New Low Cost TRMS Multimeters from AstroAI
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- This is a review of the New Low Cost TRMS Multimeters from AstroAI. There is a new series, and the M2KOR is the 2000 count meter and the M4KOR is the 4000 count multimeter, and these are the two meters that this review will present. There is also a 6000 count M6KOR that I do not have, but it is the same as the Kaiweets HT118 as far as I can tell.
AstroAI 2000 Count meter: amzn.to/3sN0NpX
AstroAI 4000 Count meter: amzn.to/2NNPr6i
AstroAI 6000 Count meter: amzn.to/307HVWq
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Patreon.com/KissAnalog
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Love your reviews and just bought the M4KOR through your link. Thanks!
That's awesome - thank you!
Hey Eddie! I bought the AstroAI 6000 after watching one of your reviews on it, and I LOVE it. I think its a great meter. I have a tip for you. After I bought might, I also had difficulty trying to pull out the stand. I thought Eddie is absolutely right, but why would they do that? You absolutely can't get your fingernail under there to pull it out. So I inspected it and discovered the top of the stand is a little raised, and the bottom of the stand is a little recessed. I gently pushed inward on the raised top of the stand (about 1/3 the way down from the top of the meter) and guess what? The bottom swings out almost 1/4" making it crazy easy to put your finger in that hole and extend the stand. Give it a try sometime. Love your videos, keep up the great work!
Thanks Joe - that's an awesome tip!
Great video ... I will now purchase the M4KOR with confidence. Thank you.
That's great! thank you!
Nice review. Entered the drawing for Patrons. I like Astro AI stuff. Its amazing how good some of the low cost stuff is. For the accuracy I need it is well within spec.
That's awesome! Thank you! I agree, for the price - it is really nice stuff. Pretty amazing what you get for your money these days! Well, unless you are buying the yellow meters;)
Good review! I really like your channel. Old analog guy here too. :-) I've latched onto watching you regularly and just subscribed so wanted to say you have a really GREAT Channel! These meters are a pretty good value, looks like, I like the size and really they seemed accurate enough, right. I work a lot in SMPS and its great to see you putting videos out there since some of this stuff is far from intuitive for a newcomer in the field. Thanks for the great videos, glad to see someone answering real world questions, especially also about safety. I'd like to see how the 6000 count stacks up too,
Thank you and welcome to the team;) We analog guys gotta stick together!
Nice review of these meters. Great low cost options! Thanks.
Thanks Tim! Much appreciated;)
Hi Eddie, thank you again, for the awesome information. Nice video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your support!
Useful information, thanks 🙏🏻
Thanks so much!
Hey Ed, always teaching. Keep it up. Jayson H.👍👍
Thanks Jason!! Great to hear from you!!
Good thorough review, but I needed a reference source, you held to unknown devices up against each other, I saw on ebay some very precise voltage references for little money, some even nullified with high end 6.5 digit meter.
Thanks Thomas! Yeah I don't think anyone ever finds a meter in a review our of spec/tolerance, so I mainly try to show the differences between meters. Real references are expensive too;)
There are indeed cheap references available from China and they are usually good enough so long as you check their claimed value against a calibrated bench meter, but it's usually just as valuable to see the meter's response over its various ranges. It might be exact on a 5.001V reference, but then be out of spec at 250V or 50mV.
Thus, I don't mind Eddie's current testing provided he uses the same meter and/or source as his "reference". Eddie is also right that modern, "chip" meters are almost universally accurate to well within their specs. In fact, I often suspect that meters based on the same chips will vary just as much from unit to unit as they will from brand to brand.
In other words, *your* meter will likely be different than the units you see reviewed on TH-cam and this is why expensive meters come with independent certification. In fact, if you look at enough reviews , you'll find some meters that were within spec for one reviewer and out of spec for another. A super-accurate reference setup can provide a false impression in this case as neither test unit represents *your* meter.
So long as the meter is designed and built properly, which most Western-targeted, TH-cam-marketed brands today are, the accuracies will be good enough. Those who need 22,000 counts and accuracy below 10 counts should not be shopping for $30 Chinese meters ;). Such users need to buy a certificated, calibrated meter.
The bigger purpose of testing, in my opinion, is to see the meter's responsiveness. How fast does it respond, range, and settle? Is that reading repeatable? Does it wander after settling? What's the frequency bandwidth?
Some 20,000-count meters will just sit there and randomly change the last digit and sometimes even the last *2* digits, which effectively makes them 2,000-count meters at best or *200-count* meters at worst. If the right-hand counts aren't stable *and* meaningfully accurate, then they are useless.
I know that you hate the "firestick" continuity tests ;), but if done properly I find those tests quite useful as it helps determine the speed and latching response of the mode. You are welcome to have a different opinion, of course, but there are people who really do use meters for "drag" continuity testing and they *require* a meter with rapid response in order to trace circuits at their job. Once you hear a beep, you go back and use longer, purposeful probing to confirm the result. Thank you for letting people know that they should clean new probes with alcohol to improve the response.
Thanks Rob! I think the thing that bothers me most is how it has taken over what the importance of a continuity test is. I can tell you if I caught a tech or engineer working for me doing the drag test or anything else similar - I'd eat their lunch. Continuity is an important test and shouldn't be shot gunned or done haphazardly. Can you imagine a plane falling out of the ski - or a missile for that matter, or even communication system failing because of a bad connection - due to a tech or engineer not having the time to do a proper continuity test? Unforgivable. The firestick method is far too random to learn anything. But that is my opinion of course;)
Thanks for the nice review as usual. They claim these to be TRMS meters so it would have been nice to measure something non-sinusoidal like an inverter with a "modified" sinewave output and/or you could have programmed such a waveform on your Uni-T ARB generator and see how accurate their TRMS capability is.
Thank you! Yes, I need to be sure I show that to point out how great these low cost meters really are. I have measured square waves and it does show that these are Tru-RMS as stated. Thanks for the great point.
I’m hoping you (anyone) can answer a question. I have some old Fluke meters, recently we purchased some Ideal 60-347 and Klein 700 meters. Watch this video and some others I became interested in the Astro AI M4KOR Meter to have to test batteries, vehicle batteries, alternators and to have as a carry-around in my truck and to test gear in the field (Solar panels, cables, light sets and recording gear, etc), and I’m really impressed with its performance.
Anyway I’m want to get my son-in-law a meter to use around the house and on for their cars. And I was I’m have one of the Astro AI M4K and Goupchn Silicone Multimeter Test Leads Kit (using your likes) in my shopping cart. I was ready to pull the trigger… but there’s some you touch on in some of you videos and others have told me that “aluminum analytics” (?) if I heard right… and something about them eventually wearing out? Would that be something a weekend “do it yourselfer” needs to be concerned about, being it won’t be used every day all day… or should I spend $30 or $40 and get him the Klein 700 or Ideal 60-347? I really like my Astro AI M4KOR and have been using it a lot with those Goupchn Test Leads you recommended (which I love and their now my everyday leads. Probe Masters probes are too short for my big hands).
I appreciate your help and I will purchase them using your link.
All my best Eddie…
Thanks George! I wouldn’t worry about the aluminum electrolytic capacitors as they shouldn’t show any signs of wear out in a multimeter for 10 years at least. I do like the Klein for the durability and 3rd party safety test. Thanks for asking;)
@@KissAnalog “Aluminum Electrolytic“ Capacitors… yeah, that makes more sense then what I thought I heard… “aluminum analytics” … I was scratching my head over that one… 🤔
I’ll keep a M4KOR around for testing batteries and small stuff, even if I have to brake down and spent $20 every tens years. But the Klein and Ideal meters will be for any serious stuff.
For my son-in-law I’ll get him the Astro meter, a case and voltage tester for now for auto work, and for his birthday I’ll get him the Klein. You have a link for it to Amazon, on one of your videos? You helped me out so I’ll use your link if your have one for it.
Thanks so much! amzn.to/34gXKzJ
It's Incredible how cheap they can make this meters.
But should a 3.5 digit 16USD multimeter even be concidered good enough?
I think most of us would pay a little more to get more digits (higher count) etc.
Thanks for this question - it is actually very interesting;) Today we can get so much for our money, so I agree, why not spend a little more to get a better meter. It seems like every 10USD can take you to another level. Funny thing is, the venerable Fluke 70 series that could be argued was the series that made them what they are today. A reasonably priced meter that would not kill itself and had good basic functionality. But, it was not True-RMS, and it was only a 3k count meter. So really, this 4k count, TRMS AstroAI is leaps ahead - and considering accuracy. And the Fluke 77 IV is $350 today and is still not TRMS and is 3.5 digit or 6000 count. Unbelievable! So, these meters I think are OK for many but there are definitely better meters at not much more - like the new Astro M6KOR (or Kaiweets HT118A;). Great question!!
Many days later video!
How are you dear sir
Thank you!
@@KissAnalog you're welcome
Glad to see I'm not the only wierdo that actually tests the Hz function of these cheap meters.
LOL nope there's at least one more;)
@@KissAnalog LOL - gotta stick together.
I have almost given a thumbs down to a video because of the product. I understand what you're saying. It really depends on the person endorsing the item/s. if they are being honest and open about the products accuracy, value & you don't act like you're trying to sell a used car lol, then there is absolutely no reason to give a thumbs down! 👍🇺🇸
Thank you Ronnie! I appreciate you! I had to say that because I caught myself thinking the same way;) Whenever I do a multimeter review - I know I get Fluke fans giving me a thumbs down;) Ironically, I was a Fluke fan - until I started this channel and really had to consider what you pay for and what you don’t get. I never thought much about it before and always had Flukes around. Now that I get a chance to work with other meters, I am amazed at what you can get for your money.
@@KissAnalog
I have never been very impressed with fluke. Their prices are way over inflated!
Those counts would be too low for my use.... & the most important thing is the continuity/diode test function being real fast on the audible confirmation. The instant those probe tips even brush one another that sound needs to happen without any delay. I just hate any delay on this test.... Leads that are really flexible and probe tips sharp to cut through tarnish etc. The thing that makes a meter a joke is the silly hfe thing. The last place is on a DMM when there are other really useful tests it should have like a uA ability, Watts, burden voltage reading.. stuff like that. In forty plus years i never used hfe on a DMM infact it kind of made the the meter look as if it was just a hokey toy!....
Thanks for this feedback. I think it is nice to have one meter that can read hfe, and I have those little meters that do that and more, so I agree, I'd rather have temperature or capacitance or some other function on that key.
Thank you for this lovely review. These multimeters really come in the name of multiple brands. I found: PCW01B by PCWORK, HT113B by KAIWEETS... I am greenhorn, could it be worth investing 10 bugs more for the 6000 counts model?
Thank you so much! I appreciate you! I do like the 6000 count;)
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 is that enough for you lol
Do you know a metre that has capacitance leakage don't know of any not just frequency and resistance
LOL Thank you!!
excellent videos I would love to have one of those digital multimeters I have never had 🤤
Thank you! I just posted a video on the new AstroAI multimeters - which I will give them away too;)
@@KissAnalog When I will give it away I am waiting for your videos to see if I win one of those thanks
Great this bud will tell you how;) New Low Cost TRMS Multimeters from AstroAI th-cam.com/video/jVEIm3KP0T8/w-d-xo.html
For eletricians, the NCV it's pretty far away of the Volts position. :( It's stupid. Also, why the different brands don't implement the live wire feature on the V AC position (ex. red probre touching the live wire the multimeter beeps... simple)?
Please, comment this on future reviews. It's so simple. The eletricians all over the world thank you. :)
Thanks Jose! Great feedback!
I can't confirm the exact manufacturer of these meters, but it's probably not Kaiweets. Notice that the model names begin with "HT". The manufacturer's name might not actually be "Habotest", though, as a company is listed as HOTOTECH in Guangdong, China on the following Alibaba page:
dghongtu.en.alibaba.com/product/50045320296-807686204/Newest_HT118A_multimeter_digital_multimeter_AVO_meter.html
Click the "Company Profile" tab for more. The sign also says "Dongguan HongTu Instrument Co., LTD."
HOTOTECH is listed as the maker for a number of other recognizable meters at Alibaba as well. The point is that all of these brands are likely coming from the same factory, so just buy whichever brand is on sale today ;).
It seems /possible/ that "Habotest" is a brand launched by the manufacturer to directly market their own meters as the following meter, and others, display the Habotest sticker, but this doesn't prove anything as Chinese supply chains are practically impenetrable.
www.alibaba.com/product-detail/clamp-meter-Electronic-AC-DC-Voltage_62266565048.html?spm=a2700.details.0.0.73f0655cmQXB45
And below we see a meter that lists "Habotest" as the brand and the company photos appear to be different than those for Hototech. The sign here says, "Dongguan Habotest Instrument Technology Co., Ltd."
www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Pocket-Size-Digital-Multimeter-Habotest-HT113_1600134732869.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_title.50b91d79R6J4ah
I would surmise that Hototech is somehow a combination of HongTu + Technology and that Habotest is a westernization of that name intended for international marketing. Just a guess, though.
Thank you for this! I think you are right and the HT in the part number came from Habo Test. I think I tried to find the maker when I bought my HT118 with the Habo Test name. The agency certainly had the Habo Test, so I think that’s a way to find the manufacture. But as you say - it’s hard to know. Same goes for bigger brand names that use others to manufacture...
the free meters they give you at homedepo are better then the flukes dont you think so
I'm not sure about that;) But, much better bang for the buck.
Nice guy. Questionable Presenter. Not much help found here. Smiles were nice.
Thank you. What information are you looking for? That's a fairly old video:) Maybe this one will provide more info regarding these low cost - but great meters: th-cam.com/video/D3AUF-tZ5rQ/w-d-xo.html
i have three of them homedepo meters ,you pay the shipping and give me six flukes and we can trade
LOL that's perfect! ;)