Are UNI-T Multimeters any good?

[Daniel_H]

Hi, I'm new here so please excuse any errors if I make them,
but I was given a UNI-T UT107 Multimeter as a gift and I have never heard of the brand so I have no idea of how reliable they are, It feels pretty solid but that doesn't mean it is accurate as my Fluke 28.

I was wondering what you guy's though of this brand...

[pickle9000]

Some uni-t's are better than others, they are low end but not totally crap. That particular one is not the best no autoranging (only worth 25 bucksish), very poor resolution. Even so, good to throw in the glovebox or have banging around up at the cottage.

[Lightages]

I agree.Uni-Ts have their place in the food chain. That meter probably should be used for anything other than battery operated things. Keep the probes out of the wall socket.

[EEVblog]

It feels pretty solid but that doesn't mean it is accurate as my Fluke 28.

Not even close to being in the same game as a Fluke 28.
Uni-T are cheap bottom of the market stuff. The "name brand" of the cheap market so the speak.
Quality varies widely between models, so it's often hard to make a general statement about Uni-T quality.

[Wytnucls]

Uni-T is one of the two principal multimeter makers in China, the other one being Mastech.
The company is privately owned and based in Hong Kong, with manufacturing done in mainland China.

Since their main market is China itself and emerging economies, their equipment is built to a price, with varying levels of quality.
In general, the quality is acceptable, considering the low price.
The ones I own and can recommend for electronic bench work are: UT71B/D, UT61E and UT120C.

Be aware that input protection on most of their devices has been minimal, without much respect for updated international norms.

[Telequipment]

It feels pretty solid but that doesn't mean it is accurate as my Fluke 28.

Not even close to being in the same game as a Fluke 28.
Uni-T are cheap bottom of the market stuff. The "name brand" of the cheap market so the speak.
Quality varies widely between models, so it's often hard to make a general statement about Uni-T quality.

And their customer service is total crap.
And definitely without exception do not stick the probes into the mains, it could be a life changing experience.

[Wytnucls]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections. UT71B/D and UT61E survived without a whimper of protest, even the pocket-size UT120. No life changing experience yet.
Having said that, input protection is minimal and staying away from the mains is a good idea.
I don't know who you tried to communicate with, but their customer service has been great for me.

[Mar]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections. UT71B/D and UT61E survived without a whimper of protest, even the pocket-size UT120. No life changing experience yet.
Having said that, input protection is minimal and staying away from the mains is a good idea.
I don't know who you tried to communicate with, but their customer service has been great for me.

i buy a UT203 few days ago and while searching about it .found this video on UT120



i c its yours ... you seem confidante in it 

me too i surely test the ac main on UT203  and modified sine wave 230v and generator with 245 voltage too   ..  its ok ..

[ddavidebor]

Try to do the same in amps range.

[gocemk]

I also own a Uni-T  UT61E and so far i'm very happy with it( and this is not my only multimeter, although is one of the cheapest i own.) First thing i did when i got the multimeter was plugging it into the mains on all ranges, and the meter survived, no problem at all.

[Wytnucls]

Try to do the same in amps range.

There are no fuses in the 120C. Just a self recovery 250V 400mA overcurrent protector (WH250 400) (Polyswitch).
It is rated for 250V, so should be able to handle the mains on it, but I don't want to damage the meter, in case it doesn't.
I don't expect anything drastic to happen though.

[Bored@Work]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections.

That doesn't mean much. All theses pesky safety standards the UN-T's don't adhere to are about exceptional, but not impossible, conditions. Meet one of these exceptional conditions with your UNI-T and you might be no more.

[Mar]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections.

That doesn't mean much. All theses pesky safety standards the UN-T's don't adhere to are about exceptional, but not impossible, conditions. Meet one of these exceptional conditions with your UNI-T and you might be no more.

u have one of those and die in your conditions ... ? and this exceptional conditions only apply on Uni-ts ??

[Matje]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections.

That doesn't mean much. All theses pesky safety standards the UN-T's don't adhere to are about exceptional, but not impossible, conditions. Meet one of these exceptional conditions with your UNI-T and you might be no more.

u have one of those and die in your conditions ... ?

You might. More likely you will get hurt, e.g. nasty burns on the hand that held the thing or even a lost finger or two.

and this exceptional conditions only apply on Uni-ts ??

No, to all meters, of course, but the Uni-Ts are not build that well regarding safety.

Fluke has a nice document called "ABCs of multimeter safety" which explains this stuff quite well.

[Tepe]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections.

That doesn't mean much. All theses pesky safety standards the UN-T's don't adhere to are about exceptional, but not impossible, conditions. Meet one of these exceptional conditions with your UNI-T and you might be no more.

The kind of exceptional conditions where you wouldn't want to be holding your corded drill, your corded hedge trimmer, your hand mixer, and all sorts of other handheld stuff that plugs into the mains outlet either.

[Mar]

I have tested my UNI-T multimeters on mains (240VAC), on all possible selections.

That doesn't mean much. All theses pesky safety standards the UN-T's don't adhere to are about exceptional, but not impossible, conditions. Meet one of these exceptional conditions with your UNI-T and you might be no more.

u have one of those and die in your conditions ... ?

You might. More likely you will get hurt, e.g. nasty burns on the hand that held the thing or even a lost finger or two.

and this exceptional conditions only apply on Uni-ts ??

No, to all meters, of course, but the Uni-Ts are not build that well regarding safety.

Fluke has a nice document called "ABCs of multimeter safety" which explains this stuff quite well.

i agree .. but .. when we talk about same price units that's not always true .. any way we cant just say that they dont get the safety requirements because we hear that its not good .. its better to test it before judging  .  no one has it and say that about it ..
all reviews for reasonably good price talk good about it ..

[Lightages]

It is better to assume that any multimeter that is not a Fluke, Agilent, and possibly Brymen, is not safe until shown otherwise. I have not see one, not one Uni-T that actually has proper input protection. I will believe this meter owned by the OP is not safe for mains until I see the insides. This will be a belief based on the track record of the manufacturer.

[aurelleostean]

Hi, I also have a Uni-t UT71d, and I used it with good results in the first few days after I got it. All is good if you upgrade from a noname multimeter that was used just for fun, The specifications sheet is very good but in practice the older noname multimeters in my workshop is better in some respects like continuity tester, readings / second, display contrast, build quality(my case fluke like body). All is good if you have the pacience to work with it after you found out that a cheep multimeter is better in some cases then your new multimeter. So... oneday i started voltage adjustments on my Hameg HM305-1 scope and got to the 185VDC testpoint, but by mistake got the multimeter probes on the 1950VDC(drawing coincidence...my bad) . You can guess what happend next... the multimeter dies with few beeps, no smoke. I turned it off and on again but the display shows full 8888 on all selector positions. So my multimeter is now dead and i guess the problem is in the chip under the LCD(got the schematics from the forum on the Volcraft similar multimeter), but i can not find a supplier for this part, and a repair at Uni-t is out of the question. I am now thinking to buy a new multimeter, but this time it will not be a Uni-t and not because it broke on my bad, but because its slow and its poor design. My old noname multimeter will do just fine in the next few days. Regards, Leo

[Wytnucls]

The continuity test is slow on the UT71, but it is latched.
The meter has a fast display mode when it is required, with a count of 4,000 instead of 40,000. It is activated at start-up.
You are the first person I hear from, who complains about display contrast, when the meter has one of the best displays in the business. Too late now I guess, but a new battery would probably have fixed your problem.
The built quality is reasonable, as a 40,000 count bench meter. I wouldn't dare throw it in a toolbox though, like some people do with their Flukes.
Take the meter completely apart and look for some visual damage on all components. If the main IC is toast, contact Cyrustek for a replacement.
Good luck finding another meter with the same features, for a reasonable price.

[aurelleostean]

The continuity test is slow on the UT71, but it is latched.
The meter has a fast display mode when it is required, with a count of 4,000 instead of 40,000. It is activated at start-up.
You are the first person I hear from, who complains about display contrast, when the meter has one of the best displays in the business. Too late now I guess, but a new battery would probably have fixed your problem.
The built quality is reasonable, as a 40,000 count bench meter. I wouldn't dare throw it in a toolbox though, like some people do with their Flukes.
Take the meter completely apart and look for some visual damage on all components. If the main IC is toast, contact Cyrustek for a replacement.
Good luck finding another meter with the same features, for a reasonable price.

 Hi there and thank you for the reply.
 I apreciate that you like the multimeter this much, but I also bought it because of my likes on the specs and good comented on it. If I wanted a 4000 counts multimeter I would buy a good 6000 count one at that price range and not this one, but I wanted to have a 60000 count one and this ut71d was all I could buy at that time. I wanted to buy the Fluke 87 but ended buying ut71d.
 When the multimeter sits on a normal bench and you read the display there are strange rays from center down of display cover to up and you can not read good on the display.  At first i got used to the ideea but in time it gets anoying. Your picture shows the display with backlight on and in not what the display looks like in daylight or workshop ceiling light, unless you work in the dark. I was forcet to place it closer to me, and when you have a big pcb to measure components on viewing the display will be harder. The multimeter feels solid in the hand but I didn`t put it in my toolbox without his textile bag.
 The battery was not an issue as it was replaced, the display indicated that with low bat sign a while ago. 
 A major factors in buying this unit, if i remember corectly, was the 0.01 resolution on the resistor scale, overall accuracy, pc software and i hoped that everything else will be just as good. Any way i am looking for a new multimeter now and the fact that i killed it has nothing to do with it. 
 There are no visible defective parts on the pcb, the only thing i suspect broken is the first chip that receive input signal from probes. In the mean time i am looking to buy, as you said a resonable priced multimeter with similar features, good overall accuracy, maybe less features but the ones it will have  will be the ones i use most.

Regards, Leo

[Lightages]

Yes, UNI-T meters are good to a point but as you found out sometimes cheaper isn't better. If you live in the US then consider getting the Amprobe AM-270 for around $90. It is a great meter with great input protection:
http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/amprobe/multimeters/am-270.htm

Or if you are outside the US then iloveelectronics on this forum has sold and probably can still sell you a Brymen BM257 for under $135 (price might be a bit different now) shipped to your door. It is a great meter with all the features you might need except it will not light up LEDs nor test LEDs.

There has been quite a bit of discussion here on the forums for both, much of it from me

Oh yes...
Dave liked the BK Precision 2709B and for good reason.
If you want to spend more than $150 there are other good options too

[markce]

UT-107 is aimed at automotive. So it's not the general purpose one. Then why would you complain
about not very extensive protection?
A Fluke 28 (rugged, industrial) is quite a different animal, pricewise also, no comparison.

[TopLoser]

Just got a new load of 'customer returns', not the most reliable meters 

Usually I can't be bothered to check them out, I just skip them. I'll keep a log of what I find this time and post it here.

[Wytnucls]

Which ones are you talking about?
Farnell only seems to sell the UT531, which is a bottom of the range insulation meter, with some basic DMM features.

[TopLoser]

Which ones are you talking about?
Farnell only seems to sell the UT531, which is a bottom of the range insulation meter, with some basic DMM features.

Tenma / UNI-T spot the difference time