Protek 506, is it still a good choice?

[Electric flower]

Hello,
Im looking for a decent multimeter for low price and i came upon Protek 506 for 50$, it has been few years since it was bought but it is brand new, never used. I searched on forum and internet and i haven't found anything that would help me, if there is someone who has it i would appreciate few answers to my questions?
- how many measurments per seconds it does?
- have you had any problems with it?
- do you think it's a good multimeter?
- are there any flaws with it?
- is it logical to buy a multimeter that has been out almost longer than im alive?
Also i'm not planing to use it for measuring something more than mains.

Thanks for your time and help, cheers.
I have read what Dave has said for newbies but i don't know where else i can post this, searching gave me no result.

[qno]

If this is your first multimeter it is fine.

If you already have a 8 1/2 digit meter it is not so precise.

[EEVblog]

It's an OK meter, nothing much wrong with it.
Lots of choice in that price bracket these days though.

[Electric flower]

Just one more queston, Protek 506 or Uni-t ut 61E?

[qno]

The Uni-T is a generation newer.
It will probbably have nicer backlight display and be a little more responsive.

I would compare  specs and make your choice.

[Electric flower]

The Uni-T is a generation newer.
It will probbably have nicer backlight display and be a little more responsive.

I would compare  specs and make your choice.

Uni-T 61E is newer, it doesen't have a nicer backlight becouse it doesn't have one, it isn't really responsive since it has only two measurments per second. If i were able to make choice by looking at the specs i wouldn't bother people on forum. Still thanks for your time and trying to help.

[kx5]

Protek's backlight is kind of... crappy.
The 9 volt battery is also a disadvantage.

[tequipment]

IF memory serves me the protek 506 had one key advantage.. it has a max current of 20a when most meters are 10a

[Psi]

I have a protek 506.
Yep, it does indeed have a 20A range. (marking says max 30sec)
I damaged mine running it at 10A for 5min continuous. A small signal diode got too hot and went open. Was an easy fix.

The construction inside is pretty old school. Two boards with lots of passive stuff.

As far as meters go, it does work fine, although the inductance/capacitance ranges aren't very useful.

The main issue i have with it is the auto power off current, it uses quite a bit and runs flat pretty fast.
Using the power button is fine though, that's a proper toggle switch.

The continuity range is pretty slow, 300ms or so, but that's usual for cheap meters.