Astro AI M6KOR Multimeter Review

[@rogerwilco5187]

8:42, it did tell you to do that. 😁

[@StuartCGadgetRev]

Temperature looks like it shows negative on Fahrenheit if the temp goes below 0 deg Celsius! Bug? Also is it me or did the capacitance tests largely fail badly?

[@andrewkieran8942]

Weren't the two large electrolytic caps in parallel through the power bus rails?

[@szevlin]

at 11:30 if the capacitor is really 1000uF then its 1mF but the meter shows 12mF? thats a 'bit' off

[@mrtom64]

Those caps are in parallel but even so, 12.4mF instead of 11mF is still way off.

[@ShaunMcDngh]

Most capacitors have much higher tolerances. Probably at least +/- 20%.

[@GlennHamblin]

Many electrolytic caps have incredibly wide tolerances. Some are +80% and -20%. You can't blame the meter without getting a a good comparison measurement with a known accurate instrument.

[@electroniquepassion]

Thank you 👍 Merci

[@paulpkae]

Anyone know where to buy Probemaster leads in the UK?

[@englishrupe01]

But isn't that exactly the same as your Kaiweets, Paul? Great meter, anyway....thanks Paul!

[@markday3145]

Thanks for continuing to mention the ProbeMaster probes. I finally got a set, and it was like an upgrade to a much better meter. I really noticed it with the continuity setting, which became much more sensitive and reliable.

[@electronic7979]

👍

[@Sui778]

Looks pretty much identical to an HT118A.

[@ikmalizzatjohari6475]

Pretty sure it's the same thing

[@Sui778]

@@ikmalizzatjohari6475 It is. Layout on the display and front and PCB board inside is exactly the same. Condom is just red instead of black..

[@gordselectronicshobby3853]

Clone of the KAIWEETS HT118A Digital Multimeter

[@learnelectronics]

(The plot thickens) looks like other meters as well.

[@johngodden5196]

At the very low resistance readings, you are also reading cable and contact resistance so the meter may not be too bad in that regard.

[@soundcode0246]

Multimeter giveaway to a lucky subscriber? :))

[@learnelectronics]

After the 100,000 subscriber debacle, I'll never do another giveaway again. Sorry.

[@MrMichaelfalk]

It did show 1 ohm on the cables alone - so it was pretty spot on on the low ohms too.

[@rednerdnecktech2474]

Maybe you need some multimeter group therapy. I find myself needing to check frequency at low voltage let's say under 1-2 volts. Were you able to test that function out?

[@randyab9go188]

I need some therapy too. Can't get enough Simpson 260's or 270's!!

[@rednerdnecktech2474]

@@randyab9go188 wow I haven't seen a Simpson in years. Great meters.

[@dylsmith2336]

Yay another multimeter review! I love them Paul, I love seeing different meters come through your channel. Great job as always!

[@grampymeyer6603]

Comically I watched your (and others) review of the Kaiweets HT 118, and decided to add this Astro AI M6K0R to my collection.. I still like the size of the display on my WH5000A, but this display is nice and BOLD.. the addition of the dual display, and an easier bargraph to see compared to my VC99. The probe holders make this an excellent choice for "in the field".. Thanx for your insights.. The Ohio State Highway patrol are allowed to use discretion, even though if the car leaves the road they are supposed to ticket.. take a few breaths, and don't take it out on the meter...

[@varmint243davev7]

Hire an attorney, go to court, and get the charges dropped or reduced. I have been to traffic court a few times and seen the results of having an attorney handle things.

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

Probably works out cheaper than the bump in insurance premiums. Even if it doesn't, it will deprive those thieves of an excuse to raise his rates.

[@RickinICT]

Or just go speak with the prosecutor. He didn’t mention what his son was “written up” for, so we don’t know if it was even a moving violation with points on his record. If not, it’s probably not worth fighting. If it was a moving violation with points, and his son has a clean record, they can probably go see the prosecutor who will drop it down to something that won’t carry points, or maybe drop it all together. You just have to pay a fine and court costs, of course, which was probably the real point of writing him up in the first place assuming neither the Patrolman nor any witnesses saw him driving irresponsibly prior to the accident.

[@1pcfred]

Just pay the ticket. It's the law of high numbers. Drive enough and every now and again you roll snake eyes. As long as there's no other litigation involved it isn't worth screwing around.

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

@@1pcfred That would be fine if it were not for the fact that the insurance company decides, based on nothing else, that he is now an increased risk and piles on with higher premiums which will exceed both the cost of the ticket and of the repairs. Keep in mind that when you pay the ticket, you are pleading guilty to whatever the officer decided that you did.

[@1pcfred]

@@WatchesTrainsAndRockets you're living in fantasy land. Insurance companies do not care who's fault it is. Heck one time they raised my rates just because they said I was due for an accident. Of course I dropped that carrier like a hot potato when they pulled that crap on me. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Insurance companies are in it for the money.

[@creativegallery-thehomeofc5818]

super sir

[@KissAnalog]

Great comment! Also hitting the thumbs up is a great way to support;)

[@greatwolf.]

This meter seems almost perfect for this budget and it's on my list of multimeters to consider. Only thing I don't like is the input protection could be better. I wonder would it have been possible for them to just remove some of the features (eg. flashlight, bargraph, temp sense etc.) and instead put the extra cost saving into beefing up the input protection? Does it cost that much to put a couple of MOV's, PTC's and a current shunt and still keep the price point the same? I'm hoping it would improve the meter's ability to handle transients at least. Another meter I'm considering is the Amazon Commerical 90DM160, for some reason there's hardly any reviews on this 4000 count meter. Can't find any teardowns on it online. Its bigger brother 90DM600 has some really impressive input protection, it's chucked full of PTC's and MOV's in the front and back of the pcb. I would have bought that if it wasn't out of stock. Any chance you can review 90DM160 and see if it shares in some of 90DM600 input protection design? Sidenote, Amazon Commerical meters seems to be rebranded CEM. 90DM160 is just a CEM DT-916N with different color.

[@opalprestonshirley1700]

Glad your son is OK but hate the ticket. Good review. Y'all stay safe.

[@josephmazzeo9413]

Yes Paul it did tell you to switch @ 8:42 when you switched to DIODE TEST mode (jack flashed a few times) but you weren't paying attention.

[@BogdanSerban]

I thought OL means open loop

[@frankbumstead3838]

I'm always amazed at the value for money of these Multimeters. And the Scopes are amazing once you get up above $300 .

[@joepangit6938]

Thanks for the review! I had the Kaiweets one of these and like it. Just taught my 13 & 14 year olds to solder including SMD/SMT. Decided to buy them a cheapo soldering kit of their own, and found this at $25.49 now on Amazon. Looks good to toss into their kit. I need to find a case for it now.

[@surfaceten510n]

But does the torch work.

[@Howard-Gods_servant]

Great review. This video confirmed that this will be the multimeter that I am going to buy. I have looked at many web pages and reviews to see so many different multimeters. For some reason, even the new 2022 reviews don't talk about this multimeter. I don't know why, because for this price, it's an incredible deal and excellent value for the money. Thank you!

[@VENUGPL1]

Actually there are plenty of reviews....just search for KAIWEETS HT118A....it is the same rebranded version....See the review of Darren Walker.

[@GlennHamblin]

At low resistances you need to measure the resistance of your leads, and the internal resistances like the fuse and pcb traces, as well as the wire going to your resistance box and subtract that value from your reading. Just short the 1 Ohm resistor and take a reading. I think you'll find it is much closer than you think.

[@g.fortin3228]

According to the manual the cap test ability only goes up to 100mf. That's why you had issues. Good use review and it's a NICE meter otherwise for what they cost ! I want a Fluke but don't want to spend that much, I'll pick one up for basic test use for sure... thanks for the test/link :- )

[@gerrywoody4301]

You have had your moneys worth out of probemaster just reviewing multimeters

[@auggiebendoggy]

Thanks for this video. I purchased mine this week. One question, should I buy extra fuses or is that something I shouldn't worry about?

[@yaz641]

The temperature of the snow was way off in deg. F. Deg. C seems correct. 0 deg. C = 32 deg. F. Therefore 1 deg. C can't be negative 30. It should be above 32 deg. F.

[@electronmath8609]

👍

[@Onkel.Moetrik]

Sorry, but you did it wrong with the live wire. You are supposed to touch the wire with the probe. This way it will tell you if the wire is the live or the neutral. Just like the screwdriver with a small lightbulb. I don't know the name in English ... fasetester perhaps?.. Claus

[@Onkel.Moetrik]

Hi there This meter is probably made by Habotest. They make meters for their own brand and for Kaiweets and many others brand. Your meter is the same as Habotest 118. I have a shop were I sell both the Kaiweets, Habotest and several others. The bottom line, these meters gives you a lot more than you pay for, and they are perfect if you don't need Fluke quality... Claus

[@qzorn4440]

one can never have too many tools, tractors, oscilloscopes, meters, power supplies, electronic books, etc... so let the show go on...:) thanks this should be fuuuun! ps...cops...:(

[@ponymoore6140]

Great test and reassuring for my own AI meter. It is a model or two down from this one (DT132A), but still a lovely little meter. Thanks for sharing

[@yambo59]

The one thing that kept me from buying this meter is the lack of a REL function, very handy when zeroing the meter to eliminate any resistance from leads or other variables. Too bad, seems an OK meter otherwise

[@josip1881]

Only one i want is the new UNIT-61E :)

[@KissAnalog]

I do too;)

[@kalikatz2382]

I still have my fluke 87. There's one bigclive uses that has a single on off button I like. Also rotery, but I like the idea of hitting a power switch

[@Aaron48219]

Is there a huge diff between the A, B, C and E?

[@1pcfred]

I don't have a new 61E but I have an old one. They're not great meters.

[@drh3rd]

Cool video. TX. Sidenote... much of your video, you cannot see the entire multimeter. Cut off the bottom much of the way thru.

[@Sui778]

Freezeframe? Wow - there's a tune I haven't heard in forever and a day..

[@scottinharwood]

True! But then again, I grew up with the Hollies, think "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress"...;)

[@Sui778]

@@scottinharwood How about "I Need a Black Magic Woman"...

[@nancybogol]

Bought this meter on Amazon. Went and turned it on and nothing happen. Nothing came up on the screen, tested the batteries that came with it, they were fine and there wasn't a registration.

[@Evilslayer73]

Do this model have the same option to keep the backlight always on like the 118A?

[@nickmb6226]

So, i have this multimeter but, after a while it just doesnt turn on, and it did for a but but the screen froze

[@mikeoliver3254]

I love a good multimeter review. This one looks pretty good I like the big display but next time I buy a multimeter it’s going to be a 20,000 count or more. Great video Paul, quality content as always. Too bad about your son we have small town cops that wish they worked in a big city, they are a pain in the butt.

[@horacesawyer2487]

Mike: what does Count refer to in multimeters? 4000, 6000, etc. If you can tell me please. Thanks

[@BrucesWorldofStuff]

Humm, Nice but looks just like the Kaiweets HT118A meter I got off of Amazon that you had in your Amazon store... :-) But hay it looks good in Red too. Mine is Black... Nevertheless a great meter and WHO said you 17 is too many meters! I have 8ish myself... LOL Thanks for sharing and I love meters too! Thanks for the video! LLAP

[@georgechambers3197]

Still hard to type with my hand in a cast. You just had to get YAMM didn't you. 😁 We can't miss that one just by the colors alone when we see it again. Thanks for the video!

[@learnelectronics]

George, good to hear from you. I was wondering how you were getting along.

[@georgechambers3197]

Thanks, it's slow healing and I can't get to therapy because of the snow. But I'll make it through.

[@catalinalb1722]

Yet another Multimeter 🙂👍!

[@phrankus2009]

In Texas, your kid could take "Comedy Defensive Driving" and get the citation expunged, which might be a blessing, in disguise. .. He could also get a 10% discount on liability coverage, if he were to present that "certificate" to his agent. (FWIW)

[@horacesawyer2487]

Good video. Kinda wondering what was outcome of son's accident with State Trooper who just "had to' write him up. I've been a lawyer in Georgia for 33 years. Still have that curiosity. Can't help it. If the Trooper wasn't there, he didn't observe any traffic infractions, just assumed your son was too fast for conditions or whatever he assumed, then that does not rise to the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt guaranteed by the US Constitution. In US courts you get a free lifetime warranty. : ) It's one of the free things we get free. Even in misdemeanor criminal cases, which traffic violations (alleged violations) are included.

[@learnelectronics]

He was given 4 hours of community service. The trooper was leading him...."Were you late for school" "how fast do you normally drive" We've had a talk since then. He will identify himself, present any requests for documents and be polite. After that, he will say "I'm not comfortable answering any questions without representation.

[@auggiebendoggy]

at 9.00 is did blink but stops blinking after a while.

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

Makes you wonder sometimes whether the cops get a commission from the insurance companies.

[@sumduma55]

Not likely. A few years back in Ohio, there was a problem with teens drivers and fatality accidents. Some people blamed it in cell phones, others blamed it on distractions, the bottom line concensus was that kids nowadays ate largely dumbasses more so than in the past. The majority of them involved in serious accidents had received at least one warning citation if not multiple warnings. So ohio changed a bunch of rules and laws and it is very rare for a teen driver to get a warning now.

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

@iowahank and just HOW would the trooper know that? In fifty years' of driving, I have had a number of near misses and one accident on slippery roads. NONE of them were due to excessive speed for the observable conditions. The only way to have not lost control would have to not driven through that section of roadway without a way to know that one should not. A ticket in such circumstances is unjust and for the purposes of raising revenue and meeting the quotas that they all claim to not have. What saved me in the near misses was skill that I had acquired from hundreds if not thousands of hours behind the wheel. Such skills cannot be expected of a new driver. With all of that skill, I still had the one accident when I slid off the road on black ice in 40-degree temperatures in the evening of a day in which the temperature had been above freezing since early morning. Suddenly, without warning, I had zero traction. My car was heading to the guard rail and all I could do was keep the car aligned so as not to hit it head-on.

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

@iowahank How often did you observe such accidents and measure the speed? If you did not observe the accident, how did you determine that speed was the cause? As to quotas, I will say this: I have never heard of anyone denying them under oath or confirming them on the record. What I have been told, off the record, by some officers who I have known and who I have reason to trust, is that while there are no "official quotas", there is pressure to have a certain volume of citations. The unspoken implication is that a low volume will negatively reflect upon an officer's review.

[@MusicMinisterJP7]

Great demonstration ,I picked up this M6KOR from Amazon, bcuz I could Not find a rinkydink meter from Harbor Freight, to test power supply board on my 55" Samsung TV . Great features.

[@josephmazzeo9413]

Hey Paul, I just bought a new meter too different brand label (KAIWEETS) but it looks like a clone of your Astro if you compare the button, knobs and display layout. The jacks also light up to tell you which ones to connect to - I really like this meter. >> www.amazon.com/dp/B07SHLS639/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_8H1FA38RMG6CGE59DVPV?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 I bought an ANENG 8009 last year but it feels too small and flimsy I like meters that have some mass. The KAIWEETS version has a nice rubber outer protective shell.

[@MrPenguin098]

We love multimeters 😇.

[@Kilgorebass7]

My blood runs cold, my angel is a centerfold!

[@TheZombieSaints]

I hate to be that guy but OL on a meter means open link doesn't it?

[@KissAnalog]

Thanks Paul! BTW the pollution note on the back has to do with creepage and clearance for isolation. At the lower levels was it actually out of tolerance to the spec?

[@temetnosce2951]

I also bought it thanks to your nice review and I'm very pleased! You have interesting channel! Thank you!

[@turboslag]

I have this meter in very slightly different clothes, the Kaiweets HT118A, black case and very slightly different shaped push buttons but exactly the same spec. Really useful daily driver knock about meter, but I do wish someone would tutor the Chinese on how to name their products for the english speaking market!!!

[@jackpinecreed6587]

Looks a lot like the Habotest HT118A.... 🤣👊

[@learnelectronics]

Yep....(the plot thickens)

[@Fernanderas2011]

Thank you for the Time on teaching us, please tell me where I can Buy the current source with the LCD display, and the resistor substitution board

[@NickFabi]

Hi, thank you for the review. Are you able to tell me what the difference between the Astroai dm6000ar vs m6kor is? Or is it just a facelift with the new fancy led lead plug sockets and a functionality which remains the same. Thank you

[@pauljackson108]

milliFarads????

[@kalikatz2382]

Why your shots always off frame? And the hold function, can you retest. Press hold, then measure something. Does it jump to value and hold?

[@paulcollins9839]

Paul, you can get help for this multimeter fetish, very simple ,just send them to me, I'll keep your secret. lol

[@bblod4896]

In diode mode, I believe you can use another volt meter to check the voltage out of the meter in diode mode?

[@learnelectronics]

You can indeed

[@1pcfred]

You can just try to light two leds in series. Depending on what kinds of pairs a meter can light you can get an idea of it's voltage capabilities. Two whites is about as good as it gets.

[@bblod4896]

@@1pcfred Keep adding in series until they no longer light up?

[@1pcfred]

@@bblod4896 different LEDs have different forward voltages. So pairs add up to different potential totals to light them. To light two white LEDs in series you'd need about 6 V which is about as much as I've heard of any meter having. Pretty much if you can light one white LED you're good.

[@mdzacharias]

Picked up one for 14.49 free next day freight with an Astroai coupon code from Amazon - then a couple days later another for 10.49. Unbelievable! How do they do that? BTW mine both check exact on my voltage standard, and the low ohms was fine on both of mine. (no "rel" function though)

[@learnelectronics]

Cool, good deal!

[@PaulLemars01]

I bought this meter last year under the Habotest brand model HT118A. I has been very reliable and I've used it consistently probably every day. You're going to be happy with this one Paul.

[@clintwood2960]

Thank You for the video.

[@Patriottoo2]

I've had this meter for a few weeks, and it did what I needed it to do. But, yesterday, I attempted to test two thermocouples for my gas furnace, and the meter could not measure the millivolt output when set on DC volts or mVolts. Frustrating! Both thermocouples tested good with a different meter.

[@Aaron48219]

Appreciate the review. I fried my dmm back during Christmas when I was testing my new power supply. Was so excited, I forgot to switch the lead to the 10A socket. 🤦‍♂️

[@NoMeWithoutYou1]

Haha! I got the Frank Zappa reference. Great review. Thanks!

[@sliderulelover]

It is weak on very low value resistors and somewhat weak on high value capacitors. But all in all, it's a pretty good meter, especially for the price.

[@ed-jf3xh]

You're nuts. LOL

[@stefanjakob2594]

Only one fuse, I see two...

[@merrittderr9708]

Knowing how bad your skin is from the CHF and all the washing, I'm wondering if you have ever tried "Gloves in a Bottle" lotion. We use it here and it is excellent. Nice meter. Surprising how far they have come since I paid almost $100 for a full size Radio Shack DMM 20 or 30 years ago.

[@learnelectronics]

Never heard of it. But ill look it up.

[@keithking1985]

get this man some counselling!! this addiction has got outa hand... : ) i like that one.. the backlight warning is good.

[@bblod4896]

Very complete review including the temp. reading. Also, the condom has holders for probes and a slot to hang the meter from a hook. I think I'll do some Amazon shopping next month. Great job Paul. Peace.

[@clydecare]

I really need some help identifying a transistor? I think. It was made before standardized codes were required. It has what looks like an M logo then 734 and under it it says 1180 G. The logo is a slash down to the left then 2 down to the right. Looks like an M. Any idea if what manufacturer that could be? I've asked so many people and no one has any idea of the manufacturer. It's an old thermal printer manufactured before 2000.

[@1pcfred]

Not with that little information. Lots of ICs are packaged in 3 lead devices. So not everything that looks like a transistor is a transistor. Have you pulled it out of the circuit and put it on a tester? Sometimes you have to reverse engineer the circuit to see what the device reasonably could be.

[@scottinharwood]

SSBN 735? You are young. I was on SSBN 619 (Blue) - think magnetic amplifiers for primary reactor plant controls and alarms...

[@grampymeyer6603]

SSN 591 here.. mag amps galore...

[@TheTrueVoiceOfReason]

So Class of '83?

[@chicagohandyman]

What’s the Bluetooth logo for that you can see when the screen first turns on?

[@johna6917]

Hey Paul, what is that device you use to measure current? Thanks for the review.

[@paulp2089]

Hhhhmmm another digital meter ... do you have an analog meter ? :-)

[@desdearb]

✅Multimeter on the thumbnail ✅Yellow font on the thumbnail *I might have guessed what I will be onto*

[@bblod4896]

"Freeze-Frame" by: The J. Geils Band. Released October 26,1981. I was twenty-one 😳

[@learnelectronics]

Yep.

[@Aaron48219]

I was four.... 😐

[@1pcfred]

I was into punk and alternative then so it kind of went by me. I really hated pop music back then. Centerfold still makes me sick to listen to. Nah, nah my ass!

[@bblod4896]

@@1pcfred LOL

[@1pcfred]

@@bblod4896 J Giles is one of those bands that did not really stand the test of time. They flogged that dead horse long ago into the dirt. I can't get that bleeding song out of my head now though. I probably haven't heard it in over 30 years now too. Next I'll be singing My Sharona.

[@acrexp]

I have what looks like the exact meter with a different Brand and Model Kaiweets HT128A

[@learnelectronics]

Watch Friday's video

[@elray3968]

What are good multimeters for on circuit board testing components.

[@GEORGE-jf2vz]

At the low resistance you need to compensate for your probe resistance that is why it was off at the low resistance.

[@keithking1985]

was there flashing lights behind the banana plugs on that meter??? when you switched from current testing to diode mode i thought i saw them flash at you???? would you check Paul?

[@learnelectronics]

Yes, they blink

[@michaelpadovani9566]

Great meter review and glad to hear your son is okay, that's the important part. Understand your frustration though.

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

I own 2 cheap AI meters already. Great as toolbox and glovebox meters.

[@mykrowsy]

looks like the temp probe indicates a negative when celcius dips below zero. i wonder what happens if you got into the negative fahrenheit numbers?

[@WatchesTrainsAndRockets]

Could stick the probe in the freezer and find out. I used the probe on my Fluke to monitor my freezer after an anomaly that I had had with it suddenly defrosting.

[@spandandutta2485]

It's absolutely identical to the htc dm -98 multimeter 😂

[@kravchan]

There are like ten brands which makes slightly different models in this body. Most of them are great.

[@szevlin]

The probe detection is a nice function but i think it would be a lot more noticeable if it was a piezo buzzer instead of a led.

[@bblod4896]

Peak Atlas meter! Fantastic gift Kirin from "down under".

[@ShaunMcDngh]

Great review! On the low end resistance. Be sure to check the resistance of the leads by themselves. Curious what what your rate was/is? I was a Nav ET myself.

[@learnelectronics]

STS

[@jrgenmeilbyepoulsen3079]

Hi, your little mA unit where have you bought it ?

[@bootchop88]

Do good test leads on a multimeter make a big difference?

[@varmint243davev7]

I just ordered the clamp meter version of this