EEVblog 1378 - NEW Uni-T UT61E+ Multimeter - Still bang-per-buck king?

[@EEVblog]

Something is happening with the price is this meter, it's jumping around like a jackrabbit. I have a screen capture of USD$88, but now it's USD$73 at 50% off. Maybe they know my video is coming... :->

[@m.zohaibusman1298]

Wait, they're changing the prices on their original website?

[@EEVblog]

@@m.zohaibusman1298 I'm using their official Aliexpress store as the reference. When I shot this video it was USD$88 at something like a 30% discount sale price.

[@redtex]

The influencer brought order to the market.

[@conodigrom]

Dave, you should put a content advisory at the start of the video. When I heard you being actually happy with a continuity, with a uni-t nonetheless, i spilled coffee all over my desk and fell from my chair!

[@ahmedalshalchi]

One thing you should know that Chinese don't sell by the value of the product at all and they only know to sell RAW MATERIAL + LABOR and that's it !!...

[@johnyoungquist6540]

The lack of input protection resistor indicates these folks know how to use PTC protection devices.. Any resistor value big enough to limit any sort of current would limit the current needed to trigger the PTC devices. It would increase their trigger voltage, increase their trigger time or prevent them from working at all. PTCs often have enough resistance to limit peak current and increase resistance very quickly under overload conditions. A downstream clamp device like a diode, zener, or TVS will have a large peak transient current rating that will hang on for a few milliseconds until the PTC device limits current. I have used PTCs for 40 years in applications like this. Like any component you have to fully understand them to use them properly. The fact that the protection system in both meters differ indicates to me that they re-evaluated the design to make improvements. I notice more PTCs in the new meter which would not go in without cost justification. No doubt they were trying to meet some sort of test requirements and probably did. I'll bet the engineers at UNI-T that design meters for a living under extreme cost constraints don't appreciate your criticism when you really don't understand their design in detail or their test criteria. Let's not criticize a $50 meter by comparing it to a $500 one. I have a wide range of instruments from HP lab instruments that cost thousands to Harbor Freight meters that cost $2. There are plenty of applications where the $2 meter is perfectly adequate and sometimes superior. I admire these low cost instruments for their convenience and the value they offer for the money. These folks face incredible challenges to provide extraordinary instrumentation to the hobbyist for less than a set of HP meter leads. I respect them for taking on that challenge and succeeding I don't know how they do it for the money.

[@rael5469]

"I don't know how they do it for the money." Slave labor in China. That's how they undercut American workers.

[@smartchip]

An absolute pleasure to read your critique, done with real brevity and succinctly, From likely an fellow techie, Engineer, sparky etc, very impressive on the english, I toff my hat to you sir, Thank you for taking the time to reply and advancing the conversation,

[@bozoc2572]

@johnyoungquist654 What meter would you recommend for around $100?

[@liquicitizendirk2147]

A review about the AM870 would be awesome, I like seeing the cheap stuff being reviewed, especially if it ends up being suprisingly good for the price.

[@pratap3369]

Aneng AN870 ?

[@stevenspmd]

@@pratap3369 Exactly. As long your aware of any limitations and safety fixes .. cheap electronics is the hobbyist's bread and butter

[@pratap3369]

@@stevenspmd yup,I got one and it is pretty decent for its price.

[@sanour3]

Dave Please make a Aneng AN 870 review. It will be awesome.

[@Sentinel-1]

Completely agree and support this call. Would be nice if Dave will review this 20000 counts cheapy meter.

[@KeepOnTesting]

When I reviewed the *UT61E+* 3 months ago I was blown away by the quality and overall bang for buck. It's not a CHEAP-O persay but it's very hard to do much better at this price point with these features...Great job UNI-T!

[@TheGrantourismo]

CEM and OWON meters are much better in this price range.

[@kitecattestecke2303]

@@TheGrantourismo ? What no ! Proof which model do you mean

[@electronicengineer]

@@TheGrantourismo Really? Would you please be so kind as to share your knowledge with us in the form of a Model Number and accompanying pricing of these CEM and OWON DMMs that are "much better in this price range"? Inquiring minds would like to know! Thank you in advance. Fred

[@danuber5558]

@@TheGrantourismo OWON is chinese BS

[@michaelcosta7235]

@@TheGrantourismo will assume by your lack of expounding that you are just full of it.

[@Ryan_Smyth]

I've been using the UT61e+ for around a year or 2 so far and really like it. Maybe not 100% the best value, but still certainly acceptable.

[@alexgray552]

The British fuse is on the dedicated current terminal, so doesn't need a 1000V rating, though in reality 1000V would give it no problem - that will be limited by pcb track spacing etc. More importantly a sand-filled ceramic BS1362 fuse will withstand a massive fault current of 6,000A without shattering in the way a glass fuse might.

[@LifeofanElectronicEngineer]

Love how you cracked open the fuse to check - this is one thing you'll never see on normal channels reviewing multi-meters

[@muppetpaster]

Oh yes you do

[@unclejohn5012]

@@muppetpaster Link me to one of these videos.

[@emmettturner9452]

It’s a pet peeve of mine to see AAA where AA would be more appropriate, which would include just about everything that takes FOUR AAA batteries. I get the impression that AAA batteries must be free in China.

[@beefchicken]

I have a thing that was obviously designed for AA batteries, and the mould was modified after the fact to downsize it to AAA. Here in Canada, AAA cost 50% more than AA, and obviously don’t run as long. It’s infuriating.

[@emmettturner9452]

@@beefchicken Exactly! Ever see those freebie LED flashlights with a battery holder inside to adapt AAA C-cell? ;)

[@ElmerFuddGun]

@@beefchicken - Yep. AAA are fine for small things that don't use much power but for a DMM that is using >9mA they just aren't going to last long at 8 hours/day. But I guess AAA is at least better than using a 9V.

[@eDoc2020]

@@beefchicken AAAs are more expensive? That sucks, here in the US they're the same price as AAs and that's bad by itself since you only get half the capacity at best.

[@Mingjie_Li]

@@beefchicken In China, AA and AAA are at the same price. AA is much better for a DMM, I guess someone will soon replace it with a LiPo.

[@mati865]

AN870 owner here, my unit had screen cover not glued correctly (there was a glue but not heated enough) but heat gun was enough to make it rock solid. Plastic on the probes isn't great but I've seen worse, NCV isn't great either but it does find wiring inside European concrete walls. So far pretty happy with it given 28 USD price (free shipping).

[@petersage5157]

Now an analog EE picking up a DMM with a hFE position on the range switch, the first thing he should ask is if the manual mentions the base current for the transistor test. I'm sure it isn't mentioned for the cheap dinky meters that Clive and I have, but for this one it's probably on a page that Dave flipped past in this video. I think Dave might be forgetting that a lot of people still use bipolar transistors in the linear region, and the manufacturing process still spits out transistors within any given batch with hFE all over the shop. For someone whose bread and butter is radio transmitter and audio amplifier repair, a dedicated hFE position on the DMM range switch might be a valuable feature. We know of a certain Canadian KZbinr who has posted a video on building your own hFE tester and, while he has never explicitly stated this, most likely sorts through bulk transistor purchases and bins them by hFE.

[@RobertBolanos]

I agree with you Peter that eh HFE is a good feature to have especially if you want to match the HFE. I disagree with Jone's comment about the HFE.

[@truthful3777]

I agree with you...I repair audio amps and I match my transistor with HFE values. Checking diode test with Fluke 189 is not good enough me...

[@hwingerrr5680]

@@truthful3777 a component tester with clip leads is more versatile than the testers that have fixed slits that require the transistor leads to be reformed for testing.

[@blaze-xt]

@@hwingerrr5680 I usually use breadboard as an adapter. WFM

[@viperidaenz1]

They've also moved from a single chip solution to a meter chip + mcu + display driver. Interestingly, the meter chip is rated for 30,000 count but they've kept the 22,000

[@alaspooryorick9946]

Wicked! Sure it's whatever for most people, but the transistor gain test is really useful for stuff I do with old germaniums for particular music stuff. Pretty keen!

[@electronicengineer]

Same here. I Beta match long pair stages in most of the audio amplifiers that I work on and I also think that the built-in HFE/Beta measurement capability is quite useful in a DMM, with the caveat that the measurement is relatively accurate/repeatable, if only for gain matching between cascaded stages. Fred

[@TedSchoenling]

Dave, there are tons of us analog audio circuit hobbyist out here who do indeed measure transistor gain for our pedals.. That said we have better tools than a multimeter for that but we do do that

[@sopalen]

Nope we do not, we want Vbe NOT hFE (Eurorack). hFE does nothing to us, it's the Base Emitter voltage we want to know (Vbe). aka transistor matching done right.

[@MucaroBoricua]

@@sopalen, you don't know what you are talking about. Go check your text books again.

[@sopalen]

@@MucaroBoricua do not need that, i'm designing vco's and filters hfe is useless, vbe is what i need, exponential converter and stuff like that. Hfe is easy, vbe not so much. I do not see the point with hfe unless you need an exact q point.

[@sopalen]

I'm guessing that's what you are doing right mjau ;)

[@GrafElko]

I have the UT61E and it´s fine for me. As long as it would work or there is not a significant better multimeter at the same price range, I will not replace it. thx for the comparison :)

[@AubreyKeck]

Love my 61E. Its in constant use and always dependable.

[@highfidelityinc]

Hey Dave. I guess I am one of the few people who like the HFE transistor feature. I use it all the time to beta match diff pairs on the input stages of amplifiers. Beats having to break out the curve tracer and connect it to an oscilloscope. Also gives a quick way to figure out where the emitter is on those TO92 transistors with the base in the center pin.

[@leocurious9919]

But why is it a dedicated position instead of a FN menu?

[@_____.__]

A transistor tester is much better at this.

[@highfidelityinc]

Like I said, for beta matching and lead identification, the transistor tester built into to these types of VOMs is perfectly adequate and does a good job at this application -- it has never failed to get a good match or identify leads. And it is quick -- much quicker than pulling out my curve tracer. It is the right tool for this job. Sure, for checking more parameters a full blown transistor tester/curve tracer would give more information but it is not needed nor desirable for the application I specified.

[@Dave_Billing]

Just got the 61D+ version, which only has a 6000 count range on it, but it has a temperature feature and the NCV function seems to work a lot better than the 61E+ for some reason. Build quality is surprisingly good as well.

[@aquinamedia4508]

I recently got the UT161D of which is the European version (i think) of UT61D+, really good quality stuff. Like it way better than my Fluke 175 at work, what stands out seems to be the fuse being 1000 Volt on the 161D though.

[@kuhrd]

I will say that these units are pretty decent for the price, especially for a hobbiest or for students just learning in school. Every so often you can even catch these at about the same price as the old one. I am far more comfortable letting kids work with this meter than the harbor freight ones especially for the input protection and accuracy when completeing learning labs. Not going to replace the 121GW or my HP bench meter but makes a great unit to have in all the vehicles as well. I am interested in that ANENG AN870 but I find they make the meters a big too small and cost cut them too much for my taste, but they still make great little meters to have beating around in the tool box.

[@Ni5ei]

Looks like you can easily desolder the fuse holders and put them in the other holes available so you can use larger fuses.

[@saddle1940]

My first thought, but you'd have to put some type of insulation under the shaft.

[@stevenspmd]

Picked up a Fluke 8050A (4.5 digit meter) for $110 delivered CDN works great except needed new fuses. Bloody things aren't the easiest to get or cheap. Had to educate myself on fuses too .. never knew the sand got turned into glass to prevent any kaboom :-) good to know.

[@frederickevans4113]

I have a Fluke 79 series III which I bought new back in the late '90s (probably about 23 years ago as I am typing this). I used that thing doing hobby electronics (checking diodes, capacitors, etc.), working on automobiles (engine electrical, stereo upgrades, hunting phantom drains, etc.), and all the way up to commercial office building 480 volt 3-phase electrical systems. Over the decades, I've gotten the leads wrapped up in a car engine's distributor rotor and it has had a few falls. I bought new leads. It has, over the last couple of years, started to fall apart. When the mode buttons below the display fell out and the display itself started losing segments, I decided it was time. It still works, and when the body is pinched in the right spot, the display shows all its segments. Keeping it, at least for now. My lovely wife found an eBay listing for a 179 (successor to the 79-III) for half the new retail price. She offered them about $20 less than the list price and they accepted. It arrived with a blown 11A fuse for the 10A current range. I got a pair of new fuses from Amazon in under a week. Works just fine now. I'll probably have this one for a couple of decades too. Although I no longer work in Property Management, I do have a friend who has an HVAC company and he sometimes calls me for help, especially when his regular assistants are indisposed. I'll still have the occasional brush with 460 to 480 volt commercial building systems, though not as often as I once did. Fluke meters aren't cheap to buy (new). But, if they can put up with what I put mine through and still last roughly two decades, then it is money well spent.

[@EngineeringVignettes]

I like the Fluke meters too. Have an 8840 and a 8842. Benchtops of course.

[@berberger4814]

11:40 imo thats nice, the old one had no auto power off because it was constantly in serial mode

[@markshaw2207]

Threaded insert on the back is for a magnet. Used a lot in the field for affixing to electrical cabinet doors.

[@englishrupe01]

Right, but only an EE tech hobbyist or electrician would know that. Oh wait.....

[@mirosawlewandowski7865]

Absolutely no competition at this price! It sets new trends in the construction of meters for service and electronics hobbyists.

[@gamerpaddy]

did i read 30000counts on that chipset datasheet? tehres a eeprom? time for some modding! this could be the next ut210e

[@yushenwang2103]

But the bar graph was designed for 22000 counts, it may lead to issue if modified to 30000 counts as UT61e is likely to select range based on bar graph (raw) ADC

[@deterdamel7380]

The European version of UT61E was equipped with MOVs and was independently tested (GS/Tüv).

[@MedoFortyTwo]

The European version also only claims CAT II 600V, CAT III 300V, and I think I read that it also has better fuses. Funny enough, they messed up the TÜV printing on it even though it's legit. If you look very carefully it says TÜV Rheinland, ID: 0000000002, which must be a placeholder. I'm happy with the accuracy as well. At the Maker Faire Hannover I got to check it with a Fluke 5700A Calibrator. At 200mV, 2V, 20V and 20mA (positive and negative) it was at most five counts off (0.025%). 200µA was a bit worse at 18 counts (0.1%), but still way better than the advertised 0.1%+5 counts for voltage and 0.5%+10 counts for small currents.

[@sanityd1]

Thanks for that, penny just dropped on what the letter at the end stands for. I have an old one with C at the end, "mystery" solved.

[@MedoFortyTwo]

@@sanityd1 no, we're talking about two different versions of the UT61E. The UT61C is a different model altogether, with fewer counts on the display etc.

[@gino.avanzini]

Would love to watch a comparison with Aneng AN870. I had forgotten about this youtube bug

[@St0RM33]

which bug?

[@gino.avanzini]

@@St0RM33 This video was unlisted a few hours before release. Dave added the unlisted video to his multimeter review playlist. If you opened that playlist you could watch the video even though it wasnt publicly released. Dave posted it on twitter, take a look

[@St0RM33]

@@gino.avanzini ohh ok thanks

[@Maltanx]

The 61e I have has been great, even after years the calibration is absolutely perfect and has not drifted at all. Very accurate and repeatable. Only downside are the very cheap probes. The probes I got with the 25 bucks Vichy vc99 i keep in the tool box are much better

[@GRBtutorials]

Well, the probes aren’t the best, but if you sand the tips lightly with fine sandpaper they get much better, and actually usable! It’s as if they have some sort of insulating layer on them...

[@leonerduk]

I replaced the probes of my UT61E with some nice silicone ones I bought off eBay - well worth the £3 extra to buy those.

[@vrana3343]

@@GRBtutorials (

[@caseyrevoir]

00:11:47 The delay/light is because if the resistance is below 300 ohm the light will illuminate green, if over 300 the light is red.

[@conodigrom]

I understand criticism for UNI-T, but I think both are quite a bang for the buck for the money AND the hobbist/home lab/low voltage use. Even the UT61E debate...come on, who on their sane mind would use it professionally or above 240V? 500,750,1000V work with an $60 UNI-T? Who complains about that has bigger issues to fix..

[@flybackrs]

Well there is the whole Uni-T being a Chinese company and China runs literal concentration camps. So there's also the "supporting China's government" ethical issue.

[@flybackrs]

Especially since you can find a used Fluke on eBay for the same price or less...

[@conodigrom]

@@flybackrs Absolutely.

[@flybackrs]

@@conodigrom shame, because I agree that they look like great budget options for hobbyists.

[@whuzzzup]

@@flybackrs So does the US?

[@ElmerFuddGun]

*New Uni-T Model Number Meeting:* Pres. Joe: _So what should we call our completely new meter?_ Frank: _The 61 was pretty popular._ Tony: _Well we had a bunch of different 61 models. It must be a lucky number._ Sarah: _I can't think of any numbers other than 61._ Johnny: _How about adding a plus sign? So, like, ya know, like the 61E but, ya know, different and, ya know, better._ Pres. Joe: _Oh, that's good, Johnny! You get a raise, Johnny! Meeting adjourned._

[@ДикийИзвинятор]

Why not 69? :-)

[@firstmkb]

I loved Sarah's comment - she must be in marketing!

[@ElmerFuddGun]

@@firstmkb - LOL. Ya, I'm not sure of her exact title... as I didn't get that far down into details when making this up!

[@ElmerFuddGun]

@@ДикийИзвинятор - LOL. I thought someone might mention that number. :-P

[@zadekeys2194]

The fuses + backlight (although so weak) + improved continuity makes the upgrade worth it for me. Might wait a few months and see if there is an improved revision of this newer model.

[@tl1024]

I know this is a dumb one, but I always go straight to meter leads with "alligator clamps" support, and I use the probe holders to keep my alligator clamps when I'm not using them. It's a option you would never know you missed until it's not there. But, I usually upgrade the leads instantly on any meter I buy anyway, and support for alligator clamps is a must in my line of work. Good leads & alligator clamps is a must (at least the good leads part). Many people dont understand just how good it is to have a decent set of meter leads.

[@eDoc2020]

As somebody who's had a few el-cheapo meters I certainly understand how frustrating bad probes can be. Regarding built-in alligators that would be nice but I just use regular probes with a pair of alligator to alligator cables. Integral alligators would be better (nothing to short for example) but since most of my meters don't have probe holders I'd be worried about misplacing them.

[@tomcardale5596]

The main thing that needed improving about the UT61E was the input protection. Everything else about it was a perfectly competent meter.

[@jstro-hobbytech]

I've never used temp on any of my meters. Being a hobbyist the addition of a backlight and 22000 counts makes it great for measuring small values. I can see why it's not professional grade but you get what you pay for

[@alejandroperez5368]

Yup. Why the hell would you need to measure temperature with that probe? To see at which temperature water boils? Jeez.

[@jstro-hobbytech]

@@alejandroperez5368 I don't know if you're being sarcastic or genuine hahaha. I agree the hfe would be better replaced by a temp probe. I'd never use that and I did it would be one one of those little arduino based ziff socket testers we all have laying around somewhere lol

[@silviustro1]

There's actually a UL rated Uni-T UT61E version that's being sold in Germany. A bit more expensive, But certified to be safe for poking around AC. I've been using one for a couple of years now, No wockers.

[@juancarlossandoval5628]

Got this meter,, malfunction on its 2nd month,, shorted lest leads shows 2 ohms,, so I do the IPA bath. Now open leads show 6meg, diode test and buzzer are also affected,, shorted test leads shows 38 ohms,, ncv beeps non stop,, never abuse the meter,,, just sitting on my desk no batt leaks, leads are ok. Tested the front end, no issues,, it seems cal just drifted so soon.

[@EEVblog]

Yikes!

[@BruceNitroxpro]

@@EEVblog , Exactly... it is Chinese junk, with no repair and no replacement either.

[@treadmillrepair754]

Continuity Beep of my Fluke 27 fail after 40 years of total abuse. All the meters are the same. Hehehehehe.

[@BruceNitroxpro]

@@treadmillrepair754 , HORRID! ONLY 40 years! Ha ha ha ha! Good one!

[@rcinfla9017]

I have two UT61E and two AN870. I discovered by accident the good 0.05% accuracy on AN870 degrades quite a bit over temp., At about 90 deg F, 32 degs C the accuracy dropped from 0.05% at 25C to 0.14% at 90F. I like the UT61E internal calibation pot adjustment for DC volts verses firmware eeprom cal storage on AN870. If your working with Li-Ion cells, neither allows 4 decimal readout which require at least 50,000 count meter.

[@Marsandrey]

Have you tried to measure with AN870 the voltage of sin wave and increase the frequency from 50Hz to 15kHz keeping same amplitude? :)))))))))))))))))

[@FISHERMAN33RUS]

Waiting for uni-t vs aneng comparison. Thanks.

[@d.jensen5153]

I'd be perfectly happy if I never saw another 9V battery in my life.

[@TheAndyroid]

hFE is a must for many people.

[@garethjones7182]

I measure transistor gain (matching pairs of AC128s etc.), thought everyone did!

[@johnwest7993]

I just checked, and it's now $100 US on Amazon.

[@excitedbox5705]

I think Aneng is still the most bang for buck. Their new 9002 has Bluetooth and data retention for $22 but sadly only 6k counts but I think there is 1 with 10k. Their Q1 is still only $27 though. Their Bench meter is $70 has bluetooth, a radio, Alarm clock 19k counts and better precision than this one. I saw something about multi function calibration as well but the description didn't mention it.

[@elkingmohamed1993]

Hello, Would you mind taking a minute to answer my question? I am writing to you to seek your advice on the purchase of a multimeter for measuring small values on the order of millivolts and microamps. I am considering two models: the UT61B+ with a 6000 display count and the UT61E+ with a 22000 display count. I understand that the display count refers to the maximum number of digits that can be displayed on the multimeter's screen. However, I am still unsure of the practical difference between the two models. Would you be able to provide me with some guidance? Thank you for your time and consideration.

[@ashevillemusictools]

Thanx for the Review. I have been wondering about this unit. I do wonder if they long term calibration has been fixed. The 61E drifts bad after 1 year. Regarding HFE this is not surprising and I'm sure heavily requested feature. The 61E is a favorite of the audio hobbyist market including the guitar pedal and amplifier market and that market needs HFE for grading older, esp GE transistors so I am sure they were asking for improved HFE features since it is getting harder and harder to find meters with this feature.

[@NICK-uy3nl]

For me, the major difference is the mechanical design and packaging of the new meter. It is much more robust as far as teat lead terminals, rotary selector tracks and case and internal shielding design. They finally wised up and hired a mechanical product design engineer to properly package the product. People don't realize mechanical packaging of a product is as important as the electronic specs. Nobody likes a chintzy product. The Aneng might be a good meter but it's nowhere near as well-built as the UT61E+, not even close.

[@HamedAdefuwa]

Lol Dave's reaction about the hfe was hilarious.

[@ashevillemusictools]

Yep and shows he doesn't understand the audio market, their love of this meter and how they grade GE transistors.

[@arsenicjones9125]

@@ashevillemusictools it’s doubtful that this meter is all that accurate and HFE w/o leakage info in a GE audio circuit is pretty useless

[@m.zohaibusman1298]

Yooo, ur the guy I've been getting ads about

[@sergsimakovich1444]

my reaction was 100% same :)

[@ashevillemusictools]

@@arsenicjones9125 fair enough. Maybe they put it in knowing people wanted it but didn't do good enough. Plenty of half baked not fully properly implemented features in this meter as Dave's review clearly shows.

[@telmobrandao5062]

I would love to see you do a comparison between the Uni-T and the Aneng.

[@arnauddurand127]

+1

[@Mr.Leeroy]

I bet Aneng won't have anything near to the build quality of Uni-T. Cheaper plastics, wonky fit&finish, god knows what in electronic components.. Not that I'm a fan of uni-trend, but I happen to own a multimeter that comes from the same OEM that Aneng badges their products (or at least used to).

[@JohnUsp]

@@Mr.Leeroy Aneng AN870 is very good.

[@kamikazekk-df4vz]

My boss bought one of this new DMM uni-t models, the 17B pro and I admit not bad at all. It's accurate and full of features, for 80 bucks with shipping included not bad.

[@Brian-uq6jm]

I have a 17b pro on my repair bench to use when my hands are covered with lead and disgusting flux. Yeah I use it instead of my better meters cuz i can't be bothered cleaning it every time. It has been months and I have to say, it's great!

[@RandomHacks]

Funny I ordered this 2 days ago, was looking for a good review and here it is. I also have the Aneng AM870 it is ok but not great, very slow range switching, not much input protection as far as I remember and NCV is equally useless.

[@m.zohaibusman1298]

My 10$ UNI-T meter has a really good NCV mode tho, works flawlessly. Im honestly shocked that this one failed

[@peterthefoxx]

Sometimes feels like every uni-t model is made by a different company. Btw which model was that 10$ one?

[@barbudoru]

I have the UT-210E clamp meter (not 10$ tho) and the NCV is very sensitive. I like to amuse people by showing them how my cat charges its lazors when you pet it - NCV goes wild.

[@m.zohaibusman1298]

@@peterthefoxx ikr Mine is UT33d+

[@m.zohaibusman1298]

@@peterthefoxx I just realized that my multimeter is about 20$ in US. My wholesale market is really cheap damn... I got a brand new one for 6$. Feels good

[@peterthefoxx]

@@m.zohaibusman1298 Thanks!

[@flymypg]

Would love a shoot-out of all 5-digit meters with the 121GW as the reference, and all others rated relative to it, perhaps with radar plots to make the key differences more visible.

[@Broken_Yugo]

My decision was the AN870 is better bang for buck, getting up around 100USD one may as well make the jump to the BM235 or something else with proper safety features.

[@redtails]

know your userbase. multimeters are used to test continuity (why does my thing not work?), resistance (I can't read color values), and voltage (is it 5v or 3v3?) most often. Beyond that, mA current (real diagnostics), mains voltage, and _maybe_ capacitance.

[@eDoc2020]

I get what you're saying. But don't forget diode test mode, very useful to see if diodes and transistors are shorted, open, or likely functional. For a pocket multimeter that's all you need. Analog multimeters are also good here, I don't know why everyone only talks about digital meters. But on the other hand I can also see the utility of a meter with more features and more accuracy. My thought is to have a basic meter (or several) for everyday work and a more advanced meter kept at the bench if you need a bit more.

[@truthful3777]

I would buy the meter due to the hfe function. I am a board level electronic repair man. Why not it is a good thing to have...My fluke 179 and 189 don't even have hfe. Btw I don't measure HT mains voltage but I do measure HT Vaccum tube circuits. UniT 61E plus will do just fine.

[@pdh-tech]

The 61E+'s NCV function seems useless and its backlight isn't very bright. I recently shared a video review of the Habotest HT118A multimeter (about 23 USD), although it only displays 6000 counts and the input protection is not equal to Uni-T E61+, the voltage measurement is quite accurate, functional NCV is very sensitive, can detect electric field at a distance of about 5cm, accurately detect Line wire from about 3cm. The screen has a very bright backlight, the display is large and clear.

[@heronguarezi6501]

I have a UT60C and already measured 1400V. I am not sure what accuracy I got, but it measured and did not complained. Caught on camera to

[@OneBiOzZ]

i worry about the rubber on that range switch degrading due to hand oils and high pressure

[@Xsses]

UT70A It's very old, but it is RLC + multimeter and because it is very old you can find one for 50$. I've opened it and I believe it has a decent design. Only drawback is a lack of auto-ranging.

[@mdfyui8000]

If only new meters would stop stacking the ohms/diode/beeper functions together. Definitely a peeve with the little Sanwa pocket, along with the 3 to 4 seconds it takes to boot.

[@smeezekitty]

Continuity really needs to be on its on setting

[@eDoc2020]

I'm fine with the continuity being shared as long as everything is still direct on the dial. What I mean is resistance and continuity can be active at the same time. Have a resistance display but when the reading gets below whatever threshold turn on the buzzer. My Radio Shack Micronta 22-193 manages this. While its resistance readout obviously takes a moment to settle the continuity beep still is able to work instantly.

[@Tibbon]

As someone with many 70s analog music units, transistor testing is useful for me!

[@zukjeff]

Speed of continuity and continuity lead voltage is a MUST for meter comparisons. more of my circuits are now below 3.3 volts. testing components power the whole DUT when the lead voltage is 5 to 7 volts like the fluke !

[@ovalwingnut]

I really like the RED one. Just saying.

[@JulianoMesquita-zy8ex]

I LIKE YOUR VIDEO. BUT HOW DO I CALIBRATE THE UT61E+, I HEARD THAT IT IS THROUGH THE MANUFACTURER'S SOFTWARE. DO YOU HAVE THIS SOFTWARE?

[@qlum]

Own an Aneng an870 myself, fine for my uses, just don't expect the ncv to actually be a useful feature on that one.

[@WooShell]

NCV isn't a useful feature on any meter. Complete waste of space.

[@matth3wc]

As someone who owns the Uni-T UT61E, the Uni-T UT61E+ is a disappointment, sure it's an upgrade but not worth 30-40 more over the non-plus version. I like my Uni-T UT61E, looks like i'll be holding onto it a while longer.

[@imkow]

Uni-t is considered high-end in China.. because there are better bang-for-the-buck brands like Fuyi and Zoyi .. their meters are about 2/3 of Uni-t's price while retaining the same precision..

[@hqiu6828]

Uni-T used to work for Fluke as OEM, low-end stuff, btw, thus has better quality control. Also, Rigol used to work with Agilent.

[@AndrewCislak]

I'd love you to compare with the ANENG AM870!

[@gilbertexcoffon]

Thanks for the video. I bought the 61E+. In your video you don't talk about the sokett accessory for measuring components. With mine it is impossible to plant a component in the 2 small rectangular holes provided for this purpose. absence of contact "clamps" inside. Have you noticed this defect ???

[@funcool8884]

Its stupid china marketing.

[@faxepl]

15:25 Guys at the local power distribution center looking at their instruments and spilling their coffees: Oh no, it's Jones again!

[@confusedredditor1660]

Hahaha

[@likemarksee]

I think we had a few of these UT61(?) at work, but i don’t use them personally as i find them annoying slow.

[@brutester]

For a hobbyist having a transistor meter is a good thing that I was missing in my UT61E. (P.S. even that I have a Masters in Electronics, I cannot afford a 10k$ SMU)

[@Broken_Yugo]

One of those cheap component testers will do HFE, pinout, and more. They're a no brainer, especially if you have to get out an adapter anyway to use your meter. I think the NCV is kinda gimmicky too for the same reason, even the cheapest of dedicated tool for the job works better, if you don't have a cheap ncv stick working around mains you're doing it wrong.

[@brutester]

@@Broken_Yugo yes, that is true, but when you start adding more and more devices it gets harder and harder to find them when you need them :)

[@hwingerrr5680]

@@Broken_Yugo the inexpensive component testers are very useful for the price of admission, identification and measurement of all types of transistors, capacitors, inductors, and resistors.

[@sonic2000gr]

Probably the price will go down soon. I think it's a nice meter. Not very fond of the new red knob in there. But the bigger display and the change from the 9V battery is very nice. I have the original UT61E also and would consider buying this as a second (well, maybe... 5th) meter.

[@ikocheratcr]

Yes for AN870 review, and properly a comparison to UT61E

[@DantalionNl]

I'd take a Brymen BM257s over this anyday, same price in my country anyway

[@dusanmilojevic3017]

Same.😁

[@malgailany]

The best improvement in my opinion is the AC+DC volts measurement that is found only in the high-end DMMs. I wanted to see how good it is. Not sure why you skipped that feature?

[@dedamarsovac]

For me, working with DC/AC inverters, that would be quite an interesting feature. Those things have a quite specific input current waveform, where only the AC+DC measurement can explain the input fuse current rating and ohmic losses

[@WacKEDmaN]

when this baby hits 88$, youre gonna see some serious shit! nice updates...

[@chaoticlife311]

LOL, for chinese the 8 is quite the desirable number. hahahahahahaha

[@WacKEDmaN]

i take back that "nice updates" part!... sorta nice...but not worth the extra $$

[@DarthZackTheFirstI]

its already at 60$ from his link

[@muppetpaster]

@@DarthZackTheFirstI I have two of the old ones, paid 40 in total...

[@borayurt66]

hFE might come in handy if it works properly. I have an old Beckman Industrial DM27xl from the late 80's (early 90's?) which I bought as my first DMM. It has hFE, and it actually does a much better job (realistic measure) than the Atmega based component tester thingies floating around in the Chinese markets. I still use it and when I need to choose a couple of transistors out of a 100 pack with matching gains, it is my "go to" instrument. Yes, a temperature function is clearly missing from this new UNI-T meter, but I would rather have it as not "instead of", but together with hFE. Nice review as always, checked the internet, it has become available in Chinese sellers, but not made it yet to the local distributor here in Istanbul. For the price, I totally agree, there is NOTHING in this meter that can justify the difference, and I am sure they will quickly discontinue the old model and the only "budget" 22000 count UNI-T will no longer be in the 60USD range, shame...

[@elmariachi5133]

Thanks for your insights. I hate it, when people like Dave here, make bolt claims, like 'no one needs hfe anymore', without any explanation.. I usually repair retro computers and of course there occassionally are some analog parts in there, was not sure if I could need this.

[@borayurt66]

@@elmariachi5133 We share the same passion for retro computers then.

[@tomcruiser2407]

Great comparison, although I didn't understand everything because I speak Swiss German, I still understood a lot haha. And yes, it's a shame that the temperature measurement was omitted. Nevertheless, I bought, well, the plus model and, as an amateur radio operator, I am extremely satisfied with it. Price performance is excellent and what is also impressive is the extremely fast continuity tester when troubleshooting. Your video helped me decide, thank you very much. Greetings from the Bernese Oberland Thomas

[@jon123423]

I would go for uni-t ut139E.

[@alexchong213]

Sold on features like large digits that are backlit, 20amps and the ability to go straight to DCv was what I needed for automotive use. Something about Fluke with tiny digits and 10amp meter is useless.

[@AlexTaradov]

hFE is a throwback to Mastech.

[@EEVblog]

It was big in the 70' and early 80's

[@crackwitz]

since the UT61e (yes, not the + one) rose in price ($60) compared to several years ago (~$45 in 2017), I'm wondering what's out there for around $50... I like fast continuity and the serial output.

[@SP6QKX]

🤔Thanks and Greetings from Poland .

[@melvynsmith2143]

Hi Dave, you know what, this meter the 61E+ is being sold here in the UK through Amazon for £139, much more than the more reasonably priced 61E which is just £59, I wish it were just half as much again as the E, I would buy one, but at the price they are being offered in the UK I don't think its worth it, I can get a used but working Fluke for that price. Love your videos BTW and your Ausie sense of humour... Keep up the good work buddy.... Mel - Yorkshire, England

[@PWMaarten]

Although I wouldn’t use my DMM for transistor gain measurements, I do measure transistor gain quite frequently.

[@DebboR1]

Guessing they could remove the trimmer pots because they added the RX part of the serial port. They probably do automated calibration with that!

[@kitecattestecke2303]

And then store it where? They migh just have some Rom and no flash in a onefunction device

[@todayonthebench]

The "No contact voltage sensing" seems a bit like a gimmick, even when well implemented. (I much prefer using the traditional pen type, since poking a whole multimeter into an electrical cabinet seems down right silly...) The lack of temperature measurement is a bit of a bummer, but I can live without it to be fair. Though, I don't know why Dave needs to hate the transistor gain measurement as hard as he does... I have found transistor gain measurements actually useful a fair few time. (Though, usually I want a known base/collector current, and typically graph it a bit as well. Ie, a straight up "beta" is a bit lack luster. But I don't discredit a whole meter just because it has the feature.....)

[@hwingerrr5680]

All NCV implementations I've seen in DMM units are fairly unuseful not only because of the bulk but also because they're so ambiguous. That's more worthy of the gimmick gripe because I doubt anyone would actually use and rely on that ncv feature when the pen type is so much better. With a good one, it can easily determine the hot side of a lamp cord, which isn't possible with the DMM version.

[@585585MC]

Damn, thato 61 is a quite old revision (or a Chinese version)! Purchased a 61E in 2020, I have 3 MOVs, 2 PTC and resistors.

[@ford1546]

9v battery does not leak. if they leak then the leak is inside the battery box and does less damage. AA. batteries leak a lot and do a lot of damage 4 pcs. AA. batteries will be 6v. 4 pcs 1.2 rechargeable becomes 4.8v. can multimeters use modern 4.8v rechargeable batteries?

[@retrocomputeruser]

A shoot-out with the AN870 would be nice.

[@birdking6389]

Creepy frigle product. No screws on the upper cover part, two tiny screws through the battery housing in the middle, and two larger screws at the bottom part take the most task of secure the Case. Cheeply Made Toys ! And BTW the Uni- t official store giving people repaired units as new

[@ajaymore3009]

Hi Dave, please do a burden voltage test on both models. Also the comparison with AN870 will be nice. Thanks.

[@andymouse]

I was just waiting for it as you clicked the dial round !

[@Grcbyte]

I have one UT139C and i like it very much! Have temperature sensor :) and the NCV works better than that UT61E+

[@lu4enp]

Love this kind of reviews from you!!! Thanks

[@MiniLuv-1984]

Aneng comp - Yes please! Also tell us about the optical usb - what's it actually capable of - can it be set up as slow sample rate data logger?

[@jaro6985]

Yes you can use the USB to datalog the current display reading.

[@euleausberlin]

I certainly would enjoy an Aneng 870 review.

[@nortonis3565]

Hello my good man, nice video. I can see it gone 2 years. I am on a look for a new meter, what would you say now is the most bang for the bucks ?

[@chrisbailey4759]

Absolutely perplexed why they wasted a function position with the Hfe test, and what's the point of the non contact voltage detect if it doesn't work properly, I was all set to buy one for back up purposes, Thanks for the review and thanks for saving me some money 👍

[@VoidHalo]

I've been waiting for you to make a video about my meter since I got it a couple years ago. Best I could ever find was your review way back ago on the UT61B, but unfortunately you just crapped all over it. Maybe it deserved it, but the comments didn't seem to think so. Either way, it may not be a review, but it's good to hear you saying positive things about the UT61E. Cheers, m8. :D