Checking Multimeter Calibration at Home

Sturmey

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...... He has to learn the colour codes before he can do that. ......
'Black beer rots our young guts but vodka goes well' is probably more pc than the older 'Bad Boys R**** Our Young Girls, But Violet Goes Willingly' that I learned back in the 70s.
 
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saneagle

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The codes are easy enough, but it's virtually impossible to make out the colours when they're printed on a tiny blue 1/4w resistor. Brown is as dark as black. Grey is invisible and white looks like grey. Zoom in on that photo I posted and see if you can make out any of the colours. Also, many of the resistors have evenly spaced bands all the way along, so you don't know which end to start from. You don't get that problem with 4-band ones.
 
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guerney

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Alas my cheap XL830L is no longer reasonably accurate. This is when connected to a 42V charger. Everything I've measured on the 200V scale over 20V, is at least doubled. I've changed the battery to no avail. Measures <20V fine on the 20V scale. This multimeter was reasonably accurate, but not reasonably robust!


55202
 

guerney

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Try wiping the switch contacts with meths.
Thank you for your suggestion, I cleaned the copper contacts and wheel but it didn't work - my 36V battery measures a very impressive 82.3V. I may try again, scrubbing harder.

I'll buy another digital multimeter, because I really should own more than one.


55207


55205


EDIT: After another serious scrub with both isopropyl and meths, same high voltage results.
 
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guerney

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This one looks good £11 delivered in a week, 4000 count & thermocouple:

Thanks, £11.14 with VAT is a good price. Ordered. I was looking at this - sneakily, Amazon's Black Friday deal only applies to Prime members:


The reference board's 9.982V measured 13.8V in the 20V range... my multimeter previously known as reasonably accurate is kaput. I'm bound to break another somehow, so it's not worth spending much - as you know, I know practically nothing about electronics, and wouldn't have anything to do with multimeters if I didn't have an ebike.

The thermocouple will be useful for making natto.

EDIT: Now it's measuring 0V, no matter what o_O
 
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Woosh

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Check the batteries of your old meter just in case they need replacing. Still, the new meter is excellent for the money.
 

guerney

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Check the batteries of your old meter just in case they need replacing.
Tried a fresh battery, no joy.

Still, the new meter is excellent for the money.
Ordered this even cheaper one aswell. I need at least two because based on my experience so far, 100% of all the cheap multimeters I've ever owned have always broken quite quickly every time.



EDIT: Now the reference board's 9.982V measures 11.8V in the 20V range. It's a dodo.
 
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guerney

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guerney

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guerney

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thats the one i was thinking of but couldnt find.. didnt look that hard tbh..
Plus 20%


VAT included:

 
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thelarkbox

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Aug 23, 2023
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Yikes.. Youtube endorsement and the price basically triples!! stick to the 4.99 specials and just keep replacing them as and when perhaps?,, my meter use is almost only continuity and voltage level checks with the occasional component validation test ,so the cheapo jobs have served me well so far, ebikes and their batteries are however a bit more powerful than the low power devices ive tinkered with before.
 

guerney

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Of the two multimeters I ordered, this one was out of stock and the seller insists I cancel the order...


...why doesn't the seller cancel the order? Will my rating be affected by my cancelling the order? He should cancel the order and refund me.

This one arrived this morning. Two AAA batteries not included, but I like the two pairs of leads supplied: a pair with probes, and another pair with decent easy to grip crocodile clips. The last set of crocodile clips I bought were mega slippy, hard to get a grip. I also like the zippy case. With the bundled thermocouple, air temperature in my home measures exactly 23 ºC.


...tested with the reference board, it appears that this is another cheap but reasonably accurate multimeter. Your voltage may vary. Thank you @AntonyC for posting a link to this multimeter.

55274


I'm still in the market for another multimeter, and having found the Aneng Favourable Shop on Aliexpress, I'm wondering what "Favourable" means in this context, being a result of Chinese translation - are their products factory seconds or returned/refurbished items from the official Aneng store or what? Or are relations generally favourable between their store and the pricier Aneng Official Store? Are they referring to the weather?

Their £3 discount for every £15 spent is interesting - if I order a cheap tester screwdriver aswell, I get a few pence off this multimeter (video review here):


55275


...and if I order this clamping multimeter with a higher than 10A DC current rating (the cheaper ones don't test DC current), I get a further £3 off. The Aneng AN8008/AN8009 will only measure up to 10A, the Neoteck 20A.


55276
 
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Nealh

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The BF aliexpress deal with also £3 off for every £15 spent is another nice added bonus. I bought an item that was on offer at £75 and usually retails from £128 - £175 , with that £3 offer I got another £12 off the £75 offer.
It isn't often I bother with BF but the item I bought I have had my eye on for a few months.
 
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