Rebranding of multimeters?

[Doctorandus_P]

Why would you care?
I don't buy rebranded meters, simply because you have less insight of what it actually is. 20 years ago you were sort of limited to what was locally available, but now it's just as easy to directly buy the OEM meters.

Once I was tempted to buy an UT 61, but Uni-T meters are apparently a bit hit or miss concerning quality, and the last straw was that the contents of the UT-61 vary depending on where you buy it. (The Chinese versions hardly have any MOV's inside).

Once I was  interested in the 121GW (although that is also "rebranded") and I still would have bought it if the firmware was officially open sourced, but the closed software made me hesitate.

Then I asked myself what I find really important in an EUR200 DMM, and I considered reliability and accuracy more important then fancy measurements and I choose the Brymen BM869s.

[PushUp]

Just an old find, which may change your mind:

Last week I bought an used "Chauvin Arnouix C.A 5289" via our local ebay (now called "Kleinanzeigen"). Some years ago I sold my Agilent U1272A as I am still happy with my Keysight U1273A, but the settings of the C.A 5289 reminds me of the good old Agilent, so that I am quite sure that one of those - maybe Chauvin Arnoux (sorry CA, if I am mistaken!) - is a rebadge?!

This time, however, I prefer the rebadged DMM C.A 5289 as I am no fan of the button design and colour of description of this Agilent/Keysight. Both can measure up to 500 MOhm resistance and up to 100 mF capacitance, which was the reason for me to buy it, as all new DMMs are not able to reach these values anymore - don't know why???

...and yes I have enough LCR-Meters, to prevent a longterm discussion about the use of DMMs having this ability, because no one can deny the fact that it is still useful being able to measure capacitance, to get a fast overview before going any deeper in measurement... ;-)

...but other than that, I don't know the inner values in order to compare any further...perhaps some other users have any better information about it...

The build quality and feel is simply perfect - even after all this time!





Cheers! 

[EEVblog]

Once I was  interested in the 121GW (although that is also "rebranded") and I still would have bought it if the firmware was officially open sourced, but the closed software made me hesitate.

The 121GW is not just another "rebranded" meter. Kane Test and myself did the design, and they manufacture it. But it's not just an existing design "rebranded".
If you are interested:


The BM235 and BM786 are "rebranded" in the sense that the design already existed.

[shakalnokturn]

Back before HP was renamed to Agilent, they sold meters from the same numbering sequence, 973A and 974A. They were made by a HP-Yokogawa partnership in Japan.

No HP for sure, Yokogawa more likely, still could be a SOAR design.

[helius]

No HP for sure, Yokogawa more likely, still could be a SOAR design.

Could you express yourself more clearly? The meters are branded HP, made in Japan by YEW, and the two companies had a joint venture at that time (that was wholly responsible for several instruments including the 4260A).
The 973A and 974A were sold in Yokogawa livery as the 7537 and 7544.

[BeBuLamar]

Why would you care?
I don't buy rebranded meters, simply because you have less insight of what it actually is. 20 years ago you were sort of limited to what was locally available, but now it's just as easy to directly buy the OEM meters.

Once I was tempted to buy an UT 61, but Uni-T meters are apparently a bit hit or miss concerning quality, and the last straw was that the contents of the UT-61 vary depending on where you buy it. (The Chinese versions hardly have any MOV's inside).

Once I was  interested in the 121GW (although that is also "rebranded") and I still would have bought it if the firmware was officially open sourced, but the closed software made me hesitate.

Then I asked myself what I find really important in an EUR200 DMM, and I considered reliability and accuracy more important then fancy measurements and I choose the Brymen BM869s.

You contradict yourself. You say why should you care? Then you said you don't buy rebranded meters. If you don't care how would you know which is rebranded which is not? And if you don't know how do you avoid buying rebranded meter? As others have listed it's quite difficult to be sure which is rebranded which is not.

[David Hess]

I have been told that APPA made the handheld multimeters that Tektronix had before Fluke sued them, and there is some resemblance, but that the design was custom.

One feature I like, that is not present on current APPA multimeters, or any others, is having an OFF position at both ends of the rotary switch travel.

[Sensorcat]

One feature I like, that is not present on current APPA multimeters, or any others, is having an OFF position at both ends of the rotary switch travel.

My first DMM, decades ago, had a push button for on/off. Advantages:

• For those who use the same function all the time, it is always the first to access. The whole debate whether that should be DC or AC volts becomes superfluous.
• Less wear on the rotary switch.
• True one-hand operation of even the lightest DMM (for your main function), because you don't rotate the meter with the switch when turning on or off.

Now I have a DMM that is better than the first one in anything but this. The pushbutton is hard to find today, limits the choice of models too much.

[David Hess]

One feature I like, that is not present on current APPA multimeters, or any others, is having an OFF position at both ends of the rotary switch travel.

My first DMM, decades ago, had a push button for on/off. Advantages:

• For those who use the same function all the time, it is always the first to access. The whole debate whether that should be DC or AC volts becomes superfluous.
• Less wear on the rotary switch.
• True one-hand operation of even the lightest DMM (for your main function), because you don't rotate the meter with the switch when turning on or off.

Now I have a DMM that is better than the first one in anything but this. The pushbutton is hard to find today, limits the choice of models too much.

Manual ranging DMMs tend to use a separate control for power because their rotary function switch has so many more settings, but with an automatic ranging meter, if the rotary control is also for power, then it should have an OFF position at both ends of travel.

I just thought it odd that none of the current or older APPA meters that I could find have this feature, when they included it on the Tektronix models, although not all of them, that they produced.

The situation reminds me of features in battery powered hand drills.  Long ago Black and Decker included levels on their drill, and later Craftsman did also.  This is a very handy feature, yet practically nobody includes levels now after any patent would have run out.  I glued a couple of 2D levels to my Milwaukee drills.