FNIRSI 2C53P Flat Panel Oscilloscope Multimeter Function Generator Test & Review - Good or Bad?

Fnirsi sent me one of their new 2C53P dual channel flat panel oscilloscopes. This multi function device also incorporates a multimeter and signal generator. Let's check it out and see if it is any good
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ANENG AN8009 MULITIMETER
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Thank you
Richard

[@lonndawg7554]

yeah, Richard... When it comes to the second pressing of the touchscreen, I believe that it is to make sure that you want that function, kind of giving you a second chance to check your wiring, to make sure you will not damage the device. It also could be used in a way possibly like an on and off... Method, let's say you have your leads set up in a certain way.... Until you hit that screen function the 2nd time you won't get the meter to respond. I guess I'm comparing it to how some power supplies work... You get everything set up and adjusted and then you press a button and the power supply delivers power. As far as the finicky behavior, I'm seeing some possibilities that their may be some calibration problems... Look, I worked in a factory where I produced a product and some people just didn't quite understand what they were calibrating but they could do the Job like a robot 🙂 but not truly understanding the potential complexity of doing the calibration process which in this case would result in odd behavior and in accurate readings, I am just giving my two cents and trying to analyze kind of what I'm seeing, we saw some readings that were quite far off, but the function kind of seem to work. I hope FNIRSI will reevaluate their manufacturing process, and monitor the quality control in the final output of the product. That's manufacturing speak for... Knowledgeable people checking the product before it ships for errors in manufacturing and calibration to meet the intended goals of the product. These guys generally make good products. I also see some software as you pointed out where the words are kind of poor English kind of a thing maybe it's a translation issue, but that should have been resolved before the product was shipped, But, again reviewers like you feed input to the company to improve the product I hope they give this product to review because it certainly has potential.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

Actually FNIRSI thanked me fo the honest product review, I think a lot of problems are down to firmware rather than hardware so hopefully they will sort some of hte issues out

[@juhaszpeter4796]

@@LearnElectronicsRepair I think there is a ton of problems with the hardware as well. My copy also has a lot of errors, you haven't found half of them in your video. The three videos on KZbin are missing parts that have not been tested. I think a basic quick test is 10-20 minutes for the basic functions. then a couple of hours of searching for faulty functions and, when finished, a summary section where you present all the errors you found. The frequency measurement on CH1 is wrong, it needs many more samples to determine the true frequency. CH2 is better in this respect. What else I found wrong with CH1 was the change in amplitude by changing the time base. I don't remember which ones now. It doesn't just look like a simple calibration drink to me...

[@0VAK1LL]

Appreciate the helpful videos pal. 🔌⚡

[@mammam6472]

Thanks for the review.

[@g4z-kb7ct]

ummm yeah the firmware needs ummm... work. Hope that card slot is there for firmware updates! If one is released please update and review again.

[@ianhaylock7409]

They may require a second press of the gear button to stop you accidentally pressing the wrong option and not realising.

[@Dutch-linux]

that was a good honest review

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

It was 🙂

[@magnum164]

I am by no means an expert or very knowledgeable on scopes I was hoping this would be a good low cost entry point. However, after using this unit for a while doing tests consistent with others online, the oscilloscope portion of this unit is majorly lacking. I can hook this unit up and get some random signal, only to turn it off come back in a few minutes without changing anything and getting a completely different signal wave. So I went looking for other more knowledgeable reviews online for this scope and found I was not alone, everyone had significantly different experiences, but the same conclusion the unit excels in the other portions, even signal generation. But the oscilloscope is by far is not reliable nor consistent. Good thing I got it for almost free :)...

[@kristoferokiel7906]

Great review! Exactly what I was looking for, thank you. 👍🏻

[@nigelfewster]

Good review, looks like a few options missing on the current software level. Hope they bring an update out.

[@mikepanchaud1]

You mentioned building a voltage reference. When you do, you could include on the pcb some standard resistors and capacitors and diodes with easy to contact pads with the multimter probes. You could also add a constant current source, powered from a bench psu or battery. This would save you so much time when testing multimters and avoid fiddling around with individual components as you can quickly step between different values.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

Yes, this is something I want to do, thanks for the additional suggestions

[@BrianSmith-ow9gy]

Thanks for the review Richard; always trust your vids. I'm looking to buy both a function generator and an oscilloscope so fell on this review with some eagerness. It's a shame that it's not quite right yet, probably fair to say it's at Beta level and not quite ready for marketing? Anyway, I have one question which I hope is not really stupid. If your device has a DDS connector for the function generator output and separate probes for the oscilloscope - like this one does - is it possible to find a unit that will output a test signal while you look for it using the oscilloscope section or is that a little cannibalistic?

[@ivanyou5795]

Please connect the input of the second channel oscilloscope to the signal generator. In my 2C53P, the second channel displays the signal frequency correctly (whether it is errors in the program or schematic errors, it is not yet clear) over the entire frequency range. There are 2 disadvantages in my FNIRSI 2C53P instance - incorrect display of the signal frequency by the first channel and a rather strong underestimation of the multimeter readings in the capacitance measurement mode. Otherwise, it is a pretty good and easy-to-use device.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

Thanks for the info. I can only present my findings as they occur and I think I gave a fair review and to be honest so did Fnirsi, they tell me they appreciate the opinions of reviewers and it helps them improve their products. Mostly I think it needs a firmware upgrade, I don't think the hardware is the real problem

[@ivanyou5795]

@@LearnElectronicsRepair I also hope that the hardware will not be a problem. Thanks for the answer!

[@Lightrunner.]

Good small tool. The price is a little bit to high betwean this and desktop. But, different problems. The connector from the signal generator doesn't live long(no BNC ). Divers software problems. Touch menue points to small . Frequenz meassurent is faulty . Thx Richard for the review👍.

[@g4z-kb7ct]

17:17 what happens if you measure a charged capacitor? My Fluke shows dISC for a few seconds on any charged cap up to 1000V then measures it. Will that gizmo discharge the cap and measure it or will it blow up? Please test ;-)

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I don't know, are you hoping for fireworks?

[@g4z-kb7ct]

@@LearnElectronicsRepair I know you don't know. The point is to test it to see if it discharges a cap before meauring it. If it is good it will discharge it. If it is bad then it will smoke and go in the bin joining its other poor quality chinese friends ;-)

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

@@g4z-kb7ct OK tell you what, I will try this on the live stream on Sunday @theelectronicschannel 17:00 UK time Sunday 16th June 🙂

[@g4z-kb7ct]

@@LearnElectronicsRepair Great I'll be there watching eagerly :)

[@Daniel-fq2bj]

How did it go? Did it pass or smoke

[@GiC7]

Thanks, Richard, great review, I'm still looking for one, waiting for you to test the one I'm going to buy. Thanks and be blessed in Jesus Christ name amen

[@trondhansen9896]

after looking at other revew videos of this ocilloscope it looks to me like the one you got has some sort of software problem. it looks like you got the v1.5 software but the latest version is v1.7,maybe you can update the ocilloscope to a different version of the software.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I hear that Kerry Wong had even worse problems when he reviewed one of the these. I'll ask about firmware

[@Manticore1960]

After selecting the function (gear), you can tap the screen anywhere outside of the function box to select it. I suppose they do it that way as a confirmation. Another user has reported wrong frequency indication on channel 1 of the scope. He says that channel 2 reads correctly though. Have you checked your firmware version to see if there's an update?

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I will ask Fnirsi

[@davidhollfelder9940]

On the function generator, I didn’t see that you can have modulation (AM, FM, etc).

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

No I don't think it has a modulation feature. That would be nice

[@mealot7613]

Could you open the multi meter to see if it is actually fused and build well? And might be nice to actually test the max voltage it can handle without exploding. I mean the makers were not even capable of actually translating words right.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I did see a teardown on another review and it does have fuses on both mA and Amps ranges

[@mealot7613]

@@LearnElectronicsRepair Ok thanks

[@michaelathens953]

I REALLY need something like this that has oscilloscope and signal generator features, but I am just WAY too broke to actually afford one. *sigh* oh well, guess I'll carry on getting by with only my crappy multimeter.

[@Onkel.Moetrik]

Fnirsi just can figure out how to make oscilloscopes. I bought the 1013d tablet scope, and it was a disaster! I had to sell it again, because it just didn't work. It had so many flaws. The Fnirsi stuff that works are the thing, they don't make themselves. The solder iron is a good example..

[@magnum164]

I just got the same unit to test for free through Amazon the other day. It may not be perfect, but it is better than the smaller unit I had that I could never figure out the menu system. Not doing anything that requires accuracy, and this is more advertised as an automotive unit, so I would not mind using it around my vehicle or lawn mowers I repair in case it gets damaged.

[@budgiefish]

To put that amount of functionality into something and still allow it to be produced and sold with basic spelling errors speaks volumes, IMHO... Unless of course this is a pre-production 'beta' model sent to Rich in order to discover such issues! :)

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I totally agree with you

[@GregM]

I agree for $148 CDN plus taxes need something that is more consistent and accurate.

[@Dutch-linux]

for me not accurate enough ..... so fnirsi I hope you are reading .. but this needs to be done better

[@robtitheridge9708]

like all of these things the sinal gen has no modulation so not a lot of use for radio repair.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

The sig gen was, in my opinion, the best feature. But one which has modulation would be really useful. I'll mention this to FNIRSI I have a pretty good contact with them 🙂

[@LarixusSnydes]

Honestly, they should at least put a rotary encoder on the side (Gear eh ;-) ) to select different modes and possibly function as an up-down control when setting fiddling about with zoom/ range settings instead of this awkward touchscreen-only interface.

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

To be honest I found the touch screen and it's operation in the oscilloscope mode one of the nicer features.

[@Dutch-linux]

this is not good enough for repair work to be honest ....

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

Agreed. Hopefully there will be a firmware upgrade, I'm happy to take another look if there is

[@andymouse]

Kerry Wong just reviewed this and came to the same conclusion as you, that until the software is fixed it's not worth buying, He went into a tiny bit more detail than you and just got himself more and more disappointed and a bit more cross than you ! Lol ! you dodged a bullet. Also like you he pointed out that they make some great stuff and found this confusing as to why it exists !...cheers.

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya, oke thanks for the review but this is not gone be the 1

[@Foobar_The_Fat_Penguin]

You're the former mobile disco guy. Shouldn't you know what funcation is? 😉

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

Hehe yeah I should know that LOL

[@user-kr8tp3ko8z]

nice review of bad product :D

[@pmcrisp]

probably mispelt function, funcation lol

[@Dutch-linux]

timestamp 7:37 shango 066 likes this thing

[@EdDueck-qv3wx]

I see that your channel is getting less about electronics and more about peddling electronic products

[@LearnElectronicsRepair]

I only review electronics test equipment that I think is relevant to the audience here. I'm sorry if that is not for you. I get a huge amount of generic consumer electronic items offered to me in exchange for a review, and often with cash payment on top, but I turn them down. For example I just rejected a fairly lucrative long term sponsorship deal from Temu as felt it did not fit the channel well and I disagreed over the editorial control T&C. Recently there seems to be a whole batch of new test equipment coming on the market, but if you look back through my videos in date order sometimes I go for weeks not reviewing anything. I'm always honest about test gear I get sent to look at, whether it is good or bad. I hope at least this video proves that. If it is any consolation the next batch of videos are purely repair or electronics project related. I only have one other review item on the shelf at the moment. I do have a few things coming in the post for next month or two though. Sneak preview: A 200W bench soldering station C210/C245 at a very good price. A 60V 10A programmable bench PSU A 4K 60fps microscope (can display 4K/60 on built in 10 inch monitor and to external HDMI plus it can record the same resolution at the same time). This product is not even available to buy yet I was offered a pre-release sample