Brymen BM235 Multimeter

Actually, overall this is my second multimeter; my first one is an analog version: Sunwa YX-360TR N-L. Sorry to be technical between analog and digital. But I have to say that going digital really makes a big difference. It's a whole lot easier to read the numbers than to estimate a number based on where the needle is located. I can't believe that I have been missing out for such a long time sticking with my Sunwa. I bought the Sunwa a long time ago for light electronics testing and small usage around the home. But lately I've been frustrated with it because I always have to adjust the needle before using it and even then sometimes I'm not confident of the results. Additionally when I do continuity testing, sometimes the needle jumps wildly. The straw finally broke when I was testing my dryer's thermostats and I just couldn't understand what the meter was reporting. The needle would move wildly and I just wasn't confident the result was reliable let alone correct.I bought the EEVBlog Brymen BM235 mainly after being convinced of Dave Jones' EEVBlog Youtube videos about things to look for in a digital multimeter and his decision to work with Brymen to release a meter of his own. I am not an electronics expert nor am I willing to spend mega bucks on a fancy meter but I was persuaded by Dave's points in not only just going for a meter with a decent set of good and reliable features but also more importantly a safe meter that is built with internal electronics protection and with external ruggedness protection. Dave has an interesting and fun way of getting his points across and I was just convinced after soaking in his information. I did watch other Youtube videos about multimeters and researched other resources and was considering other meters from Mastech, Harbor Freight, UNI-T and any sub-50 to sub-100 meters. But when I found out that Dave was releasing his own meter, I reasoned that he is now really eating his own dog food of advice that he spewed out years ago. I also absolutely loved his honesty explaining his reasoning to basically co-brand with Brymen. I understood this as: "I'm not going to hide who built this meter. I'm working with this manufacturer because I think they are reliable. I'm going to show you the insides of this meter. I'm putting my stamp of approval because this meter meets my minimum level of standards for a decent meter with good features and safeness. (I think Dave's minimum level of standards is quite high.) I think this is a win-win-win. (Win for Dave on his advice over the years. Win for Brymen for the experience producing reliable products. Win for the end user in confidence of their work depending on a reliable product.)"I haven't used all of the meter's functions but so far I have used continuity, resistance, temperature and DC volts and the results are reliable and give me confidence. The meter feels rock solid. I like the blue suit and the test accessories. The test probes are really nice. I like that there is a cover for the metal stick and that the banana portion can be unscrewed to reveal that metal stick.I know I have said earlier about a triple win but unfortunately there a few things I noticed that I wish can be improved but overall these issues aren't deal breakers.First is the LCD viewing angle. I know Dave released a video explaining it but I'll just say this: My rice cooker has a LCD and no matter where I look at it, up top, below, left, or right, the display is legible. On the meter for some reason when I look at it up top the display disappears. I admit I don't like it but I figure most of the time the meter will either be flat or be on the stand while I look at it head on or from below so there's minimal chance of seeing it from up top.Second is Dave talks about not liking a meter that you can't turn the dial with one hand when it's flat. "It's as slippery as a used car salesman!" :) I like to add that I had a difficult time turning the dial with one hand when the meter is on the stand. The dial was so hard that I ended up moving the meter rather than twisting the dial. I was in the middle of testing something and wanted to switch to a different function with one hand while the other hand remained holding on to the probe and the testing object. I don't know if it's the stand or surface; the meter was on a linen placemat. Also I think it just might be physics. A rock solid meter resting on a thin stand isn't going to get much stability support while I try to twist the hard dial.Third is the test probe parts. I like the probe covers but they can only be used if the banana plugs are unscrewed. Unfortunately with the banana plugs unscrewed, there is another problem of where to store the banana plugs. I know it's my responsibility to safely store them away but it would be nice if either the blue suit or the lead itself has some storage area to store these small things away. At least the covers can be put in the back of the blue suit if the banana plugs are screwed on.Again these issues aren't terrible deal breakers. I just want to point them out for reference in the hopes that manufacturers and customers consider it for future product designs.Overall I like this meter. I was persuaded by Dave's points in getting a good digital meter that is also safe. Based on my usage I know I could have spent less and forgo some features. I also could have spent a decent or higher amount on another meter that meets or exceeds Dave's standards. But when I discovered Dave released his own meter and was also open about who he is working with in producing this meter, I thought I give my business to both of them. I had already viewed some of Dave's EEVBlog Youtube videos and considered his advice educational. I also researched Brymen and came to the conclusion that they produce reliable products. So yeah, I like this meter and I definitely won't be using my Sunwa again.I'm including a pic comparing the meter with my Sunwa. Notice the continuity isn't at zero.

I just love this little guy. Brymen makes great quality meters which is evident when you are using this meter. You will not find more bang per buck than Brymen meters. This puppy just feels substantial and well built. The back light is very bright, the turn dial feels great, and I really love the size which is perfect for a bench with limited space and feels great in your hand. It is very well designed, one thing I really like is that it saves your settings so that every time you turn the dial to say, milliamps, it will be on AC or DC depending on what you used last. This saves you the annoyance of having to constantly change the settings to what you use most often. A new feature with this Brymen meter is that it beeps when you have your probes plugged in improperly so that you don't blow a fuse. For example, if you have the dial and probes set to measure current and you turn to voltage, the meter will beep loudly and give you a warning on screen. This is new to Brymen meters. Another great thing about this meter is that it will measure microamps, which can be a difficult feature to find in a meter in this price range. Finally, the probes that this meter comes with are better than you will get with anything else in this price range. They are silicone, gold plated, and come with a banana plug attachment and an insulation attachment that makes them 1000V cat IV compliant (but this meter only goes up to 300V cat IV).I view this meter as a bit of a collectible because of the custom EEVblog aesthetic. For those who don't know EEVblog is a website and forum run by Dave Jones, an Australian electronics engineer. Dave has become very well know in the electronics and engineering community and has done countless product reviews and educational videos on everything electronic. Dave also participates in a weekly podcast called the Amp Hour. He is a lot of fun to watch and I'd highly recommend his videos if you are interested in learning about electronics or watching reviews of test equipment. He personally speaks very highly of Brymen meters and the fact that he thinks highly enough of this one to put his brand on it speaks volumes.To say a little more about Brymen, they are a Taiwanese company started in 1993 and the first multimeter company to be able to claim 1000V cat IV compliance. There are many video reviews on youtube of different Brymen meters and people rarely have anything bad to say about them. They seem to really stand out in that they offer build quality and specifications similar to fluke but at a much lower cost. One negative when compared to Fluke is that Brymen only offers a one year warranty, as opposed to flukes "lifetime" warranty. The reason many have not heard of Brymen is because they are rebadged and sold as Greenlee multimeters in the US at a major markup. In my view the fact that Greenlee marks up these meters speaks to their exceptional quality. Since they are sold as Greenlee in the states, it can be very difficult to find an actual Brymen meter here.In closing, if you are looking for a well priced, well built, well designed handheld digital multimeter you really can't go wrong with the BM235.