Digital Multimeter, SURPEER 20000 Counts Multi Capacitor Tester True RMS Auto Range Voltmeter - DC AC Voltage Current Ohm Resistance Diode Temperature Continuity Frequency Electric Field Testing

Can a $37, 4.5-digit DMM (Digital Multimeter) be any good? (It's down to $20 as of 9/2/18. It's a steal!) In the case of the Surpeer AV4 the answer is “Yes!” I needed a low-cost meter for a lab I’m setting up and the free Harbor Freight meters, while useful, are just not going to serve when you want to make accurate readings. The Surpeer AV4 with its 4.5-digit display has the highest resolution that I could find for a DMM in this price range. Even better, Amazon Prime dropped one on my doorstep in two days.What do you get for your $37? You get a 4.5-digit meter with a rubber holster, an adequate set of probes, a thermal probe, a “heavy duty” (carbon-zinc) battery, and a thin manual all in a tiny cardboard box barely larger than the meter. (I suggest you replace the carbon-zinc battery with an alkaline battery ASAP. The manual says the same thing.)My initial impression of the meter was that it’s well built. It feels substantial. It has a large LCD with main and sub numeric displays, a nicely clicky function dial, and an integrated tilt stand.Your first step will be to insert the battery and here’s where you run into two of this meter’s weaknesses: a nearly invisible polarity mark for the 9v battery molded into the battery box (see photo) and a poorly written/translated manual.You can insert the 9v battery into the battery box either one of two ways. Put it in one way and the meter works. Put it in the other way and you’ll damage the meter. No matter how hard I looked, I could not see a polarity mark in the battery box in normal light and I could not find clarity in the manual, which essentially says “insert the battery.” I had to take out the four self-tapping screws that hold the meter together and look at the circuit board, which has the battery polarity clearly marked.Here’s the answer: As you look into the battery box with the top of the meter pointed up, the positive battery terminal goes on the left. Once I figured that out, I took a permanent marker and marked the inside of the battery box with a big black “+” so I’d never again be in doubt. (The vendor’s Amazon listing makes this clear in the fifth bullet of the description, but how likely are you to have that Web page on a convenient screen so that you can look there when you receive your meter? It needs to be in the manual.)With the battery installed properly, the meter worked immediately. Rotate the function dial to the desired function and the meter turns on. The display has a limited vertical viewing angle and somewhat low contrast, so I immediately wanted to try out the backlight. Once more, the manual let me down. (It’s there; it’s just hard to find.)Finally, after staring at the meter for a bit, I noticed the sun-like symbol above the word “HOLD” on the top, left button. Hold that button down for three seconds and the bright, white LED backlight turns on. (The manual says “Long press 3 seconds to convert to backlight model.”) Hold the button down again for three seconds to turn the backlight off. Other reviews here on Amazon have complained that the DMM’s backlight turns off too quickly but I’ve not observed this. Perhaps the manufacturer has made a design change. My meter’s circuit board says my DMM was manufactured early in 2017.With the meter working, I then wanted to test its accuracy so I borrowed an HP 34401A benchtop multimeter from a lab at work. The HP 34401A is a $1000-class meter with far better resolution and accuracy than the Surpeer, appropriate at about 30x the price, so it makes a good reference to measure against.I made three dc voltage measurements at 100mv, 1v, and 10v; one ac voltage measurement at 1vac, 1000Hz (that’s the maximum frequency for the ac voltage range); and one resistance measurement of a 3Kohm resistor. The Surpeer AV4 did extremely well with all of these tests as you can see in the photos. Its dc and ac voltage measurements are all within just a few millivolts of the HP meter. (See the photos.) The resistance measurement using the 4-wire ohms range of the HP meter was 2964.4 ohms and the Surpeer AV4’s reading was 2963 ohms. That’s a difference of 0.05% —plenty good for a handheld meter. During the ac voltage test, the Surpeer AV4 also displays signal frequency in a secondary display, which was also quite accurate according to the HP 34401A meter and a separate frequency counter that I have on my bench.I did not test the DMM’s current ranges because I do not generally make current measurements. I also did not test the temperature probe, the diode/continuity function, the capacitance range, or the “Volt Alert.” I don’t generally use these functions but I’ll bet they work fine based on my other tests.It’s reasonable to ask what you give up when you buy the inexpensive Surpeer AV4 DMM. Well, the manual is the most obvious weakness. It’s clearly translated from Chinese—in one place, “voltage” has been translated as “pressure,” “probe” has become “pencil,” “resistance” has become “resistor,” “setting” is usually translated as “gear,” and these are only a few of the several errors that will trip the inexperienced.At 13 pages, the manual is also quite brief. For example, there’s a “Volt Alert” function that allows the meter to sense electric fields without making contact with a circuit, but the manual describes this as NCV (I suspect this means “non-contact voltage”) testing and simply says “When converting to NCV function, the instrument is near the electric field.” I still don’t know where the NCV sensor is inside the meter. The manual doesn’t help.As I’ve said, I had no luck in finding an explanation about the backlight button although you will find a note tucked in there if you read the manual carefully enough times. It does not help that the online PDF of the manual is not searchable.These are but a few examples that lead me to state that I do not consider this to be a beginner meter. You’ll really have to think about some of the wording in the manual so you will need some experience, some background to properly use this meter. If you are a beginner and need to learn the basics of how to use a DMM, I suggest that you get one with a better manual. If you know how to use a meter already, this one’s a bargain.Finally, I looked at the circuit board inside of the meter (see the internal board photo). That look caused me to make this recommendation: If you are going to use a meter to routinely measure life-threatening voltages (anything above 43v in my book) or high-energy circuits, then you really should spend more money on a name-brand meter. The Surpeer AV4 meter is protected with proper safety fuses but the circuit board layout is missing some high-voltage safeguards like proper layout for high-voltage resistors and isolation slots to prevent arc-over. The plastic case, though rugged, does not appear to be designed with blast protection in mind. However, if you’re not going to measure mains power, high-voltage power supplies for equipment like particle accelerators, or other high-energy circuitry (I never do) and you’re just using this DMM to measure the normal sorts of low-voltage, low-energy circuits in common solid-state equipment, then this meter should serve you very, very well.Overall, I repeat: the Surpeer AV4 DMM is a bargain.

Minimally functional... Continuity test takes several seconds and measurements fluctuate all over without stabilizing. Save your money -- you get what you pay for. Not sure why reviewers said this was a solid product -- it's made of cheap plastic and a flimsy silicone sleeve. Might be a little better than something cheap at Harbor Freight. EF detection gimmicky and poorly performing. Input protection is minimal.. No MOVs, terminal connectors just held in by plastic sleeves. Stick to something like the Uni-T UT139C if you want to stay in this price range.

I wouldn't have any issue purchasing this again or recommending it to someone looking for a multimeter that can handle most applications with enough accuracy for %99 of the people who would be looking at this particular meter.Pros: The multimeter is accurate, has an easy to read display (more in a second), has nice probes for the price, and is a great value.Cons: You can't make the backlighting stay lit for longer than 5 seconds and it requires a long press to activate.No case, bag, or anything other than the cardboard box to place the device in. I would gladly have paid the $2 extra this would cost to include.The probes don't have a cover for the sharp metal ends (this is more a personal gripe than a con).

I bought this for its resolution. I didn't expect accuracy for this price and assumed that I would have to provide that by my test protocols. I was pleasantly surprised to find its accuracy comparable to its resolution. It accurately measures resistance down to 0.1 Ohm without any external reference. Below that I use a reference bridge to remove lead and contact resistance. All other measurements are as good as my 0.1% reference devices, including the thermocouple. This is as good as my $200 lab meter. My only quibbles are that it doesn't measure inductance and the two-phase measurement selection, e.g. dial to RLC and then pushbutton cycle to the specific one, is a little clumsy.

Physically too large and response is slow to settle on a reading.. Battery polarity marking is poor and easy to insert the 9 V battery backwards. Lead quality is not very good for the price of this meter. When you short the lead tips together, no easy way to set the meter at zero ohms. I guess I am too used to quality meters like Amprobe and Fluke (which cost more of course).. I am returning the meter..Neil Bell, KJ6FBA

I must say I am very impressed with this DMM. It arrive on time second day with Prime. The packaging was excellent no damage. The Digital Multi Meter has a 9 volt battery supplied however I installed a Duracell. I have always had good results did not want to take a chance with potential leakage. The battery compartment is accessible form the back of the unit with one screw. The test leads are above average quality. The grips are good and the tips are pointy. The probes have 2 holders on the back of the DMM. The fit is very good. The quality of the display will blow you away.I measured my body temperature at 98 F and my medical thermometer read 99.2 F. The house voltage measured 122 volts and a KILL A WATT device showed 121 Volts. My deep cell marine battery on a battery tender showed 13.12 Volts this is the same reading I got with a 125 dollar Amprobe meter. The continuity check is loud and responsive. The selector dial is firm with a positive detent on center of its function. I really have nothing bad to say at this time. If you are looking for a low cost high quality DMM look no further. This is a true gem. Time of ownership 3 weeks.