DIY dt 838 multimeter repair

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of a dt 838 multimeter from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Repair of the S-Line DT-838 multimeter

I checked the transistors with a tester and they turned out to be all defective, I almost threw them out. And it turned out that the multimeter turned off. (ha ha)

And so the multimeter was buggy but measured the resistances and squeaked on the call. The voltage showed normal.

I didn’t find such a scheme, I found this one:

Having disassembled it on the board, I noticed that R3 (the marking on the board, the diagram is different) there is a small dot (152 is written on the resistor) 1.5 kOhm, having measured it with another multimeter (it is generally buggy, but you can navigate) showed more than 2 kOhm.

Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair

Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair

After the replacement, everything worked. I took the resistor from the old motherboard of the computer, soldered it off and soldered it with a hairdryer to a homemade soldering station.

please tell me the value of the resistor R16
very necessary or a scheme if there is
thanks in advance!

I have 561 written on resistor R16, this is 560 Ohm.

Here is a photo that is really hard to see

The same ((
Where is this cut on the mother? did not see ((tell me, or what to replace (where to drop out)?

Found ... soldered ... did not work ((
more precisely, it is still buggy.

Repairing the dead is good. What about eliminating factory (Chinese) defects? Now DT-838 is being sold (allegedly) from different brands (Ermak, Resanta, TEK), but with the same defect that appears ONLY when measuring temperature. Temperatures above 100-150 C are overestimated, and the higher they are, the more they are overestimated (see graph).

Heating a thermocouple from the multimeter kit in a lighter flame can easily get 1999 C and even overload. In reality, it is quite difficult to get even 1000 C on a lighter, and at 1500 C the thermocouple conductors should have already melted.

Video (click to play).

The point, of course, is not in the thermocouple, but in the multimeters themselves: with the next Chinese "optimization" an error crept in, which has been successfully replicated ever since. Reviews mentioning the defect by Russian sellers are simply not published (I did not check all of them - one was enough)

I just found an error (in the PCB layout) (with a sweat). It is not difficult to fix it. The temperature becomes correct, but the correction has no effect on other modes. I will probably post this somewhere more appropriate.

Repairing the dead is good. What about eliminating factory (Chinese) defects? Now DT-838 is being sold (allegedly) from different brands (Ermak, Resanta, TEK), but with the same defect that appears ONLY when measuring temperature. Temperatures above 100-150 C are overestimated, and the higher they are, the more they are overestimated (see graph).

Heating a thermocouple from the multimeter kit in a lighter flame can easily get 1999 C and even overload. In reality, it is quite difficult to get even 1000 C on a lighter, and at 1500 C the thermocouple conductors should have already melted.

The point, of course, is not in the thermocouple, but in the multimeters themselves: with the next Chinese "optimization" an error crept in, which has been successfully replicated ever since. Reviews mentioning the defect by Russian sellers are simply not published (I did not check all of them - one was enough)

I just found an error (in the PCB layout) (with a sweat) and fixed it. It is not difficult to fix it. The temperature becomes correct, but the correction has no effect on other modes. I will probably post this somewhere more appropriate.

I took this DT-838 multimeter on the market as not working at a ridiculous price. He had a practically new case, which I wanted to put on my battered, cracked and burnt soldering iron, but a working multimeter DT-830. According to the seller, the multimeter was defective.

And of course, first I decided to try to repair the purchased multimeter.After inserting the battery and turning on the multimeter, I saw that it turned on and numbers appeared on the screen, but the multimeter did not want to react to any measurements.

There were traces of soldering on the board - apparently they tried to repair the multimeter unsuccessfully. Inspection of the board with a magnifying glass gave its result - near the middle socket for the probe there was a crack on the board and the track leading from the probe was broken. Apparently, during the previous repairs, they did not see this and limited themselves to simple soldering of the contacts for the probes.

I cleaned the track of varnish and soldered, at the same time and re-soldered the connectors for the probes, assembled, turned on - a cursory check showed that the main functions are working properly.

The process of repairing the DT-838 multimeter in the photo below (you can click to enlarge)

Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair

Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repair

That's how I ended up with a practically new multimeter and almost free. And all due to the fact that the developers of this multimeter did not provide a stop for this part of the board, so when the probes are connected, the board bends, which led to a crack. Well, and also because of an inattentive previous repair.

Perhaps the most common and inexpensive digital multimeter. Disadvantages - a large error, especially in the cold, poor protection, marriage. The series of digital multimeters DT (M) -830-838 is basically similar in construction, but there is a difference in designations, ratings and circuits.

The bit point flashes, shows any nonsense.
The reason is poor contact in the measurement switch. Dismantle the device and check whether the ball is in place in the switch, stretch the spring slightly pressing this ball for better switching. Wipe the switch contacts with alcohol. Replace battery.

The readings jump when measuring resistances, the other modes work - the resistor R18 (900 Ohm) is faulty or the transistor Q1 (9014) is faulty.

Incorrect readings during measurement - open circuit R33 (900 ohm)

The readings jump when measuring the current strength - resistors R0, R1.

It is quite within the power of every user who is well acquainted with the basics of electronics and electrical engineering to independently organize and repair the multimeter. But before embarking on such a repair, you must try to figure out the nature of the damage that has occurred.

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It is most convenient to check the serviceability of the device at the initial stage of repair by inspecting its electronic circuit. For this case, the following troubleshooting rules have been developed:

  • Image - DIY dt 838 multimeter repairit is necessary to carefully examine the printed circuit board of the multimeter, on which there may be clearly distinguishable factory defects and errors;
  • special attention should be paid to the presence of unwanted shorts and poor-quality soldering, as well as defects on the terminals at the edges of the board (in the area of ​​the display connection). For repairs, you will have to use soldering;
  • factory errors most often manifest themselves in the fact that the multimeter does not show what it should according to the instructions, and therefore its display is examined first of all.

If the multimeter gives incorrect readings in all modes and IC1 heats up, then you need to inspect the connectors to check the transistors. If the long leads are closed, then the repair will consist only in opening them.

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