A look at the Uni-T UT210E

[Stinger]

I   hacked UT210E DM1106EN multimeter. 
I set :
9999 counts
2A ACA / DCA / ACA dotless / DCA dotless

Is it possible to get  9999mA range instead 2A?

Hello,
Yes, you can mesure 9.999A on 2A range. But DMM set in 2200 counts when zeroing, dotless mod fix this.[/list]

[001]

Is it possible to get  9999mA range instead 2A?

Hello,
Yes, you can mesure 9.999A on 2A range. But DMM set in 2200 counts when zeroing, dotless mod fix this.[/list]

No. I mean  9999mA! You misunderstood me

[hugatry]

Is it possible to get  9999mA range instead 2A?

Hello,
Yes, you can mesure 9.999A on 2A range. But DMM set in 2200 counts when zeroing, dotless mod fix this.[/list]

No. I mean  9999mA! You misunderstood me

The suggested 9.999A range with "dotless mod" is showing reading in mA. Limits are +-9999mA.
If this isn't what you mean, please clarify what you want. What is the difference between this solution and your requirement?

[001]

Is it possible to get  9999mA range instead 2A?

Hello,
Yes, you can mesure 9.999A on 2A range. But DMM set in 2200 counts when zeroing, dotless mod fix this.[/list]

No. I mean  9999mA! You misunderstood me

The suggested 9.999A range with "dotless mod" is showing reading in mA. Limits are +-9999mA.
If this isn't what you mean, please clarify what you want. What is the difference between this solution and your requirement?

Sorry. I had miss  a point. I mean .9999A (ONE amper range)

[Sprinkler]

Thanks for the awesome work!
Is there any chance to mod the meter to use hold button to show the peak value (ex. when starting a car engine)? Is it possible software wise?

[Stinger]

Hello,
Unfortunately not, like add frequencies and temperatures measurement.

[minhtri0405]

<sup>UNI-T UT210E Modifications
--------------------------

ADDR : OLD | NEW
================

10000 Count (DM1106 chip ONLY, check it!)
---------
10: 70 10
11: 17 27
12: 98 D8
13: 08 27
14: BE D4
15: 00 03

2A Dotless Calibration (Copy values from 50 to 56, 51 to 57)
---------
56: 00 ??
57: 80 ??

2A Modes (1. Dotless DCA, 2. Dotless ACA, 3. Dot DCA, 4. Dot ACA)
---------
87: 17 1C
97: 16 1D
A7: 00 16
B7: 00 17

20A Modes (1. Dot DCA, 2. Dot ACA)
---------
8B: 19 18
9B: 18 19

100A Modes (1. Dot DCA, 2. Dot ACA)
---------
8D: 1B 1A
9D: 1A 1B

Expand 100A To 1000A (DM1106 chip)
---------
07: E8 10
08: 03 27

Extra Modes (1. Continuity, 2. Ohms, 3. Diode, 4. Capacitance)
---------
8F: 07 09
9F: 09 07
AF: 0A 0A
BF: 0B 0B

V Modes (1. DCV, 2. ACV, 3. DCmV, 4. ACmV)
---------
8E: 04 03
9E: 05 04
AE: 00 05
BE: 00 06

NCV, NCV mV
---------
9C: 00 02
AC: 00 1D

Power Off 1 Hour
---------
FB: 0F 3C

Endless Backlight
---------
FC: 0F 00

Low Battery Warning 15Sec
---------
FD: 80 8F</sup>


Hi everyone ,

I modified follow page 20, and detect a problems with value of  switch Range up : example 10000 counts , they set address 12,13  =27D8H =10200 mean when DMM counter over 10200 will be switch range , but if voltage measure is 10v so it will show OL on screen , really not good  . Solution is set switch range up= 9800 and switch range down =960 so we will cover full range , voltage display auto switch range when over 9800 count , ex: 9.700v ->9.799v -> 09.80v -> 10.00v ->50.00v , down 10.00 ->09.80 ->09.70v ->9.600v ->9.500v . should be better

[brainwash]

I've modified my unit with the Arduino skecth JAY_i2cArduino210E.ino from @jayjr1105 .
The calibration values on my 1106 were completely different than anywhere else.
I've calibrated the DC clamp as outlined in the video by "joe smith" using the two in-line trimmers on the back. Now I'm consistently <20mA at zero, allowing me to avoid the dotless mode.

So the 2A modes for me are: dot DC, dot AC, dotless DC, dotless AC. Until ~2A I can use the dot mode and zero the meter, above 2A I can use the dot mode without zeroing, since 20mA of error is not a big deal.

The only downside to using this as my main portable meter is the slow continuity mode.

[mgruber]

I just got myself a UT210E to check the standby current at the battery terminals of my car in 2A mode thru the clamp, which worked fine.
Then out of curiosity I switched the mode dial to 100A to check the current when the car is running (my car has a 90A generator).
I then was distracted by a neighbor and forgot to remove the meter before starting up the car (which typically creates about 400A for a second or so).

Now my meter reads about 0.200A (slowly decreasing) in 2A mode as opposed to the 0.000-0.0002 I had out of the box.

Did this 400A spike manage to permanently damage s.th. in the meter or will this return to zero after a while?

[Hydron]

You probably just need to degauss the clamp.
Ideally this is done with a steadily decreasing AC current in a big coil, but you might be able to do it with a permanent magnet attached to a drill or something (move it away slowly to decrease the oscillating field to zero). I've even corrected small offsets by hand with careful magnet waving but it's not the ideal method!

[mgruber]

Thank you for your fast response to a newbie.
I have a pen with a round-shaped neodym magnet glued to one end, which I usually use to pick up bolts from tight spots.
So when I put this into my drill, do I need to face the magnet opposed to the + or - side of the meter clamp?
And do I need to have the pen spinning by the drill or...?

I know these question are more than embarassing for someone who has learned about magnetism at school, but decades have passed.

Edit: I forgot that I also have one of those magnetic parts tray cups, where you put nuts and bolts in, in case it would be easier to do with that.

Edit #2: I managed to get it down with the magnetic pen to 0.001 when I hold the meter horizontal in "panorama mode", but when I'm holding it upright/vertical the value goes up to 0.050. What did I do wrong?

[RoGeorge]

You did nothing wrong.  The instrument is so sensitive that it can sense the magnetic field of the earth, which is about 50uT.

To overcome such a good sensitivity, you need to zero the instrument in the same location and in the same position you will use it for measuring.

[Hydron]

As above, this is simply a (reasonable) limitation of the design, and why it has the zero button. This may be why more manufacturers don't offer such good resolution in clamp meters - personally I am happy with the tradeoff.

The only current clamps I have seen that manage mA level resolution without this problem have a closed or very-close-to-closed magnetic circuit. An example is the classic Tektronix AC/DC current probes, which use very clever thin film hall elements (plus lapped contact surfaces for the sliding part of the magnetic circuit) and actually null the DC field with an opposing current rather than directly measure the field strength. While extremely capable, even used these cost orders of magnitude more than the UT210E.

[mgruber]

I could have sworn that the value was 0.000-0.002 no matter in what direction I held it before.
Anyway: thanks to clarify that the actual measuring process isn't affected by a magnetised clamp and that zeroing before measuring is sufficient.

[brainwash]

I was a bit annoyed with the slow continuity response, so, I took a look at the DTM0600 datasheet (mine has the newer chip).
By removing the 470 ohm R7 and trying different values, I was able to get the response time down a lot when R7=90k.


According to the formula in the datasheet, with a 1.5k PTC this will measure continuity up to 2.3k. The factory setting (470) measures up to 50 ohms.

This is perfectly fine for my purposes, might not be good for you. My use-case is dragging the probe over lots of pins to see which one is connected. If it bypasses some small-value resistors, it's a bonus for me. Theoretically, with 1MOhm, the maximum continuity resistance would be ~25k.

It would be nice to be able to reduce the latching time, right now it's a bit too long for my taste. Obviously the response time could also be improved by using better probes, but it won't magically go <100ms.

Edit: I've installed a 100k resistor for R7 and got ~530 ohms maximum resistance for continuity. Not sure why that's so far off from the formula.

[Mouse69]

Reply #652

To make the buzzer quieter, just add some tape over the buzzer, worked in two Toshiba microwaves for me.

Also used this thread to update my new ut210e, awesome work guys - many thanks.

[KingSolomon]

In addition to tape for quieting buzzers, I have found that "blue tac" putty (sold under various brands such as loctite and 3M) works  well and is easily removable.

[ceut]

I have had a resistor in serie with the buzzer for lowering the sound 
And with that, there is much less battery current consumption when it is actived 

[Martin72]

Hi,

To change the counts, I´ve bought a programmer coming with a smd-clip.
After trying it several times with the clip (won´t stay hooked on, can´t see if it connect correctly to the pins) I decided to connect the programmer "hard" via wires.
And still....
The response was read chip error, what ever I´ve tried.
Maybe I got a dead one ?
Have a look on the supply-voltage from the programmer for the eeprom.
Is this a normal behaviour ?

[joeqsmith]

Is the meter turned off?   

[Martin72]

No, the rotary switch was on 2A position.
I took a look in the programmer, the supply for the eeprom seems to be controlled by the µC - which make sense because of 3.3/5V type switching.
And so it seems on the scope screen, it raises to 3.3V, for a short moment to 5V, then falling and this repetively.
Maybe the time the eeprom was supplied was too short, I don´t know.
I bought the 2010 because I want to read out an 93C86.
And this failed too, but in a"funnier way" :
You click reading and the message appear, reading complete but you see nothing except FF.
Disconnect it from the eeprom, it does the same...
Edit:
I´ll take the programmer at work on monday, then programming an 93CXX with our programmer to make sure it IS programmed and after this I try to read it out with mine.
If this fails, I know the programmer is defective...

[joeqsmith]

How are you powering the meter?   Do you have the battery pack clipped in?

[Martin72]

No,

In this video it wasn´t powered also:



But a good hint, maybe it needs internal supply because THIS programmer couldn´t deliver it.
Will check this.

[joeqsmith]

Another possible clue:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-look-at-the-uni-t-ut210e/msg924060/#msg924060

If you scroll down,  a few posts following I wasn't using an external supply but I wonder if you are right that your's doesn't have enough drive.   I never tried using the header but rather just clipped onto the IC.   

[Martin72]

Hi,

External power given, still can´t reading the chip.
Final try will be with the pullups.