The UNI-T UT8805E Review: Packed with Features, BUT...

[@voltlog]

Checkout this followup video! UNI-T listened to my feedback and released a new fw and pc app revision: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYO6naCwlqp-iJI

[@SlaVoy]

I don't see the option for user calibration, and for me, that's a fundamental feature considering that it's a low-budget and new multimeter, and it's uncertain how stable it will be over the coming years.

[@sebastian_harnisch]

Thank you for the review and also for pointing out bugs and less than optimal characteristics of the unit as well! More modern DMMs usually have a fan. If I'm not mistaken, for Agilent/Keysight's 6.5 digit multimeters it started with the successor of the 34401A, the 34410A. So it's more a question of the actual implementation than the general fact that it has a fan, but I think this is what you meant anyway. And this is one of the reasons why I still like the 34401As. Changing the fan in this class of an instrument might be an option though. Strange how the meter acquires data both when the green trigger indicator turns on and off. This is not in line with what you see on Agilent/Keysight/Keithley/Siglent DMMs. It might be something worth reporting also imo. I see the Siglent SDM3055 as a strong competitor in this price range. I have two 34401A - and although I like the performance of the meters I would certainly appreciate the modern features of newer equipment.

[@voltlog]

Indeed the Siglent SDM3055 seems to have very similar specs and functionality yet UNI-T seem to price theirs 60 EUR lower at least with the EU distributor eleshop.eu so anyone evaluating these two would probably go for the UNI-T as I don't see any advantage to the Siglent.

[@sebastian_harnisch]

​@@voltlog ​ Because you don't see *any* advantage, which is a bit surprising to me, here are some, without going into the specific functions of the meters - I own neither so I can't really comment on that part without doing a ton of research. 1. Since the Siglent's Bench DMM series is much longer on the market I would expect most of the more critical bugs to be fixed by now. 2. Also a somewhat more, but not completely subjective argument: For now I have a more confidence in Siglent than in the Uni-T bench DMMs, mainly for the following reasons: a) They have a longer history of building this type of equipment, b) the series of DMMs includes higher end 6.5 variants, from which the design of the lower end models *might* profit to a limited degree (I did not research it, so I can't say to which extent or if at all this is the case) c) From what I can see they generally have more experience building higher end equipment than Uni-T (scopes up to 4 GHz, 26.5 GHz spectrum analyzers etc.). That being said, it is an older design that might not represent today's capabilities that I mentioned before. Anyways, Uni-T has to build that trust first, e. g. by supplying firmware updates for the mentioned bugs in a timely manner. The build quality of the power supply you reviewed recently is promising though.

[@MarksGoneWicked]

When you mentioned fan noise, I immediately turned on my power supply, a UNI-T UTP305. Yeah, the fan is loud.

[@voltlog]

On the other hand the UDP3305S PSU that I reviewed a couple of weeks ago is very quiet, much quieter than the multimeter.

[@tiagoferreira086]

I saw a modern competitor from BK Precision 5492C 5 1/2 Digit (don't remember exact model but was this series) with a very similar ui for sale at a good price on ebay with some fault that seemed to be repairable, but before i purchase i made some research and found out that several people also mentioned quite a few software bugs and issues with the pc communication, i ended up not to buying it because of that. But seems like many low cost instruments nowadays suffer from software issues, its a shame because sometimes the hardware is quite capable and good like that uni-t in this video (apart the super annoying fan).

[@voltlog]

This will be an interesting experiment, let's see if UNI-T fixes any of the problems discovered in this review. At that point, given the specs and the price the UNI-T is probably the best choice when compared to Hantek, Siglent which offer similar meters but higher priced.

[@tiagoferreira086]

@@voltlog Yes let's see how they handle the issues. Honestly i wouldn't go for uni-t over the siglent if i can pay the extra diference, but yes very good for the price if weren't those issues.

[@xConundrumx]

I have both old and new meters, an HP 3468A with usb connection (yup, you heard me right), a 34405 and a keithley DMM6500 being some of the ones that have a permanent place on my desk. They all serve specific purposes and are chosen for that reason. I don't compare them because of that reason either. And yes those are not the only ones, I have even got several vacuum tube multimeters (though they get used for repairing equally old stuff).

[@voltlog]

I'm curious how does the HP 3468A have a USB connection? Did you hack it for that?

[@h2w..]

After powerup and w/o probes it shows 0.7VDC. 🤔

[@voltlog]

it has a very high imput impedance.

[@TheDefpom]

A lot of the interface seems to have been copied from the Siglent SDM3000 series meters, very similar layouts and menu setups. I emailed Uni-t last week to see if they wanted to send me stuff to review too... but they never even replied !

[@jaro6985]

and Siglent is clearly copied from the Agilent UI.

[@voltlog]

Siglent, Hantek, they all have similar layouts and menu setups for this type of instrument.

[@UpLateGeek]

I'm not in the market for a bench meter at the moment, but it's a shame it doesn't have a nice web interface, that could have made me more interested. I guess they're more of a hardware company than a software company, hence the limited web/software functionality and bugs. Hopefully they can improve these things over time. What I did like was your test clips, specifically the mesh sleeving. I'm often annoyed by my own test leads going all over the place and getting in the way, so I might have to pick up some mesh and sleeve a set to see if that helps.

[@voltlog]

This will be an interesting experiment, let's see if UNI-T fixes any of the problems discovered in this review. At that point, given the specs and the price the UNI-T is probably the best choice when compared to Hantek, Siglent which offer similar meters but higher priced. About the test clips, YES, I made these for that exact reason. Silicone cable + mesh sleeving and some heat shrink and you get something that's gonna work great!

[@kieranj67]

Great review, thank you

[@voltlog]

Thanks for watching!

[@misterjorous]

Between this and the Hantek HDM3055, I think I would choose the Hantek one, definitely.

[@jaro6985]

Hantek costs a lot more, $600-800. But yes has proper charts and recording.

[@misterjorous]

Around here the UniT UT8805E cost 409,09€ + VAT, while the Hantek HDM3055 cost 453,72 + VAT.

[@voltlog]

Specs are very similar, cost is roughly 50 EUR higher for the Hantek at EU distributor eleshop.eu. The Hantek does have rear panel terminals which the UNI-T doesn't have but I'm curious why would you choose the Hantek?

[@jaro6985]

@@voltlog 30ks/s vs 5ks/s, and has graphing and statistical plotting. Looks like they have a 6.5 digit model as well, so I thought the price was a lot higher ($700).

[@voltlog]

Indeed that higher sample rate could be useful in some cases and I believe you're right that it's graphing and plotting capability is a bit more advanced on the Hantek.

[@norbert.kiszka]

21:16 Try to remove unnecessary zeros.

[@GeorgeGraves]

I don't know man - sometimes I trust older well-matained and calibrated gear a lot more than something from China.

[@voltlog]

Ok, I get that, trust is important :-) But if you could be sure that a new meter delivers high accuracy results, would you still go for the old one?

[@GeorgeGraves]

@@voltlog hmmm. 9 times out of 10, the older stuff is built better. Goes for a lot of tools. Go buy a new medal file, and then go buy one that is 50 years old at a garage sale.

[@gordonemery6949]

Ive seen other videos reviewing these and they had the same problem with the upgrade but I think they had the continuity buzzer 👍

[@innfos4634]

@@GeorgeGraves agreed, a Keithley 2000 or 34401a for ~same price (or less) would be my pick, but this is coming from someone who likes old test equipment. I’m curious what the reference is in this meter though, depending on what it could be worth it to someone who wants a graphical UI. With that said, old equipment usually comes with a nicely aged ovenized reference 😛

[@John.Doe.2025]

450 $