Why I like The Brymen BM257s Multi Meter (Features/Review)

The multimeter was purchased with my own $$$'s and I'm not being paid by anyone for this review. It's a darn good DMM for the price and I'm happy to recommend it :)

Intro music:

- Schematix -

[brianthompson]

Based on Joe Smith's testing of various Brymens (and others) and your review, I decided to order a BM257s (which is a step up over the BM235) because it has a scale display and it has separate AC/DC voltage selections. I got it for US $124 shipped from a distributor called TME. This is about $40 cheaper than the same thing in Greenlee clothing, the DM510a.
I'm very happy with my BM257s. Great meter, love the higher quality leads, its speed, accuracy and build quality. The Crest feature is useful and I liked your demonstration.
Thanks for your review!

[WookieeRage]

Just ordered a BM257s and looking forward to putting it to use! Thank you for the review.

[yambo]

You made an EXCELLENT choice there, Brymen is one of THE best on the market and worth every penney. I have a Greenlee which is the US version of Brymen most often found, but its made same as the Brymen and I agree it feels like a brick in your hand because the build quality is so solid. Its got very good input protection, overall I think these are one of the best bangs for the buck in a high quality multimeter. By the way, theres no such word as "orien-tated", correct use of the word would be "oriented" - I hear this word misused like this all the time and no idea where this variant came from----sorry I know im nitpicking.

[kcuhc]

There are so many good quality, accurate, safe, inexpensive multimeters on the market these days, you should have more than one. As I often tell my wife each time a new parcel arrives.

[jackjohnson]

Many thanks for this review. Particularly appreciate your explanation of Brymen's ' Crest ' feature. This would be a good candidate for automotive use?

[KrotowX]

For my DIY tasks required a good replacement for my current half-smashed cheapo multimeter. Ordered BM257s a hour ago, then found this review. Thanks for good demonstration. Didn't noticed that BM257s have NCV (electric field) detection feature too - that is awesome. Crest seems useful for me too for control impulse presence check.
I'm curious how long it will work from those two AAA batteries. Usually multimeters use 9V batteries.

[arturwiebe]

No silicon leads? Mine had those included.

[Halakah]

Any down side to getting the rebadged Greenlee DM-510A instead? Toolup in Vegas has them for $150 shipped...

[tghoffmann]

Thanks for your review of the Brymen 257.  You guided my decision and I love the meter.  It shows quality engineering to get a CATIV rating into such a small and affordable package.  And I LOVE the NV ram settings that you led me to.  Great little meter.  Thank you for your work and time.Both you and Dave mention the "Crest" button, but don't seem to accord it much value.  The 5 mSec response lets you "look inside" a 60 Hz wavetrain.  It presents you with two (2) tools that might lead to a figure-of-merrit calculation for noise on the signal:  Crest Ratio (Cmax/RMSmax) and Crest Difference (Cmax-Cmin).  This certainly can't replace a scope but it MAY tell you when you need to drag one out.I haven't got the equipment or the smarts to pursue this idea.  I know just enough about this stuff to be CONSISTANTLY WRONG but I'd love to see a discussion about it.Regards,
Tom Hoffmann

[sasha.djordjevic]

Thank you...Just ordered one from welectron 257s edition + for 96€, - free shipping worldwide.

[frk]

I think that REC and CREST are not the same. REC is supposed to show TrueRMS min/max while CREST will show min/max of actual absolute values peaks. For example, for 220V AC CREST should show something like +310/-310. Did you compare these modes on AC?

[jp-umfr]

It's quite surprising how accurate even the cheapest meters are these days. I have a Fluke but I only use it for checking the cheaper Chinese ones I have. The Fluke was a present and I'm afraid to use it almost. They are a bit expensive. That one you got looks very good.

[JoseTorres-ccxf]

this multimeter is obtained with the green lee brand the DM860A, but the DM830A is the same as the fluke 87 v with a little more functions these green lee multimeter are excellent nothing to compare to fluke

[cameradoctor]

I've got the Dave Jones ( EEVBlog ) branded one, which is a Brymen BM235, I assume an earlier version of this one ?

[merlingallagher]

Brymens basically are no brainers. They are very well priced, really sturdy and top quality. The price quality ratio is very nice. If you only work with low voltages you could go for one of these AN8008 or similar high count cheap Chinese meters.

[KarlAlfredRoemer]

I recently bought a Brymen BM257S here in Germany. It's nice but there ist something, that i don't understand: If i use the temperature-sensor the room-temperature is approximately correct. But if i put it into the frige, it shows 38°C and in my oral cavity, it shows 8°C. It seems, that the BM257S measures 'the wrong direction'. Not important but i hope the other functions are more accurate.

[KeepOnTesting]

Good job...!! and yes...you were way to cool!! 😁👍

[kaybhee]

is mv ac truly ac , , or ac plus dc, , , like fluke

[redkurn]

looking a lot like a klein mm700 clone lol, got my mm700 today and it's fantastic!

[doogsm]

If you are in the market for a meter check out Joe Smiths channel. By far the most comprehensive analysis of meters.