A Surprisingly Good Deal for the Price - ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter Review

First Impressions.

I stumbled upon this multimeter on a whim, and I'm glad I did, given the 240 ruble price tag. For the money, you get a decent-looking device that's perfect for the job.

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Dimensions: 12 x 6.5 x 3 cm.

It arrived in a box with the multimeter, leads, and an instruction manual (in Chinese, which I didn't bother saving):

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

The power source is a 9V battery. I tested it with both alkaline and cheap 'soda' batteries, and it works great with either. You can use the cheapest one you can find, and it'll still work fine:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

The leads are decent, and they fit snugly:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

The cables are a bit stiff, but not too bad. The probes themselves are pretty sharp:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Unfortunately, after a few uses, one of the cables snapped inside the handle:

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

One thing I noticed is that the leads don't magnetize, which is a nice touch:

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Important note: I tried using other leads with probes, but they didn't fit properly. Good, expensive leads have connectors with boots, and that didn't work as expected...

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Okay, I also had leads with crocodile clips, and they worked great:

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

First up, I tested a 2.2kΩ resistor:

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Aneng SZ308 showed a reading of 2.1kΩ:

Aneng SZ308 Digital Multimeter

I also compared it to the UNI-T UT-210E (currently priced at 3900 on Ozon, compared to the review object's price of 240 rubles - take a look at the difference, as they say): the UNI-T UT-210E showed a reading in the hundredths place, just a bit larger:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

I'm not gonna lie, the difference isn't huge (in my opinion, thousandths don't matter in amateur schematics)

Here's the voltage reading from my drill's battery:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

I'm pretty sure the thousandths were off again, but according to the 'tenths' reading - it's 1:1:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Testing accuracy with the Hoco A37C charger:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Here's the voltage reading without any load:

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

This fancy device showed almost the same thing (thousandths don't count):

ANENG SZ308 Digital Multimeter

Now let's check the current, and the difference is bigger, but if you're a perfectionist and want absolute accuracy - you'll have to pay at least 5 times as much for the device:

I was eager to check out the last mode - the frequency generator, and it showed 60Hz (using my FNIRSI DSO 152 oscilloscope):

My trusty digital multimeter, the ANENG SZ308

Time to wrap things up:

This multimeter is a total steal at its price.

The device has a ton of modes, and they all work as expected.

You can power it with any old 9V battery, even a slightly worn-out one (they're super cheap).

It's lightweight, sturdy, and compact.

There's plenty of space inside for additional accessories, like a smartphone battery and a voltage booster board (if you're into that sort of thing).

The leads with the probes are a bit of a pain to deal with (you'll probably end up throwing them away eventually), and the transistor test port is basically a placebo - there's no actual contact points inside.

Despite the downsides, I'm still really happy with this multimeter. It's won me over, and I use it almost every day (unlike the UT210, which is more accurate but less user-friendly).

Thanks for reading!

PS - I highly recommend pairing this multimeter with a semi-rigid case (it's only 120 rubles). It fits perfectly and is a great value for the price - just make sure to get it with crocodile clips or shorten the leads.