Vichy VC99 Multimeter Review and Teardown

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

As you say this multimeter cannot be compared a a fluke 17B but is was made to imitate one and lead into the false illusion that it is as good.

I would not like to stake anything on that unit maintaining accuracy over time. As noted the calibration trimmers are not even fixed in place. as I said my own one was not reliable for resistance measurements, I had to buy another meter because i was finding i could not rely on it. If your happy to work with such unreliability then that is your affair.

Well,
    EEVBLOG Does Exactly This .It converts you from a electronics buff to a electronic wizard .I possible know more about these instruments atleast in my own city then anyone else why ? .All thanks to EEVBLOG .You saw sirs video ,he clearly stated that in safety this meter is not even close to a fluke in testing it was and hence he recommended it for low voltage ,current testing only  .It totally depends on the us of the same  .

[Simon]

and you are not listening to me. i have owned this meter too, and I found the ohms measurement to be unreliable and the autoscling very slow, the meter is just usable.

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

and you are not listening to me. i have owned this meter too, and I found the ohms measurement to be unreliable and the autoscling very slow, the meter is just usable.

Guys ,
 Do Some of you share simons viewpoint ? ,BTW Simon i Have the Vichy VC97 Would Like To Give a Teardown Too  .

[Simon]

Take note of THE word spoken at 30s CONFIDENCE!

[T4P]

How do you not understand? The ohms range for electronics is a essential tool, if it's crap means it's crap and i have sold away my VC99 for the very reason, IT'S A HEAP OF SHIT

[Rick]

electronupdate's video shows very clearly that it is more accurate than the fluke 17 it is compared to. Watch the video again pls.
Now I need to see that myself when mine arrive. I also bought a dmmcheck circuit so that I can test it. I shall also buy precision resistances and see if all that is said is true. I shall let you know in this thread if you want.
There is too much direct advertising going on (not only on eevblog, let's be fair) so everybody can check him/herself if it suits his/her needs.
I think it is ok for hobbyists. I still keep my DM-10 cheap multimeter which is 25 years old and I am not afraid of measuring 220V with it... so why not using this one?

[Simon]

that is the thing, it is suitable for hobbiests but has ranges that go beyond the needs. I don't trust it, my AM220 does all that I need and I have far more CONFIDENCE in it.

[trisonic]

does it have the backlight?

nobody can help me?

[Simon]

can't remember, don't think so

[Rick]

...my AM220 does all that I need and I have far more CONFIDENCE in it.

It's only 1-2 % accurate. Even a hobbyist may have better expectations.
I was looking at AM140 but when I saw the specs I gave up.
Accuracy: "whatever"+30-40 LSD on current ranges. Unless you pay for the brand name for me it is not acceptable.
Like that Chinese brand Brymen which offers 500.000 count but each time the accuracy is <whatever>+40-60 digits, the question is why do we have the extra 1-2 digits if there is that much uncertainty on them. Is it worth having that last digit ? Do I get it right?

[Simon]

no it's not worth having that last digit, but it "looks good" and inspires "confidence" in the unit that it does not warrant

[Tepe]

Like that Chinese brand Brymen which offers 500.000 count but each time the accuracy is <whatever>+40-60 digits

Where have you found this +/- 40 to 60 digits?

[GEuser]

does it have the backlight?

nobody can help me?

Nope no lights , but its there on the ic(the function) .
ps-check out a previous post with the ic number and take a look at the datasheet , seems common mm usage going by the net .

[T4P]

That's AC. Not DC
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/bm869/portable-digital-multimeters/brymen/

[grenert]

On the Brymen, note that the specs are actually only given for 4-1/2 digits (50,000 counts).   
It would be reasonable to multiply the "+/- n digits" x 10 to get an estimate for 500,000 count mode.

[Smokey]

Don't mix up accuracy and resolution. 
http://www.eevblog.com/2009/08/21/eevblog-26-multimeter-counts-accuracy-resolution-calibration/

[ProBang]

Hello.

An interesting comparison starts here. For one AM-140 you can get five VC99...
But, if it's necessary:

On the Brymen, note that the specs are actually only given for 4-1/2 digits (50,000 counts).   
It would be reasonable to multiply the "+/- n digits" x 10 to get an estimate for 500,000 count mode.

At AC V the 500,000 count mode doesn't exist. It's only available at DC V.
To compare the AM-160/Extech MM-570/Brymen-859 or Brymen-869 (nearby AM-140/
Extech MM-560/Brymen-857 or Brymen-867) with the Vichy-99, it would be reasonable
to divide the "+/- n digits" /10 to reach the same level of visible counts in display.

Vichy claims at the best range 0.8% + 5 Digits at AC V. Sine-wave RMS.

Brymen claims at a usual range (not the best!) 0.5% + 40. True RMS.

E.g. measuring exact 24.000 V AC and doing some math...

Vichy99 is in spec between 23.75 and 24.25 V.
Brymen-869 can show you 23.840 and 24.160 V.

Which multimeter is more accurate?

Don't forget:
- TRMS
- Brymen/Am etc. are fast as hell
- Measures are repeatable
- Higher resolution
- Better construction
- More safety

Greetings,


Hartmut

[Rick]

We overlooked the fact that it has not trms... I forgot it too when buying.
Now the discussion has become more complete. So that review did not include that point unfortunately. He should have mentioned it in the video. Higher resolution is another point. Vichy has only 4 digits.
Excellent.

[GEuser]

Not that i'm missing anything , but should-not the Bryman be far far better as its 183eu compared to 30? , lets talk about fishing 

[T4P]

TrueRMS converters have a fair bit of noise that's for sure and if you say the last digit on 50k mode is insignificant, well, doesn't the fluke 289/289 have almost the same specs?

[Salas]

electronupdate's video shows very clearly that it is more accurate than the fluke 17 it is compared to. Watch the video again pls.

The 17B can be tweaked by doing its trimmers to significantly better accuracy. I have done it and I recommend it. 17B's thing is construction quality and meeting input overload spec. UNIT-T UT61E combines performance and a fair build, a natural choice for say $20-25 more than the 99. Vichy is slow, 61E is very fast.

[Simon]

The 17B can be tweaked by doing its trimmers to significantly better accuracy.

Wrong! you are altering it's interpretation of the measurement in the particular circumstances you are in. Change the room temperature drastically and it will be off again. The idea of a guaranteed accuracy is that you know that within a stated varied range of temperature, humidity and whatever else the manufacturer cares to stipulate you are guaranteed a result to that level of accuracy.

[Salas]

Yeah, right. I did it at a month or more ago 30C and today is 20C. The pic is now.

[Simon]

and how do you know the exact voltage you measured to at least one order of magnitude better than the meter does ?

[Salas]

It just follows my other 2 meters better in all cases. One is MS8218 which is good for accuracy. See Horton's test. No cal claims, works better practically, that's all. Shows nearer to my 61E mostly.