Best Value Multimeter? - Brymen BM869S Overview

I believe the Brymen BM869S currently represents the best value available for a full-featured, handheld digital multimeter. At the time of this video, the price is $216 on TME. TME is in Poland but they ship to the United States. This video was not sponsored, I bought the DMM with my own money, and I have no affiliation to Brymen nor TME.
The BM869S is available here: www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/...

[@user-hy8qp7hm2t]

Greetings from Ukraine . I have had a Brymen BM869S for several years. Brymen BM869S has many analogues, in one case these are other models and in some cases the Brymen factory itself produces a localized version for sellers in other countries Example : 1. Sanva PC7000 (other case) 2. Greenlee DM-860A, green body 3. Metrel MD9060, blue case 4. Hellerman Tyton Brymen Toptronic TBM869 5. ELMA BM869 ( for Denmark ) salad body 6.EVM 869S (For Ukraine) There is also an American version of a similar multimeter AM-140-A, AM-160-A For these multimeters, a calibration procedure suitable for the Brymen BM869S is described.

[@paulb4496]

Dave Jones, MJMorton, KissAnalog, JoeSmith...these guys use multimeters constantly and know their stuff. Everyone seems to think a lot of the Brymen products. I just ordered the eevblog bm235 and I can't wait to use it. Great video!

[@francomarianardini681]

got one two years ago, fantastic meter. two weeks ago I also bought a 789 from welectron: super fast, new features… I should say it looks like Brymen has learned a lot from the 869 by extending functionalities and bu fixing previos limitations (beep for diode check, for example) great video, indeed!

[@raviduprasanna6401]

whitch is better 869s over 789 ?

[@francomarianardini681]

@@raviduprasanna6401 If you don’t need data logging capabilities, my suggestion is to go with the 789… impressive meter as the 869s. however it looks Brymen implemented new features in the 789 that are very interesting for a daily use

[@EvillNooB]

@@francomarianardini681 what features? also looks like 789 is 1-display, while 869s is 2-display

[@francomarianardini681]

@@EvillNooB yes, I confirm! the 78x series is 1-display.

[@francomarianardini681]

about the new features: 789 is 60K counts, 869s is a 50K (500K for Vdc if I remember correctly). Then, beep for diode test, autohold, LoZ AutoV…

[@Mark-079er]

I also have the BM869s and agree that this is hands down the best value. I bought mine from Poland also about 2-3 yrs ago and they shipped it to Canada for me. I own a couple yellow branded ones to but dollar for dollar the Brymen comes out on top. Great vid.

[@markuskeller9734]

I have several Brymens (also the EEV Blog branded ones) in daily use and they're fantastic meters. Very decent build quality and reliable precision. Absolutely happy with the ones I owe. I also have 2 yellow ones (87V and 117) because I wanted them ;) They're also pretty nice, decent, and feel good quality, but comparing with my Brymens I cannot see where huge price difference comes from. As you said: if there's no need to explicitly go for yellow, buy the Brymen. You'll never regret it.

[@gemcitymastering]

Jokes aside, the primary reason is for government purposes. The government certification process for a tool is insanely thorough, time consuming, and expensive, and it's cheaper to buy Yellow than to re-certify.

[@barathikasiraja2549]

My BM869S stopped measuring AC within a year. Sent to service under warranty. They couldn't figure out what's wrong and said the meter needs to be shipped to Taiwan for further analysis and I will have to bear the shipping cost as its not covered in warranty. From my country(India), shipping two ways would easily cost more than what this meter is worth. Decided I will just use the rest of the functionality. Within a month after that, the meter started showing 'InERR' in all the modes and its basically a brick now.

[@gabeeg]

I have had a BM786 for a while now and works like a champ...I still want a 869S for the dual display and PC-Comm but other than that the 786 (I do have a bit of 789 jealousy (low-z and higher freq.)) does all I need as a hobbyist and home electrical system destroyer.

[@funcool8884]

У bm869 прозвонка быстрее. Сделана по другой схеме.

[@neiliewheeliebin]

The 789/Low-Z is useful for checking/discharging capacitors i use it a lot, plus the usual ghost voltage elimination this house is particularly bad for it

[@UnusualAudio]

The coolest feature for audio people is that it lets you read dBu directly on the display (switch it to dBm and hit range to select 600 Ohm), and the AC accuracy is great.

[@EfieldHfield_377]

That continuty reaction speed is awesome.

[@mrpetit2]

This is an insanely good DMM with an insanely low price for it's functions and precision. One of the features I use is that it can log 5 times per second in 500k mode with the pc interface (and free 3rd party software), which is crazy; it must have a very precise and very fast AD converter. So you can get pretty accurate derivatives of voltage (I use this to log Ah with a very precise shunt on high current rectifiers and faster datapoints means more accurate). Normally only bench DMM's can do this but I take these measurements in the field. The yellow meter that remotely comes close (well, a magnitude off and a slow logger) costs 4 times as much.... The only downside I can think of is that it uses a 9V battery and that it's battery life is therefore about 80 hours. Not bad for such a feature packed meter, but also not great.

[@gemcitymastering]

I agree, the more I use it, the more useful it becomes. Must-buy deal for 95% of DMM users, IMHO.

[@StilettoSniper]

@@gemcitymastering You got me thinking about buying one! I'm assuming that TME did not charge you the VAT because you are in the USA, correct? What was your total cost of purchase? Did you have to pay any kind of import fee, tax or tariff when it passed through US Customs?

[@Zw1d]

@@StilettoSniper i'm pretty sure VAT is not being charged at purchase only for within-EU transactions

[@gemcitymastering]

@@StilettoSniper This item is well below the threshold to trigger customs fees... I believe this is called informal entry, but don't quote me on that. I'm not an expert. Also, no VAT if you are in the US. It was about $231 shipped at the time.

[@joey24698]

put a Lithium 9v in it and it will last much longer

[@africantwin173]

It looks like the reaction time on this 869 is kinda slow.

[@Know-Way]

That 1 kHZ on the continuity is pretty good, but I'm looking for a meter that i can use as a tweeter in an audio application. 🤣 Thanks for the Video!

[@ssalient]

As a matter of fact, Joe Smith had a video that does just that. Use the continuity as a speaker. Don’t know which meter it was though.

[@ssalient]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qaetiZyDgr-tmbM Enjoy! :)

[@Cashlack]

Greetings from Poland. I bought myself one BM896S 3 years ago, after a looong extensive research and specs comparisons, as IMO the best value on the market right now. After these 3 years of use, i have only 2 complaints: beacuse it is so big, heavy and bulky, it takes a lot of space on the table, and is also unstable while standing. I found out that in fact i don`t need this much precision for a day to day use, and i would be perhaps happier with a smaller some model from brymen. For an all round the house use i cannot recommend enough the brymen BM037 clamp, i find the clamp an amazin feature to just clip it to anything nearby and VFD + precision DC/AC current clamp is another extremety useful tool for field electrician as me, you can hang it anywhere around you and it fits in the pocket, and finds broken cables and cables in walls. For bit more exact readings for precise electronics i recommend a separate DER EE 5000 for LCR (and miliohmmeter), beacuse precise voltage measurements and in fact rarely needed and something like BM231 is plenty enough. But hey, it`s you money and place in toolbox at the end of the day. I reccomend Brymen for value though, no matter what model you choose.

[@asg58]

I have a bm037 and a amprobe acd14-pro, which I believe is brymen aswell, I just wish they would add more than 6k ohms range. Idk why fluke loves to skimp on the resistance ranges aswell. Anyway wholeheartedly agree it is one of the most full featured clamp meters in such a light weight package and my current favorite field clamp meter

[@misterjorous]

I do have the 869s and the uni-t 181A with a couple probes from Probe Master. I do not need anything more than that. to beat this, one should go with some keythley bench multimeter

[@bluesonkel]

I just can't imagine why and when I might need more than 3 digits after the decimal point. but i wouldn't want to do without a bargraph display anymore.

[@fulltruckereffect]

I also purchased my Brymen because of Joe 👍👍👍

[@anthonycomeaux1804]

So I'm a bit torn and hoping to get some thoughts. I have an old Greenlee DM-20 that I've had for about 8-9 years and had been just fine for the basics uses I would use it for (checking some electrical items around the house, some continuity test/voltage readings on various electronics I would mess with). But I'm at the point where I'm ready for a substantial upgrade with nice features, and am willing to put up a decent amount to get something that will last me for many, many years. My hobbiest interest in electronics has only increased as I attempt various repairs on gaming devices, TV's, and audio equipment. Also wouldn't mind having a good meter to check various items at some Cellular sites when I visit for work on occasion (Not installing anything, more Field Engineering). I have always known Fluke as top-of-the-line and started looking into them, but my recent research has led me to Brymen/EEVblog/Greenlee for getting about the same level of features for much cheaper (though there are some sacrifices with quality/ergonomics). I'm trying to find the right balance of getting more than I would need, but also finding a good balance of features. Every time I dig into Fluke meters, I really want to get one but always find that they're specific in their design for certain applications while dropping some features not needed for that specific use. So it's hard to pick one. All that being said, my initial thoughts are that the Brymen BM869s/Greenlee DM-860A for $250 seems more than enough, but also could be a bit overboard and bulky. There's the EEVblog BM 786, which apparently only has different probes than the non-EEVblog one? Though, I can't even find the non-EEVblog one for sale, and the EEVblog website won't ship to US. So that one may be out of the question. There's also the BM789 that looks nice. Anyway, just going down a rabbit hole of options and was looking for anyone else's thoughts/recommendations.

[@funcool8884]

Bm859s better. Optimal size.

[@funcool8884]

in model 789 they worsened the continuity test, I wonder why?

[@Bajran_]

Greetings from Poland ;)

[@gemcitymastering]

Back at ya! One of my coworkers lives and works in Warsaw, so I hear about the goings-on somewhat regularly.

[@reynoldfloresluna8896]

Excelente amigo una preg cual multimetro recomienda p microelectrónica RAPIDO muy preciso p chekar continuidad resistencias muy pequeñas bajas todos los tipos d diodos transistores semiconductores frecuencias d onda cuadrada y pulsos electrónicos automotrices y consumos en miliamperes gracias amigo excelente tu video y profesional

[@jmyole]

The BM869 has included a K-type temperature probe BKP60 which is rated for -20~250°C, while the DMM itself is rated -50 to 1000. So we need to buy another K probe for wider range. Any suggestion? Thankyou

[@colonelfustercluck486]

yeah, the meter will read any type K thermocouple accurately to 1,000C.... so the t/c supplied may have insulation not up to that temperature range. In the sales brochures it does look like a plastic type of insulation, which will have a lower temperature rating. So if you need a higher temperature T/C with cable, see an industrial instrumentation company, and they will tell you what you need for your application. It's not just temperature, also what are the qualities of the substance you are going to measure... molten metal(eg: zinc or lead) / oxidising or reducing atmosphere gas / hot air / liquid / acidic or alkaline..... that way you know that your temperature probe will not dissolve away, if you get the correct one for your application. And of course, the composition of the lead insulation materials temperature ratings. (The T/C that this company supply is obviously just for general use, and is at the low end of a Type K T/C normal usable temperature range) Other insulations include fibreglass and asbestos (which may not be available these days) to handle higher temp's..... hope that this helps.

[@Tonyplat98]

$217 shipped to me is excellent price for this multimeter. I cannot say enough good things about it replaced my fluke 87 III with this one and it's miles ahead.

[@gemcitymastering]

Absolutely. Perhaps Yellow is just a really expensive dye color. :)

[@Tonyplat98]

@@gemcitymastering lol yah =) Thanks for the vid.

[@imboredsauce]

Did you use the link in the description to purchase? If so I'm now seeing, "unable to ship to location (usa)". Seems like they are restricting where this product is being sent.

[@Tonyplat98]

@@imboredsauce I bought it at TME website not sure if they can still ship to the US. They did a month ago.

[@gemcitymastering]

@@imboredsauce Man, that's a real shame! But I believe Greenlee are rebranded Brymens. I believe this is the same model (do your own research to verify this): www.greenlee.com/us/en/dmm-500k-counts-dm-860a-dm-860a

[@pamelahughes7891]

I think the Bryman 869s is sold in the USA as a Greenlee DM860a (in green boot, rather than red)

[@joey24698]

yes, but old firmware

[@JoseTorres-cc7xf]

this multimeter is obtained with the green lee brand the DM860A, but the DM830A is the same as the fluke 87 v with a little more functions these green lee multimeter are excellent nothing to compare to fluke

[@JohnPooley-te9ei]

Nice1 .Gem & thank u

[@LeeGovender007]

I have a question, is the Brymen TBM 869 the same as the unit, sold in North America under the group Greenlee model DM860A

[@gemcitymastering]

I'm really not sure.

[@quangdinh5166]

@@gemcitymastering tôi là người Việt Nam và tôi muốn mua 1 chiếc Brymen 869 này , có cách nào để mua và vận chuyển được không

[@GeorgeFL]

Very interesting presentation. Was ever the BM789 and/or BM786 a consideration over the BM869s? Thank you.

[@gemcitymastering]

The dual display is important for some of my use cases, so not as my primary DMM, but I may purchase one of those as a secondary in the future.

[@alanpetrus2064]

Sadly my BM869S stopped working after light use of 2 years. It hunts for input and reads lower voltage and wrong resistance (fuzes and leads are okay). Manufacturer wouldn't even bother getting back to me nor did the sales person I bought it from Europ. I'd recommend sticking to Fluke if you're in North America like I am.

[@gemcitymastering]

That's a bummer man. I'm sorry to hear that. Initial quality and longevity are not necessarily the same thing.

[@marlasota]

How would war in Ukraine affect multimeter shipped out of Poland? How are these things connected?

[@gemcitymastering]

Retrospectively, it didn't, but this video was made very shortly after the Russian invasion, and there was uncertainty around the scope of said invasion. Given that Poland is next door to Ukraine, I didn't know if there would be ancillary supply chain effects.

[@quangdinh5166]

I am from Vietnam and I want to order this Brymen 869s to Vietnam, is there any way to buy and send to Vietnam for me?

[@G_handle]

I think you just triggered Fax Machines all over the world!

[@joey24698]

fax machines still exist? who knew?? haven't seen one in over a decade now

[@mikrotech3103]

You can get a bench multimeter at €120 or less but they dont provide 500K counts Resolution they offer 60K and If You are Taking this option Out of Equation then meter is pretty much uselss.

[@funcool8884]

Too many compromises. Inconvenient selector.

[@EvillNooB]

what compromises?