There was a time, not that long ago, when auto ranging multimeters were prohibitively expensive and out of the reach of most mortal hobbyists. There has been somewhat of a revolution in recent years and some clever electronics has made these devices widespread, increased competition and as a result the prices have dropped to being affordable.
This particular model was on sale for about £28 at time of writing. Considering it's many functions, that is great value. It does the usual voltage, amps, resistance and continuity but it also does capacitance, temperature, diode forward voltage, frequency, non-contact voltage and live wire testing. It even has a built-in laser pointer.
This multimeter does pretty much everything my more expensive meter does and a bit more. In terms of accuracy, it measures the same as my other meter to the nearest tenth which is good enough for the sort of hobby electronics that I use these devices for.
I think the display is less intuitive when compared to my other meter. By default, it is set to auto and will detect AC/DC current and will have a go at predicting whether you need voltage, resistance or continuity. It struggles with this if voltage is low and it did switch to resistance when I was checking a bunch of spent AA batteries for voltage. It’s easy to toggle through the various functions however by repeatedly pressing the "Func sel." button.
For the price this is a very useful piece of kit at a very affordable price.
| Manufacturer | Proster |
|---|---|
| Part number | PSTWT501-US |
| Item Weight | 240 g |
| Package Dimensions | 16.9 x 12 x 4.2 cm; 240 g |
| Batteries | 1 A batteries required. (included) |
| Item model number | FS999L |
| Power source type | Corded Electric |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Specification met | Cat III 600 V Standard, Safety Standards Met |
| Included components | 1*Multimeter;1*Test leads;1*Type-C Charge Cable;1*Thermocouple;1*User Manual |
| Batteries included? | Yes |
| Batteries Required? | Yes |
| Battery Cell Type | Lithium Ion |
