rather have one good meter if I can afford it. They thing is that a cheap meter could became dangerous if you are trying to measure high voltage. There is a use for a cheap meter for the student measuring mainly low voltage that cannot afford a Fluke or Agilent. I had some of those during my school years.

[Thetruthishere11]

I like Chinese meters.  Cheap.

[Thetruthishere11]

Why do all meters look the same with that big ugly dial in the middle?

[rme2001]

While i won't argue your point. You do a lot of talk while you could have opened up a quality meter and showed us the difference on the inside compared to the budget one, or compared the measurements of the 2 meters on the same part. ect.

20 Dollar meters are fine for most DIY uses, if your a professional you probably know and have better.

[stewartx5]

Have you taken a Fluke apart to see the construction? It might be interesting to see a popular lesser (not too much less) model compared head-to-head with a Fluke - components, interior build quality, measurements, and so on. Is the more expensive of the two actually really worth the extra cost? As much as possible, both units should be selected at random, not preselected to benefit one over the other.

[dr4itd]

How about some facts? You are not objective. This video seams more like GSM propaganda. Are you affiliated with Gossen Metrawatt?

[ytrewqwer]

I agree with you but the video did not made a clear case. You should show its lacks of precision & accuracy. Cheapos are "enough" for home use: DC and maybe to line voltage. They differ much in safety, ruggedness, and measurement quality in the extremes of measurement range [uV & kV] and conditions, mostly temp & humidity. A Cheapo in an industrial environment risks a kilovoltage arc over inside the DMM. That glass fuse you showed is a explosion hazard in kV, kA ranges.

[ytrewqwer]

I agree with you but the video did not made a clear case. You should show its lacks of precision & accuracy. Cheapos are "enough" for home use: DC and maybe to line voltage. They differ much in safety, ruggedness, and measurement quality in the extremes of measurement range [uV & kV] and conditions, mostly temp & humidity. A Cheapo in an industrial environment risks a kilovoltage arc over inside the DMM. That glass fuse you showed is a explosion hazard in kV, kA ranges.

[sbab83]

$20 is a cheap meter? My $20 meter is my good meter. My cheap meter was $2.50 on sale at Harbor Freight.

Both always seem to be accurate, but then again, I don't do anything that requires heavy accuracy (mostly just component testing and stuff)

[adrianmouse666]

its ok bashing a cheap one i have a radio shack one that's still working after years and i think its proved its reliability and repeatability.

remember not all electronics enthusiasts have an unlimited budget .

[pedomohd]

the problem is the english companies now are importing components made from china then how can they say they hae a good multimeter. I say it depends where you use a multimeter. To test power line outlets use a cheapest one you dont need an expensive made in english countries. I am working in europe and I cAN say due to fierce competition we are using cheap components made in China. ONly few companies now made a real good quality multimeters

[fu3ar25]

Jaycar sux

[alanstarkie2001]

I prefer a Fluke every time - and I don't mean the parasite!

[baconfrazzles]

why do you have 1

[rikkihalomaster]

i have 1 cheap multimeter fore about 3 years the only thing that went bad was me and my grandad  blow the fuse up in it witch cannot be changed pit of wire back to normal

[86Ivar]

Good videos eev, but i like it much better when you have the more monotonic talking than the pitch rise at the end of words.

[CO2TROL]

ATTENTION!

Voice Police patrolling this area. Please moderate your voice.

(We strongly recommend that you refer to the BBC or HM Elizabeth II for further guidelines on the correct way to use your vocal chords. )

REMEMBER!

A monotone world is a less colourful world!

[86Ivar]

okAAAy. i understAAAnd.

[pedomohd]

@86Ivar and he should not raise her eyebrows lols...

[netwala]

$20 isnt cheap. $2 is.

[gmcjetpilot]

China can make good stuff, but they make cheap stuff because the market demands it. You got to love a $2 DMM. If you don't want to replace the battery throw it away and keep the test leads. The ones I have that I took apart have one big IC and surface mounted components..... how bad can it be for $2 or $5. A friend has an electrolysis set up and uses two cheap ones for that, because he does not want a nice meter around that harsh environment. I love me some cheap DMM's.

[gmcjetpilot]

Another example I have a battery charging area in my house for my many many NiMh batteries, AA, AAA, 9V and battery packs. It is nice to have a dedicated cheap volt meter there. Do I care if it says a 1.4 volt battery is 1.41volts? No, it helps me match the batteries and keep track if I charged the battery or not. By the way the NiMh I got from China cheap. They work great. I think to say ALL CHINA made stuff is junk is a mistake. Is Fluke or HP or Tektronics even made in America any more?

[gmcjetpilot]

I have an auto-range Fluke & 4 cheap Harbor Freight DMM's that I bought for $2 or $5 on sale, a few are real compact. THEY'RE GREAT. They work. I have one in the car, boat, plane, house, everywhere. None of mine failed; well one, it stopped taking Ohm readings. I brought it back a two yrs later, they gave me a new one, which has worked for 5 yrs. For general home use avg Joe or Jane cheap meters have value. A serious hobbyist, one quality meter is a must. Of course my GO TO meter is the Fluke.

[rasz]

What do you think about KYORITSU? Its a Japanese brand, and entry level Multimeter is only $30 (model 1009, kew1009, kt115). Accuracy is so so (0,6%+4c), but should be better than chinese crap, right?

[gmcjetpilot]

@rasz

Find a "PRO" meter & compare. Accuracy isn't a big issue. Will it fail, stop working? You'll know when it does in 2yrs or 20yrs. R U A hobbyist who turns it on 2 times a wk/avg OR Pro that uses it 20 times a day 5 days/wk, extreme accuracy needed? NAME brand units have service, support, repair. Cheap brands are throw away. I buy cheapest of cheap Harbor Fright DMM's. They just exchanged one that failed. I also own a top of line Fluke. I DON'T haul that out to check car or house wiring.

[IrishHitman79]

Im an electrician i can understand going for the cheap meter on site, cos you will damage it, or i could get stolen. Now for simple small jobs i use a "Rapid" is the make multimeter for small things like resistance and continuity. Now for live testing i always use my Fluke its a T5-600 its great (kept in the van lol) nice and simple fast to use and safe. I gave my rapid to a friend and he broke it by testing a 230v RMS socket while set on 200v RMS too many setings can cause problems too....

[EEVblog]

Never heard of Bluepoint. Built in S.Korea is interesting.

Probably just your typical mid range quality meter by the looks of it. Need to see inside to see the actual build, design and safety quality.

[nightmathzombieethan]

what do you think of Bluepoint?

I've got a "DMSC683A"

Made for Snap On Tools, but built in S.Korea....

I don't know a damn thing about multimeters, but I'm trying to learn! Oh, and do you have any vids on how to use a multimeter as a tachometer? Sorry for the beginners question!

[darylsutor]

I have no confidence in what you have to say....

I like to blow up multimeters and I trust doing it with the cheaper ones and insist other do it that way too. Let see your "sUDDER N" skills.

[darylsutor]

You whine more than my wife.... and are very pesimistic. A barking dog has more to say than you....

[myrdale]

What are your feelings about pawn shops? I just purchased a Fluke 87 meter, in what I would consider to be good condition for $75. It was last calibrated in 2006. I am not an electrician, and the cheap meters could have probably served the purposes I need, but I think buying used is a good middle ground.

[EEVblog]

You can actually get some real bargains from pawn shops, who most often don't know the value of some stuff they sell. Just have to know what you are buying.

Used Flukes are generally a fairly safe buy.

[tomvleeuwen]

You obviously never lost a multimeter. I work on cars a lot, and sometimes, i accidentally leave some tools in the car. It just happens. Most customers will return it, but sometimes tools get lost, probably left in a car.

I'd rather lose a $20 meter than the one I lost last time, a fluke 87 automotive.

We have another fluke 87, but that one broke down! (One of the display segments doesn't show up anymore). If it was a $20 multimeter, it wouldn't tick me off, but when it is expensive, it does!

[EEVblog]

No, the cheap ones can fail just sitting on the bench, you don't have to drop them for them to fail!

[godspeedfx]

so what you're saying is.. if you're a klutz and drop your multimeters, you shouldn't buy chinese made?

makes sense

[CO2TROL]

If you are doing anything that requires accuracy and reliabilty, then you choose...

A) An accurate and reliable instrument built to a good standard?

B) An inaccurate and unreliable instrument built on the cheap?

[TPWX]

I have to agree with twilight, show us some proof it really is worthless. Take a series of measures with a non-brand and a brand one and possibly with a reference meter.

I have used a non-brand meters for years now both in my work and hobbies and they've never failed me. Sure they're not .01 accurate but hey, you seriously can't expect that from a 40$ meter?

[iamthearmul]

While i agree on most of the things you say, what i would have liked to see would have been a comparsion between fluke and Chinese meter in measurement accuracy against reference meter.

[EEVblog]

You want me to sit and wait for the cheap meter to fail for you so I can take a "faulty" measurement with it?

If I did have a faulty cheap meter and took an incorrect measurement with it and compared it to a Fluke that measures good, what does that actually prove? It is still just asserting that meters can fail

Please tell me what I can specifically "measure" to make you happy...

This is a blog comment about my extensive personal and professional experience with both cheap and top quality meters

[twilight1138]

Sorry if I hurt your feelings mate. If you criticize something so harshly you need to have some arguments. Measure the actual accuracy, explain why the components are bad and how major brand products compare, show us one of these fake caps! I'm not saying what you say is wrong, just that telling isn't demonstrating.

Also you criticize the use of TH components, and in one of your other videos you actually praise the manufacturer for using serviceable TH components. You don't seem objective here.

[twilight1138]

Is this a Fluke advertisement ? You're not demonstrating anything, just asserting that components are bad and that meters fail, but you don't show any facts to back it up. How about some actual measurements ?