XB-866 Portable Digital Multimeter(Pocket Size)

XB866 is the best budget digital multimeter ever -- I have 3 of them

I need a meter for electrical measurement outside. The meter had to be small, have a cover, be inexpensive since I might leave it out in the rain, and have probes small enough to fit inside a typical low voltage lighting fixture (to read the voltage coming into the bulb) and have an autoshut off. This unit is perfect for my specs except for a couple of minor things. To put the probes back into the case has to be just right so a kind of pain. So what I did was to make a notch in the cover and case so that I could close the top without putting the probes back in the slot. This might let in some moisure but not much. Second, this also allows the probe slot to be used for other things, like some aligator clips that could fit over the probes, etc. Second, I put a dot of white paint on rotary arrow (this is probably mandatory), a red dot on the DC voltage and a green dot on the continuity buzzer. (As an engineer, nothing is so good that it cannot be improved). Lastly and surprisingly, the unit is quite accurate. I measured the DC voltage accuracy against a lab standard and it was within .64% and against a .01% resistance standard and it was dead on, reading 100.0 Further, the continuity buzzer is faster than many more expensive multimeters, although a VOM analog meter is always the fastest since no A to D conversion is needed. Yes, you do have to open the case to repair or replace the probes but not a big deal (I could put a couple of small connectors in the slot.) As you might sense, I have had decades of experience with all kinds of meters and this one was a nice find.

I bought this for when I don’t want to get out my full size meter. Very convenient for quick projects and to carry with me.

Cheap product made of cheap plastic. Returned to Amazon for a full refund.

Great little meter. Purchased to keep with me as part of my motorcycle toolkit, and so far, works great in that role.

Does not have reverse polarity protection. Used it to identify 120v leads to smoke dampers and it shorted out the meter as u can see from the pictures. The fuse didnt protect it. Maybe i got a defective product

Very useful — checking car’s alternator and batteries

Does not work when it is cold.