Test/review of DMM Aneng AN8008

EDC Gear for Flashlight Carriers
1

DMM Aneng AN8008







This is a cheap DMM with all common function.







It included the DMM, two pair of probes and a manual.









The standard probes has removable tip covers.







The probes are rated for 10A, I would not trust that but use some more solid wire for 10A range.







The other set of probes fells rather low quality, but has some nice functions. They consist of two wires with threads at both ends and a couple of different tips that can be mounted in each end. It is slow to use, but very flexible.







Here are all the different tips.











The body of the DMM feels solid, the plastic is rather smooth, i.e. the DMM can easily slide on a surface. The tilting bale is rather flimsy and do not give enough support for pressing buttons and turning the range switch.













Display







The above picture shows all the segments on the display.

Notice how u and m symbols are at multiple locations, making it possible to show them just before the unit.

The °F, °C, MIN, MAX and delta indicators are not used on this meter.







Typical display during usage, it will show the number and what measurement is selected.







Functions







Buttons:

  • Range (Blue): Will disable auto range and change range, hold down to activate background light.

  • Sel/Hold (Yellow): Select the ranges printed with yellow, hold down to freeze the display reading.


Rotary switch:

  • Off: Meter is turned off

  • V % Hz: Show voltage, using the yellow button will cycle between VDC, VAC, freq. and duty cycle.

  • mV: Show millivolt, using the yellow button will cycle between VDC and VAC

  • ohm: Resistance, continuity, diode and capacitance

  • Hz: Frequency and duty cycle.

  • A mA: Current AC and DC.

  • uA: Current AC and DC.

  • Square: Frequency out, use the yellow button to select from 50Hz to 5000Hz



Input


  • A mA: A very low burden voltage mA range and a 10A that cannot really handle 10A.

  • CON: The common terminal for all ranges.

  • xxx: All other ranges, including uA. It is always problematic when a current range shares connector with a voltage range, if the switch is in the wrong position the (hard to replace) fuse will blow (at least). This will only affect current, voltage will still work.





Measurements

  • Volt and frequency

    • AC volt can measure up to about 2kHz (RMS will not work at the frequency).

    • At 1Vrms input frequency range is from 1Hz to 3MHz

    • Input impedance is 10Mohm on DC and AC

    • mV range is high input impedance for both DC and AC

    • Frequency input needs about 180mV to work at 1kHz.

    • Frequency counter and duty cycle works without zero crossing in Hz range.

  • Current

    • 10A range is badly calibrated at high current.

    • 10A range will change some percent at 5-10A current due to heating.

    • 10A range will give an audible alarm when current is above 10A (uA will not).

  • Ohm, continuity, diode and capacity

    • Ohm voltage is 1V open and 0.42mA shorted

    • Continuity is fast (About 20ms).

    • Continuity beeps when resistance is below 50ohm.

    • Continuity is 1V open and 0.42mA shorted

    • Diode voltage is 3.2V with display of up to 3.000V with 0.2mA, maximum current is 1.8mA shorted

    • 70000uF takes about 8 seconds to measure.

  • Miscellaneous

    • A beeper will sound shortly before the meter turns itself off

    • Current consumption of meter is 1.6mA (7.5mA with backlight)

    • Meter works down to 2.2V where it turns off, battery symbol show at 2.4V.

    • Readings are stable with changing battery voltage.

    • Backlight only works down to about 2.6V where it is fairly dim.

    • Possible output frequencies are: 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000.

    • Viewing angle is good, except from the top.

    • Display updates around 3 times/sec

    • Backlight will automatic turn off in about 15 seconds.

    • Will automatic turn power off in about 15 minutes.

    • The meter usual need a couple of display update to reach the final value.

    • Weight is 136g without assories, but with batteries.

    • Size is 130.2 x 65 x 32.3mm

  • Probes

    • Probe resistanse 59mOhm for one.

    • Probe wire is fairly soft and 65cm long.

    • The probes with replaceable tips has 55mOhm with 4mm plug.

    • The probes with replaceable tips has 85cm long fairly soft wires.




A look at the capacity measurement waveform.



Frequency output at highest frequency, it is a +/- 1.6V signal.



Loading the output to half output voltage shows the impedance is about 2.2kohm



Reducing the frequency shows that it has a capacitor in the output.






Tear down



Four screws and the back could be removed.



5 more screws and some clips for the front.



The big black blob (IC2) on the circuit board is the main IC, besides it is a EEPROM (IC1: 24C02A) for calibration and parameters. There are transistors for backlight (Q1) and for the buzzer (Q2), The transistor Q5 is a reference (ICL8069 1.2V), not a transistor. There is also a hidden switch (SW3), I do not know what it do. For the current output (Ohm and capacity ranges) is some protection: a PTC (PTC1) and two transistors (Q3 & Q4). One 100ohm is used for the uA range, the 1ohm alone can be used for a full mA range in some other similar models.
Besides the battery box is the main input drop resistors (R29:5Mohm & R30:5Mohm). Near the 10A fuse (F1) is the resistors for uA (R23 & R24) these two resistors are protected by F2 and D5 (A probably bidirectional Zener diode).
The two fuses are very short and not a standard size.









No parts on this side, only the switches and a missing solder for the current shunt it is only soldered on the other side.
Notice the input is marked mA, not uA.





Conclusion

The meter is easily within the specified tolerances (Except 10A) and it has lot of functions and ranges, but the CAT rating is fake.

This is a small DMM in size, but has most of the expected functions in a universal DMM. It has a hole in the current range, it can measure currents in that range, but with fairly low precision, instead it has very low burden voltage in the mA range and low precision at high current.

I do not like the small fuse size, they cannot break high voltage or high current and they can be hard to source locally (They can be found on Ebay). The current range on the voltage input is also a bad idea.

The 9999 count secures the best possible resolution for 4 digits.

I will call it good DMM for hobby use, but keep it away from anything with mains voltage and lots of amps.





Notes

This meter exist with many different names on it and small variations in functions.

How do I review a DMM
2

It is a long time since I last looked at a DMM, but now it is time to do it again.
I hope to publish a few more DMM reviews and would like to know if people has ideas for improvements.

3

Thanks for the review, HKJ :+1:

If you do more DMM reviews, I’ll be reading them with interest.

I don’t have any improvements to suggest, but wanted to thank you for discussing the display quality. My eyesight has all manner of problems, so a good display is crucial for me.

I’ve been amazed by the sheer lottery of display qualities I’ve seen over the years. For example, I’ve had two UNI-T UT139C meters, both with absolutely awful displays, so I ended up sending them straight back for a refund. On the other hand, the Hyelec MS8233D I bought to keep me going until I get something nicer costs half as much, but it has a nice, sharp, contrasty display and good view angles. Weird.

4

I have a few more prepared.

5

Thanks HKJ! I like your graphs and also the features table you did...very effective.

this meter has caught the attention of many.....joe smith has also recently (2 days ago i believe) made a video, with his usual transients tests (at 2.5KV the IC chip broken). It is becoming rapidly famous as fluke 101 size-like aletrnative, as it is an improvement (functionality-wise) over the previous AN8002 /ZT102 (also compared in that video). Dave also did a review...unexpectedly considering his usual price target...

6

That table first get really interesting when you can compare it for a couple of DMM’s.
I plan on publishing more reviews and I am also open for ideas of meters to review.

I was also thinking about some of my better meters, but I do not keep the box or accessories with the meter, i.e. I would not be able to show what a delivery includes. On possibility was to add a expensive bench meter (I need another one), it would be a good contrast to the cheaper meter, but I doubt many (or any) people reading the review would buy one.

I have seen his test and a couple of other reviews of it, but I do not remember seeing any other review catching the problems at high current (It might also be a problem with my copy of it).

7

I also got this some time ago. My meter is very accurate on low voltage stuff. The display is fine too and the backlight is a plus.

If someone’s searching for the meter, type Aneng, not Anang.

8

Luckily it was only the title that was wrong, not the filename, it is easy to fix.

9

Great review HKJ! How would you compare the Aneng AN8008 & AN860B+ meter?

10

I like the small size of the 8008, but 860 is a more fully feature DMM. I was not really impressed with the input terminals, then are made the same way on both DMM’s but worked better on the 8008.

Both meters are fairly unprotected, i.e. be careful where you use them or they will not last very long.

11

There is a method to activate temperature on the AM8008
You have to set a few bits with the progammer clip
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/an8008-us-\$19-10000count-1uv-0-01ua-0-01ohm-resolution-meter/msg1312471/#msg1312471

12

The same type of DMM chip is used in a lot of meters and as can be seen in the EEVBlog threads there are many ways to change the DMMs, but you are still limited by the range switch and the connections inside the meter.
If you want other functions than AN8008, it might be a good idea to check the other AN800x meters (I have a review of AN8002 in queue).

13

Would love to see one on the Fluke 179... I am in the fence about it right now...

14

I have one of them, but I was not thinking about doing a review of it:

  1. It is a couple of years old, maybe Fluke has changed something inside the meter.
  2. I would not be able to show what the meter includes, I do not keep track of probes and papers.
    (The above would, of course, be fixed if I bought a new one, but I will not think about that just now, there are other DMM’s I would like to get first).

I generally like the meter, but current starts in AC and it is lacking uA. It do have Average and auto-hold

15

Nice, I have ordered both, the AN8002 and the AN8008. They were to cheap to let them go.

It is normally better to have different meters for different tasks.
E.g. A good meter for electronics (Uni-T 139e) and a dual leads phase tester (Duspol) for mains CAT III and IV.

That is also cheaper than a Fluke 87V which can all.

16

The resistance function of this meter is driving me nuts. Mostly gives inaccurate values, sometimes couldn’t even complete measuring. My cheapo yellow manual ranging multimeter is way better for resistance when compared to AN8008.

So is it just my model or is the same for everyone else too? :zipper_mouth_face:

17

Tested my AN8008 against the Agilent 34401A and they agree to the last digit (1-2 off) on the Aneng. Tested with 4, 200 and 1000 ohm resistors.

18

It may be the probes or probe connection, but can also be the range switch.
Try switching probes with your cheap meter and see if the problem stays or moves.

19

You’re right. This time I used the extra probe with interchangeable heads which came along with this meter, used the crocodile clips head on one end and the readings are much much more stable now.

Looks like Aneng shipped the worst probes they could ever find along with this meter as default probes but also included another pair of better quality ones? :rage:

20

Well good probes are not easy to get nor they are cheap.
The long time recommendation in the EEVblog forum are these Brymen ones:
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Brymen-Silicone-Gold-Plated-Test-Leads-Probes-for-Multimeters-CAT-IV-1000V/171162377470?\_mwBanner=1

The probes in my aneng are quite nice and defects always happens. Sad that you get a faulty one.