How is anybody supposed to buy a Uni-T if they know that there's two or three identical-looking variants out there but some don't have any input protection inside?
I agree, but I can tell the wide variance of quality and assembly across the Anengs, Mastechs, etc does not leave much to desire. Well, perhaps you could make the case these brands still actually mount the parts on the board, regardless of the Shenzhen sale of the week.
Despite this, I tend to recommend the UT61E for low voltage electronics as it is still a meter with good enough features for this usage and it sits at a good price range. There is some variability and there are certainly better models and more protected, but transients and sparks at low voltage systems are quite rare - just keep it away from those spark plugs! Another factor is that, at least for my channel, the vast majority of the watchers is cash strapped due to exchange rate and is subjected to severe import taxes.
(I can almost hear Joe's disheartened sigh... )
Joe, just because I can...
I
took some photos of the UT136C's internals a long while back - however, the rotary switch was missing. Please see attached.
A few details about this meter:
- The grease of the ball bearings of the rotary switch (not seen, as they are in the front enclosure) seem to have seeped a bit into the contacts. This may or may not be dangerous, but at the voltage levels this meter is subjected, I don't see this as a problem.
- There are no vias on the path of the rotary switch blades. That may certainly help with the durability of the contacts
- The range switch feels very good, but I imagine how long the plastics would last in your torture tests.
- There is a single puny PTC at the input, together with clamp transistors and HV resistors. The PTC is in parallel with the V/Ω input.