MJLorton Solar Power and Electronic Measurement Equipment Forum

Competitions and Giveaways => Competitions and Giveaways => Topic started by: MJLorton on October 15, 2012, 05:17:20 AM

Title: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: MJLorton on October 15, 2012, 05:17:20 AM
I will be giving away the Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count multimeter with PC data logging:

The video review can be found here:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okLYZaqdklQ
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrdD18ArYfQ

To enter this giveaway (30th November 2012) just post a reply here with:

* Your name:
* The country and city you live in:
* Note one of the issues that was found with the MS8218?
* Note why you would find this multimeter useful?
* Upload a picture of your current multimeter measuring the voltage of a 1.5v or 9v battery (cell)...or your backyard or neighborhood.

You can enter all the competitions and giveaways...but you can't win more than once every six months.

Cheers,
Martin.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: SeanB on October 15, 2012, 11:25:14 AM
Photo of the neighbourhood then, and the rest to follow when I rewatch the videos.

Sean Beukes
Durban

You had an issue of reference drift with temperature

If I win I would have a nice high resolution meter with a good set of functions, and good enough accuracy for most applications.



Wonder which meter I will use to measure a cell.

The pic is outside looking at the goose that has decided to nest on the roof, sitting on the streetlight across the road. My new morning alarm clock, he starts calling at sunrise, along with the ringnecks living wild around, the Ibis and the Mynahs.

Took a photo of the other multimeter, as the battery was very dead, as I had left it on either by the power switch being pressed or by accident. Used my oldest multimeter, the Hioki 3001, to check the new 9V battery and the old Vinnic that came with the other meter. I have had the Hioki since I was in school, it is still working, and is still in calibration on voltage, though current is a little off, and resistance has always been slightly off.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: vdenich on October 15, 2012, 10:17:58 PM
Hi Martin,

Vincent Denich (N2XG- Ham Operator)
White Plains, New York

You had several concerns with the meter (the leads did not fully insert into the connectors, there was an issue with reference drift with temperature as well).

I would find this multimeter useful because I have just begun a full-fledged interest in learning about electricity. Of course when I studied for my ham license I learned a great deal, but I am now making this a full-time interest and may switch to a career as an electrician. I only have the very old Radio Shack multimeter shown in my photo that is severely damaged and the wires are frayed. I'd certainly appreciate a meter of this quality. My current meter does not display Amps.

Thank you for doing what you are doing. I have learned a lot from you.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Benjamin Tan on October 16, 2012, 01:33:25 AM
 Benjamin Tan

Malacca,Malaysia


The issue found was  the test probe don't go down all the way and the reference drift with temperature.
I would find this multimeter useful because I would have a good, reliable and a high resolution multimeter

Measuring a 9V battery 
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: neviemdopice on October 16, 2012, 07:44:06 AM
Viliam Kubis
Bratislava, Slovakia

I remember the issue you had with this multimeter was that the measurement drifted a lot with changing temperature compared to the fluke sitting next to it. Also in lower ranges, the bar graph is not very useful, because it is laggy and jumps a lot.

I would find this multimeter very useful because my only DMM at the moment is a cheapo DT-830D+ I bought 7 years ago. I've used the hell out of it, but If i want to go into high energy stuff, it's really a no-go. So having a much greater multimeter at home would be definitely great, I'd use it all the time over my current DMM because of added resolution, precision, input protection, CAT rating, general safety and more robustness than my current DMM.

Attached is a picture of my current multimeter measuring a 9V battery.

Cheers and love the great videos!
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: fenclu on October 16, 2012, 08:38:10 AM
Hello

I'm Jakub Felcenloben from Pabianice in Poland

In the Mastech you found the battery cover screws to be flimsy and low quality.

I could use I DMM like this, because I only have an extremly basic lab which I'd like to expand but don't have the money to do it. As you can see I only have a cheap Uni-t UT30D which I hate a lot :)

Greetings from Poland!

Measuring a 1.5V cell:

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Jason on October 16, 2012, 04:01:06 PM
Hi Martin,

My name is Jason, the name may sound familiar as I try to comment somewhat frequently on your videos. I am living in Ireland in a lovely town called Dungarvan. To answer your competition question; probably the most annoying issue with the MS8218 was with the update interval of the multimeter at 2 times per second.

Personally I would like to have this multimeter for it's accuracy and it's data logging ability. The reason why I want the data logging ability is so that I can very accurately measure how much energy I can harvest from the Sun with a solar panel here in Ireland. So far I can only judge from irradiance graphs of the approximate amount of energy which is said to be 0.53 Wh/m2 during the winter months in my approximate location (extremely poor performance in comparison to Cape Town which is said to be about 6.5+ Wh/m2 during the winter). I would like to personally log this and see precisely how much energy I can harvest. If I am unable to harvest a healthy amount electricity from the sun then I want to be able to measure and data log how much energy I can harvest from a wind turbine and perhaps set up a small hybrid system and ultimately be able to provide 100% green energy to my tool shed where I like to play with electronics. If I had the MS8218 I would be about 25% closer to buying a marine wind turbine which ultimately cost €2000 on average in Ireland.

I also want to build my own power supply to test and power my projects and it won't be easy with my current €15 Draper DMM7 multimeter, which can't even measure past 200mA!. So as you can see I wouldn't mearly use it as a toy but keep the Mastech busy and using many of the features it provides. My current multimeter might be cleaver, but not that cleaver :)

Kind regards,
Jason

(http://i45.tinypic.com/2mbcpj.jpg)
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: steve30 on October 17, 2012, 12:31:13 AM
My entry.

* Your name: Stephen Coates aka steve30.

* The country and city you live in: Rotherham, England.

* Note one of the issues that was found with the MS8218? AC Hertz measurement was not very intuitive.

* Note why you would find this multimeter useful? Capacitance range, frequency measurement and data logging would be useful. I cannot currently do these well. Also I could do with a handheld meter which is better than my current cheap ones.

* Upload a picture of your current multimeter measuring the voltage of a 1.5v or 9v battery (cell)...or your backyard or neighborhood.

In the image attached, I'm having a poke around in my heavily used 10 year old Walkman, which runs off two AA batteries. At 1.3037V it is a little low, but still works fine :).
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: towz on October 17, 2012, 11:31:42 PM
John Vera Berrios

Arequipa, Peru

There was an issue with leads not fitting properly into the meter.

I'm currently an EE (Electronics Engineering) student and currently own a very simple multimeter. It's been handy, but there has been times when a more accurate and with more capabilities was needed. I think this multimeter would be quite useful now that I'm close to finishing the career and need to get started on my thesis.

(http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/towelies/th_IMG824.jpg) (http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e290/towelies/?action=view&current=IMG824.jpg)

PD. My thanks to Jason, nice way to hold the leads for the measure. Best of luck.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Michael on October 18, 2012, 03:21:42 AM
Hi there Martin,

First of all, love your work and I always click the "Like" Thumb on all your videos!  Unfortunately your Amazon store does not support Australia - maybe Ebay might be an option to expand your reach...just a thought...

Anyway I thought I would enter the competition as the meter has some useful features that I would find very useful.

As per your questions...

Name: Michael Gray

Country: Australia (Sydney)

Issue with the MS8218:  The plastic battery cover locking twist screw can come off the cover and is not the most sturdy of fasteners.  The software is also limited in com. port options.

Meter Usefulness:  While the build quality of the MS8218 is not the best and the software is limited, the meter would be very useful for data logging as it is reasonably accurate and the captured data can be exported to a file even though the data capture is a trade off between interval and duration.

The attached photo is the Sydney Harbour Bridge with a meter in the foreground.

Thanks for your efforts,
Michael
Sydney, Australia

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: sjoerdjuh on October 19, 2012, 02:04:34 PM
Hi Martin,

Thank you for another great giveaway!
I think this meter would be very useful because of the data logging capability and great resolution
One of the issues was that the screws on the back are plastic and can break off.

I thought it would be nice to include a photo of my db board since we talked about that on Youtube.

Sjoerd Beukers
I live in Spijkenisse (near Rotterdam) The Netherlands

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: willard1961 on October 20, 2012, 11:42:20 AM
Hi! I live in the city of Jordan in the USA. These pics are from a city park two blocks from my house. One issue on the meter was the cheap battery door latches not good at all. Iwould find this meter very useful because I don't have one. Mine was stolen from my vehicle along with my tom tom.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: DaveXRQ on October 21, 2012, 06:58:32 AM
Hey martin once again! And yeah i come from Singapore ( whom many americans think we are in china ... PFFT, loads of bullshit)
(http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr283/DarkShadower/IMAG0135.jpg)

Issues? Quite a few issues there.
Wrongly fitted factory fuses, was supposed to be a 6.3x32 fuses not BS1362 fuse i find in my UT61E that are too factory fitted, but well, i can solder in a 10x38 fuse holder
Slow display, 2 times a second! That's SLOWWWWWWWWWW but only pretty much if you think that is a decent compromise for a great product
Backlight ... that thing turns off after a few secs, no way to make it permanently on

Usefulness? Good for measuring stuff if you are usually beyond 220mV or so on a DAC on the UT61E
(NOTE: I am talking about chinese meters.)
dBm measurement < That's what you don't find in a properly rated 150$ meter! Great for HAMs!
BACKLIGHT! The UT61E does NOT have that! GREAT!
AC+DC! Same saying .. 71E does have it but that meter is a POS
Stability. This meter is on the same ranks of stability as the 287, great stuff.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: HVAC Guy on October 21, 2012, 11:26:01 AM

Paul Eames

Clifton Park, New York, USA

Leads did not insert completely

Has micro, mili and amps as well as mili volts all on one meter. I can store customers readings in their records file on my computer for history.

I install tankless, solar, and hybrid water heaters as well as condensing boilers and mini splits.

www.cliftonparktankless.com is my website.
 

(http://www.cliftonparktankless.com/images/297_IMG00147-20121021-1045.jpg)

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: valentinc on October 24, 2012, 08:29:30 AM
  Hi Martin,

  Valentin Calinoaia

  Romania, Bucharest

       One of the issues with the Mastech MS8218 was the update speed of the bargraph, which makes the bargraph function not as useful as it could be. The purpose of that is to see fast variations of the measured value...

       I find this meter useful because it has a uA range (which would help me measure the power consumption of my projects), the very good accuracy combined with the 50.000 counts resolution, AC+DC true RMS is very useful to measure PWM signals
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: kettyshow on October 24, 2012, 03:55:23 PM
* Your name: Ibrahima Diallo
* The country and city you live in: USA - Knoxville
* Note one of the issues that was found with the MS8218?: Slow display as compared to higher end multimeters
* Note why you would find this multimeter useful?: Useful because it is better in every aspect with my current cheap multimeter
* Upload a picture of your current multimeter measuring the voltage of a 1.5v or 9v battery (cell)...or your backyard or neighborhood.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: mcinku on October 25, 2012, 02:42:49 AM
* Mirc Cinku
* Slovenia
* Update display speed, no temperature measurement capability
* Always good to have 50000 count accurate multimeter at your disposal
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: ctjuggler on October 27, 2012, 10:50:48 PM
* Chris Taylor
* Canada, Yellowknife
* One of the issues that was found with the MS8218 was that the leads don't go all the way down (they protrude a bit).
* This multimeter would be great so I could do logging.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Vilberts on October 29, 2012, 05:55:33 PM
Hi Martin,

1. Atis Kozulis
2. Latvia, Ikšķile
3. Plastic cover locks, update rate incl. bar graph, instantaneous reading in min/max mode, loging length, no temp reading, backlight for mere 5sec. and serial cable instead of USB.
4. I don't have true RMS meter; and none with such precision; would like to use logging capabilities for my solar project.

Best regards,
Atis
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: cesarvigosantosjr on October 30, 2012, 06:43:49 PM
> Cesar V. Santos Jr
> Riyadh Saudi Arabia
> MS8218 is cheap compare to other brand/model within the same specs, accuracy and features,
it's worth buying and or winning...  ;D

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: bancroft12194 on November 04, 2012, 09:39:09 PM
Jon Bancroft
Kinsman, OH, USA
It looked like it had poor input protection.
The data logging would be really useful.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: szabi_o on November 07, 2012, 10:54:08 AM
Hi Martin,
Szabi from Marosvásárhely, Romania.

-slow update rate, even the bargraph, poorly made holding mechanism of the back cover.
(the hardware part, build quality, input protection, lack of precision resistor hybrid and so on are far from the more expensive meters)
-I would love to have one becouse of the relative high precision and the true RMS.

Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Regards, Szabi.  (my webpage: http://ktulu.atw.hu/index.html (http://ktulu.atw.hu/index.html) )

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2264/dscf4959p.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2264/dscf4959p.jpg)
(http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2264/dscf4959p.jpg)
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2755/dscf4961e.jpg (http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2755/dscf4961e.jpg)
(http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2755/dscf4961e.jpg)
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6836/dscf4973g.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6836/dscf4973g.jpg)
(http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6836/dscf4973g.jpg)
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/284/dscf5016s.jpg (http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/284/dscf5016s.jpg)
(http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/284/dscf5016s.jpg)

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: blankfield on November 09, 2012, 12:31:09 PM
Hi Martin,

Karol from Świętokrzyskie, Poland.

You found that refresh rate of bar-graph isn't fast enough.

This meter can replace my old manual range Mastech.

Best regards,
Karol

(http://i45.tinypic.com/2e5i1si.jpg)

(http://i46.tinypic.com/2hrid87.jpg)

(http://i48.tinypic.com/2qwdl3r.jpg)
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: RiccardoGiuliani on November 15, 2012, 10:27:12 AM
Hi everybody!
First post on forum.

My name: Riccardo Giuliani
From: Avezzano, Italy
Issues: I saw weakly soldered banana inputs, and glass economic fuses (I prefer ceramic ones)
Pros: data logging, 5 digits, good screen, and above all, a decent meter to avoid my cat makes fun of me (see photo)

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: jabramo on November 16, 2012, 03:00:41 PM
Long time listener first time caller  ;D

Jack

Canada, London Ontario

For the price I would have expected the quality to be higher. Minimal shielding and especially no routing on the pcb for high voltage worries me.

Like you see in my picture my meter is absolute crap and I could use amp readings.

Keep up the good work always enjoy one of your videos coming up, gives me a good break from studying for all my comp engineering midterms and exams.

(http://i.imgur.com/4Z1Tw.jpg)
Title: Hi
Post by: cristix on November 21, 2012, 06:47:53 AM
Hi, I'm Cristi from Romania.
One of the issues with the MS8218 is  the bar graph update speed and in the software you cannot select which com port to use.
I find this multimeter useful for the data logging feature.
And here is my multimeter:
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: dr_p on November 22, 2012, 08:41:10 AM
Hi, I'm Mihai A. from Bucharest, Romania.

One issue with the Mastech would be the slow update speed, especially that of the bargraph. And the flaky bits on the current shunt look cheap.

All considering, I would use it for data logging, and make use of it's high resolution, as well as other nice features.

I'm at work, so I'll post a picture from the Bucegi Mountains.

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: rbuck9 on November 22, 2012, 09:33:21 PM
(http://)

Rick Buckner
USA
Newport Tennessee
There was an issue with leads not fitting properly into the meter.
i would use it to find the problem with my laptop power
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: ProBang on November 24, 2012, 07:40:24 AM
Hello.

* Your name: Hartmut Gerkemeier

* The country and city you live in: (Federal Republic of) Germany, Lüdenscheid

* Note one of the issues that was found with the MS8218? Flimsy plastic fasteners at the battery. 

* Note why you would find this multimeter useful? It is very accurate and has a high resolution. Also
it can measure capacitance and has a mA- Range. (The Metrahit Pro does not have both...)

* Upload a picture of your current multimeter measuring the voltage of a 1.5v or 9v battery (cell)...


(http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=114.0;attach=757;image)

or your backyard

(http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=114.0;attach=759;image)

or neighborhood.

(http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=114.0;attach=761;image)

(Sorry for the mirroring. It is made through a closed window after a short rain. The sun appears just at that moment...)

Greetings,


Hartmut
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Fennec on November 24, 2012, 04:37:14 PM
Hi

Ulli S. Germany / Cologne
The issues for me, I found for are:

These are my issues about this Multimeter.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: ttp on November 24, 2012, 10:25:23 PM
My name is Tom and I live in Brisbane, Australia.

One of the MS8218 few issues are very fiddly and easily breakable battery cover locks.

I would be happy to own Mastech MS8218 as it is quite reliable and accurate meter, I would find data logging capability very useful for solar/battery powered garden projects I have in mind.

The first photo is my old and a bit innacurate QM-01445 (also known as RE 6810), the battery has been used for a while that why is reading a bit low. Second photo is of the storm coming towards my place, taken from my window.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: patpon on November 27, 2012, 08:01:46 PM
Name: Pat Pon

City, Country: Calgary, Canada

Issues: slow update speed, show bar graph, dodgy shunt,

Useful: I would find the datalogging useful
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: G7PSK on November 28, 2012, 11:14:50 AM
Hi Martin

Nigel Kingsley-Lewis G7PSK

UK.
Helhoughton.

The test leads did not insert correctly or all the way down. (Could that be due to needing a lot of force initially they did on the Mastech meter in my photo. I thoaght that I was going to break something when I plugged them in the first time.)
The main shunt was also badly soldered.

The reason I would like this meter is the data logging capability which would be usefull on generators and wind turbines.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Chaser on November 28, 2012, 12:06:18 PM
Howzit Martin

Dean Goldbaum from Johannesburg
One of the issues is the flimsy connection between the IR port and the board.
Would like the high res and data logging for my small solar setup
I blew my 2 day old inverter by trying to measure the output voltage while the lead of my dmm was in the amp socket!! Although I HOPE I have learnt from my mistake, the feature that gives you a warning noise for the incorrect lead placement would prevent that kind of thing from happening again!

Below is a pic of my dmm which cost R59 (~$7) on special from makro. It is attached to an arduino, measuring different voltage points. I am impressed how "reasonably close" they are (except for the 1.765V).
I will also include the code for the arduino and processing, would be interested to see how close it is on an accurate meter with higher res.

Thanks for the great job and well done for your 1st million, I will be included in your millions more to come!

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/54447861/dmm.jpg)

Code: [Select]
int positive =11; //connect pin 11 to positive lead of multimeter
//connect GND to negative lead

void setup()
{               
  pinMode(positive, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600); 
}

void loop()
{
 
  for(int i=0;i<=255;i+=15)
  { 
     analogWrite(positive, i);
     float volts=i*0.01960784; //5v/255   
     
     int res=4;
     int counts=4;//change for higher count meter *1000
     if(volts>=counts)
     {  res--;
     }
     Serial.print(volts,res);//res changes the displayed resolution
     Serial.print("V");
     Serial.print("*");
     delay(5000);
  } 
  delay(12500);
}

Code: [Select]
//BEFORE RUNNING!: you need to create a font by clicking: tools> create font > select AgencyFB-Bold and change the size to 200
//Make sure the COM port is correct
//Base of code from Jeremy Blum
import processing.serial.*;
Serial port;

String volts = "";
String data = "";
PFont font;

void setup()

  size(460,170);
  port = new Serial(this, "COM2", 9600);
  port.bufferUntil('*');
  font = loadFont("AgencyFB-Bold-200.vlw");
  textFont(font, 170);
}

void draw()
{
  background(0,0,0);
  fill(200, 10, 102);
  text(volts, 15, 150);
}


void serialEvent(Serial port)

  data = port.readStringUntil('*');
  volts = data.substring(0,data.length() -1);

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: algorath on November 29, 2012, 09:23:24 AM
Steve, near Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria
Well the build quality does kinda suck for the price range doesnt it...
I´d use it as 2nd meter

cheers

Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: mazzola on November 29, 2012, 03:07:02 PM
Hi all!

Name: Marco Angelucci

City, Country: San Giovanni Teatino, Italy

Issues: back plastic locks are weak

Useful: data logging and back light, oh and if I win I'll stop borrowing my father's one!

(http://s16.postimage.org/6ilwsxrv5/IM000437.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/6ilwsxrv5/)
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: extendedpuppet on November 30, 2012, 04:35:38 AM
Hey Martin,
Really enjoy your youtube channel.  I just started getting into electronics a few months ago.  Your teaching style has made it easy to learn, thanks for all your work.

* Your name: Brian
 The country and city you live in:  Dallas,  USA 
Note one of the issues that was found with the MS8218? Flimsy internal construction
Note why you would find this multimeter useful?  The accuracy and data logging.

Here's a photo of a multi meter I bought for $10. 
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: extendedpuppet on November 30, 2012, 04:38:26 AM
Whaaaa?  This contest got closed as I was typing my entry! :'(
I actually missed it by under a minute...
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Administrator on November 30, 2012, 04:53:53 AM
************** PLEASE NOTE ********************************

This giveaway is now closed as the draw is going to happen today.

Thanks Martin.

************************************************************
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Administrator on November 30, 2012, 04:54:55 AM
Whaaaa?  This contest got closed as I was typing my entry! :'(
I actually missed it by under a minute...

Just in time...your entry will be included....
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: extendedpuppet on November 30, 2012, 04:57:04 AM
Awesome, thanks! 
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Maff^ on November 30, 2012, 05:07:48 AM
Ah, bummer. I took the picture yesterday, but thought I would be able to do the entry today. Stupid me.

Anyway, good luck to the contestants! Would be an awesome meter to win.

Also, Martin, keep up the good work (these giveaways and off course, more important, the great videos).
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Antraciet on November 30, 2012, 08:56:03 AM
Congratulations to Steven from England!  :D
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: RiccardoGiuliani on December 01, 2012, 11:14:29 AM
Congratulations from me too.

And thanks to Martin for the good videos on Mastech.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: steve30 on December 01, 2012, 05:36:34 PM
Well done me! :)

I will certainly be able to use this, as I was planning on getting a new multimeter, preferably with data logging anyway.

I'm not doing too badly with winning stuff. Last year I won the raffle at the local Co-Op, this year I win a multimeter. Maybe next year I should buy a lottery ticket.

Thanks Martin.

Stephen Coates
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: DaveXRQ on December 02, 2012, 09:50:12 AM
Steve, near Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria
Well the build quality does kinda suck for the price range doesnt it...
I´d use it as 2nd meter

cheers
It's great  :D
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: steve30 on December 15, 2012, 06:36:08 AM
The Mastech multimeter arrived on Tuesday, after Martin posted it by airmail on Friday. Pretty quick.

Anyway, its a nice meter. Seems pretty well built and pretty accurate. Only thing I don't like, is that the backlight turns off after 5 seconds. I might see if I can modify it so it is on permanently. I know that will reduce the battery life, but I really don't like dark screens.

Here is a photo of it along side my Thurlby 1503-HA measuring a 2.5V reference from a MAX6325 chip.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: iloveelectronics on December 15, 2012, 04:21:00 PM
That's a world travelling multimeter  :D It has travelled from China to Hong Kong, then South Africa, and now the UK!
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Kiriakos GR on December 15, 2012, 04:38:31 PM
Here is a photo of it along side my Thurlby 1503-HA

For what use is this  kHz banana plug  ?
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: steve30 on December 15, 2012, 05:29:01 PM
That's a world travelling multimeter  :D It has travelled from China to Hong Kong, then South Africa, and now the UK!

That's what I thought. I wonder where it'll be off to next :D.

Quote
For what use is this  kHz banana plug  ?

Its not a banana plug, its a headphone type jack. Basically, the display is a little module which counts pulses. When you plug something in to the kHz jack, the module is disconnected from the rest of the multimeter, and the new input is shaped and sent to the module, so it becomes a (rather crude) frequency counter.

I don't think its a lot of use, but it does work.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: MJLorton on December 17, 2012, 02:14:44 AM
Yee Ha! Have digits...must travel!

Thanks for the post Steve.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: steve30 on December 17, 2012, 03:53:14 AM
I modded the multimeter so the backlight is on permanently.

I just connected it to the main power switch via a resistor, so it comes on whenever the multimeter is on. Much more readable.
Title: Re: Multimeter giveaway for November 2012 - Mastech / Sinometer MS8218 50000 count
Post by: Monkeh on December 17, 2012, 09:48:53 AM
We gather here today to remember steve30's pile of AAA batteries and mourn their loss..