I'm a scout leader who is running the electronics badge with my scout troop next half term. Although the app is basic, it would be great to cast it to our projector for a demonstration. Measuring voltage, current and resistance with a multimeter and explaining the relationship between the values is part 4 of the badge. I could even use the voice function as a punishment for any that misbehave! Thanks for making videos!
So you've deduced (without even looking at the circuit) it's a linear regulator because "I" didn't change while varying "V" ? Hats off, you're the boss!
17:55 That tan goop looks remarkably like the cheapo glue used in some power supplies and other electronics. You know, the kind that goes brittle, brown, corrosive and *conductive* upon (prolonged) exposure to heat... Or just aging.
Yes, I thought that too. Everyone has known for years that this yellow glue goes conductive over time. It should be banned. Why not just use hot snot/hot glue gun glue.
Really? I can get a pack of 10 glue sticks for £1. I bet they can get 1000s in bulk much cheaper. Some things I've taken apart do use hot glue to hold down large components/connectors.
... But if a gallon of brown goop only costs them 1$, you can bet your booty they're gonna go for it. Plus it may very well not need melting to apply, so that's some cost-saving and time-saving there too (and simpler / cheaper "squirters" for application)...
Ohh the software on this thing. It has this Chinese UI design trademark "esthetics" - thin serif fonts everywhere, some stuff is clipped by few pixels, random visual glitches...
Amazing how consistently Chinese companies manage to screw up a design at the last minute. With a few changes this could have been an absolutely fantastic DMM. Its not bad as it is though, all the best to the contestants!
As an alarm and CCTV engineer, it would be useful to take live resistance measurements of the normally closed circuit from a PIR at the control panel end while walking past the PIR in another room to activate it. That Bluetooth function could prove to be invaluable in this instance. I would love to be able to try this meter out while on site... Ian. Banjax66
I would love to have that specific meter. How nice it would be to hunt down some easter eggs, including any that Mike himself may have left behind for us.
I'm a fan of my Uni-T 181. I've got a Fluke 87 for home use, but I prefer the Uni-T for work. What got me to buy the Uni-T is that it has an optically-coupled USB port for data collection, which is much more practical in a factory where Bluetooth ports are few and far between. Where this comes in handy is when you have to have the meter in one spot, and check connections elsewhere (finding a bad DeviceNet connection is where this is really handy). You set the meter up and connect it to your laptop, and open up the app to view the meter on the desktop. Then use a second laptop that you remote into the first one to view the readings remotely. It sure beats trying to holler out readings in the plant.
MrWaalkman I too use a 87V and an UT 181A. Great combo. I have also used the uni-t bluetooth adapter on the 181A and watched voltage logging from a short distance away on my phone.
hi mike i am visually impaired and could have good use for this multimeter. especially the voice function ( even if it is laggy, my kind cannot be picky, not much out there for us and if there is something it costs an arm and a leg). i have for the last years tried to engage my electronix interest i had when i was younger, before my eyes pooped on me, but high contrast/visibility equipment at a reasonable cost is REALLY hard to come by in my experience. so if you don't want to give me this multimeter maybe you have any suggestions of what's available on the market for normal people without more than 2 arms and legs? =) cheers!
When you have the bluetooth actively transmitting data to the phone, is the smallest voltage range on the meter still accurate? (That's the only "why in the world would you put a transmitter in a multimeter?" for me.) If they have good isolation, I could see this working. But I could see a cheap multimeter having terrible problems with RF feedback like that.
The graphing function actually looks very usefull. I have no specific use in mind, just need a nice multimeter for my projects. Located in Germany, greetings!
You going to do a review of Dave's multimeter and perhaps have a play with the firmware? It seems like a great meter for you since it has so much hackability!
Hey Mike Did you build that resistor selector device? How does it work? I teach high school electronics in central america, that would be a nice device to teach the kids about ohm's law and all that.
It's a decade resistance box. You can get them online, although they can be expensive. Making one is easy since it's just a box of switches an resistors. The cost in these comes from the resistors since there's quite a high number of precision resistors inside.
I could use this to hold my refrigerator door closed as it randomly pops open. It looks about the right size and quite grippy against the tiled floor. Would save a lot on ruined food and floods of condensate in the fridge!
Meters which have the 'off' position in between the ranges drive me nuts. My Fluke 175 fortunately has it on the left side. Still, this meter doesn't seem too bad for what it costs, even if the soldering quality inside (or lack thereof) makes me feel slightly apprehensive about its long-term prospects.
Hi finally I receive my Multimeter, excellent and looks robust and high quality. The screen is super clear and easy to read any angle. I fully recommend it, however still new just used for one week. The only matter I found is that I had problems to connected to the computer, apparently the PC don’t recognize it. Not sure why since my PC use BLUETOOTH 4.0, any idea?
Does anyone know why these Chinese/Taiwanese designed products always seem to use horrible seriffed fonts for the UI? They always display horribly on these low resolution screens and just look terrible in general.
Having worked with a few Chinese students at university, I believe it's because that particular font is pretty much the standard for writing in Chinese characters. They just didn't bother changing it for writing Latin alphabet characters, but I could be wrong...
I think it's also not obvious to non native speakers that certain fonts are ugly, just like most non Chinese readers probably wouldn't be able to spot an ugly Chinese font.
Mike would really appreciate the display on this meter, even my large display lcd’s just aren’t so easy to read any longer, damn Father Time! If I won I would write some open source software for the data logging, be nice to import to excel etc. Fingers crossed! Just another long sighted subscriber!
Hi, I don't have any "kids starting with electronics" or some other heartwarming "good cause" - I want the meter for myself, as a big upgrade to my existing meter. Having the features you showed in one meter would be a very handy thing. So, I enter the lottery as well, thank you! :D
Another typically thorough review, thanks Mike. I would like to get my hands on a talky-talky meter. I fly RC aircraft and most of the guys have Radios that talk to them, relaying various bits of important information to them. It can be quite annoying if there are 5 or 6 blokes flying with talking radios. With such a meter I'd hook it up to an ultrasonic sensor and have it read values from it, somehow, as someone nears me on the flightline the values will decrease, someone will mention that my radio hasn't changed and ask "how and what is being monitored"? My answer, "approaching hazard" or somesuch depending on the person of course. Cheers.
Keep the good work with the video's, as always, very interesting and informative. My multimeter died last week but don't think I will be replacing it with this one. The graphical display updates are just to slow. Perhaps the manufacturers will address this problem.
And I suppose this meter would be very nice considering the high visibility display. I often work outside in bright sunlight with electronics projects involving my motorcycle, and sometimes also in the shed with very bad lighting conditions.
Hiya, I'm glad you're not a hype-up guy and give engineers honest appraisals of kit. I could find the data-logging-y stuff interesting as I'm messing about with microcontrollers at the moment and seeing voltage over time would be useful. May play with the BLE and see if the Swiss Accent guy's introduction to that with ESP modules can make a better client than a phone - see if it's the implementation of the meter app or inherent in the BLE itself.
I was going to get a 121GW but it seems to have a faulty flux capacitor! Being new to electronics Its probably best to get something that works. That PCE-HDM10 looks ideal for a couple of battery drain issues I want to investigate. Oh and it will look cool on my new bench. Thanks for the great videos (not that I understand all of them) and for the meter give away.
I have CEM 9989 for more than 2 years and am quite satisfied with the capabilities. The customer support was quite fast (but didn't provide the lookup-table/convertion for the data stream). I didn't check yet, if there is a new logging software available with more than 20k lines of logging capability? I'm not sure if they want to avoid the common mistake of displaying all 2x+20k datapoints and slowing down the host (while they could used buffer and limited data display). I also didn't try yet a parallel readout of multiple CEMs. UNI-T can't be operated in such a way, so you have to use multiple brands for QaD loging.
I'm surprised they didn't make the charging adapter bridge the 10A and voltage inputs and only charge when they're connected as an additional step to prevent accidentally destroying the charging circuitry.
A majority of the issues with this meter could probably be resolved in software. Since the JTAG port is accessible, it could be an interesting project to write some custom firmware for the MCU (provided, there is a datasheet available for the display module). I have worked with the 1294 before and just on a first glance, the 123G seems overkill IMO for a bit of datalogging and interfacing to the display.
Mike how are things going? We are looking forward to more videos, let me know what kind of things we can send to you that would be useful, and a po box or similar (is that on your website?) I was also wondering about any electronics clubs or meet ups/events in London? I am there often.
I'm currently having an intermittent misfire issue in my car i think this could be useful for testing sensors and the injectors without having wires going through the window.
It would be useful to me as a second meter for my home bench that I‘ve set up last fall. I‘m trying to fix an old Hameg Scope right now and having only one decent meter makes that difficult. If you pick me, i‘d ask for it to be signed, please.
Absolutely love the display and the data logging! Maybe not the top of the line, but good enough for most engineers. I can make a whole big story why I am interested, but for me it simply comes down to the fact that a couple of years ago I had to get rid of all my stuff because of unfortunate private reasons. Bit by bit I am getting things back again. I don't know how I can put on my contact information, but I guess you can just reply to this post as well?
I agree, I think they missed a trick here. "Wireless charging", i.e. inductive charging. If engineered well, this would provide complete galvanic isolation, so you could use it on the bench, possibly even powered by the charger, while keeping the battery topped up. At to being cheaper using that big carbuncle attached to the low voltage probes, that must cost a fair bit to design and tool, possibly marginal whether they actually save any money this way.
Great stuff Mike, Never could budget a meter above $20, got some good ones at work, but at home I always have lousy readings due to my cheapo unity. I can tolerate the annoying BT voice so long as it reads reliably!
Hi, great video! I am looking to buy one unit. I think the display looks super clear and easy to read. What about the quality? Do you still have it? How it perform good or bad? I found the company in China that sell this Device. I hope not get any surprise…👍
Thanks for the review, Mike. I would love to write a proper app for that thing, just to show it can be done. So many meters these days (some that can even go back in time), just consider the app as the 'bit at the end that won't take too much effort'. Then the reality sets in, that it is a significant part of the development, but as they are resigned to the fact they have signed up to the feature, they just cobble something together to tick the box. ps, least the woman trapped in the meter doesn't sound like a TOWIE star!
The data logging will be a game changer for characterising the betteries im working on.. My most expensive meter was 20 quid.. :/ Thanks Is it just me thinking this or should it have been an OLED...?
I thought I had left this comment before, but I've worked with the Tiva C microcontrollers quite a bit. The reason it has two crystals is for power savings. It does have an internal 32kHz clock but it's very inaccurate. If you need to have accurate timers or RTC internally, you can add the second external crystal and it will switch to that on entry to deep sleep mode. In this application I can't fathom why they would need it. I suspect they just copied and pasted the reference design, which does include the second crystal.
The Bluetooth and high visibility display would be very helpful when diagnosing sensor issues on my 80's Nissan 300ZX Turbo (no onboard diagnostics). Often, I've wanted to log+view signals during a troubleshooting test drive. With this meter I can leave it in the engine bay or wherever and view the live data via phone. In the past, I've resorted to using a microcontroller as a cheap data logger when working on it (but they fair poorly in the rain / engine bay without work to waterproof them.
Hey, this may help with the gremlins of the canbus of my kuga (some module has a bad gnd or pwr) I could have a peek at the modules' supply connections while driving :-P
Great review. I want a temperature datalogging solution to monitor a water tank, particularly during the night time to find the lowest temperature point during summer. A project that I mean to work on and sits on the back burner. The poor battery life is honestly the most restricting aspect here although I suppose it'd manage one night's pass at least. That's assuming it does log temperature since it can't live graph it (wtf?). Perhaps an external power supply could be rigged up in place of the battery to get a continuous stream of data over some days and make it considerably more useful. UK.
You got a link to that BLE BT app, that the maker found for you, after getting in touch.?? Got an other bluetooth meter there uses BLE BT, would love to see if it could play along? as that native app is nothing to write home about, though it got multiple graphs and logging and voice value telling.
I'm very interested to reverse engineer the firmware and see if additional features could be added. The big screen literally screams for it. I'm located in Germany.
Probably not a best use of it, but I recently got some industrial pressure sensors for a university project and having a DMM that has the 4-20mA range would help me to speed up the development of the application, so that I wouldn't need to do its conversion in head.
Mike I just recently got into FPV quadcopter racing and the first thing that struck me was that the video quality using the 5.8Ghz analogue was really bad resolution 720TVL max but really smooth and with fantastic 15ms latency. Many digital video solutions like on the expensive Mavic drones have terrible latency (50ms to 60ms) making them unsuitable for FPV. So I wondered if its possible to create a higher TVL signal by sampling a sensor and splitting into 720TVL x4 quarters then transmitting over four 5.8Ghz links then the recieving headset would just recombine the quarters into a higher definition image? Thanks
Change Agent it might be possible to transmit the output from AHD CCTV cameras with some kind of analogue modulation... (Probably non-standard and using a huge RF bandwidth though), but it might be interesting to try...
Hi Mike, I know you said it was available to EU/UK only, but I thought I'd try my luck. I have a 2500V 640µF capacitor bank affectionately known as "Box'o'Bangs" that we're trying to get in to a state we can take it to schools etc. Being able to do remote readings off the bank would be a god send! I'm happy to chuck in some dollars for shipping it to me in Western Australia if that helps. Lemming.
@mikeselectricstuff Could u maybe write out the Resistor location/Description for the LED backlight ? maybe I wanna hack my backup meter soon :D greets
I feel like an OLED screen, along with a better voltage regulator, would make this much better on the battery usage. I don't like the relatively low contrast of unlit LCD displays - as we age it becomes harder to discern low contrast images.
I'd enter competition thinking I could have a look at the bluetooth connection and build a better companion app, but it'll probably be more useful to someone with vision impariment.
I'm in the UK and would like the meter as my first meter to be honest as I do find myself needing one from time to time so this would fit the bill there. :)
I got nothin ... but i believe there was or is a piclist member who is blind and maybe of some value with the audio readout. Great teardown as always. Love ya work
The reason for the two crystals next to the Tiva C: the TMC can use that other crystal to go into a super-low power mode while still having accurate timers. It's not necessary, but it IS part of the reference circuits for that processor.
That makes sense for two crystals on the micro, but then why have an external RTC when one is built in already? (TM4C123GH6PM). Could have shaved a few pennies there.
The charging adapter design is awesome, I have an Agilent U1252A and I always afraid of somebody being turn the knob while its charging. I have a CEM DT-9929 too, anybody know about its calibration procedure?
Had they used a single cell lithium battery they could have implemented a micro USB plug into the adapter thingy and also a simple boost converter for better efficiency. This way there would be so many more options for charging either in the field or away from home, not to mention a cheaper charging circuit and low power boost converters are a dime-a-dozen. I'd want this meter mainly for the fact that my meter is almost cactus, for some reason it sucks a lot of power when it goes to sleep and it's enough to kill a 9V battery in one night. I could make use of the graph and the data logging that this one offers, too bad it doesn't do temperature graph. Edit: yes i am in the EU. Lithuania to be precise.
I am visually impaired (albino) so the high contrast display would be very useful. I haven't seen a meter with a nice display like that before. I would love to have a meter like this. I think I could live with its shortcomings for that display. It's a shame the voice readout is goofed.
I could use it for the graph and bluetooth. Due to some medical reason I can work an hour and then have rest an hour . I repair test and calibration gear and often I have to let it powered on in the rest hours. I do not like that for most if it involves charging an internal battery. It would be handy and safe to be able to monitor that while I'm resting and the graph is nice to see what happened over time (so I do not have to watch the meter constantly) Fred, (pa4tim )
Kind of strange DMA:D but with same mods, like straight usb charging and sticker "do not use for measuring, while charging, because you can blow up your hand" it's good enough for local hackerspace people imagination:D, best wishes from Lithuania:D TxNx
I'd love the DMM as I only have to check the occasional continuity or use it for the odd household chore, the el cheapo 5 quid market job I own is ready to retire.
I guess having another multimeter wouldn't hurt - I'd probably use it as another secondary meter (or maybe put it at my parents' place so that I have something there to do basic troubleshooting with when I visit them from time to time). And yes, I wouldn't try to eat it :D
Maybe it could be prove to be useful to me as i am trying to monitor voltage(s) and analog sensor readouts of my first near space amateur balloon (while being on a freezer) for about 6-7 hours. If i dont get the meter i plan to stick with my original plan of making my webcam take a picture of trusty old extech meter every hour or something...
My son is at the age now where i can get him interested in electronics. I have a few component kits and tools but no meter as yet (well other than a super basic one) i think the colour screen and the bluetooth would certainly add to his interest - he has an iPad and so am sure would enjoy linking the two together. Ant.
They missed a trick with selection, there should be a short delay for power-off when passing through 'OFF' position. Personally, I like the display, but still not sure I could live with 13 hours :-(
I would find that meter quite handy as an incentive to my other multimeter to work properly, lest it be replaced and relegated to the back of a draw somewhere.
Hello, I just get my CEM dt 989 Anyone knows password for CALIBRATION ? When I compare OHM measurment with my old Cem 965bt the cem 989 shows shlighty higher values. Thanx in advance
I would need a BT datalogging meter, but could not justify the cost of one. The data logging is for monitoring battery discharge rate, BT is for remote reading, especially when testing vehicles, using a mirror is quite fiddly. If it got to me, I would probably research a better app or write on myself, having done a similar thing before.
I could really use that meter as my eye sight sucks and my old Fluke 77 just died so I'm meterless right now. I actually quite like it too, was seriously considering saving up for one until you mentioned it's going to be given away. I'd have to straighten that wonky cap tho.
1.0841 is exactly the same voltage on my luggage! The aesthetics of the meter make me think of B&Q for reasons I don't really understand. That battery life is a real shame, I think Dave J's 121GW meter has bluetooth, be interesting to see how that effects it's life, I guess not so bad as he went with a more traditional display. (I don't want this meter btw!)
Need a multimeter with a crisp display to start making CZcams-videos on zigbee module integrations to esp8266. Few projects ready but need microamp range to confirm batterylife...
Could do with the multimeter after I stood on and destroyed my cheapo Aneng. Otherwise I'll have to wait two or three months for a new one to come from ebay. BTW - loved the ending......so reminiscent of the numbers stations :)
Wireless induction charging might have made more sense. 12V charging would also have probably been a better option so vehicle voltages could be used. EDIT: Ah never mind, you mentioned wireless at the end.
in EU Finland I want this because my current meter is a cheap 20 euro meter that works but i cant swear about its reliability anymore, also i have had the old one for Years.
I see this is over 200eu on Amazon. For that money you could probably get *two* Brymen BM233 / 235, which are actually designed and put together properly.
Well, true, but... Well, if i happened to get a meter like this for free, i'd just sell it and get a "proper" one for that money (or less) :P Nice to see fellow inhabitants of these lands around here, though :) (even if i'm not a native)
Unfortunately. I bought it and I have a problem. The memory has stopped working. The Multimtr does not save basic settings such as Date, time, colors, time formats, dates, indications. I have replaced the memory backup battery. with no effect. I do not recommend buying this multimeter.
I'm a scout leader who is running the electronics badge with my scout troop next half term. Although the app is basic, it would be great to cast it to our projector for a demonstration. Measuring voltage, current and resistance with a multimeter and explaining the relationship between the values is part 4 of the badge. I could even use the voice function as a punishment for any that misbehave! Thanks for making videos!
So you've deduced (without even looking at the circuit) it's a linear regulator because "I" didn't change while varying "V" ? Hats off, you're the boss!
Thats easy, everyone who know difference between linear and switch mode regulator should be able to do that.
I just wanted to thank you Mike for the awesome trick to open ultrasonically welded brick power supplies by hitting it with a screwdriver.
17:55 That tan goop looks remarkably like the cheapo glue used in some power supplies and other electronics. You know, the kind that goes brittle, brown, corrosive and *conductive* upon (prolonged) exposure to heat... Or just aging.
Yes, I thought that too. Everyone has known for years that this yellow glue goes conductive over time. It should be banned. Why not just use hot snot/hot glue gun glue.
For all i / we know, hot-snot may just be THAT much more pricey than this brown crap, and when we're talking penny-pinching...
Really? I can get a pack of 10 glue sticks for £1. I bet they can get 1000s in bulk much cheaper. Some things I've taken apart do use hot glue to hold down large components/connectors.
... But if a gallon of brown goop only costs them 1$, you can bet your booty they're gonna go for it. Plus it may very well not need melting to apply, so that's some cost-saving and time-saving there too (and simpler / cheaper "squirters" for application)...
A lot of videos lately, love it.
Ohh the software on this thing. It has this Chinese UI design trademark "esthetics" - thin serif fonts everywhere, some stuff is clipped by few pixels, random visual glitches...
Amazing how consistently Chinese companies manage to screw up a design at the last minute. With a few changes this could have been an absolutely fantastic DMM. Its not bad as it is though, all the best to the contestants!
This thing is completely useless as it neither supports any blockchain nor does it integrate with the cloud. Who needs bluetooth, then?
CEM is an Indian company.
As an alarm and CCTV engineer, it would be useful to take live resistance measurements of the normally closed circuit from a PIR at the control panel end while walking past the PIR in another room to activate it. That Bluetooth function could prove to be invaluable in this instance. I would love to be able to try this meter out while on site... Ian. Banjax66
I would love to have that specific meter. How nice it would be to hunt down some easter eggs, including any that Mike himself may have left behind for us.
I'm a fan of my Uni-T 181. I've got a Fluke 87 for home use, but I prefer the Uni-T for work. What got me to buy the Uni-T is that it has an optically-coupled USB port for data collection, which is much more practical in a factory where Bluetooth ports are few and far between.
Where this comes in handy is when you have to have the meter in one spot, and check connections elsewhere (finding a bad DeviceNet connection is where this is really handy).
You set the meter up and connect it to your laptop, and open up the app to view the meter on the desktop. Then use a second laptop that you remote into the first one to view the readings remotely. It sure beats trying to holler out readings in the plant.
MrWaalkman I too use a 87V and an UT 181A. Great combo. I have also used the uni-t bluetooth adapter on the 181A and watched voltage logging from a short distance away on my phone.
The Chinese really do love their serif fonts.
It looks crap. Also, text alignment on buttons is all over the place. It's such a pity.
hi mike
i am visually impaired and could have good use for this multimeter.
especially the voice function ( even if it is laggy, my kind cannot be picky, not much out there for us and if there is something it costs an arm and a leg). i have for the last years tried to engage my electronix interest i had when i was younger, before my eyes pooped on me, but high contrast/visibility equipment at a reasonable cost is REALLY hard to come by in my experience.
so if you don't want to give me this multimeter maybe you have any suggestions of what's available on the market for normal people without more than 2 arms and legs? =)
cheers!
When you have the bluetooth actively transmitting data to the phone, is the smallest voltage range on the meter still accurate? (That's the only "why in the world would you put a transmitter in a multimeter?" for me.) If they have good isolation, I could see this working. But I could see a cheap multimeter having terrible problems with RF feedback like that.
The graphing function actually looks very usefull. I have no specific use in mind, just need a nice multimeter for my projects. Located in Germany, greetings!
This actually looks useful for reflow oven temp measurements with the graphing plot.
You going to do a review of Dave's multimeter and perhaps have a play with the firmware? It seems like a great meter for you since it has so much hackability!
Hackability? The firmware is closed-source.
Best channel in the game
Hey Mike
Did you build that resistor selector device?
How does it work? I teach high school electronics in central america, that would be a nice device to teach the kids about ohm's law and all that.
It's a decade resistance box. You can get them online, although they can be expensive. Making one is easy since it's just a box of switches an resistors. The cost in these comes from the resistors since there's quite a high number of precision resistors inside.
I could use this to hold my refrigerator door closed as it randomly pops open. It looks about the right size and quite grippy against the tiled floor. Would save a lot on ruined food and floods of condensate in the fridge!
Meters which have the 'off' position in between the ranges drive me nuts. My Fluke 175 fortunately has it on the left side. Still, this meter doesn't seem too bad for what it costs, even if the soldering quality inside (or lack thereof) makes me feel slightly apprehensive about its long-term prospects.
Hi finally I receive my Multimeter, excellent and looks robust and high quality. The screen is super clear and easy to read any angle. I fully recommend it, however still new just used for one week. The only matter I found is that I had problems to connected to the computer, apparently the PC don’t recognize it. Not sure why since my PC use BLUETOOTH 4.0, any idea?
Does anyone know why these Chinese/Taiwanese designed products always seem to use horrible seriffed fonts for the UI? They always display horribly on these low resolution screens and just look terrible in general.
Having worked with a few Chinese students at university, I believe it's because that particular font is pretty much the standard for writing in Chinese characters. They just didn't bother changing it for writing Latin alphabet characters, but I could be wrong...
I think it's also not obvious to non native speakers that certain fonts are ugly, just like most non Chinese readers probably wouldn't be able to spot an ugly Chinese font.
Mike would really appreciate the display on this meter, even my large display lcd’s just aren’t so easy to read any longer, damn Father Time! If I won I would write some open source software for the data logging, be nice to import to excel etc. Fingers crossed! Just another long sighted subscriber!
Hi, I don't have any "kids starting with electronics" or some other heartwarming "good cause" - I want the meter for myself, as a big upgrade to my existing meter. Having the features you showed in one meter would be a very handy thing. So, I enter the lottery as well, thank you! :D
Another typically thorough review, thanks Mike. I would like to get my hands on a talky-talky meter. I fly RC aircraft and most of the guys have Radios that talk to them, relaying various bits of important information to them. It can be quite annoying if there are 5 or 6 blokes flying with talking radios. With such a meter I'd hook it up to an ultrasonic sensor and have it read values from it, somehow, as someone nears me on the flightline the values will decrease, someone will mention that my radio hasn't changed and ask "how and what is being monitored"? My answer, "approaching hazard" or somesuch depending on the person of course. Cheers.
Keep the good work with the video's, as always, very interesting and informative. My multimeter died last week but don't think I will be replacing it with this one. The graphical display updates are just to slow. Perhaps the manufacturers will address this problem.
And I suppose this meter would be very nice considering the high visibility display. I often work outside in bright sunlight with electronics projects involving my motorcycle, and sometimes also in the shed with very bad lighting conditions.
Would love to see it in person for myself. ;-) Cheers, Mike!
Great video, no problems with audio here.
I Will love to have this one to monitor the power consumption on my 3d printed cleaning robot and replacing my old UNI-t ..Cheers from Sweden
Hi nidal, this is Mafalda from CEM. If you need DT-989, welcome to contact with me, we can offer competitive price to you.
Hiya, I'm glad you're not a hype-up guy and give engineers honest appraisals of kit. I could find the data-logging-y stuff interesting as I'm messing about with microcontrollers at the moment and seeing voltage over time would be useful. May play with the BLE and see if the Swiss Accent guy's introduction to that with ESP modules can make a better client than a phone - see if it's the implementation of the meter app or inherent in the BLE itself.
I was going to get a 121GW but it seems to have a faulty flux capacitor! Being new to electronics Its probably best to get something that works. That PCE-HDM10 looks ideal for a couple of battery drain issues I want to investigate. Oh and it will look cool on my new bench. Thanks for the great videos (not that I understand all of them) and for the meter give away.
I have CEM 9989 for more than 2 years and am quite satisfied with the capabilities. The customer support was quite fast (but didn't provide the lookup-table/convertion for the data stream). I didn't check yet, if there is a new logging software available with more than 20k lines of logging capability? I'm not sure if they want to avoid the common mistake of displaying all 2x+20k datapoints and slowing down the host (while they could used buffer and limited data display).
I also didn't try yet a parallel readout of multiple CEMs. UNI-T can't be operated in such a way, so you have to use multiple brands for QaD loging.
I'm surprised they didn't make the charging adapter bridge the 10A and voltage inputs and only charge when they're connected as an additional step to prevent accidentally destroying the charging circuitry.
A majority of the issues with this meter could probably be resolved in software. Since the JTAG port is accessible, it could be an interesting project to write some custom firmware for the MCU (provided, there is a datasheet available for the display module). I have worked with the 1294 before and just on a first glance, the 123G seems overkill IMO for a bit of datalogging and interfacing to the display.
Mike how are things going? We are looking forward to more videos, let me know what kind of things we can send to you that would be useful, and a po box or similar (is that on your website?) I was also wondering about any electronics clubs or meet ups/events in London? I am there often.
I'm currently having an intermittent misfire issue in my car i think this could be useful for testing sensors and the injectors without having wires going through the window.
I suppose I could replace my £20 maplin crappo meter, btw loving the uploads as of recent.
It would be useful to me as a second meter for my home bench that I‘ve set up last fall. I‘m trying to fix an old Hameg Scope right now and having only one decent meter makes that difficult. If you pick me, i‘d ask for it to be signed, please.
Absolutely love the display and the data logging! Maybe not the top of the line, but good enough for most engineers.
I can make a whole big story why I am interested, but for me it simply comes down to the fact that a couple of years ago I had to get rid of all my stuff because of unfortunate private reasons. Bit by bit I am getting things back again.
I don't know how I can put on my contact information, but I guess you can just reply to this post as well?
I agree, I think they missed a trick here. "Wireless charging", i.e. inductive charging. If engineered well, this would provide complete galvanic isolation, so you could use it on the bench, possibly even powered by the charger, while keeping the battery topped up. At to being cheaper using that big carbuncle attached to the low voltage probes, that must cost a fair bit to design and tool, possibly marginal whether they actually save any money this way.
i'm terribly short sighted (-4.75 both eyes). This meter would be great for me, specially when i'm working in low light levels. Thanks mike!!
Buy a pair of glasses, stop torturing yourself.
I need the meter to bang in some nails in my understairs cupboard. I also need something to wedge open my kitchen door, damn its hot in there.
Great stuff Mike, Never could budget a meter above $20, got some good ones at work, but at home I always have lousy readings due to my cheapo unity. I can tolerate the annoying BT voice so long as it reads reliably!
Hi, great video! I am looking to buy one unit. I think the display looks super clear and easy to read. What about the quality? Do you still have it? How it perform good or bad? I found the company in China that sell this Device. I hope not get any surprise…👍
Thanks for the review, Mike. I would love to write a proper app for that thing, just to show it can be done. So many meters these days (some that can even go back in time), just consider the app as the 'bit at the end that won't take too much effort'. Then the reality sets in, that it is a significant part of the development, but as they are resigned to the fact they have signed up to the feature, they just cobble something together to tick the box. ps, least the woman trapped in the meter doesn't sound like a TOWIE star!
I could review it in a far less professional manner on my channel lol. Keep up the good work Mike!
The data logging will be a game changer for characterising the betteries im working on.. My most expensive meter was 20 quid.. :/ Thanks Is it just me thinking this or should it have been an OLED...?
...... Well done Mate, What a 'Non sequitur'' unit.
I thought I had left this comment before, but I've worked with the Tiva C microcontrollers quite a bit. The reason it has two crystals is for power savings. It does have an internal 32kHz clock but it's very inaccurate. If you need to have accurate timers or RTC internally, you can add the second external crystal and it will switch to that on entry to deep sleep mode. In this application I can't fathom why they would need it. I suspect they just copied and pasted the reference design, which does include the second crystal.
The Bluetooth and high visibility display would be very helpful when diagnosing sensor issues on my 80's Nissan 300ZX Turbo (no onboard diagnostics). Often, I've wanted to log+view signals during a troubleshooting test drive. With this meter I can leave it in the engine bay or wherever and view the live data via phone. In the past, I've resorted to using a microcontroller as a cheap data logger when working on it (but they fair poorly in the rain / engine bay without work to waterproof them.
I live up north and could use the data logging function to monitor dynamic heat loss through flat caps.....
Hey, this may help with the gremlins of the canbus of my kuga (some module has a bad gnd or pwr) I could have a peek at the modules' supply connections while driving :-P
Great review. I want a temperature datalogging solution to monitor a water tank, particularly during the night time to find the lowest temperature point during summer. A project that I mean to work on and sits on the back burner. The poor battery life is honestly the most restricting aspect here although I suppose it'd manage one night's pass at least. That's assuming it does log temperature since it can't live graph it (wtf?). Perhaps an external power supply could be rigged up in place of the battery to get a continuous stream of data over some days and make it considerably more useful. UK.
You got a link to that BLE BT app, that the maker found for you, after getting in touch.??
Got an other bluetooth meter there uses BLE BT, would love to see if it could play along? as that native app is nothing to write home about, though it got multiple graphs and logging and voice value telling.
I'm very interested to reverse engineer the firmware and see if additional features could be added. The big screen literally screams for it. I'm located in Germany.
Would love a new multimeter, even one that sounds like Steven hawking on acid! keep up the great videos mike.
Robert White torture device maybe?
Probably not a best use of it, but I recently got some industrial pressure sensors for a university project and having a DMM that has the 4-20mA range would help me to speed up the development of the application, so that I wouldn't need to do its conversion in head.
Mike I just recently got into FPV quadcopter racing and the first thing that struck me was that the video quality using the 5.8Ghz analogue was really bad resolution 720TVL max but really smooth and with fantastic 15ms latency. Many digital video solutions like on the expensive Mavic drones have terrible latency (50ms to 60ms) making them unsuitable for FPV. So I wondered if its possible to create a higher TVL signal by sampling a sensor and splitting into 720TVL x4 quarters then transmitting over four 5.8Ghz links then the recieving headset would just recombine the quarters into a higher definition image? Thanks
Change Agent it might be possible to transmit the output from AHD CCTV cameras with some kind of analogue modulation... (Probably non-standard and using a huge RF bandwidth though), but it might be interesting to try...
Hi Mike,
I know you said it was available to EU/UK only, but I thought I'd try my luck.
I have a 2500V 640µF capacitor bank affectionately known as "Box'o'Bangs" that we're trying to get in to a state we can take it to schools etc. Being able to do remote readings off the bank would be a god send!
I'm happy to chuck in some dollars for shipping it to me in Western Australia if that helps.
Lemming.
That voice option there almost made a trance like tune there for a bit.
@mikeselectricstuff Could u maybe write out the Resistor location/Description for the LED backlight ? maybe I wanna hack my backup meter soon :D greets
I feel like an OLED screen, along with a better voltage regulator, would make this much better on the battery usage. I don't like the relatively low contrast of unlit LCD displays - as we age it becomes harder to discern low contrast images.
I'd enter competition thinking I could have a look at the bluetooth connection and build a better companion app, but it'll probably be more useful to someone with vision impariment.
I'm in the UK and would like the meter as my first meter to be honest as I do find myself needing one from time to time so this would fit the bill there. :)
I got nothin ... but i believe there was or is a piclist member who is blind and maybe of some value with the audio readout.
Great teardown as always. Love ya work
Martin McCormick .. can I do that ... Anyway I am sure he would find such an app and meter invaluable.
Did you get that for free from China ?
Comprehensive review.
Ooooh it's a Tiva C processor! I have worked with those a LOT and I bet it would be a lot of fun to write some actual good software for this thing!
Would love to reverse-engineer that BLE protocol as well.
The reason for the two crystals next to the Tiva C: the TMC can use that other crystal to go into a super-low power mode while still having accurate timers. It's not necessary, but it IS part of the reference circuits for that processor.
That makes sense for two crystals on the micro, but then why have an external RTC when one is built in already? (TM4C123GH6PM). Could have shaved a few pennies there.
Chinese...
The charging adapter design is awesome, I have an Agilent U1252A and I always afraid of somebody being turn the knob while its charging.
I have a CEM DT-9929 too, anybody know about its calibration procedure?
Had they used a single cell lithium battery they could have implemented a micro USB plug into the adapter thingy and also a simple boost converter for better efficiency. This way there would be so many more options for charging either in the field or away from home, not to mention a cheaper charging circuit and low power boost converters are a dime-a-dozen.
I'd want this meter mainly for the fact that my meter is almost cactus, for some reason it sucks a lot of power when it goes to sleep and it's enough to kill a 9V battery in one night. I could make use of the graph and the data logging that this one offers, too bad it doesn't do temperature graph.
Edit: yes i am in the EU. Lithuania to be precise.
I am visually impaired (albino) so the high contrast display would be very useful. I haven't seen a meter with a nice display like that before. I would love to have a meter like this. I think I could live with its shortcomings for that display. It's a shame the voice readout is goofed.
I could use it for the graph and bluetooth. Due to some medical reason I can work an hour and then have rest an hour . I repair test and calibration gear and often I have to let it powered on in the rest hours. I do not like that for most if it involves charging an internal battery. It would be handy and safe to be able to monitor that while I'm resting and the graph is nice to see what happened over time (so I do not have to watch the meter constantly)
Fred, (pa4tim )
Kind of strange DMA:D but with same mods, like straight usb charging and sticker "do not use for measuring, while charging, because you can blow up your hand" it's good enough for local hackerspace people imagination:D, best wishes from Lithuania:D TxNx
i need a good meter as it would be useful to data log the average current of my new self designed brush less motor controller
I'd love the DMM as I only have to check the occasional continuity or use it for the odd household chore, the el cheapo 5 quid market job I own is ready to retire.
I guess having another multimeter wouldn't hurt - I'd probably use it as another secondary meter (or maybe put it at my parents' place so that I have something there to do basic troubleshooting with when I visit them from time to time).
And yes, I wouldn't try to eat it :D
Password help please. In Settings-> calibrate asks for a password. Anyone can inform me default. Thanks
Maybe it could be prove to be useful to me as i am trying to monitor voltage(s) and analog sensor readouts of my first near space amateur balloon (while being on a freezer) for about 6-7 hours. If i dont get the meter i plan to stick with my original plan of making my webcam take a picture of trusty old extech meter every hour or something...
Great teardown. I don need something like this I have Fluke 289 :D May be I will build som BT or WIFI throe the IR :)
like to see multimeter charging while taking measurement (via probes), is that too much to ask for?
Too much. You need high input resistance.
My son is at the age now where i can get him interested in electronics. I have a few component kits and tools but no meter as yet (well other than a super basic one) i think the colour screen and the bluetooth would certainly add to his interest - he has an iPad and so am sure would enjoy linking the two together.
Ant.
They missed a trick with selection, there should be a short delay for power-off when passing through 'OFF' position. Personally, I like the display, but still not sure I could live with 13 hours :-(
I would find that meter quite handy as an incentive to my other multimeter to work properly, lest it be replaced and relegated to the back of a draw somewhere.
I think Dave did a video about those Chinese Siba fuses recently. Lots of fakes around
Hello, I just get my CEM dt 989
Anyone knows password for CALIBRATION ?
When I compare OHM measurment with my old Cem 965bt the cem 989 shows shlighty higher values.
Thanx in advance
Will it run Crysis ??
A competition! I would like the meter to be able to log battery discharge rates!
That meter would discharge long before your batteries in test lmao.
Why would you ever want yellow and purple? Perhaps yellow on blue that's a good colour if visually impaired.
I would need a BT datalogging meter, but could not justify the cost of one. The data logging is for monitoring battery discharge rate, BT is for remote reading, especially when testing vehicles, using a mirror is quite fiddly. If it got to me, I would probably research a better app or write on myself, having done a similar thing before.
I could really use that meter as my eye sight sucks and my old Fluke 77 just died so I'm meterless right now. I actually quite like it too, was seriously considering saving up for one until you mentioned it's going to be given away. I'd have to straighten that wonky cap tho.
Glasses?
They don't help with the migraines and eye pain from low contrast displays
That meter may have some issues but it is still nicer than any meter I own. I would love a meter like that.
Anyone got an idea how to cheaply log mains voltage to a PC? Doesn't need to be RMS, just a rough estimate.
Just read the voltage from the UPS on your computer. Most of them will send the mains voltage reading over the USB or serial port.
www.itead.cc/wiki/Sonoff_Pow
Not sure how it calculates power... But its hackable and only $10. Schematic is published too.
1.0841 is exactly the same voltage on my luggage!
The aesthetics of the meter make me think of B&Q for reasons I don't really understand. That battery life is a real shame, I think Dave J's 121GW meter has bluetooth, be interesting to see how that effects it's life, I guess not so bad as he went with a more traditional display. (I don't want this meter btw!)
Need a multimeter with a crisp display to start making CZcams-videos on zigbee module integrations to esp8266. Few projects ready but need microamp range to confirm batterylife...
Could do with the multimeter after I stood on and destroyed my cheapo Aneng. Otherwise I'll have to wait two or three months for a new one to come from ebay.
BTW - loved the ending......so reminiscent of the numbers stations :)
Wireless induction charging might have made more sense.
12V charging would also have probably been a better option so vehicle voltages could be used.
EDIT: Ah never mind, you mentioned wireless at the end.
in EU Finland
I want this because my current meter is a cheap 20 euro meter that works but i cant swear about its reliability anymore, also i have had the old one for Years.
I see this is over 200eu on Amazon. For that money you could probably get *two* Brymen BM233 / 235, which are actually designed and put together properly.
KhronX but free is always free. I know i should buy a better one. Just havent gotten to it yet!
Well, true, but... Well, if i happened to get a meter like this for free, i'd just sell it and get a "proper" one for that money (or less) :P
Nice to see fellow inhabitants of these lands around here, though :) (even if i'm not a native)
Unfortunately. I bought it and I have a problem. The memory has stopped working. The Multimtr does not save basic settings such as Date, time, colors, time formats, dates, indications. I have replaced the memory backup battery. with no effect. I do not recommend buying this multimeter.
Under the cover there is a button cell battery who is for keeping data storage. Try replacing it.
Might not be up to the job for a pro but for someone like me into the RC hobby i could fined a good few uses for it. :-)