Teardown Extech EX570, my first but also last Extech…

[Spawn]

Two days ago when I got the multimeter I opened a topic but this teardown earns its own topic because of the issues I came across, if moderators want to merge it just let me know so I can post in there.

We seen Extech RC200 fail and Extech EX505 crappy pcb fix in Dave’s videos, you think they have learned from their mistakes, but my meter is made later in same year when Dave made his reviews and my Extech EX570 have also major issues.

I was already little bit disappointed with the update speed of the Extech, but after seeing this, I won’t buy any other Extech anymore.  I mean this meter is not that cheap it sells between 275 and 300 euro’s here and around 250 us dollars in the states, you would expect at least it is save and good build, from outside it looks really good but inside it is just crap and not worth the money you pay for.

I will try to explain what I have seen before each picture, I hope pictures are clear enough to see what’s happening.

The front:



The back with battery compartment:



Battery door screws are metal threaded, so far it’s going good:



Extra rubber sealing, since its IP64 splash water and dust proof. The infrared housing is holded together with the housing which can give trouble when you drop the meter:



Enough input protection, again so far so good:



All bits taken apart, the housing screws are self tappers with a thick o ring and rubbers, two receiving sides of the housing for the screws where already dull when I was taking it apart:



The front side with input protection again, still looking good:



Till you take a closer look and here starts the crap, soldering on this meter is overall BAD, I had to check a lot soldering and re-solder again, also selector switch is already damaging the pcb and the selector lanes after a while this will give problems:



And the biggest problem! When I took off the self locking nut from the mili ampere lead input the small plate just fall of because it was not soldered properly! I mean come on, this is one of the crucial parts of the meter specially where current is being drawn, and I can’t imagine what will happen if it was on the 10A side when you measure high current…



Ceramic fuses, the pcb is from end 2010:
 


I don’t know what they call this at Extech when they where soldering the shunt, but I call it CRAP:



Wires all over the place:



Wires again, this time for the IR and thermometer, they could solve this with PCB connectors I guess:



The IR and the thermometer module:



The IR has a rubber protector, it can be lost easily a small rubber lead attached to the housing would help:


I am REALLY disappointed with Extech and like I said I won’t be buying any Extech, from this brand I was expecting a lot more professional build multimeter.

[iloveelectronics]

As far as I know Extech meters are made by CEM in China. I've tested a couple of the CEM DMM's and I have to say you're not alone in your observations. They do usually come with pretty decent input protection but build quality overall is generally quite lousy. I've also noticed that the linearity of the measurements are usually not very good, they can be accurate in a certain range but way off in another. Screen update rate and continuity testers are a hit and miss, some meters are fine, but some are crap.

[Wytnucls]

Yes, it looks like CEM has serious quality control issues. At least input protection is generally ok.
UNI-T, on the other hand, seems to put more emphasis on quality control, but the penny hasn't dropped yet, that meter safety is just as important.
Often, the PCBs are conceived properly and then the bean counters get involved and some drastic shortcuts take place, before component placement. 

[Lightages]

Wow. I thought that Extech had Brymen building some of their meters but it is obvious that this one is not the case. Just for fun at least give Extech a heads up on your review and photos here and maybe you will get some satisfaction from them. I have avoided Extech after seeing Dave's review and then their recall and now this. Thank you for posting this.

[SeanB]

Not good with the screening can resting on the chips and the components. One drop and they will be cut in half. Could be a good meter if these were taken care of, but overall the soldering definitely looks like it was done by beginners.

Still wondering what they did at C16..........

[Bored@Work]

Wow. I thought that Extech had Brymen building some of their meters but it is obvious that this one is not the case.

I don't remember all the details, but I think we have seen Brymen, Uni-T and CEM rebadged as Extech.

What I do remember was a guy from Extech comming here and lyrically waxing about Extech's quality and that they are ISO9000 certified. And he got worked up when I told him what POS ISO9000 really is.

[Spawn]

I've also noticed that the linearity of the measurements are usually not very good, they can be accurate in a certain range but way off in another. Screen update rate and continuity testers are a hit and miss, some meters are fine, but some are crap.

Yes, I have noticed the accuracy when I was doing the speed test video, I didn’t check everything but there was a difference with my other meters.

...., that meter safety is just as important.

This part makes me mad too, especially on a meter with this price range.

Just for fun at least give Extech a heads up on your review and photos here and maybe you will get some satisfaction from them. I have avoided Extech after seeing Dave's review and then their recall and now this. Thank you for posting this.

I am not sure what I am going to do, I will probably mail them with the issues on this meter, you are right I have seen Dave’s videos to and I could avoid Extech but I wanted a good meter with IR thermometer, since Extech is the only MM with this option and for the price range I was expecting a good meter.

Not good with the screening can resting on the chips and the components. One drop and they will be cut in half. Could be a good meter if these were taken care of ...

Good one there SeanB I totally forgot to write about the metal shield, it was even so when I opened the case the upper left side was already lifted up and the soldering was broken, and this on a new meter, as you see on the photo’s the shield is resting on the chips and components.
And indeed it would be hell of a meter if everything was handled right, overall the layout the quality looks good, it is just the last assembly is gone totally wrong and ruined the meter, I could go with its slow continuity tester and some other slow updates on resistance measuring.

I don't remember all the details, but I think we have seen Brymen, Uni-T and CEM rebadged as Extech.

This I didn’t know, I am more in to Fluke’s and some Gossen’s, but time to time we should give the others also a chance, so did I also got a Uni-T insulation tester and for the price I paid it’s a decent tester. I have some older Voltcrafts (from Conrad) and even those are not bad meters, but this Extech is just a joke compare to those, it looks perfect from outside, and taught behind such meter is also great but the quality of assembling this meter make those things go away.



I don’t know maybe I was expecting too much guys, but I can imagine some student pays good money for this meter and get crap instead of quality, I would recommend an older second hand Fluke for this price range any given time.
For me is this not an issue since I have more than enough multimeters, I don’t have to rely on this meter and besides I paid the half of its price so it is not a big lost for me.

[Stonent]

All you need to do to fix that solder joint is just run the 10A through it. It should get hot enough to reflow itself. 

As for shaved shunt vs un-shaved shunt... That's a discussion that that I think mankind will be having until the end of days. 

[UPI]

LASER trimmed is not bad.

[Spawn]

All you need to do to fix that solder joint is just run the 10A through it. It should get hot enough to reflow itself. 

As for shaved shunt vs un-shaved shunt... That's a discussion that that I think mankind will be having until the end of days. 

Yeap indeed it will solder by itself on 10A but the thing is it’s not the 10A lead but the mA one, so probably it won’t only weld it together but also burn something else too 

About shaved shunts, I am not considered about the look of the shunt itself but the soldering work between the shunt and fuse holder, forgot to mention by the way, this meter can measure till 20A for 30 seconds each 15 minutes… yeah right… I think I won’t be measuring anything higher than 5A with this meter.

[Smokey]

According to the Extech guy's post, the meters they had Brymen do were the Multimaster ones so MM560 and MM570.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/3-dmms-spot-the-difference-%29/msg56100/#msg56100
(I got the Brymen branded version of the MM560 (BM857).  Works great so far.)

The guts of this one doesn't look like any of the Brymen guts I've seen, but who knows these days.  Maybe we can get the Extech guy to chime in again on this one seeing as that's some shoddy soldering.  You should at least get a replacement.

I understand manufacturing down to a price point and I'm sure we all appreciate the availability of 60USD full feature meters as long as you take them for what they are.  But once you get above a certain price, and 250USD is certainly there, you should expect to get a quality product out of the box.  That's Fluke territory after all.

[Spawn]

Thanks Smokey, I could not find that topic, I send a PM to him now.

[(In)Sanity]

After seeing this I'm actually pretty surprised.   I knew they were not top end,  but really I would have expected far better quality.   I think I'll be sticking with  my B&K's, Flukes and HP/Agilents.   I'm on my 3rd B&K,  4th if you count the LCR meter Dave reviewed and I've never had an issue with any of them.   My only dead B&K was due to water damage umm,  corrosive water at that.   Yep,  the dog peed on it.   Last time I leave a meter on the floor. 

Nice shaved shunt btw.

Jeff

[Spawn]

(In)Sanity, the problem is if I never opened up the cover I would never see what’s happening in there and there is the danger, I could use it for years without any problem, till it explodes in my hands, the meter looks great feels solid and you would never expect things like in my picture. Sure there can be a little problem in production once in a while but this thing is full mistakes and it is not their first meter with this kind a crap.
Again for a meter above 250 USD (even more expensive in Euros) you would expect a good quality meter.

[T4P]

There should be warning on CEM-made extech DMMs next time ... "WARNING: SHOULD YOU POP THE COVER OFF, BEWARE OF THE DEMONS & DRAGONS LURKING BENEATH" or "YARRRRR THAR BE DEMONS AND DRAGONS LURKING BENEATH CAP" Like the firefox warning you get when going into "about:config" 

[Spawn]

Well I mailed them this morning, lets see what Extech have to say.

[Extech]

Spawn! I'm so sorry to hear about these issues in your EX570 and we've shared your findings with our engineering team here in Nashua, NH, USA. We are eager to investigate this meter. I've sent you a PM with information on how we're working to help address and resolve this with you. Please review and reply as soon as you can.

[(In)Sanity]

I think it's a real shame when a companies image has the potential to be tarnished not from poor design,  but from poor manufacturing process.   The engineers do their best to obtain a decent product only to have it shot apart by some person in China with a soldering iron.   I think all companies who produce electronics gear of any type go through a period where this happens.   I can recall Sony having absolute garbage quality at one time.   Panasonic who now makes a fantastic product once had a reputation of being complete junk.   I don't blame the companies completely,  I really blame whomever is in charge of overseeing manufacturing of their products.  I'm sure a resolution to this problem will turn out well,  which after all is all anyone really wants.   Good products with good support.   

Jeff

[Bored@Work]

I don't blame the companies completely,  I really blame whomever is in charge of overseeing manufacturing of their products.

Well, who hired that person? Who is supposed to supervise that person? And if you follow that chain via who hired the manufacturer, who is supposed to supervise the manufacturer, who hired the person who hired the manufacturer, you still end up at the company who's brand is printed on the product.

[(In)Sanity]

I don't blame the companies completely,  I really blame whomever is in charge of overseeing manufacturing of their products.

Well, who hired that person? Who is supposed to supervise that person? And if you follow that chain via who hired the manufacturer, who is supposed to supervise the manufacturer, who hired the person who hired the manufacturer, you still end up at the company who's brand is printed on the product.

That's why I said "I don't blame the companies completely".   Ultimately they are responsible to catch the mistakes from those they contracted,  hired, etc.

[Lightages]

What bothers me about this is that is not the first time that someone has had a serious problem with Extech equipment on this forum, specifically the rebranded CEM crap. If the only way any of this stuff gets fixed is by using the customers as the quality control then it speaks volumes about what quality control is actually being done before the customer sees the product.

At this point, I personally will not buy any Extech equipment based on the problems I have seen here on this forum. If the incidence of problems is so high here it probably is an indication of a systemic problem within the company. I appreciate that company representatives come here for fire control but that doesn't help the big problem. For me to even consider Extech again any product of interest must have already been reviewed by a number of people and shown to have a reliable track record.

My last multimeter purchase criteria specifically excluded all Extech products regardless of price or features based on what I have seen here on this forum and other places.

ARebelo-Extech:

I respect your approach to trying to help your customers but it appears that Extech is building a bit of a reputation on this forum, and elsewhere, opposite of what you would like and you have a lot of work ahead of you to reverse it. If it were my company I would recall all meters from the shelves that have been manufactured by the problematic OEM(s) and have them all inspected and not allow anymore to be sold unless they had gone through an individual inspection. That would be a start. For anyone who has ANY problem with any of their meters now, I would offer a full replacement, from one of the other OEMs that have not been problematic, that is a model or two better in specs and not require the customer to return the old one unless the person is willing.

Forgive me for being so presumptuous as to try and tell someone else how to run a business, but this is what I would do.

[Stephen Hill]

There seems to be a lot of rebranded CEM meters on the market. I bought a DMM from a UK company called Di-LOG thinking that I would get better quality than a chinese brand but after a big of reseach I found out it was a dirt cheap CEM. The meter I bought was a DL9206: http://www.dilog.co.uk/_dm_DL9206.htm

Like the OP's meter, on the outside the quality looked really good but the inside was very poor; poor solding, no input protection and simple glass fuses.

Buyer beware!

[Spawn]

Spawn! I'm so sorry to hear about these issues in your EX570 and we've shared your findings with our engineering team here in Nashua, NH, USA. We are eager to investigate this meter. I've sent you a PM with information on how we're working to help address and resolve this with you. Please review and reply as soon as you can.

ARebelo-Extech thanks for the fast response within couple hours, we are already exchanging mails as you know.

Well, who hired that person? Who is supposed to supervise that person? And if you follow that chain via who hired the manufacturer, who is supposed to supervise the manufacturer, who hired the person who hired the manufacturer, you still end up at the company who's brand is printed on the product.

Bored@Work you are right, companies should tighten their controls when they see this kind a issues especially after Dave’s EX505 dodgy PCB fix, but on the other hand this meter is manufactured in same period maybe Extech took some action regarding those problems. Since I am the only one with this issue I can’t say all EX570’s are like this, I am sure Extech will take the necessary steps.

For me to even consider Extech again any product of interest must have already been reviewed by a number of people and shown to have a reliable track record.

Lightages, I can assure you there will be teardown with high ress pictures when I get any replacement, right now we are exchanging mails with Extech and so far they are giving me the feeling I am being listened, I can’t say this about Gossen for example when I had some issues on 3 Gossens I got, they where fast on first mail response and after my reply I never got response back even after another mail from my side.

Fellow forum members, I will keep you guys updated when we have a end verdict, so far from the mails we have exchanged Extech is doing really their best to keep me happy as customer and I can tell you I am not a easy person to deal with.

[EEVblog]

OMG, that shunt, my eyes burn! 
Great photos.

Dave.

[Spawn]

A update about this issue, after couple mails with Extech they really want me as a happy customer with their products and the topic title with “my first but also last Extech…”  troubled them a lot, since I run a department of a small group electrician technicians at my work, I was asked to investigating for a cheaper alternative than Fluke’s we got because of the financial issues lately in whole Europe and me being a hobbyist crazy about multimeters was a plus to my employer. Of course Extech didn’t know this part at that point about me so I am pretty sure any customer would be listened like me.

That being said, André from Extech noticed in my mails and my findings on the forum I was not keen about EX570 because of it is slowness compared to Flukes specially the continuity test which we use a lot at our work with control panels. André offered me different replacement which would fill my needs better, the offered meter was MM560A but this meter doesn’t have temperature function which is important to me so I suggest a MM570A without checking the prices which is approximately 90USD more than EX570 but Extech didn’t even hesitate to accept my offer so they are sending me a MM570A which is build by Brymen and I have good feeling about this meter.

As for EX570, like I said before it is well taught meter if the workmanship was good (in my case) it could be a winner for most electricians who are working with control panels and overloading fuses to check with its IR thermometer on the run without grabbing a thermo camera or IR thermometer first, and the continuity test could be little bit better for that matter. Extech wants to eagerly investigate the meter and want me to send the EX570 to them, they are covering all cost like it should be, and from what I can tell with the mailing we exchanged, they will certainly check this meter and take it up with their manufacturer to make sure avoiding this kind a problems, I also hope they report back what their findings and actions are towards their manufacturer.

I am sending EX570 soon as I get the MM570A so if someone wants to know more about other things in the functionality I would be more than happy to check out for you.

When I receive the MM570A I will do some tests and teardown and post on the forum, unfortunately my spoken English is even way worse than my writing so probably I will do a small review with subtitles like my videos before.

I like to thank André Rebelo from Extech for his time and effort to keep me as happy customer, I have been contacting a lot companies over the years because of the work I do and this was one of the best companies keeping customer satisfaction high and listen to their customer.