2018 - Multimeter Repairability Score ?

[Kiriakos GR]

This topic it is here mostly about feeding you with thoughts which they will help you back, prior making your next buying decision regarding multimeter.

In past six years ITTSB blog this delivered lots of product reviews, and a huge amount of applications examples these be almost as live demonstration of what modern DMM can do and of how they should be used.
And all such content this is now hosted at ITTSB Blog forum, and because of that fact, many visitors even today they confuse this content with anonymous electronics repair forums, and they send me emails about helping them in their repairs, something which I do not do.

Multimeter Repair-ability Score as phrase in past years it was meaningless for us working with electronics repairs.
Especially in past decades, repair of your own multimeter this made by thru-hole electronic parts, it was your obligation to fix it back in case that it was damaged due careless handling.

While recent electronics parts technology this improved and it did shirked down electronics components size, component level repair this is still possible but not always.

Respectable brand names which manufacture real multimeter, they use branded microcontroller and input protection electronic parts, and also following specific principals (engineering) regarding printed circuit board (PCB).
Such modern made multimeter it has over-voltage protection at ohms range and possibly in to other measuring ranges, and this new protection makes such multimeter be almost immune to damage.


From the other hand 100% of cheaply sold multimeter, these are prone to damage and not repairable most of times.
Unfinished chip construction this serving as microcontroller, at environmental temperature differences (cold – warm –cold – warm changes) and even due mechanical vibrations,  such unfinished chip this is prone to die due simple insertion of atmospheric air ( oxygen) in it.
At unfinished chip construction what are missing this is outer protective cell, and also proper leads for soldering over PCB.
In the name of ultimate profitability the product that you receiving similes to tuna fish can, this coming also with sort expiration date. 

In conclusion,
There is no Multimeter Repairability Score at cheap multimeter, unfinished chip construction this is mainly the source of Evil, such poor methods was previously used exclusively from anonymous factories in China, but who would thought that American based DMM manufacturer would also use this method at their own low-end products’ line.
Respectable brands from Japan, Taiwan and even in Europe, all are in denial using such poor manufacturing methods.
Therefore next time that you will come close to a buying decision, you should consider that a tuna fish can this is always cheaper, than a true multimeter which will serve you for one or two decades, or more.

[Arhigos]

Repairing multimeter at home isn't easy because you will need to recalibrate it after repair is done. Especially if you replace microcontroller that contains cal constants. Calibrator that capable to do that costs a lot of money

[Kiriakos GR]

Repairing multimeter at home isn't easy because you will need to recalibrate it after repair is done. Especially if you replace microcontroller that contains cal constants. Calibrator that capable to do that costs a lot of money

Good point !  but of what I am giving a fight over the years, this is to change the habit of hobbyist, them getting multimeter them planned to be Non repairable.
Basically I think that I won about USA and Europe regions, every one knows that there is no bragging rights at dirt cheap multimeter.

But India and Africa and Brazil, they are now the target of Chinese sellers them lucking moral values.   

The most funny that a hobbyist will try to do at dirt cheap multimeter this is adjustment of calibration, because they think that they can improve the measurement at the last digits.
It is difficult a young boy to understand that measurement drift this is normal up to a point, and the best DMM will drift less at different room temperatures.