I recently purchased a Multicomp Pro MP730657 DMM from Newark Electronics and it is a rebranded Uni-T UT181A in a green enclosure. Multicomp Pro and Tenma are Newark's house brands , several of their meter models are made by Uni-T. The MP730657 as of this date is on sale at Newark and it has a lower price than the Uni-T UT181A .It did come with a US adapter plus all the same accessories and the carry case. Only had it two weeks but the meter is performing well. I also have a Tenma 72-7730A ( rebranded Uni-T UT71B) meter . I have used the Tenma for several years and it is still working very well. I hope the UT181A / MP730657 performs as well over the next several years. Newark shipped from a US warehouse.
They probably used this means of charging because if they have a charging method while the meter is in use they probably can't get the safety rating. What I don't like about this meter is the proprietary battery. A meter in this priceclass is ment to be used for decades, not a few years. Li-ion batteries dont have eternal life. What about the availability of this batterypack with specific connector in 5 or 10 or 15 years?
I thought I saw a HZ setting for frequency. I"d like a multimeter that could do that as well. What I'd also like to see, is an oscilloscope review. I'll have to check your channel to see if you've done one yet. This fall, I scrapped a lot of my hobbies and want to get in to Arduino programming.
Sorry, I don't have the leads any more. Once I decided I was keeping this meter I bought a set of Probmaster leads and sold the original leads at a local hamfest. I think that a high accuracy meter at this price point is best used with gold plated leads.
Hi, this was a very interesting review, in your opinion, which Fluke multimeter compare in performance vs this Uni-T, and which of the two would you recommend to buy? cheers
Fluke as always have terrible LCD display with ghosting on it. Also Fluke 289 is too slow in graph mode, UT 181A is way ahead in graphics speed at any measurements.
That is a difficult question. The price has come down to $359.99 on the Uni-T Direct store on Amazon. The major con is you can't use the meter while recharging. If you need a graphing meter there is only one other choice I know of and it cost a few hundred dollars more. If you can give up graphing on the meter you have many more lower cost options. If you are in the US, Uni-T has opens a local seller uni-trendus.com, but they charge shipping for order under $400. Good luck on you choice.
@@N8FDY Thank you Tom. I found UT 181A for 289 euro in Amazaon Netherlands, and I am going to buy it. I don't mind for the charging time I have another multimeter UT 61E+ and Benning MM2 which is old, but reliable. By the time UT 181 get charged, I can use one of those multimeters. Thak you so much for the quick answer!
The battery life on mine started acting weird after few months. It was draining fast, despite the device was off. When I took the battery out, it wasn’t draining. So there was something using the battery to finish it off in one day. No selection of mode or resetting the device changed the battery drain for when the device was turned off. I ended up creating a manual switch to the battery with the help of dremel. Such an expensive device and unreliable power scheme with a weird rechargeable battery solution. I ended up not trusting the device anymore.
It is made of a reason this way. It guarentees you cannot plug meassure leads on charging. The reason is, if you put the probe leads in and try to measure voltage on your outlet, it might zipp you our of your shoes. Because of this the shown data cable is optical coupled. Without all this it won't hit his CAT rating. So it is potentially very risky to made such a modification.
@@mc_cpu applying a very very strong EMR field to a precision measuring instrument while in use might not be that sensible....it'll for sure affect some of the readings.
I am having trouble with GitHub links so I am trying OneDrive shared links. Try this OneDrive link: 1drv.ms/b/s!ArY0uP2JPdTZhpompKCr1-6_HvBwSg?e=Luq3gQ
Drifting is the biggest problem of the Uni T 181A...or any Chinese made things for that matter. In the video, your testing was under controlled environment, you knew what are the measurements to be expected...imagine in real situation where you dont know what to be expected and those number are jumping up and down???especially when you hold the test lead by hand... you will not be confident to believe in those values to make your decision. Uni T or Chinese equipment (Multimeter, oscilloscope.. etc. ) cheap for a reason. I measured a resistor of 320ohm in circuitry, the 181A gave me anything from 152 to 321ohms each time i tested it...and the value was not like bang on and stayed in place, it jumping up and down. Compare to my Fluke 28-2, just a fraction of second and bang on 321ohm, Uni T just a joke. In a voltage divider resister network for feedback of a SMPS power supply, being 152ohm or not 321ohm is matter of live or dead.
I recently purchased a Multicomp Pro MP730657 DMM from Newark Electronics and it is a rebranded Uni-T UT181A in a green enclosure. Multicomp Pro and Tenma are Newark's house brands , several of their meter models are made by Uni-T. The MP730657 as of this date is on sale at Newark and it has a lower price than the Uni-T UT181A .It did come with a US adapter plus all the same accessories and the carry case. Only had it two weeks but the meter is performing well. I also have a Tenma 72-7730A ( rebranded Uni-T UT71B) meter . I have used the Tenma for several years and it is still working very well. I hope the UT181A / MP730657 performs as well over the next several years. Newark shipped from a US warehouse.
Thanks Tom. I have the same meter and love it.
"I AM GOING TO KEEP THIS METER AND SELL THE FLUKE" Whoaaaaaaaa......
They probably used this means of charging because if they have a charging method while the meter is in use they probably can't get the safety rating.
What I don't like about this meter is the proprietary battery. A meter in this priceclass is ment to be used for decades, not a few years. Li-ion batteries dont have eternal life. What about the availability of this batterypack with specific connector in 5 or 10 or 15 years?
This is exactly why I dont like this meter,. Its great otherwise.
@@guateque1718If they just used 2 18650 cells, the availabilityproblem would have been solved (I assume that the 18650 cell is here to stay)
DEFF I GOT BOUT 20 18650S , flashlights vapes, rc controler, even a drone flies like 12 min on 1 cell😂
I thought I saw a HZ setting for frequency. I"d like a multimeter that could do that as well. What I'd also like to see, is an oscilloscope review. I'll have to check your channel to see if you've done one yet. This fall, I scrapped a lot of my hobbies and want to get in to Arduino programming.
Very similar to my UNI-T UT8804N, which is basically the benchtop version of this handheld meter.
Great review! Just nitpicking here, but would be great to see how it does with the included leads.
Sorry, I don't have the leads any more. Once I decided I was keeping this meter I bought a set of Probmaster leads and sold the original leads at a local hamfest. I think that a high accuracy meter at this price point is best used with gold plated leads.
Hi...this Uni-t 181 is also a 60,000 count meter.
Great video.
This one is the Fluke 289 killer!
i guess fluke is still best solution for productions
Hi, this was a very interesting review, in your opinion, which Fluke multimeter compare in performance vs this Uni-T, and which of the two would you recommend to buy? cheers
The Brymen 869 is still the king by far it is just way to robust and accurate for a 50k count meter
Is this a fluke 289 in a different dress? 😮
Fluke as always have terrible LCD display with ghosting on it. Also Fluke 289 is too slow in graph mode, UT 181A is way ahead in graphics speed at any measurements.
How long does a battery charge last in hours or so? and how long does it take to charge it afterwards?
شكرا على الفيديو
هل من الممكن مقارنة(Prova TES 903 vs Keysight u1282a vs Chauvin mtx3293 vs hioki dt4282) وشكرا
Sorry, I don't have any of the four meters you mentioned and I am done buying meters for now.
Hi Tom. Does it still worth buying UT 181A in 2024 please? I watched your video 4-5 times, but still not sure and confused
That is a difficult question. The price has come down to $359.99 on the Uni-T Direct store on Amazon. The major con is you can't use the meter while recharging. If you need a graphing meter there is only one other choice I know of and it cost a few hundred dollars more. If you can give up graphing on the meter you have many more lower cost options. If you are in the US, Uni-T has opens a local seller uni-trendus.com, but they charge shipping for order under $400. Good luck on you choice.
@@N8FDY Thank you Tom. I found UT 181A for 289 euro in Amazaon Netherlands, and I am going to buy it. I don't mind for the charging time I have another multimeter UT 61E+ and Benning MM2 which is old, but reliable. By the time UT 181 get charged, I can use one of those multimeters. Thak you so much for the quick answer!
Does this have an Auto Hold function?
The battery life on mine started acting weird after few months. It was draining fast, despite the device was off. When I took the battery out, it wasn’t draining. So there was something using the battery to finish it off in one day.
No selection of mode or resetting the device changed the battery drain for when the device was turned off. I ended up creating a manual switch to the battery with the help of dremel. Such an expensive device and unreliable power scheme with a weird rechargeable battery solution. I ended up not trusting the device anymore.
Could probably mod it to add a separate charging port?
It is made of a reason this way. It guarentees you cannot plug meassure leads on charging. The reason is, if you put the probe leads in and try to measure voltage on your outlet, it might zipp you our of your shoes. Because of this the shown data cable is optical coupled. Without all this it won't hit his CAT rating.
So it is potentially very risky to made such a modification.
@@matthiash.4670 good point. Add a qi wireless charging coil then 😀
@@mc_cpu applying a very very strong EMR field to a precision measuring instrument while in use might not be that sensible....it'll for sure affect some of the readings.
How long does the battery charge last?
До пів року ще тримає заряд а потім є проблеми з зарядкою і акумулятором!
Thanks for review is this meter in diode test forward give alitile beeps?
No, this meter does not beep on good diode forward voltage.
Yes, it emits in diode mode, goes to the alarm menu, I tested it with mine and it works fine 👍
Where is the link to this meter ?
I am having trouble with GitHub links so I am trying OneDrive shared links. Try this OneDrive link: 1drv.ms/b/s!ArY0uP2JPdTZhpompKCr1-6_HvBwSg?e=Luq3gQ
Drifting is the biggest problem of the Uni T 181A...or any Chinese made things for that matter.
In the video, your testing was under controlled environment, you knew what are the measurements to be expected...imagine in real situation where you dont know what to be expected and those number are jumping up and down???especially when you hold the test lead by hand... you will not be confident to believe in those values to make your decision.
Uni T or Chinese equipment (Multimeter, oscilloscope.. etc. ) cheap for a reason.
I measured a resistor of 320ohm in circuitry, the 181A gave me anything from 152 to 321ohms each time i tested it...and the value was not like bang on and stayed in place, it jumping up and down. Compare to my Fluke 28-2, just a fraction of second and bang on 321ohm, Uni T just a joke. In a voltage divider resister network for feedback of a SMPS power supply, being 152ohm or not 321ohm is matter of live or dead.
Looks like a knockoff Fluke 289.
So it aint battery friendly..the display takes care of that🙄😒
nice review - good work! 73 de DL1LEP