Kewtech multimeter-KT115/KT117

kewtech meters

Do not know about this model but have used kewtech meters for last four years with no problems
Regards Bacus
 
mick said:
Does anyone know how good, or otherwise, these instruments are?
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At the prices I see for those they are far too good for any uses I might have for a multimeter and I suspect for most people who are not professional electronics engineers

Maplin's cheapest is good enough for all my needs .... esp when they have them on a twofer offer

KT117 is a true RMS meter I notice Ok if you need a true RMS meter for something ??
 
I have a Kewtech2056R as I needed a sensitive clamp for tracing some odd DC loads which were appearing on some farm equipment. The RMS function has been really useful once when dealing with a generator output that made a cheapy meter have fits.

I bought it off ebay three years ago, and it bounced around the boat for a full season. Good set of instructions, but quite complicated to start with.


Very happy with the brand and would buy again if necessary.
 
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nigelmercier said:
Probably a bit OTT. I'd go for a meter aimed at car mechanics.
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To be fair the OP has not said what he wants this meter for.

However, if it is for purposes that require a meter of this quality he would not be asking here I guess and would have the knowledge to make the judgment and decision for himself.

For boat use I agree one aimed at the car mechanic might be a good choice but it might include unnecessary functions for checking ignition systems which would be superfluous to a diesel boat engine owner.

There is something to be said in favour of a low impedance analogue meter for use on a boat. High impedance digital meters will give "normal" readings even through bad connections and easily make a fool of you if you are not careful ........ got the tee shirt!
 
VicS said:
To be fair the OP has not said what he wants this meter for.


There is something to be said in favour of a low impedance analogue meter for use on a boat. High impedance digital meters will give "normal" readings even through bad connections and easily make a fool of you if you are not careful ........ got the tee shirt!
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You need a resistor something like 1000 ohms for 12v circuits which is wired in parallel with the meter leads. This will draw enough current ie 12ma on 12v to sort out any bad connections. If the meter has plugs then make up a little board with 2 sockets for the meter leads and 2 plugs to go to the meter. This so that for other measurements you can remove the resistor. Or just open up the meter and solder the resistor across the lead sockets. However don't try to use the volt meter on 240VAC as it will cook the resistor. good luck olewill
 
VicS said:
To be fair the OP has not said what he wants this meter for.

However, if it is for purposes that require a meter of this quality he would not be asking here I guess and would have the knowledge to make the judgment and decision for himself.
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I'm thinking of general boat use. I was wondering whether this type of meter might be significantly more accurate/reliable than the cheap ones. I've been guilty before of buying cheap and buying twice.
 
William_H said:
You need a resistor something like 1000 ohms for 12v circuits which is wired in parallel with the meter leads. good luck olewill
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Most certainly. Digital multimeters can and often do give very misleading results because they draw so little current to take a reading. This is especially true with 12v circuitry because on a boat it is functionally high current. Add the propensity for screwed/unsealed terminations to develop high resistance (a few ohms=high on 12v) corrosion........

Real-world loading (1k is fine IMHO) will show up the faults that a DMM alone won't. Olewill has it spot-on.
 
mick said:
I'm thinking of general boat use. I was wondering whether this type of meter might be significantly more accurate/reliable than the cheap ones. I've been guilty before of buying cheap and buying twice.
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I expect it will be more accurate.... the spec should tell you the accuracy which you can compare with that of a cheap one. You can even pay extra for them to be calibrated if necessary
IMHO the 0.5% accuracy of my Maplin cheapie is more than adequate for the boat.

Maybe they are more reliable too but I have a couple of the Maplins ones and they have not let me down yet. A different consideration perhaps if I was an electronics engineer using my multimeter daily.
Past experience with multimeters is that sooner or later I will wreck them. I have done that to a digital AVO but if I do that to a meter I've bought on a "2 for £5 offer" it's no great loss, I still have the other one and I can buy 10 (or 20) replacements for the price of the Kewtechs you mention.

One of the meters you mention measures true RMS. Why are you considering that ? If you need to measure true RMS then perhaps you need such a meter but keep it in your workshop and buy a cheapie for the boat.
 
VicS said:
I expect it will be more accurate.... the spec should tell you the accuracy which you can compare with that of a cheap one. You can even pay extra for them to be calibrated if necessary
IMHO the 0.5% accuracy of my Maplin cheapie is more than adequate for the boat.

Maybe they are more reliable too but I have a couple of the Maplins ones and they have not let me down yet. A different consideration perhaps if I was an electronics engineer using my multimeter daily.
Past experience with multimeters is that sooner or later I will wreck them. I have done that to a digital AVO but if I do that to a meter I've bought on a "2 for £5 offer" it's no great loss, I still have the other one and I can buy 10 (or 20) replacements for the price of the Kewtechs you mention.

One of the meters you mention measures true RMS. Why are you considering that ? If you need to measure true RMS then perhaps you need such a meter but keep it in your workshop and buy a cheapie for the boat.
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Thanks, Vic, and the same to everyone else. Looks like a cheapie will do.
 
mick said:
Thanks, Vic, and the same to everyone else. Looks like a cheapie will do.
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Keep an eye on Maplins offers. ( I get email newsletters) if you see the cheap one on a twofer offer get two ... get two anyway. I bought one and then later bought two on a twofer offer.... gave one to my son.
The leads are not good, that is the only criticsm, but for home I bought a universal set of leads with clips and prods etc ( cost more than the meter!) and for the boat I have a pair of extra long leads made with "extra flexible wire" with croc clips on the ends.

Rapid Electronics do a choice of inexpensive meters. A lot of schools buy their electronic stuff from Rapid. The physics dept of the school I worked in for a while bought practically all theirs from Rapid.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Tools-Equipment/Test-Equipment/Multimeters
 
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Just my two pence worth.

the cheap multi meters are rubbish. They are VERY prone to giving widely innacurate results when the battery starts getting low.

If I want to take a reading that I know will be tru, I use my Fluke 93. The cheap one as fas as I am concerned is only fit for very basic checks where accuracy does not matter.
 
ProDave said:
Just my two pence worth.

the cheap multi meters are rubbish. They are VERY prone to giving widely innacurate results when the battery starts getting low.

If I want to take a reading that I know will be tru, I use my Fluke 93. The cheap one as fas as I am concerned is only fit for very basic checks where accuracy does not matter.
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But you are a professional. I'd not expect you to use the cheapies.

Yes we know they are dependent on the battery but I have had mine for quite a few years and not had any troubles caused by low batteries..... you get a low battery indication when it needs changing and it seems to come up before the reading is grossly affected.
 
Here's what you need - don't forget about parallax error so use the mirror.

avo-1.jpg
 
Can I ask a question (or 2) about the 1000 ohm resistor in parallel?
Do you use the resistor when measuring both volts and ohms?
Presumably, when (if) measuring ohms it is running down the internal battery so need to switch off pretty quick?
 
alahol2 said:
Can I ask a question (or 2) about the 1000 ohm resistor in parallel?
Do you use the resistor when measuring both volts and ohms?
Presumably, when (if) measuring ohms it is running down the internal battery so need to switch off pretty quick?
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No of course you should remove the 1000 ohm resistor for ohms readings. It may not matter so much on very low ohms scale and readings but will give wrong answers in fact read 1000 ohms on higher scales.
So make it removable. olewill
 
:o When I was lying in bed after posting the question I thought "You t**t what sort of b****y question was that?" Basic school physics sometimes evades me until I've thought about it for more than a couple of seconds.
 
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