Review of VC830l multimeter

Previously when I want to buy VC830l, I try to google for the review on this multimeter. The result come out zero. Maybe this thing is too cheap to be reviewed, most people just use and toss. So I do a review myself.

The casing of VC830l felt hard and empty, firm hand grip. Maybe I was bias, so I treat it softly. Robustness wise, no idea. Well, is new, I havent drop it yet.

This multimeter has stand, but it is not perfectly aligned. It make "click" sound when you open and close it, especially when you close it.

The buzzer sound was loud and clear, it is actually quit high pitch. But I like the loud indication.

To test the accuracy, I have tested it with Fluke 73III. Some might argue that you cant compare RM30 with >RM1000. Actually Fluke is not famous for accuracy as you can see below:

Instead, the safety features, the sturdiness are Fluke main selling points. 

Even the fluke probe is still fine, after being roll over by chair with a 60kg person sitting on it. 

An accuracy comparison between both is a fair comparison.

First, it is tested with AC voltage. Fluke shows 239.9V, while VC shows 240V. 

VC only has two ranges for AC voltage, 600V and 200V. I use 600V to measure AC.

Fluke has higher precision, VC only has 2000 counts. Nevertheless, the result is acceptable.

Secondly, it is tested with 3V coin cell. Some thing, Fluke has higher counts, but reading until 2 decimal points for 20V testing is good enough.

After that, I measure the 12V battery, the reading is exactly the same.

I was happy to see that. 

A comparable accuracy with branded multimeter.

I mostly work with the DC voltage which is less than 100V such 5V supply, 3.3 signal, +15/-15. So this multimeter comes in handy.

Following that, I test the 1.5k. 0.25w, 1 percent tolerance, resistor.

I start with 200k ohm range, 

the 20k ohm range, I get extra decimal point accuracy.

the 2k ohm range, 3 decimal points accuracy.

I also have tested the resistor with Fluke,

only 0.002 difference, For me, that is acceptable, resistor tolerance can up to 5 percent. Most designs use 5 percent tolerance resistor. So the resistance measurement is good.

Just out of curiosity, I change to 20 mega ohm range, well, it get zero.

After that, I change to 200 ohm, it is over the measurement limit. The VC over-limit indication is not OL, rather, is a 1 on most left hand side.

Overall, I like this multimeter as it has all the basic useful functions, but I will treat it softly, not so harsh as Fluke. Btw, another bright side of VC830l is the big lcd display, it is really a plus.

Pros:

Has all the crucial functions which work well.

Big lcd display.

Acceptable accuracy.

Cheap.

has stand.

Cons:

Manual.

No capacitance measurement.

Only two range for AC measurement.