DMM help me choose please

At the moment I am looking at either a UNI-T UT61E or UNI-T UT139C.
I already have 3 cheap DMM”s, 2 unbranded & one a UNI-T UT39A.
My budget is probably around up to $50 or £40.
Any other better DMM”s in my budget ?

Have a look at a related thread: "Budget" Multimeter Suggestions Please

another source:

I have looked at that thread & the related link which has just confused me even more as to which DMM to go for :person_facepalming:
BTW I can”t see me using data logging.

If you already have that many DMMs I would say you need to look at more specific requirements? What are your plans with it? There are quite a few new models in budget price ranges now.

If you don’t have one already and if you predominantly use them for lights or hobby electronics I’d suggest a clamp meter?

This will be used for lights, cell voltage etc & maybe the odd bit of 12v auto electrics.

I picked out the UNI-T UT139C as a good option, but still don’t have one, because EBay seller mobileglobals sent me a defective one over three weeks ago and they’re still giving me grief about a proper refund.

I don’t fancy buying direct from China, especially given the mobileglobals experience (they seem to be a Chinese company with a UK front, which is how I got suckered into buying from them).

Unfortunately, real UK dealers for the UNI-T UT139C seem to be very thin on the ground. If anyone can tell me where I can get one at a sensible price (say about £30) from a decent UK seller, I’d very much appreciate the pointer :slight_smile:

I’ve bought a cheap “Crenova MS8233D” from Amazon for now, just for knockabout stuff at low voltages, but I don’t know how good it is yet.

If it turns out to be OK for that, I might buy another and then save up my pennies for a Fluke to use on stuff that matters. I fancy a Fluke 177, but not the price tag :slight_smile:

I picked this up a few months ago and have had good result. I've compared it's readings myself to my own Fluke meters I have at work as well as some Fluke meters the company owns. Only thing with Southwire is be sure to check their website to make sure it will do everything you plan to use it for.

http://www.southwiretools.com/tools/m/tools/11050N

Thanks for all the advice.
I have seen a VC99 for a good price ($30) & am thinking of going for that.
I can”t see me using the data logging feature of the UT61E so was coming down in favour of the UT139C (6,000 as opposed to 22,000 counts is enough for me I think) until I saw & read up on the VC99.
Seems to be well made (HKJ rates the VC99) & it has 20amp testing as opposed to the UT139C”s 10A.
Do I need to make up some short heavy duty leads for it for better accuracy ?
If so what guage wire is recommended ?
I already have a DC reference module to check accuracy so don”t know if better leads are really needed as I should be able to trim the DMM for accuracy if I were to find it is not reading true ?

I have the UT139C i chose this meter because it has proper input protection. It is one of the only UNI-T meters to offer this. It was tested up to and passed up to 5000 volts. I have accidentally put through 25amps with the meter and it just beeps to warn you. It functions more like a proper meter then the rest.

According to HKJ the VC99 also has proper input protection, is rated at 20 amps & has cat 3 protection.
I will however only be using this DMM on low voltage stuff up to 12v dc.
A plus with the VC99 is I can get it from ebay UK with 3 days delivery but can only find the UT139C from China which means it won”t be here till after xmas.
What leads are you using with your 139C & how do you find the accuracy ?

I use stock leads for technical work and i use 14 gauge wire for measuring amps.
This lad test multimeter i love his video friendly guy. I have spoken to him a few times. The video are long but he fully test them for every thing including input protection.
I am not sure if he done the meter you want.

Thanks for the reply everyday.
HKJ rates the VC99 so that is good enough for me :slight_smile:
Being able to get the charger in a few days rather than having to wait weeks for delivery is a plus for me especially as Xmas & New Year will delay delivery even more.

Yea i some times stick my Multimeter in mains so i was after a different meter. I was after a robust meter. Heaps of lads here use the UNI-T UT61E and get blown fuses and other issues. Low voltage work they should all work the same expect when measuring resistance and using the thermocouple.

Well I have pulled the trigger on the VC99 & it should be here Thursday :slight_smile:
I will hook it up to my DC reference module & see how accurate it is as delivered.
If it needs calibrating there should be trim pots on the board to enable that.

I do not remember reviewing the VC99, the only DMM I have tested is the UT61E

I have an old Vichy VC99, it may not have anything to do with the current VC99. It is about 0.1% wrong on voltage from 1 to 10V, A and ohm is also good, but it do not live up to mains (CAT) safety requirements.

Hi HKJ, I didn”t say you had reviewed the VC99 but when I was researching the VC99 I came across a post on the other forum where you stated this
” One “cheap” meter I thinks look good is the Vichy VC99, some of the good points are:
Display can show 6000, i.e. with LiIon batteries you get an extra digit (Like 4.123 volt, most meters will only show 4.12 volt).
No shared volt/current terminal.
It has fuses on both current terminals.
It has a nice selection of ranges.
Precision looks good
Has a yellow rubber protection around the meter.”

As I won”t be using this meter on mains electricity I should think that it will be fine ?

If it is the same it will work fine and as you can see above the precision of mine is still good.

As another option, I shop in pawn shops a good bit for tools to give out to my workers on construction sites. I have run across perfectly good Flukes that were within specs for less than $50, sometimes less than $30. If it turns on and tests a new AA battery at 1.58 or so and a lithium primary at 1.82 or so I will usually take the gamble on it. Haven’t been burned on calibration but once. I have several DMM’s due to working with electronics for many years, and honestly, I trust a used Fluke over brand new “lesser quality” names. Just my opinion.

If I was going to use a DMM for mains testing I would not have ordered this VC99 but as it will only be used on low voltage DC up to 12v I think that it will be fine & HKJ has confirmed their accuracy even when several years old.
The 1 cheap unbranded DMM plus the cheap UNI-T I have are actually pretty accurate (the other cheap DMM I do not trust having calibrated it several times & finding that the accuracy drifts off) on low voltage DC but I fancied something with more counts, auto ranging & auto off.
This VC99 also has a temp probe, although I doubt that I will use that function.
It will be nice when measuring say Li-ion cell voltage to have the 3rd decimal place on the readout, also being able to read amps up to 20A instead of 10A as I will have a couple of lights drawing more than 10A :slight_smile:
I will see how I get on with it & at the end of the day it was only $30.

Testing current consumption on high power lights is best done with an unfused meter (The fuse adds some resistance) or even better a clamp meter.