I too ordered the meter via Amazon for $120. After 14 months, I noticed missing segments in the bar graph. I called them and they exchanged it no questions asked. They paid shipping both directions. I think it’s a great value compared to my Fluke 28-II. The CEM meter now lives in my RV go-bag.

When Joe Smith gets to look at your multimeter there ain't no place to hide and it better be good !!

CEM Instruments is a huge Chinese manufacturer. You will find many of their products that have been re-branded.

Thank you for the great review. I just bought a Southwire 14070t and it looks like it was built by CEM. Its a nice meter so far and this review gives me some confidence in the UL / CAT rating. I have never seen as thorough a review of a meter. Very impressed and humbled.

Thanks Joe. Good job.

The amount of effort you put into reviewing these meters is just unbelievable. FLUKE should hire you as a consultant.

Thank you, Joe. You just saved me about 150 bucks, and more. I was going to order the Extech DMM, but after watching your video, it was no-brainer to decide for the CEM DMM.

After weeks of looking for a reasonably priced feature rich hi rez meter, that one seems to fit the bill.. Just snagged the last one off amazon. I look forward to adding it to my bench. Thank you sir for your insight and thorough testing.

Joe, this stuff is just such a pleasure to watch. You have an understated tone of a gentleman who has seen some stuff, and done some stuff :) It’s like James Bond, except the fireworks are real, and what’s in your head is worth more than the sports car. Running into you on KZfaq was like an early birthday present. Do what you do, don’t mind whatever trolls (intentional or not) are seen passing, and know that what you do is highly appreciated. Great stuff, nothing more, nothing less.

I got my CEM DT9939 from Ruby Electronics for under $130 shipped. I bought it to keep in my RV, where I wanted a water proof meter. I’ve dropped it, kicked it across the ground, and other forms of inadvertent torturous handling. Still works great. A pretty good value for my usage.

Excellent review, as always! Gonna give this one a try. I really like the "Bait" mode, where you can use it for fishing! ;)

The Fluke was the standard used to test calibration on your meter.

I know this is an older video, I might have even commented before. Anyway my Extech came with a problem but I think it had been previously opened as the internal packaged items were in some cases not packaged. I got a refund, and in the meantime I saw the CEM version for much less. I went with the CEM version and it was a blue body like the unit you are displaying. The USB Wireless worked fine and it's been a great meter for 2 years now. I am careful with the knob and only turn it carefully and slowly because the internals are kinda sketchy. Same is true of the Extech though. I love the store feature, and the USB feature is great for actual scope like tracking of the chosen data. Thanks for this review all those years ago, it helped me then and I'm using it today.

wow... very honest review.. at the end Extech as brand has the same specifications as their Chinese brothers.... I'll go for the cheapest ones... thanks for the video

taking a multimeter for a dunk .. nice review as always

great job

Great review, as always. I am looking for a new meter and I was going to buy the EVV blog one, but it's sold out here in the states. I was about to buy the DT-9939 and they raised the price to $159.95 ---grrr---. still a good deal though. .

Excellent work, it makes the same sense with Vichy VC97 or VC99

This is a great test video keep up the good work. I did get lost a little bit but after watching 3 or 4 times I got the logistics of the testing. The EXTECH EX540 that you got from that supplier is a USED meter. They buy used and demo models and sell them as NEW. How are they getting away with it I DO KNOW, but they are doing it. You said yourself that it had been opened before that should have been a clear sign that your test would not be a FAR test with an already damaged meter. Think about it. To have a real test to be FAR it should be done with ALL NEW METERS, I'm just saying.

Hello Joe...I totally enjoy your "shakedown" of various Multimeters and I find your topics and videos to be extremely informative. I have purchased one of the CEM DT-9939 Meters and I am relatively happy with it. I am also thinking that I have found at least two potential "bugs" or glitches in the firmware...and I am not totally sure it is only my particular unit. First potential bug is while in the "Volts DC" setting, if you press and hold the "Store" "< Recall" button for more than about 2 seconds, the meter locks up...displays all "00000" both in the main display as well as the "Min and Max" displays...no other buttons are functional except the "Exit" button. Second potential bug...while in "Volts DC" mode, the "Peak HOLD" function does not seem to be accessible. If you get a chance to check this potential issue out, please feel free to contact me either by responding here or by email. If by email I will be happy to give you an email address for myself...👍🏼🙂

Joe, the nec plus ultra of instruments testing.

The Fluke 9100 on the cal sheet is the meter they used to do the calibration. Well, claimed to have done.

Great videos Joe, and so informative. I do have a question with regards to the cem 9939 and the Fluke 115. I did see in the 115 video that it failed out of the gate but sure came on strong at the end and finished very well. Given these two meters and knowing that the 115 has a lot of basic functions but the 9939 has many additional functions would you recommend one over the other? Are they both equally as safe to operate? They both appear to be priced about the same. Thank you so much and looking forward to more videos. Also from some of your videos it appears that you may be a ham radio operator as am I, ARS NI6J.

I love the dichotomy. He'll do all these fancy tests and check darn near everything in a methodical way. And then he'll just toss one in a river.

just picked up a extech ex540 new old stop from ebay. still covered and does appear to be new. mine is version 5 so it looks like its tha same as your original. I like the tri display for use of the min max, I find it useful. I bought it for $60 so cant go wrong :)

Hey Joe - I got a DT-9939 last week and it measures voltages a bit low from a few different references. Can I align this sucker? I will watch the video again but I can't remember if I can adjust this thing myself. Thanks!

Joe, have you investigated or tested the CEM DT-9989? It seems to be an upgrade of the 9939, even approaching Uni-T UT181A, with built-in Bluetooth, 50,000 count, and single channel oscilloscope functions. The CEM web site mentions the 9989 has Surge Protection: 8kV peak per IEC 61010. It's $399.00 "Prime" on Amazon. Also sold as the Daktakom TRUE RMS MULTIMETER& OSCILLOSCOPE model AMM-4189. Price much higher on eBay for some reason...

only on this chanel, testing meters with water current

Thanks, Joe! Could you share the design of your test box you used for the resistance/diode/capacitance tests? I would love to build one of those. Thanks for all of your videos!

Hi Joe, great review again! I'm already owning the BM869s and have a much older Metrix MX53C. I've been wondering yes or no to add another DMM to my 'collection' on the bench and was considering the BM235 which is only 90EUR here in Europe. The DT9939 is 156EUR. So for the reason of LoZ, remote sensing and costs I'm leaning towards the BM235. (although the DT9939 has remote data logging :-) What would be your advice Joe?

Seems like a pretty good meter. It's a shame about the slow continuity though.

That UT90A deserved so much better...

So which DMM do you recommend for $180 or less? (for hobby, electronics)

Where did you get the plugs for mA jack on you Brymen?

Hi Joe. In this kind of input protection using back-to-back transistor (like diode), besides the leakage current, the other importante parameter is the "Vebo" (Voltage emitter base breakdown voltage)? The NPN 2N3904 is a good choice to this use? In a different way I saw this app note showing the use of the 2N3904, but instead of back-to-back using just the base-collector junction (www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/tutorials/MT-069.pdf) Can you indicate or share some material about this kind of protection? I think a vidou about this would be awesome. Thank you.

33:05 I am not sure that it is the right bait for electric eels :-)

Joe, I truly hope you can test the CEM DT9989, also available from Ruby. It looks like a very good copy of the Fluke 289 but with built-in BlueTooth and a simple Oscilloscope function. It even has an Auto Hold feature very much like the Auto Hold on Fluke meters. The feature has some limitations, including speed of measurement and a somewhat hidden adjustment of the sensitivity. To measure 0.100 volts and 1.5 volts alternatively using the Auto Hold, the sensitivity must be set to 1%. Then it works just like the Fluke, only slightly slower. Sometimes I had to short my leads together prior to making a measurement to get the Auto Hold to recognize a new value. I find Auto Hold to be a great feature not present on my other deluxe meters including the Uni-T 181A and the Brymen 869a. This is a VERY useful feature when measuring power distribution panels, circuit boards , etc. when you can't look away for fear of shorting something. Lastly, I just checked Ruby's eBay store and the DT9939 is back to $139.00 with free shipping. It's $159.00 directly from Ruby. Go figure.... Thanks again for the awesome reviews. I still say, you're the engineer's engineer. You've reminded me about so many things I've forgotten over the years. Unfortunately so much being totally digital has spoiled our analog awareness.!

Is CEM OEM for Extech & Sonel Instruments??

UT90A in Terminator mode. :)

How does this CEM DT9939 compare to the Brymen BM789 in your opinion?

Did any of these meters pass the ice fishing test?

Hi - Sorry but I have a stupid layman question, in watching your testing videos you often make reference to "AC plus DC voltage" mode - I know the difference between the two types of voltage of course, but id like to know the meaning and use of the AC+DC testing mode. I just dont know. Thanks --

"Manufactured by Fluke" as 87VC, 287C, 289C etc.