Vion: The World's Silliest Multimeter

[joeqsmith]

I've never had a desire to own a cell phone and would have to invest in one just to play with it.   

I'm surprised how that electrician blackened his cheapo meter and yet the glass fuse is still in place.  And with all that black, there was not much of a bang to go along with it. 

Looks like you have to hold the probes.  I wonder what happens when a small transient is applied across the two tips..... Does there meter turn black as well? 

[Distelzombie]

I've done similar with a cheap Multimeter. It was something along the current-chunt that burned. But that was a long time ago and very cheap. Fuse was still intact. The glas at least.

----
Seems like my theory of enslaved higher dimensional beings is getting closer and closer to being flat-out acknowledged by the manufacturer.

[edy]

This device is a sure-fire way to end up getting some people hurt and circuits damaged. At the very least, it will confuse the already confused and probably make it harder to actually figure out what is going on. It's a good thing it doesn't check currents... I can see someone testing a high current source like a mains plug, car battery or light socket and blowing a fuse or themselves up! 

If you don't know how to use a basic multimeter or understand the safety and concepts related to electrical circuits, and how voltage, resistance and current are related, the last thing you need is a "multimeter for dummies" (or at least what appears to be marketed that way).

I see in the examples in the video people checking a remote control, car battery, mains light bulb socket, batteries... seems like very simple case uses which this device is overkill for. The logging/graphing part is interesting but you can do this with a cheap bluetooth-capable multimeter if you want to record data.

The basic concept is interesting but this marketing to "noobs" and all this color-coding auto-detect stuff and phone app guiding you through testing electronics seems all wishy-washy to me and really seems to be the last thing you want in the hands of people who need that stuff.

[SiliconWizard]

The basic concept is interesting but this marketing to "noobs" and all this color-coding auto-detect stuff and phone app guiding you through testing electronics seems all wishy-washy to me and really seems to be the last thing you want in the hands of people who need that stuff.

Well, one of their marketing mottos is that it "will make you an expert". It's hard to figure out how dumbing down a topic can make people experts on this particular topic. Obviously it's just a marketing gimmick, but the whole underlying concept is pretty twisted IMO.

Why would the world need this? People can buy reasonably safe (orders of magnitude safer than this), simple multimeters for like $30, and learn how to use them for basic stuff in a couple of hours. And actually be able to reuse this knowledge later on, in other situations, with other devices. When you're tied to dumbed-down tech, you don't learn anything. You're just tied.

[Cyberdragon]

It's a good thing it doesn't check currents... I can see someone testing a high current source like a mains plug, car battery or light socket and blowing a fuse or themselves up! 

It's still dirt easy to blow up. Since there's pretty much guaranteed no protection in this POS, just put it across a high voltage source in continuity mode.

[Orpheus]

The basic concept is interesting but this marketing to "noobs" and all this color-coding auto-detect stuff and phone app guiding you through testing electronics seems all wishy-washy to me and really seems to be the last thing you want in the hands of people who need that stuff.

Well, one of their marketing mottos is that it "will make you an expert". It's hard to figure out how dumbing down a topic can make people experts on this particular topic. Obviously it's just a marketing gimmick, but the whole underlying concept is pretty twisted IMO.

They are turning the Dunning Kruger effect. That dial with all those markings/choices? A unwanted reminder of everything you don't know. Absent such reminders (and even with them), ingorant people overestimate their knowledge (unable to imagine the things they don't know), while far more knowlegeable users underestimate their knowledge, relative to others  ("surely anyone who owns/uses a multimeter can see how all the principles/modes work together; it's all basically Ohm's Law plus a few other facts")

It's a pervasive problem in society/marketing and it's not getting any better.

[Muttley Snickers]

Here is the current news to date on this silly gadget, this Twoelec/ Allectrics/ Vion mob ran a Kickstarter campaign from 13th of March to the 27th of April with an initial goal of $10,000 and that amount was easily reached within a very short period of time, the Kickstarter campaign raised $191,661 with 2716 backers a few of which were somewhat disgruntled and asking for their money back towards the end.

Now for those who missed out on their Kickstarter campaign there is no need to panic because they have just started a completely new Indiegogo campaign with exactly the same gadget and identical marketing bullshit even though they are yet to ship a single unit to any of the existing Kickstarter backers, I would have thought that they had a binding obligation and commitment to the initial Kickstarter supporters before going out and commencing a new campaign or offering the device elsewhere.

To date and by their own admission they have not confirmed the existence of a fully operational and completed prototype, no confirmation of any regulatory compliance or certification, neither an Android or IOS Bluetooth application and no user manual either. On the plus side now accompanying the meter is a ninety day warranty after some of the backers refused to accept the previously offered thirty day warranty.

Kickstarter Campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter

Indiegogo Campaign
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vion-auto-detection-l-bluetooth-l-smart-multimeter#/

[ataradov]

Does IGG just let you type any amount raised you like? Oh how did they manage to add those $190k?

[Distelzombie]

This has one thing going for me: The cables don't tangle. I always hate the cables on my multimeter where ever they are.

[Ridocar]

A measuring device for people with little (or no) knowledge in electronics, and they stick the probes in anything that works on electricity. What could go wrong?

Someone once told me: "if you make a fool-proof system, it's going to be used by fools".

[EEVblog]

Now for those who missed out on their Kickstarter campaign there is no need to panic because they have just started a completely new Indiegogo campaign with exactly the same gadget and identical marketing bullshit even though they are yet to ship a single unit to any of the existing Kickstarter backers, I would have thought that they had a binding obligation and commitment to the initial Kickstarter supporters before going out and commencing a new campaign or offering the device elsewhere.

How does a separate IGG campaign invalidate any obligation to the Kickstarter backers?
Provided they don't ship to others first I don't see the problem there apart from an image thing.

IGG actually contact successful KS campaigns to entice them to run another campaign and/or list it on their Marketplace.

[GreyWoolfe]

At least Jamaica according to some random list on the internet. That would also explain this whole creation, this year crop of weed is too damn strong.

 

I wonder if will explode on 420V...

No, it won't.  It will go looking for munchies, drink your beer and pee in your kitchen sink.

[Cyberdragon]

At least Jamaica according to some random list on the internet. That would also explain this whole creation, this year crop of weed is too damn strong.

 

I wonder if will explode on 420V...

No, it won't.  It will go looking for munchies, drink your beer and pee in your kitchen sink.

and the entire app just turns into stuff like "duuuuude...like...woooaaah maaaan!"

[Seph.b]

A meter that just checks continuity with a green LED lighting would actually be kinda handy to give my customers who usually don't even know what a continuity check is.

Pretty sure that I could build it for less than $.50 + cost of a battery.

Guess I should get a kickstarter going. Actually I remember using an electric fence tester as a kid that was pretty much this, guess I need to put a bluetooth symbol on it.

[xrunner]

Vion should link into the voice mail of the phone like:

I'm sorry but "your name" is busy measuring an AA battery please leave a message.

[Muttley Snickers]

I just noticed in the Kickstarter comments that they are now hoping to bring to supporters "the best multimeter ever", I wish them the best of luck with that ridiculous promise, also one of the backers has asked about the Apple App Certification without a reply to date so that could be a hurdle for them as well.

Vion Comments.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter/comments

[Urs42]

A multimeter with completely wireless probes would be nice. 

[Muttley Snickers]

Just an update on the Kickstarter campaign, they had originally declared a June delivery date and then promised July, now they are stating the end of September which is well after the scheduled August delivery date set for the Indiegogo campaign, it's no wonder the Kickstarter backers are throwing tantrums.   

"Announcement"

"Dear Backer,
As you know we were responsible for delivering Vion by the end of July. Unfortunately, we are unable to do so due to some circumstances out of our control-certification approval. As a result, delivery will occur toward the end of September. We apologize for the delay. We have been trying our best to expedite the shipping process to deliver Vion to our backers in good shape. We  hope you will understand the current situation and once again thank you for your patience.  Vion Team"

Vion Comments.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter/comments

Kickstarter Campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter

Indiegogo Campaign
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vion-auto-detection-l-bluetooth-l-smart-multimeter#/

[julianhigginson]

A multimeter with completely wireless probes would be nice. 

Shhhh... that's got to be the main new feature of vion2.
they will get rid of the cable between the probes and it'll work just as well as it did before, but with no awkward cable! win!

[Cyberdragon]

Just an update on the Kickstarter campaign, they had originally declared a June delivery date and then promised July, now they are stating the end of September which is well after the scheduled August delivery date set for the Indiegogo campaign, it's no wonder the Kickstarter backers are throwing tantrums.   

"Announcement"

"Dear Backer,
As you know we were responsible for delivering Vion by the end of July. Unfortunately, we are unable to do so due to some circumstances out of our control-certification approval. As a result, delivery will occur toward the end of September. We apologize for the delay. We have been trying our best to expedite the shipping process to deliver Vion to our backers in good shape. We  hope you will understand the current situation and once again thank you for your patience.  Vion Team"

Vion Comments.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter/comments

Kickstarter Campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1441579202/the-worlds-simplest-bluetooth-multimeter

Indiegogo Campaign
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vion-auto-detection-l-bluetooth-l-smart-multimeter#/

*baby talk voice* Aww...poor Vion having twouble getting cewtified?

They'll never get there rat turd dildo stick certified, it's basically as bad as those dollar Chinese meters in terms of safety, with even stupider feature added. They're either incredibly stupid (possible), or they know damn well it'll never work and are pulling the usual as an excuse to rip off people.

[EEVblog]

A multimeter with completely wireless probes would be nice. 

Done that:

[EEVblog]

I just noticed in the Kickstarter comments that they are now hoping to bring to supporters "the best multimeter ever", I wish them the best of luck with that ridiculous promise, also one of the backers has asked about the Apple App Certification without a reply to date so that could be a hurdle for them as well.

Having just gone through that, it's not quick nor easy.

[Muttley Snickers]

Wow, it took them a while but they have now responded to the backers some of which were getting rather disgruntled with the lack of news. They have now decided to enhance this device with a number of drastic improvements in an effort to make it an even better piece of rubbish, at some point these gadgets will probably end up in the recycle bin once the internal battery is extinguished and can no longer hold a charge and I somehow doubt that anyone would even bother replacing it at that point. Links to the campaigns are just above in a prior post.

"Thank you so much for your patience!

Hello Backers, 

Thank you so much for your patience. To fully update you on the process, we have backtracked a bit due to the fact that we made a couple noticeable changes to the device, which has caused a delay in obtaining certification. We decided to go forward with a new and improved version for safety and convenience reasons since our last version had a couple things we wanted to fix.  The first thing we changed is the power button, as we went from a slide button to a push button.

The second thing we improved is the accuracy. On our original campaign, we indicated ±0.7 percent accuracy, but we have worked to lower that percentage. The third change that we implemented is a new PCB Board for improved resistance and PTC. The fourth change is the fuse box case. We changed the fuse box case to make it something that users could open. Previously it was undetachable, but now the fuse box is accessible. The last change that we made was to add a small LED light near the tips of the probes, just for safety and convenience. With these physical changes, we had to create new molds, which caused a delay in production and certification. We promise we are doing our best to prevent more delays. 

As for the smartphone application, we are currently taking care of some unforeseen complications that have come up with the iOS system. The Android system has been squared away, but we’ve had a couple of obstacles come up with finalizing the iOS version that we will soon figure out. We assure you that we are actively working to untangle these unforeseen issues and will keep the updates coming. Our intentions are not to come off as a scheme or as a fraud, and we apologize if we have come off that way whatsoever. We will implement increased efforts to address your concerns. Creating, manufacturing, and delivering a new product is not an easy feat, but we want to remain committed to efficiency, transparency, and dedication to delivering a great product. 

We are now anticipating to begin delivery by the end of September. We apologize sincerely for the delay and appreciate the patience and continued support. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions. We will try our best to stay in communication throughout the process. 

Best, 

The Allectrics Team"   

[Cyberdragon]

Safety? Please Darwin...DESTROY

Is that even an HRC fuse? Ask them what CAT rating it is...

Step 1: remove fuse cover after blowing fuse
Step 2: install new fuse
Step 3: forget about it like the idiot you are for buying this
Step 4: hold as usual (finger in fuse hole)
Step 5: insert into socket

[KL27x]

This statement is comedy gold:

Our intentions are not to come off as a scheme or as a fraud

If people are actually funding this, it is successful at fundraising, in the least. I imagine some of the people working on this (if it's more than 1 guy) are extremely unhappy with 99% of the design decisions. But if they are simply following w/e brings in the bucks, it's kind of funny.