DT830D Digital Multimeter
Price: £2.53 free shipping
Manufacturer: ?? Unknown
Model: DT830D
Run By: 1x 9V battery
Features: standard digital meter - nothing special
Shipped From: HK
What's in the packet?: The meter and a crap instruction sheet
Not a lot going on in here!
Why did I buy this thing?
I wanted a new multimeter and thought I would be clever and get a cheap one. In fact the cheapest I could find. That is not always a bad thing of course but when it comes to precision instruments I should have really known better!
This device epitomises the phrase "Cheap Chinese crap" in no uncertain terms. There seems no weight to this device, almost lighter than air. I initially thought I had been scammed and they sent me an empty plastic case?! I decided to open it up and see what was what. Inside is a small PCB with a single processor doing the work. With a cheap plastic dial assembly, display and a few wire connections to the plugs there is little else to the unit.
Strangely the LCD display is the best part of this meter. it big and clear with a good level of contrast. It's a shame about the rest of the meter.
I suppose its a testimony to modern manufacturer that only a PCB of this size is needed today to run a multimeter....yeah but the result can make items like this feel cheap and crap?!
It's pretty good for battery testing
Concerns
I really don't think it's a good idea to use this meter for anything other than testing batteries and small components - and definitely NOT mains voltage (230V) for a number of reasons.
Firstly this device does not contain a fuse on the HV side of things so things could get very deadly if something goes wrong.
Secondly the testing probes are crap. Both positive and negative probes are wrapped in a very thinly insulated plastic which has the potential to become very hot when a high voltage is put across it.
Thirdly there are no safety cat ratings anywhere on the meter. No nothing. This is a little alarming. I was at least expecting a cat III (for domestic use) type rating.?!? So it can be assumed that this device has not had any official certifications for safety.
Something to think about before shoving 230V across it.
Rating: ✅✅
You certainly get what you pay for with this thing. It's only really fit for testing batteries (which it does quite well). A digital 'battety tester' for under 3 quid is pretty good value when you look at it that way.