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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- KAIWEETS was kind enough to send me their KM601 for review. This is a smart meter, meaning it does away with the traditional selector for the different functions and instead uses a button and relays. This allows the meter to automatically switch between measuring volts, resistance or continuity depending on what it "sees" at the probes.
In this video I am having a look at the inside of the KM601 and test how well the smart function works. Not shown, but I also tested the accuracy of all functions and everything works fine, except, to my surprise, resistance below 10 Ohm where the meter does not meet its spec. I notified KAIWEETS and they stated that: "this type of multimeter cannot achieve such small resistance measurement accuracy when measuring low resistance. But according to the data you provided, the error of KM601 is still within the error range, such as 0.5Ω=0.5*1 %+0.5 (1%+5)"
True enough and the problem really only becomes significant below 2.5 Ohm and accuracy at such low resistances may not be too important for the KM601's target users, which are beginners who are looking for a meter that is not only safe to use, but also one that smartly not only auto selects ranges but also measurement functions and makes it nearly impossible to connect the leads wrongly. In all these aspects, the KM601 delivers and I think it makes an excellent beginners meter.
You can buy it here (not affiliated links):
US: www.amazon.com/dp/B09GF2FZVY
UK: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09GF2FZVY
DE: www.amazon.de/dp/B09GF2FZVY
FR: www.amazon.fr/dp/B09GF2FZVY
ES: www.amazon.es/dp/B09GF2FZVY
IT: www.amazon.it/dp/B09GF2FZVY
JPN: www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B09GF2FZVY
AliExpress: www.aliexpress.com/item/10050...
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00:00 First impressions
03:17 Inside
11:50 Practical tests
17:57 Accuracy
22:17 Battery life
24:55 Verdict - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
This is easily the best review I’ve seen so far regarding this multimeter, and it answers every single question I had about it. Thank you very much! 😃
Certainly best review I have seen on a DMM. Very articulate and to the point. I have couple of flukes and 118E. Bought this one today before watching your review. Let's see how I like it. BTW i'm a casual user, hobbyist and fix personal stuff when needed. Thanks for very soothing review. Most cause me headache...lol.
Amazing review. Thank you for the . In-depth look at this multimeter. Just what I was looking for
love your reviews…always excellent👍
Very informative and very well produced video.
This video raises the bar for all equipment reviews.
Definitely well done. Also check Kerry Wong and Wilson Lui (who has a very strong accent) for similar quality work.
Very well done review. The auto function is new to me and very well explained and tested.
It was new for me too and I was curious how well it worked. Not bad actually but for that continuity beep
I do want to thank you as this review allow me to not waste my money... thank you indeed!
I just ordered one of these to replace my $25.00 multimeter that I have had for ten years…I think it will be a suitable replacement 😊
Extremely professional
Not a meter I'd buy, but a very interesting video - a good analysis!
I'm glad I watched your video. I was considering buying this for automotive work and measuring small resistances. Looks like I'll pass on this one.
I have this meter and I'm quite satisfied with it. While I am no where near being a professional multimeter user I do use it here and there for automotive and electronics use.
My only real gripe is I wish I could toggle the secondary display between C and F. Not very used to working with anything besides fahrenheit units when it comes to temperature displays
awesome review, what brought me here is that I'm a beginner and I want to know how to test current on this meter.
This is BY FAR the best review that I have seen so far! -Very well done, and *thank you very much!* I really liked the Ni-MH battery information, and that you assessed and explained the accuracy specs.
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KAIWEETS have been sending a lot of these meters out to electronics channels on TH-cam, but many of them don't have the correct "technical attitude" to review it in context of what it is. The likes of Dave Jones and Joe Smith will immediately say it is sh!t, and dismiss it. Other channels have non-technical hobbyist owners who are too clueless to differentiate what features are and are not actually important in a simple meter like this.
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My much loved AN8008 also has the range switch fault, and I really need a replacement for simple tasks, rather than dragging out my larger and more accurate meters. I am sure that the loud beeper of this KM601 could be softened with insulation tape, or replacement of drive resistor. It ends up being AUD $52.53 from Kaiweet's AliExpress store, which is higher than I've ever paid for my other "toolbag meters" like the old Aneng.
Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. For my An8008, I recently got an AN870 (20000 counts) for £27 on sale from Banggood but it took 2 months to arrive. It looks slightly more solidly built than the AN8008. I have not used it much and I want to use it more before doing a review. Another good meter I got recently for< £20 is a used Metrix MX67 (ex UK MOD). Ebay was (possibly still is) awash of these and I got mine complete with bag, manual and all accessories. It is quite accurate and even has a bar graph but not True RMS and no capacitance measurements. The form factor is ideal for field use but not so much for the bench.
The inaccuracy bellow 10 Ohms is rounding to hide lead resistance. I have multimeter based on SD7501. It seems that any resistance bellow ~0.4 Ohms is shown as zero. I guess the algorithm they use is subtract 0.4 Ohms from the reading and show the result. So than means every reading is underestimated by about ~0.4 (Or less if lead resistance is high)
Chinese like round pretty numbers.
Yes, an overzealous "auto-zero" sounds like a good explanation to me.
What equipment did you use to get high zoom pictures of the PCB?
Did you use a digital microscope?
Great analysis by the way of the DMM.
Its an Andonstar USB microscope. Just a USB camera in a pencil-kind tube in a rather flimsy adjustable stand. Connects directly to a computer. There is no model number I can see, sorry and I bought it years ago.
Hi, question. Did you have any issues with Auto Range? Whenever I would hold the probes in my hand the meter would react to touch, relay constantly clicking and it would try to make a selection, the same thing would happen if I touched the multimeter on its side. Awesome video thank you.
Just tested it and no, no such problems for mine. The display just shows AUTO and the "selector" pointer sweeps between volts, ohms and cont as normal. Makes no difference if I hold the probes or not, but if I touch both tips at the same time, it switches of course into ohms, but reverts back to AUTO if I just touch one. Does your meter shows correct values when you actually measure something?
@@TheHWcave I should receive a replacement tomorrow. I had no problems when it came down to measuring a component. My fluke does that as well. If I touch the probe tips with my hands I'll get a reading. I tried replacing the probes. They all do the same thing no matter where I touch the probes I get a reading. But I think what bothers me the most is the relay just randomly clicking lol.. By the way, thank you for replying.
@@mixinginthebox Yes, most of our houses now have quite high RF noise levels. All these cheap switch-mode power supplies in chargers, LED light bulbs etc , so its no surprise that you get a reading. If I connect one lead of the KM601 in AUTO mode to earth and leave the other on the table I get about 0.8VAC at the moment. Touching the other end produces slightly more, about 6V AC 50 Hz. That behaviour is indeed normal for all meters. But the constant clicking of relays you reported does not happen in my KM601.
Wow, this is an excellent review. Many other reviews simply praise this meter without pointing out the issues of low resistance measurements and meter self protection. I noticed when you showed the interior that I did not see any MOVs inside? Is that observation correct?
Thanks for the nice comment, much appreciated. No I did not see any MOVs either. There is that one lonely PTC. But in fairness there is also this bank of 6 beefy 1000V diodes (M7). I suspect they could be used to do some clamping. Its too many for just a rectifier but maybe they use them for something else.
You do great reviews! Do you think the ht118A and ht118E are better than the 601? I do a lot of work on cars, using ohm setting to see if a wire or sensor has too much resistance. It looks like the 601 struggles in that department.
Smart multi-meters all seem to have a problem with low ohms, probably because of the "smart" part that monitors what it "sees" at the end of the probes and tries to figure out what you are actually trying to measure... Both HT118 models are better in that respect. I would prefer the "E" model, because the better resolution and they improved the DC+AC behaviour somewhat. For low ohms, both meters suffer from the absence of a "REL" button. So you can't null -out the measurement lead resistance but have to mentally subtract it from the readings. In that sense, a 4000 count meter like the Brymen BM235, that has REL is far more convenient
I enjoy your videos. Unfortunately, no microamp range makes this a dealbreaker for any aspiring electronics student. Everybody is looking for: True RMS, and microamp range, but at a cheap price, electricians need the cat III, and plus, but microamps also good for sure to have if you are doing safety ground "leakage" testing. Nobody seems to make a decent bench meter for this group, especially for students, most of the "True RMS" in this price range can't do it past 2k cycles. Not that you ever need that often. At CAT III (and above) I'm using a Fluke, and I NEVER HOLD SAID METER IN MY HAND WHEN DOING HI TESTS, IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, IT CAN BECOME A FRAGMENTATION GRENADE. USE THE PPE AND THE COMMON SENSE ALWAYS! If this is your HOBBY, NEVER DO IT IMPAIRED WITH ALCOHOL OR FATIGUE. Electricity is wonderful, but it doesn't care if it makes YOU the resistor between it and ground, or not. The TRUTH is that you need at a minimum TWO meters, to simultaneously test for volts and amps. It's also BEST if these TWO meters be the same, so you don't screw up on the settings. The FURTHER Truth is that you likely won't listen to this advice, and will instead use a cheap meter for amps testing, and the Fluke V for a second and more accurate test, and you will accumulate about a dozen multimeters in your life. You WILL likely follow this advice after releasing the "magic smoke" once, or if you're really hard headed and you survive, twice. Finally, your wife will ruin one testing household batteries for which you must forgive her, for she is the Mother of your children. You will burn up a meter, it's always the one that you don't have a replacement fuse on hand for. This is as certain and True as Ohm's Law... FINALLY, meters with stupid, stupid ergonomics, tiny displays and unlit are a pain. Displays that can't be read except directly in front and not a bit offsides are a pain. Continuity beeps that are slow to alarm are a pain, and a puzzlement, since they should sound at (almost) light speed. Finally and off topic but only a little, if you are young and getting into the field: BUY GERMAN HAND TOOLS. Forget snap on and all the rest, especially for your small electronics tools and up to and including a small socket set, JUST TRUST ME AND BUY GERMAN YOU'LL NEVER GO WRONG WITH THIS DECESION, EVER. EVER All the Best! 73 DE W8LV BILL
Very True.
"You WILL likely follow this advice after releasing the "magic smoke" once" - yes, no more cheap multimeters after one exploded in my hand...
19:45 Isn't the meter compensating for the crappy OE leads? Have you tried this test with them?
I did not and unfortunately I can't verify because I don't have that meter anymore. However, I don't think it has a built-in "offset" for crappy leads. The smart meter(s) are just bad at low ohms. Same with the ST120. It could well be something to do with the "smart" part works trying to measure DC/AC volts, resistance and continuity, all with the same circuit. Normal (dumb?) meters have a function switch and engage different circuits for each (well maybe not for continuity and resistance, but certainly for volts) . Even using "manual" in a smart meter doesn't seem to make much difference because that just freezes the software readout part to be just one of the 3 functions while the hardware measuring circuit is still "smart".
i'm trying to find out if this multi-meter will accept the "Brymen_BL21S2_T4SC_Silicone_Test_Leads".
a reviewer mentioned that the socket pitch 14mm instead of the standard 19mm or 3/4" to keep the width down. i have to admit i don't really understand that.. so i thouhgt i'd ask a couple of folks online that would have different brand test leads.
Yes, the pitch is not the standard 19mm but as long as the leads have separate red and black 4mm plugs, it should not matter. I tested it with Brymen silicon leads that came with my BM235 and BM869S and no problems. That said, I am no longer a fan of Brymen leads after one pair failed developing suddenly 3+ ohm resistance (in the red lead going to the probe) it seems to be a bad contact. I read somewhere that Brymen only crimps the wires to the probe & plug. Sadly as its all molded, you can't fix it. I have replaced them temporarily with the leads that came with my Agilent 34401A which i never used so far but I am actively looking at alternatives
@@TheHWcave thanks for getting back to me. also about the leads i have had no problems but to be honest i'm just starting out.. i have seen eevBLAB #33 where David mentioned his Probe Master probes but i went with Brymen because they are available here in The Netherlands.
FYI the C in ceramic is pronounced like an S. So phonetically it is SIR-AM-IC. Also, I would suggest anyone wanting to take seriously low resistance readings would more than likely invest in a milliohmmeter designed for that very purpose.
Which one you would recommend the best in this price range for electronics professionals?
Not sure what you mean "in this range"? Are you referring to Kaiweets, or smart meters? I have reviewed only the Kaiweets KM601. the HT118A, and I am just about to finish a review on the ST120 but that on is more for electrical work, not electronics. Between the KM601 and the HT118A: The KM601 has the better specs and a bigger and permanently back-lit display but eats through batteries faster. Recommending a meter is difficult. A lot of factors go into it and a lot depends on what you measure, how accurate it needs to be, how often you use it and in what environment. Every meter is a compromise. What are your priorities: accuracy, robustness, safety, price, looks, ease of use, prestige... If you are a professional, you may need to get it calibrated yearly, so the availability of a calibration service for your meter may be an important factor. I consider the KM601 an ideal beginner's meter but I think many professionals would find the quirks of the auto function in some tricky cases and the meters frequent beeps annoying,. and the form factor is something you either love or hate. The HT118A, on the other hand while having less resolution and lacking a smart auto function, has also less annoyances.
He probably means to say " In this price Range". I mean for around $60 how much can you expect to get. I think this guy is confused if he thinks he's gonna find professional grade measurements tools for beginner grade level money. I mean to find those kinda deals you're looking at second hand fixer upper or five finger discount type arenas TBH
KM 601 is vary vary Good for beginners bcoz professional multimeters creates nuclear sized damage on the pockets
How good is it? For the average user it's everything you'll ever need from a meter to be able to measure.
I own this meter. I really wanted to like it. The auto range is slow. The continuity mode does not work well. There is no stand. The flashlight is very weak. The nve power sense is very poor. And easy to press power button. Selecting the mode manually is tedious and easy to select wrong. Saving up for a better model now.
You are correct. The flash light is very weak. I should have mentioned that. I forgot because I never use such things. Regarding bad continuity, try using different probes. The KM601 worked very well with the gold plated ones that came with my Brymen meters. A good pair of probes is a good investment for pretty much any of the more affordable multimeters.
What type of leads to use for use in electronics?
Hard to answer, there is a lot of personal preference at play here. Often the tips of the probes coming with meters are rather thick and blunt. That makes it difficult to probe through the oxide layers on top of solder joints or probe closely spaced components (SMD). These probes are more suited for rougher, electrical work, like probing mains power sockets and the like. I personally like tips that are very sharp needles. They can pierce through oxide layers with little effort and the small size makes it easy to probe SMD stuff. But needle probes are not ideal for mains electrical work. So there isn't IMHO a one-fits-all probe for all occasions. I recently reviewed the KAIWEETS KET05 test lead kit and that has contains just about any type of tip you might possibly want. The quality was not brilliant and the are not silicone despite what the advertising says but better than most of the leads that normally come with cheaper multimeters. Brymen delivers excellent probes with their meters and you may be able to buy these as spares. Pomona is another maker of quality probes of all kinds.
@@TheHWcave Thanks a lot
Good deep Technical details
what other meters recommended that beep in diode mode?
This is not often stated in descriptions and all I can tell you that my My OWON XDM1041 beeps (loud and continuous) in diode mode while measuring forward voltage (so much so that I usually turn the beeper off). My only other meter with a diode beep is the Fluke 187 but its forward diode beep is a far more useful single short soft beep (chirp?). The cheapest Fluke, the 101 does not beep in diode mode. Also no diode beeps for my 2 Brymens or the ANENG 870 or the UNI-T UT210E or the OWON HDS272 (in multimeter mode). I can see the usefulness of (a quick) beep in diode mode when the diode is conducting. It allows testing diodes on a PCB without having to look up at the meter. Some bench meters and expensive hand-helds have a "touch hold" function that can be used to have a similar effect and which works for any kind of measurements not just diode.
@@TheHWcave That means the only 45USD meter that beeps is the KAIWEETS KM601
Sorry forgot about that one. I don't have it anymore. Too many meters, so little space...
@@TheHWcave So you sold KAIWEETS KM601? I so Aneng 8008 being nice, but no beep in diode mode testing, and that's a deal stopper because testing diodes is very hard having to look at the meter every time.
I cleaned the leads for better results.
HA! Today I tried to use this meter for exactly what you did - low resistance measurement - and found just what you did - very poor performance. I didn't know what was happening, but then I watched your video, and it was like "Oh, I see....."
Aparte que no mide resistencia de menos de 1 ohm consume 33mah ni comprar.
Indeed! Smart has its drawbacks.
This guy is marco reps +50% german accent.
Yes, but he is at about -500% of the PPM's
I bought one. The user manual is truly crappy.