VC-330 Clamp Meter Test (it's the same as UNI-T UT210E !)

Today I was doing an unboxing, review and test of the Voltcraft VC-330 clamp meter. It's a nice small AC/DC clamp meter with a zero button, True RMS and 2000 counts (actually 2200). It has 2A, 20A and 100A AC/DC current ranges. The 2A range has a nice 1mA resolution. The voltmeter goes up to 600V. The ACV max resolution is 1mV and DCV resolution is 0.1mV. It has a HOLD button and a white backlight. It also measures resistances with 0.1 ohm max resolution and goes up to 22 Megaohms, it has diode test up to 2.2V, conductivity beep test and a very good capacitor meter. The max resolution of capacity is 1pF and it goes up to 22 mF (yes, 22 000 uF !). It also has a non-contact AC test (cable detector to find live wires in walls, etc.). This clamp meter turned out to be virtually the same as UNI-T UT210E except the color.
See the teardown of it here:
• Clamp Meter Teardown (...
Today I also created a Patreon account as some of my viewers suggested:
/ diodegonewild

[@cisarvialpando7412]

17:10 and ofcourse an pillow detector....😂

[@kittythedankboi3038]

Your pillow has power , that's why when u sleep , u charge for the next day. It's like a wireless charger =]]]]]

[@zaidhussain5206]

Thank you for this video , most important feature is the pillow detector

[@philipreich7035]

I loved the pillow detection bit. Was it detecting a static charge in the stuffing of the pillow, or did you hide a live wire inside of it as a joke? I have watched a number of your videos over the years. Very informative and helpful.... Thanks for what you do!

[@whitehoose]

The clamp positioning is critical. I don't have a need for super accuracy above 2A as long as I know it's live - that's good enough. and even that isn't life or death (literally!). I went for the UNI-T because it's up (down?) to 25% the price of the VC-330, I''m glad you confirmed what I was pretty certain was the case. If I needed super accuracy I have the silly expensive alternatives but that all lives in my workshop not day to day use. The clamp is what it is - and for my money it's a great unit that satisfies my needs.

[@pirataga]

You are a super good teacher, Diode

[@blaser80]

I've had the UNI-T 210E for 2 years now, it's one of favourite meters. Surprisingly more accurate than my EXTECH meter. For £28 it was a bargain, build quality is also very good.

[@theoneohmresistor]

Is it more precise in voltage measurement or in current mode? Or others?

[@blaser80]

@@theoneohmresistor in both, it measure more accurately on my voltage standard and more accurate than current because it has no 'burden resistance'. Unfortunately, the alkaline batteries in mine leaked and killed the meter - very annoying as the meter is doubled in price.

[@richardnanis]

Nice reveiw! I have two clampmeters for up to 600 Amps but only very poor resolution on low amps. The earlier clampmeters were meant for high current measuring. You had to buy a special leakage clampmeter for lower currents that were very expensive 10...20 years ago. Nice to see there are good quality and accurate meters for around 50 $. Most of the older DMM tend to show a little higher amperage - probably due to security reasons(?). I tested several older DMMs against very accurate fluke ones and they all tend to show little higher amps readings (1-2%). I think you get the best results when the cable is going in a right angle (90 deg) through the clamps and near the middle :-)

[@imeprezime1285]

I have UNI-T UT251A leakage clamp meter. It is very accurate all the way from 0.5 mA to 60 A AC. I payed 49 $ for it in local electronics store.

[@joeh690]

Wow that's a way to solder wires.

[@lefteristhebuilder6159]

Not only this clamp meter (I was about to write pillow detector....) is same as the UNI-T UT210E, but it is same as my multimeter (UT139C). The functions, the sounds as well as some of the design are just the same!

[@lefteristhebuilder6159]

**mine is not a pillow detector XD

[@miguelc_seeker]

Saludos, muy buen producto, caballo de batalla de UNIT, para los que piensan comprarla en estos tiempos le comento que ya salió la nueva UT210E PRO, yo la compre por ALIEXPRESS, por que por amazon o mercado libre aun no la venden, al cambio pague 34.000 pesos chilenos y me la enviaron con un regalo, pinzas cocodrilo o caimán, ahora este modelo mide frecuencia mas todo lo demás, me imagino que harían una actualización y mejoras a la electrónica de la pinza... una excelente pinza a bajo costo... Greetings, very good product, UNIT workhorse, for those who plan to buy it in these times I tell you that the new UT210E PRO has already come out, I bought it through ALIEXPRESS, because they still do not sell it for amazon or free market I paid 34,000 Chilean pesos and they sent it to me with a gift, crocodile or alligator clips, now this model measures frequency plus everything else, I imagine they would make an update and improvements to the electronics of the clip ... an excellent clip at low cost ...

[@poptartmcjelly7054]

Mains AC is actually extracted from pillows in pillow farms.

[@DennyNeznan]

Nice, i managed to get it from our Conrad for 33.45€ (~$41.50) with included shipping. I'm glad i checked because UNI-T from Ebay would be much more expensive ($33 UNI-T + ~$16 import taxes).

[@keigun5546]

@@tuxrandom Well, Voltcraft is beeing used in School labs for electrical engineering

[@arthurmead5341]

$16 taxes? Wow

[@migsvensurfing6310]

Tip for eu citizens.. if youre going to buy it at Conrad electronics then search for VC-330. Two prices comes up. I got it for almost half the price to what they have advertised it for.

[@bencegaspar4764]

That's because one of them is calibrated to ISO Standard and the other one is not!

[@jdwithheld8915]

Amazon is out of VC-330s (6/25/21).

[@rodsofgod6863]

We need to see the guts bro! We need to see the internals! Thank you for sharing!

[@gandsnut]

If you never use the meter's case, maybe your cat can use it for a purse.

[@binaryglitch64]

Next time I'm in the market for a new clamp meter I'm gonna be looking for that pillow detector! I love it. Best laugh I had all day.

[@HIDLad001]

I use an old Fluke 80I-400 AC current clamp that connects to an existing multimeter, but it only has 100mA resolution. (but it is meant for industrial environments and measuring current up to 400A.)

[@Rivenworld]

Love your videos, have learned so much, bought one of these clamp meters recently, thanks to you I now know how to use it lol. Your knowledge and communication of that knowledge is excellent, thank you, (Subscribed).

[@QrchackOfficial]

NCV means for non-contact voltage, just like those little pen meters that light up when there's mains voltage close to them

[@DiodeGoneWild]

No, it actually is a pillow detector :).

[@cisarvialpando7412]

@@DiodeGoneWild 😂😂😂

[@jp040759]

It even indicates the polarity of the current. I have to learn which way to clamp so I understand what the meter is showing as polarity based on orientation of the clamp.

[@SeanBZA]

Nice small meter, I find I use it quite a bit, and have it in my carry around quick electrical kit.

[@sarathai2876]

I like the pillow detector setting

[@E-GaN]

7:12 at that time, press the "zero" button to cancel out the unnecessary value.

[@patcher600]

I have the UNI-T UT210-E it's also very high quality for a lower price (i payed 32€ for it on Amazon)

[@jacksat2252]

I have this one UNI-T to ,and love it ,nice little clamp meter. But i just use the clamp fuction ,i have a Flike bench DMM that is always on ,and a Brymen235 for measurements .The voltcraft is overpriced.

[@eldontyrellcorp]

I agree this is a very good meter for its price. But only for low power measurements.

[@Sopheris]

what? 100 amps is low power?

[@MrProooosit]

Realy good video, just recived my Uni-T UT210E nice to see your video mutch better than the manual.

[@IliyaOsnovikov]

I actually got my VC-330 from Amazon on sale for $30 while the most sellers of UT210E on eBay and AliExpress were asking about $40.

[@IliyaOsnovikov]

@@cydia2020 WOW! That's that's a great deal. I haven't seen them for a while below $40.

[@whatworkedforme]

good demo but can't get over working with live AC and bare wires!!!! you are brave or very... keep safe man!

[@cuma666]

very nice meter. I get the UT210D for frequency and temp probe, and i work mainly on AC.

[@mereview2615]

@17:11 a pillow detector. 😄 😄 😄 Lol at 01:00am now

[@th34lch3m1st]

I have notice that, when you change inclination of the wire, the current measurement rise. Is this effect related to the magnetic field flowing perpendicolar to the current flow direction? (this is what I barely remember from second grade school physics lessons, if don't remember wrong). I mean, when the wire is perfectly perpendicular to the clamp then the magnetic field flow is parallel to the clamp sensor, so is that why it measure the maximum flow?

[@buellstud]

I just got the meter. How do you measure frequency with it. I couldn't find it in the booklet?

[@hausmeister1926]

The Protection Earth Contact of Your PowerPlug look funny. What Country is it ? By the way, your Tutorial is very helpful. Thanks a lot for it. Best regards from Germany

[@mrmoon7484]

your handwriting is very good

[@saschakolb7102]

With this thing you will be able to examine whether your cat is a Cyborg cat with microprocessors, coils and wires or simply a normal one.

[@IliyaOsnovikov]

Could you please give me the packaging box dimensions? I am planning to have one of these clamp meters shipped to me from the USA. And now I am trying to figure out what smallest shipping box it will fit in. Thank you.

[@teslakovalaborator]

zdroj v pozadí byl ten tvůj regulovatejnej s vysokým proudem?

[@electroumit]

Thank you for this perfect review.

[@aurthorthing7403]

They are awesome meters.

[@yambo59]

the UT210E is available on ebay now for $14.95 and free shipping, just bought one but wont see it in the US for three weeks from china, typical shipping time.

[@touati84]

Good meter i am in the market for one like that ... i have question plz if it can measure the current with the probes also ?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

No, you can't use the probes to measure current...

[@touati84]

thank you

[@SianaGearz]

Do you have an LCR-T4?

[@zadintuvas1]

You can hack UT210E (and probably this one also).

[@zx8401ztv]

That's a nicely made clamp meter and the colour scheme is really nice. :-D I never expect a clamp meter to be as perfect as a direct connection ammeter, but that one really does very well. I'm sure you took a peek inside, i'm guessing a cob chip similar to the fs97xx series. It's always annoying when they use a cob :-(

[@sorincrivat]

what happens if i try to measure 120 amps dc? will it brake or will it say over limit?

[@Neovo.Geesink]

I have done that with my Uni-T UT210E when starting a car. It does not break, It only tells you Out of range. After the ordeal, it was just a reZeroing it, and DC Amperes were measured correctly again.

[@darkdream8395]

2:22... Hahaha.. 'If you are stupid'... I laugh soo hard...

[@DiodeGoneWild]

Those days, prouducts have to be made so you can't hurt yourself even if you are trying to. The world is becoming a kindergarten :).

[@widyahong]

the question is why the current meter need manual range? its can be auto range..

[@child_of_god_]

Is your pillow radioactive? Try using geiger counter amd show us please

[@MixedGears]

As you said some of these clampmeters measures just AC. And I managed to buy just that one, demmmm.

[@davidprice2861]

I think it is a uni-t 210E rebadged and of different colour, looks soooo similar.

[@miguelc_seeker]

si , es es el mismo UT210E..... ya salió la nueva versión es la UT210E PRO......

[@hareshbalkaran7337]

2:21... Where did you stick it? Hahahaha

[@BalintNandori]

13:44

[@george701122]

well done - good explained !

[@arman-go4bw]

jsi Čech? jde poznat podle akcentu

[@pijakrudioscawo]

Mr.jackspedicy2 hlavně podle toho jak mluví

[@migsvensurfing6310]

Its gold in places like a car.mNo wire cutting or unscrewing needed.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

For a car you may actually need a 600A clamp meter to be able to measure the starting current :).

[@migsvensurfing6310]

True, but in practice its just a switch (key), an battery, relay and a motor (startermotor), not much to faultfind. Its always the starter or the relay so I have kever measured it, just change the relay, if it doesnt work, change the starter and of we go. But strictly you are right.

[@mohammedbizo7370]

thank you for the idea of this wonderful work please the work inverter

[@guitarguy3688]

Make a video on transistor tester , function generator kit , oscilloscope kit from ebay i never found a video with better review on them i want a review from you cause you explain very nicely please

[@hyperion8008]

yeah my meter has a transistor tester but I have no idea how to use it :( A vid from DGW would be great.

[@SODA-iz8lc]

Thanks for the video.

[@rprp07110]

I have red one and love it. I paid $ 35 on ebay

[@mikejones-vd3fg]

pillow power, dont underestimate, we still havent figured out the universe

[@ivsed6355]

вполне дельный обзор. Юзаю UNI-T 210Е уж пару лет, приборчик реально классный. Только детектор проводки не настолько правильный - эта функция не очень востребована, мягко говоря).

[@ronanrogers4127]

Helpful overview, thanks. I have the Uni-T version, but not being an expert I still have a bit to learn. I use it mainly for my Motorrad and Auto, fault detecting, and wiring in accessories. Or should I say, wiring in accessories, and then detecting my own faults!!

[@Pyridox]

Nice, except for the small size clamp.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

This size is fine for me.... I don't stick it in a substation :).

[@karlmartell9279]

The oddest Scot could not speak such slang. Oh man, that gets you defensively ready for the nerve plumbers after a while.

[@RaviKumar-uy8ss]

What if VFC bro?

[@E-GaN]

It is known as Variable Frequency Control. It uses a Low pass filter.

[@incxxxx]

Good job!

[@MrRavi2368]

Pls make video on nova hair trimmer..

[@ihor_babii]

Hi! My clamp do not measure AC voltage and current and NFC. The display shows [Over Loads]. DC measurements are correctly.What do you say about fauls?

[@SianaGearz]

DC measurement is performed with a Hall effect sensor in the clamp. AC measurement is performed with a coil wrapped around the clamp toroid. It stands to reason that the coil or the connection between the coil and the PCB may be damaged.

[@ihor_babii]

@@SianaGearz I understand.

[@danijel124]

This meter should have a 300a range and it would be perfect

[@musicsub7684]

thanks

[@supersaiyangoku3580]

Hi, DiodeGonWild, can you do a teardown video of that 3 socket extension strip? We like to see what's inside.

[@CringeOfCzech]

Hey ty jako bydlis v cesku?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

Ne asi, na Marsu :)

[@johncoops6897]

17:18 - you wind NINE turns on, and then find that it's not ten times more sensitive LOL

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I was waiting for someone to notice this :). It's not easy to count turns and talk at the same time. I added one turn off camera, so the test was actually done with 10 turns. But I'm glad that people watch my videos thoroughly to the very end :), not just the beginning or fast forward through and eat at the same time :D.

[@johncoops6897]

No... we DRINK while we watch! Was there a second video instalment coming? It was as if this one just ran out of video tape.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I didn't run out of tape :). There's just a bonus scene at the end as always in my videos. Something about 20 seconds long to put the end screen over :). But a second part of this video is coming. Or.... it is actually already uploaded, but for the very first time I publish a video one day earlier for my very very few Patreon patrons :). Tomorrow it will become public.

[@DiodeGoneWild]

So I've published the part 2 - the interesting part - the TEARDOWN of it :).

[@TTRVision]

I like AC/DCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCccccc eeeeeee :)

[@km5405]

you just don't see multimeters with pillow detectors nowadays.

[@electronic7979]

Nice

[@RaviSingh-xo7my]

bro i am gonna for buy Meco 1008 trms clamp multimeter. does it better then UNI-T UT 203 and others ? kindly tell me it's urgent?

[@mohammedbizo7370]

VERY GOOD

[@BalintNandori]

I've got a 1000A clamp meter but its really inaccurate

[@octavmandru9219]

Of course your pillow has current in it :D BTW, do you have a Patreon account?

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I don't have one yet but I'm thinking about creating one :).

[@DiodeGoneWild]

I've just tried to set up one www.patreon.com/DiodeGoneWild Not sure if I'm doing it right...

[@octavmandru9219]

I have the pleasure to be your first supporter

[@DiodeGoneWild]

octavmandru Thank you :) I'm really glad :).

[@DiodeGoneWild]

Coolkeys2009 You're probably right but I'm a very down to earth person :).

[@publicmail2]

Was this manufacturer supplied for review, and why is this priced at $140 when the red is $40USD?

[@SianaGearz]

I don't know where you got the $140 figure from, they don't cost nearly as much. It's a store brand of a major European brick and mortar store chain that sources its measurement equipment from Unitrend and Hantek. However, these devices are properly certified for Europe and built to the best quality these manufacturers will deliver. Same can't be said of grey market imports that may have been diverted from the export channel to Malaysia before they end up in your Amazon!

[@whitehoose]

AD It's my experience also that the VC330 is far more expensive but identical to the UNI-t. You either have to settle for red or have to spend an hour and search all the usual suspects for the best deal, It's quite common for there to be a red one or a blue one with a different colour and a different name but exactly the same components. They're all made in the same factory, they just end up in different boxes. People are gullible enough to think the price difference is about quality - it''s just marketing, Phillips or Grundig It's far more common than people think - VCRs would all be made identical - the final operation was the front panel which would have a unique set of buttons and a pricetag that read 50% of yesterday's run. The black blob COB makes life so much easier for this custom firmwares change just enough cosmetically to look different, but the functions remain the same.

[@yagoa]

the caps are maybe to avoid corrosion while in crappy warehouse :P

[@ankabest9751]

How much it cost you for shipping ?

[@carlosjimz]

Buying it

[@rushigharat678]

Wow

[@timwhite8500]

These are a useful little meter. Replace the crappy probes and it will be better

[@CEzikMaj]

Nice, but it's 1 322 CZK :c

[@arvinesfahani9317]

I like your videos , and also tiyou ( two) .

[@edgarkoterle]

Také kryty na meracie hroty kvôli zmene izolácie som ešte nevidel. Ale pekný merák, len ten postup pri meraní DC prúdu je trochu nepraktický, ak chcem zmerať niečo, čo nemôžem vypnúť :D

[@Sopheris]

You can get UNI-T UT210E for 22$ on ebay and i think im going to buy it. Got UNI-T M890G multimeter for like 10+ years already and 0 problems with it, just modded it to work on li-pol cell and still using it.

[@miketaylor803]

THANKS for this video - clear and informative I bought the Uni-T from eBay for £19 which is a good deal I think for DC reading clamp meter - great for automotive work too (Although I nearly spat out my drink at 2:20 - as I heard "If you stick it in my anus......" MAINS is pronounced kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5qrlKZ8iNirprM with no separate emphasis on the "a" then "ns" ) Well done though for doing this full review in a language other than Czech - it must have been demanding.

[@eldontyrellcorp]

I have the uni-t model and this actually a very good meter for its price. But only for low power measurements. There's barely any protections in this meter.

[@MrFrambooise]

Borrow or buy some pricey top brand clamp meter or just little "better" one and compare it's measurements accuracy. How accurate can those traditional multimeters be in terms of AC and DC current measurements? I thought than measuring AC current is not that easy.

[@jablckovydzusik5377]

Prečo nevydávaš videá v češtine ??

[@snhusidic]

Oh boy...🤣🤣🤣

[@cagmito76]

i made the ac/dc mistake

[@MohdAzylee]

You should get kyoritsu which is better

[@wahidgm9605]

pleas how to make a car battery charger

[@benjaminberger9629]

Thank u veeeary muuuuuuch frieeend

[@annaplojharova1400]

The caps on the bananas is to prevent dust and other mess entering when not in use. And for the capacitors it is shame these multimeters do not feature ESR measurements, without that it is rather useless for diagnosing electrolytics, as the standsrd C measurement does not show any issue even when the capacitor is practically dead...

[@daijoubu4529]

You should mod its eeprom