Anyone test out new UEI Meters?

[chickenHeadKnob]

Wow, the BM235 digits are already very big, so this display is HUGE. Perhaps a contender for the biggest display digits on the market?

Past the point of diminishing returns and well into tall-skinny-wrong aspect ratio. They should have employed the extra screen real estate for dual readout/ bargraph

[jayjr1105]

The BM235 Digits are hard to beat.  So crisp while on it's kickstand and looking straight on which is rare.  Sorry Dave, my editing skills are pretty bad.  I just piece it together and upload.  Some day I'll take the time to learn some editing software. 

The hack thing is intriguing.  Seriously, just a surface mount resistor is what separates an $80 and $120?

[joeqsmith]

Bear with the crudity of this review and my monotone voice.

Good job with the review and what appears to be your first video.   While I would have liked to have seen the switch contacts, I can understand not wanting to pull it apart. 

[jayjr1105]

Bear with the crudity of this review and my monotone voice.

Good job with the review and what appears to be your first video.   While I would have liked to have seen the switch contacts, I can understand not wanting to pull it apart.

It wasn't too bad.  I hate the tiny self tappers that hold the board in place.  I always feel like I'm going to strip the head or the threads.  Nothing under the LCD, I just peeked since the backlight LEDs are soldered in.

[joeqsmith]

Getting closer.     Squeeze the two clips and we can see what she looks like.   I would like to see both the wiper contacts, as close as you can get to the tips as well as the contacts on the PCB.   If you have a micrometer or set of calipers, perhaps you would also check the PCB thickness.  I'm just curious how it compares.   It seems like they would try to use common components where possible. 

[jayjr1105]

Getting closer.     Squeeze the two clips and we can see what she looks like.   I would like to see both the wiper contacts, as close as you can get to the tips as well as the contacts on the PCB.   If you have a micrometer or set of calipers, perhaps you would also check the PCB thickness.  I'm just curious how it compares.   It seems like they would try to use common components where possible.

Ugh, after all this and I forgot to measure board thickness

[jayjr1105]

Just some other notable differences simply comparing with the BM235.

• Capacitance reading is slow on the DM515 (9 seconds to 2 seconds on Brymen for a 4700uf cap)
• Autoranging in general is slow on the DM515 but screen update speed is lightning.  BM235 autoranging speed is second to none.
• Brymen wins on power draw with ~2mA vs ~4mA on the UEI
• However the UEI sips a cool 14mA with backlight on to the Brymens 30mA (Brymen is only barely brighter too)
• Backlight times out @ 1 min on the UEI while the Brymen is on until turned off (personal preference here)
• Silicone leads on the BM235, PVC (soft-ish) on the DM515.  (Both have excellent tips but the BM235 is gold plated)
• UEI shroud has a front lip where the Brymen is recessed (I personally love the front lip on the UEI for extra protection)
• Both have excellent continuity speed with clear, latched beepers.
• No NCV detection on the UEI
• No Frequency setting on the UEI
• Two AA Alkaline included with DM515 while BM235 is two AAA heavy duty.
• UEI also has the ability to hold two spare AA's (with some small foam strips so they don't rattle around)

[gnavigator1007]

I can't think of any other products i've seen where the manufacturer has reused(I'm assuming) the battery compartment from another model like that. Not complaining. Being able to store extra batteries could certainly be useful. Just kinda funny in an age where everything is getting slimmer and slimmer. Wish phone manufactures would do something like this.

[jayjr1105]

Being able to store extra batteries could certainly be useful.

You could get creative and wire two more in double parallel for double capacity as well. 

[joeqsmith]

I would have expected the same switch contacts to be used as the 121 and maybe they do represent the final design.   They appear not to be plated and have a new dimple design.  Again, thanks for taking it apart and documenting your findings.

[EEVblog]

I can't think of any other products i've seen where the manufacturer has reused(I'm assuming) the battery compartment from another model like that. Not complaining. Being able to store extra batteries could certainly be useful. Just kinda funny in an age where everything is getting slimmer and slimmer. Wish phone manufactures would do something like this.

There was no point to do that if they had to redo the moulds anyway. It's most likely they have another product that uses the same new case and the 4xAA's. Or maybe they started the project thinking they need the higher voltage but then picks a part that needed only two cells.

[EEVblog]

Being able to store extra batteries could certainly be useful.

You could get creative and wire two more in double parallel for double capacity as well. 

Yep, I would have done that. Seems silly to waste that space.

[EEVblog]

Wow, the BM235 digits are already very big, so this display is HUGE. Perhaps a contender for the biggest display digits on the market?

Past the point of diminishing returns and well into tall-skinny-wrong aspect ratio. They should have employed the extra screen real estate for dual readout/ bargraph

Yep, agreed, the BM235 looks superior.
The Hycon chipset has an LCD driver with limited digits, so they couldn't likely do anything more display wise.
The micro used does not have a LCD driver:
https://www.st.com/en/microcontrollers/stm32l052t6.html