Customer Reviews

Sinometer MS8221 Auto/Manual Ranging Digital Multimeter

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've used this meter for a month now and here is my take on it.

Positives...

-The meter housing is a rubber and plastic composite making it hard to break.
-Solid feel to the buttons, switch and ports.
-The cables are very good and come with protective end-caps for storage.
-The temp probe works great. I used it to write a review on another product :D
-The AC/DC, Temperature and Battery Test functions work properly.
-The Maximum Value hold feature is nice.
-Accuracy is right up there with more expensive meters.

Negatives...

-The backlight shuts off too soon. Instead of 15 seconds the backlight needs to stay on for a good minute.
-The protective end-caps have the potential to come off. They need to snap into place.

Comments...

I'm using the box the meter came in as a case. I would have paid extra for a hoster or case.

The company didn't offer an online electronic manual. I contacted the company and they sent me one. I wanted an electronic version in case I lost the manual that came with the meter.

Overall I'm very pleased as it's a great product at a great price!

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Update...

Blew the fuse which is located inside. This happens some times and you just have to replace it. It's usually no problem UNLESS you cannot find the fuse. Ran around town to half a dozen places looking for this damn fuse. Never found a 200mA 250V fuse basically making this meter useless!

Somewhat complicated to use.
Needs accessory clamp to measure amperage, but I couldn't find out where to get it.

I purchased this multimeter after much researching and I am very happy with it. It tests all the things I need and is a good size. It is hard to tell from the picture, but it is a very manageable size and has a good easy to read display on it. I was worried it would be too small, but it is a perfect size for me and fits well in my hand.

I tested it with some known value resistors and power supplies and everything was spot on. Just turn the switch to your desired reading and the best value is displayed. You can also manually switch between them with the range button, but I prefer auto range myself.

The backlight works well, you have to hold the button for 2 seconds and then it stays on about 15 seconds. Overall this is a very good meter for the price. I am an electronics engineering student and this works perfectly for everything I need. If you are looking for a good meter in the $25 dollar range, buy this one.

I noticed that someone commented about the fuse being hard to find, but I found many places online that had a 5 pack of 200mA/250V fuses for about $2.00. I haven't needed a new fuse though and I have had mine for months.

The Mastech MS8221 digital multimeter is a good value for the money with quite a number of functions including DC and AC voltage, DC current, resistance, and diode and transistor testing. In addition it measures temperatures (to the nearest F or C degree) and, very usefully, battery life. It comes with a pair of AAA batteries which are inexpensively replaceable and it will turn off automatically if you forget.

I was excited to see this multimeter correctly measuring temperatures with the thermocouple. However, this is about all it did correctly. The backlight button didn't do anyting, the function button made it beep but nothing happened, and none of the data buttons actually did anything besides produce beeps. The only button that functioned correctly was the power button. The included component socket was poorly labeled. A description of the socket may have been in the manual, but the manual is poorly written (or translated). I will be returning this item as soon as possible.

I agree with the other positive reviews. This multimeter has a very nice feature set and seemingly good build quality -- certainly for the price. Just for fun, I compared its accuracy against my spendy Fluke ScopeMeter. On DCV they were essentially identical (+/- last digit), except on the Sinometer's handy battery test modes, which slightly load three common battery types to get a meaningful reading; there the Sinometer was about 4% high (?, but insignificant). On Ohms, the two meters were within 1% over various ranges. On ACV, the Sinometer was less than 1% high, compared to the Fluke's true-rms reading. However, I found that the 8221 measured a close-to-correct low voltage VAC reading but was about 5% high on its own mVAC range, for the same signal (? again). Only the included temp probe was a bit disappointing. I compared it to a lab standard mercury thermometer and found that at 37C the Sinometer was showing about 4 degrees low, just barely within its specs; this isn't surprising, as a type-K thermocouple puts out only a few millivolts at that temperature and Class II thermocouples vary several degrees anyhow. Although I bought it as a beater-meter, the Sinometer MS8221 has earned my respect. The only negatives are just-OK leads and no case (so I'm using a Fluke multimeter case, which costs as much as the Sinometer, because the old Fluke cost way too much to get repaired and the Sinometer has better features).

The name 'Mastech' on the meter as shown in the picture is missing. Instead of 'Mastech', 'Sinometer' is there in the equipment I received. No model number also on the meter. Instruction manual also missing the Mastech name.

plasticlizard, Please post the online instruction manual which will be useful as you said.

Excellent product. Exactly as advertized. Appears very well built. Does everything meters costing 3-4 times more do at a fraction of the price. Good buy for homeowners, hobbyists or small businesses.

This meter has a lot of features that makes it attactive as a good all purpose meter. It is easy to use; however, I found that the battery tester only works at the 9V setting regardless of which battery type you are testing. The 3V and 1.5V settings do not work.

I purcahsed this from AMAZON. Excellent service and a good price from AMAZON. The product came with all accessories. External finish is good. First thing I did was to read the manual. It was written in English. The guy who wrote must be learning english. Badly written and the functions not explained properly. First of all COM is not for negative terminal, it is for POSITIVE. If you use COM for negative then reverse the polarity when testing. I cannot tell if the instruement is giving accurate results. i compared the voltage with that shown on PANAMAX power conditioner. They both are with in 3% range. PANAMAX products are good, so i assume the reading shown by the instrument is accurate. I also tested batteries and it worked well. The RANGE button functions, as described is rather confusing. I believe the quality is OK and the company must come out with a manual written by english speaking person. i used this only for 3 weeks. Cant say about the durability