MJLorton Solar Power and Electronic Measurement Equipment Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: birrbert on November 02, 2012, 06:13:16 AM
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Dear Forum!
I would like to ask your advice about this digital multimeter, the Uni-T UT70B. I've been looking for a while now for a well priced multimeter that would suit my needs and I just got an offer to buy this one for ~65 USD. It's new and it comes with all accessories including the software.
I saw that there are a few videos on YouTube about this model which I'm going to watch, but in the meantime I'd like to ask for your opinion. Do you think it's worth to buy? Are there any very annoying issues with it? Are there possibly better choices in this price range?
I welcome everybody's advice who used this multimeter or heard something about it.
Thanks!
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It's only a 4000 count meter. I may be biased (because I have some for sale) but I fail to see how it's a better deal than the UT 61E. The temperature measurement and backlight are the main missing features on the 61E in comparison to the 70B.
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What will you use the meter for? It would make a difference if you are going to use it on the job or just occasionally.
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suit my needs
With out further explanations about this, it is like asking us to read your future. :)
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There's no need to predict the future, really. I can explain what would my needs be, but "without further explanations about this": hobby. HVAC Guy, thanks for the question; I will use it occasionally (e.g. around the house, measuring batteries, logging voltage and current in small DIY projects, etc).
This would be my first more advanced multimeter, sort of said, so I thought I'll ask if somebody actually used it and has a few thoughts about it. So what I'd like to know if it's worth buying or it's better if I save my money and buy a better/more expensive instrument?
If nobody used it, then I might give it a go and then figure out if it lacks any functionality or if it has any annoying problems. Then I'll be able to choose my next multimeter better.
PS: the videos on YouTube didn't help... most of them are in a foreign language and the ones in English are just short presentations.
Edit: so the main question from me is whether somebody actually try/use this multimeter or found a review that I could read or watch?
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I don't now this meter but UNI-T should be fairly reasonable brand.
But if you can afford it i would recommend a meter in the 100$ class, something from Extech , BKPrecision, Amprobe etc.
The Specs for the UT70-B are not that great, even at this price point one could expect 0.5% basic accuracy rather than the 0.8% the UT70-B has.
If you haven't already seen it, i recommend these Videos:
http://youtu.be/gh1n_ELmpFI (http://youtu.be/gh1n_ELmpFI) "short" byers guide for Multimeters by Dave Jones.
http://youtu.be/n3WGaiYF2sk (http://youtu.be/n3WGaiYF2sk) 100$ class Multimeter shootout part 1
http://youtu.be/ZoeUgMFLyAw (http://youtu.be/ZoeUgMFLyAw) 50$ class Multimeter shootout.
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Thanks for the links FOX! I'll check them tonight, hoping that they'll help me in taking a decision.
iloveelectronics, 4000 count means that it can display values with three decimal places up to 4 Volts and from there upwards it will drop a decimal place and continue with only two?
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iloveelectronics, 4000 count means that it can display values with three decimal places up to 4 Volts and from there upwards it will drop a decimal place and continue with only two?
That is correct. UT-61E in comparison is a 22000-count meter which costs less. Apart from the lack of a backlight and auto-power-off, the 61E beats the 70B pretty much in every other aspect. The 70B is also a lot bulkier while the 61E is a very nice compact size that fits nicely even in my very small hand. Again, my opinion could be biased as I have 61E's for sale on eBay :)
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Hi, I've always had a multimeter since I was 15, and the UT70B was my 3rd multimeter; I've found the UT70B great for my hobby stuff! One thing you might want to bear in mind is sometimes you can get a better second-hand meter for the same price of a new one.
I would do a review of mine on uTube for you if it wasn't for the fact I'm far too ugly to be on camera! ;-)
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jucole, you're funny. :)
If you really have the time though, you could make a review in writing, spice it with some photos and post it on this forum. I'm sure many would appreciate it. By the way, thanks for tip about second hand multimeters.
iloveelectronics, someone on YouTube is showing that the UT61E can actually be modified to have backlight. In fact the chip supports min/max and auto power off too, it just needs some hacking. Nice!
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In fact the chip supports min/max and auto power off too, it just needs some hacking. Nice!
This is a nice way to void your warranty too.
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In fact the chip supports min/max and auto power off too, it just needs some hacking. Nice!
This is a nice way to void your warranty too.
There's warranty only if you buy from your local authorized distributor. If you buy online, more likely than not the warranty is void in your country anyway.
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The UT61E according to the specs has a back-light http://www.uni-trend.com/UT61E.html (http://www.uni-trend.com/UT61E.html) but in the user manual for the UT61 series states the back-light is only available for the A,B,C,D ranges. TUT! TUT!
The UT61E has the ability to measure Duty cycle (good feature in my book!) the UT70B doesn't! UT61E doesn't do temperature, the UT70B does; lots of pro and cons for both models.
Why they are still bundling COM port cables for logging etc is beyond me! do they know it's nearly 2013 not 1993! ;-)
Ebay is a great source for top-notch gear at affordable prices, the other year I bought a new boxed Iso-tech IDM 305
http://uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/digital-multimeters/6974020/ (http://uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/digital-multimeters/6974020/) for £80 and recently bagged another one as "used" condition for £50. Since owning and using the 305 I would never go back to lower priced meters.
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In fact the chip supports min/max and auto power off too, it just needs some hacking. Nice!
This is a nice way to void your warranty too.
There's warranty only if you buy from your local authorized distributor. If you buy online, more likely than not the warranty is void in your country anyway.
This is just your own estimation, every serious seller on Ebay offers one warranty plan.
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Why they are still bundling COM port cables for logging etc is beyond me! do they know it's nearly 2013 not 1993! ;-)
The IC in those USB/COM adapters it is protected by patents, and holds special programing which is included in the software drivers of its manufacturer.
This IC has an specific cost, which some one has to pay.
Just a COM port cable in our days translates that the manufacturer are cutting corners in the wrong way.
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Why they are still bundling COM port cables for logging etc is beyond me! do they know it's nearly 2013 not 1993! ;-)
The IC in those USB/COM adapters it is protected by patents, and holds special programing which is included in the software drivers of its manufacturer.
This IC has an specific cost, which some one has to pay.
Just a COM port cable in our days translates that the manufacturer are cutting corners in the wrong way.
Surely it wouldn't hurt them to add Bluetooth; being able to remote operate / log and calibrate etc without cables makes much more sense and it's a great selling feature!
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This is just your own estimation, every serious seller on Ebay offers one warranty plan.
Hmm...I've had a quick look through eBay but can't find any UT61E seller offering warranty. They do offer return and refund on buyer's expense though. Honestly if any of them do provide warranty they are probably just counting on the fact that shipping (to and from China) would cost too much for the buyer to bother. The units can certainly be sent back to China for repairs where the warranty is valid, but I really doubt anyone would pay all the shipping expenses (and wait forever) to do that. You can almost buy a new unit with all the shipping fees.
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Blue-tooth is another protected by patents technology.
The point is that UNI-T has an target to become top seller in China which is a different and less demanding market.
Europe and USA which both has more advanced technology they need the absolutely best.
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@iloveelectronics you did convinced me to not buy anything from the eBay sellers of China.
With just 15% more at the retail pricing from the local retailers, based on your words, it makes more sense to buy locally and be 100% protected as consumer.
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@iloveelectronics you did convinced me to not buy anything from the eBay sellers of China.
With just 15% more at the retail pricing from the local retailers, based on your words, it makes more sense to buy locally and be 100% protected as consumer.
Of course, it's great to have a choice between warranty and cheaper price, and if the difference is only 15% it certainly makes sense. People in some countries may not be so fortunate to have the options though. Their local stores may not carry The Uni-T brand or this particular model, so if they still want it they may have to go to places like eBay.
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They do offer return and refund on buyer's expense though. Honestly if any of them do provide warranty they are probably just counting on the fact that shipping (to and from China) would cost too much for the buyer to bother. The units can certainly be sent back to China for repairs where the warranty is valid, but I really doubt anyone would pay all the shipping expenses (and wait forever) to do that. You can almost buy a new unit with all the shipping fees.
I couldn't have worded any better that what Frankie wrote. I have been burned before on ebay despite my best due diligence. The high shipping return costs negates my motiviation for sending the item back.
Now if Frankie were to open up all the units he receives from a supplier and tested all functions, then I would have confidence and pay more for that service. The tests don't have to be exhaustive, but it would rule out a lot of DOAs or catch a lot of simple things.
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I couldn't have worded any better that what Frankie wrote. I have been burned before on ebay despite my best due diligence. The high shipping return costs negates my motiviation for sending the item back.
Now if Frankie were to open up all the units he receives from a supplier and tested all functions, then I would have confidence and pay more for that service. The tests don't have to be exhaustive, but it would rule out a lot of DOAs or catch a lot of simple things.
While I don't really "test" all the units I do try to turn them on to see if they at the very least switch on and that the range switch is turning ok, etc. I do that because I have to take the battery out of every one of them as the post office told me specifically that batteries are not allowed in these parcels. Since I have to open each unit up anyway I thought I would do this simple test. I would have no problem running a few more simple tests if the customer so tells me. I don't have much volume to deal with at this stage anyway so it's not a big deal for me :)
I can't speak for other eBay sellers but for me I only put up items that I have personally used or tested for sale (not the used items, but new ones ordered after passing my own quality examination). I have bought a lot of other Chinese junk which I figured are simply, junk, and I would not sell them. I'm basically doing the same with the Mastech multimeters that I posted in another thread. I'm paying a lot of money out of my own pocket just to see if they are even good enough to be sold.
English is not my native language but I believe I have a decent command of the language to communicate well with my buyers too, which is also another thing I try to differentiate myself from other Chinese/HK eBay sellers.
My apologies if this has turned too much into a self advertising post... Martin, feel free to edit or delete as you see fit.
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Their local stores may not carry The Uni-T brand or this particular model, so if they still want it they may have to go to places like eBay.
Today which one shipment of EMS needs only six days to be delivered from China to Europe, translates to zero delay of getting here the latest.
By having 276 transaction on eBay as buyer, I can say that the smart buying decisions it is up to the education of the buyer.
Naturally the eBay protection system it does work even slowly.
Last year I got an New & fast VGA card for my PC from eBay Germany.
Not happy with the product in a week? Free Shipping back / Communicate with us for the arrangement and refund / no other questions.
Warranty 2 years ... Free Shipping back / Communicate with us for the arrangement.
Yes the local dealers they have form an more competitive sales network, which is hard to compete.
My advice as friend will be to offer one year signed warranty, if you are not an occasional seller.
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UT70B - wrong values in 40mA range
Hello together,
am using the UT70B (UNI-T) since year 2004 - and the device satisfies my needs, so I could recommend it in general. I am using it for hobby and as well for professional purposes.
After a few years using time I noticed wrong values in the 40mA (DC) range. The exact behaviour is as following (see also the photos in the attachment - UT70B on the left side, on the right side is a multimeter for comparing):
While measuring "real" currents between 0mA and 20mA the device shows a value which is approximately twice as high as the real current (photo: 15mA-not-OK). Pressing the range button in this situation in order to switch to the 400mA range leads to a correct value display (photo: 15mA-OK). The auto-range function selects the range with the highest possible resolution, so that wrong values are always displayed in this situation, as far as the range is not changed manually.
If the measuring current is between 20mA and 40mA, the auto-range function does not find the correct setting (photo: 20-40mA_AutorangeEndlos). It seems that the device is detecting a range overflow due to the incorrect "doubling" of the display-value, but it does not switch to the next measuring range. Also in this case the correct display value can be seen by manually selecting the 400mA range (photo: 20-40mA-OK). With the µA and A ranges I did not notice similar problems (the 40mA AC range I did not check yet).
This case of problem seems like a "design-problem" to me that does not only occur with my UT70B example - I do not remember "special events" in my using period that could have destroyed the 40mA range. Maybe the problem did exist from the beginning and can also be shown with other examples.
So my question is if anyone of you UT70B owners could take the time and do some tests and reply if my problems can be confirmed / not confirmed.
Thanks in advance,
Thomas
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Hi, i've just checked mine and it seems ok (see attached)
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Maybe if the 400mA range is reading fine then we could assume the front-end is ok; but if the 40mA range is not quite right I would have thought the problem might well be the chipset; as that would be responsible for the auto-ranging / attenuation etc.
Have you blown many mA fuses in the past? have you always replaced used the correctly rated / type fuses?
[edit: I'd be interested to see what the 400μA/4000μA ranges measure. ]
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Thanks for checking and your quick answer!
This is proof enough for me that it is no design problem.
Your questions:
Have you blown many mA fuses in the past? => no; have you always replaced used the correctly rated / type fuses? => not relevant;
For the fuses, I checked just now where they are mounted and I am quite sure that I never had this type of fuses in my hands (white ceramic instead of well known glass tubes) - so I am sure I did not have to replace them.
See the attached picture: There are two overheated resistors besides the 10A fuse - this is very likely my problem. I will report the result when I have repaired this. Could you take some time again and determine the correct values of the resistors for me? The colour code is no more visible at my device.
I should have done this quick check inside the device before writing the test report - would have been easier, but as I did not blow any fuses, I did not think about damaged parts...
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Attached is a schematic for the UT70b; which should help you identify any parts.
[edit]
I'll try and get a picture as well for you after work tonight; but you certainly burned the pants off those little suckers! ;-)
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Attached is a picture of my DMM and the resistors for you; I use a 500mA glass fast blow for the mA range on mine but only because I don't have any 800mA ones in my box.
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Thank you very much so far!
This is enough information to change the resistors (little suckers - you called them...).
Have a nice time,
Thomas
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It all comes down to if it meets all of your intended requirements then buy it. For a start up meter is seems ok. By a better one when the need arises in the future. ;D
cheers
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I've had my UT70B stripped down for the last few weeks or so while I learn a bit more about how they work; but I thought I'd post a picture if anyone is interested.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LTmOg_IQqRA/UmmIdA0PPiI/AAAAAAAABnw/kxQtMvF49lI/s1600/DSC02856_small.jpg)
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I've had my UT70B stripped down for the last few weeks or so while I learn a bit more about how they work; but I thought I'd post a picture if anyone is interested.
I'm curious what you are studying about it?
I'm also learning more about how multimeters work internally and always glad to see teardown pics.
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I've had my UT70B stripped down for the last few weeks or so while I learn a bit more about how they work; but I thought I'd post a picture if anyone is interested.
I'm curious what you are studying about it?
I'm also learning more about how multimeters work internally and always glad to see teardown pics.
Everything! because, don't laugh ;-) I'm trying to design a DMM.
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I've had my UT70B stripped down for the last few weeks or so while I learn a bit more about how they work; but I thought I'd post a picture if anyone is interested.
Not sure if you've already got it but the schematic of the UT70B is available for download from some Chinese forum. If you need it let me know and I'll try to find it.
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I've had my UT70B stripped down for the last few weeks or so while I learn a bit more about how they work; but I thought I'd post a picture if anyone is interested.
Not sure if you've already got it but the schematic of the UT70B is available for download from some Chinese forum. If you need it let me know and I'll try to find it.
Many thanks for the offer! this is the one I found on the net a while back, so I'll attach it here just in case someone else needs it.
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Everything! because, don't laugh ;-) I'm trying to design a DMM.
Hats off to you!