The year is drawing to a close, which means it’s pretty much holiday season once again. But many moons ago, I recall seeing a banner on element14 Australia’s storefront which linked to a community competition titled “Ready for Tomorrow 2022”. This competition was soliciting ideas for a nautical sailing auto-pilot, so I dutifully went to the linked Australia/New Zealand entry page and threw my hat into the ring.
Little did I know, I would be just one of two entrants … which means I had a 50/50 shot of winning a prize from the pool. The judging took a bit longer than expected, so I completely forgot about it …
Then, out of nowhere, e14phil tags me in a comment to let me know of the good news. Merely days later, a Toll satchel arrives at my house – I thought it was one of my regular orders from element14 Australia but it wasn’t! Usually prizes from element14 Community are shipped from overseas via UPS – this time they used the local branch directly which was completely unexpected.
The contents were as above – a Multicomp Pro MP730026 Bluetooth Digital Multimeter (EU-UK version), an element14 “Ready for Tomorrow” 2023 desk calendar, a card and the obligatory packing slip. I definitely got some “Goods: To the Value” … definitely remember ordering that (not!)
The card was the first thing I opened … a gold-foil insert and shiny metallic accents are a luxurious touch.
An element14 “Seasons Greetings” card – and my first at that! I never knew they had such a thing.
Made from paper from sustainable PEFC-approved forests, and made right here in Australia. That is another unexpected touch.
Inside, a handwritten message, signed-off by element14. I wonder who at the office had the task of writing this … is it someone I know? Someone that I’ve met at a trade-show perhaps? Nevertheless, a nice gesture indeed.
The desk-calendar arrives in good time as well, just in time to replace the 2022 desk calendar I received at ElectroneX earlier this year.
As for the meter itself – it has a picking label of “GOODS”. I’ve never seen that before.
It must have come in from overseas, from Farnell, as it also carries the Farnell Group stocking label with a order number of 3107584. Checking today on element14 Australia’s website, it’s valued at AU$67.18 inc. GST, but is also on a promotion for AU$60.46 inc. GST.
Looking at this may give you a sense of déjà vu – I had previously won one of these back in May 2020 which was a US version shipped out from the USA. That review remains very relevant and accurate – I still have that meter and keep it floating around for “emergencies”.
Inside, everything is nicely packed, in much the same way as the last.
Perhaps the key difference is the addition of different approval logos to the unit and to the manual. Other than that, they appear visually and functionally identical. It’s a useful tool to have, and the BLE connectivity makes it more useful than most, but the use of a 9V battery is a bit of a downside from a cost perspective.
Once again, thanks to element14 for awarding me this prize. But rather than keep it for myself, I’ve decided to “pay it forward”, donating it to a friend (along with some of my other surplus test equipment from a few RoadTests and reviews) who will benefit from it more than I would. After all, I’ve got quite a few handheld DMMs that I can rely on already – from my venerable Agilent (now Keysight) U1241B that I use day-to-day, the Uni-T UT210E DC-clamp DMM, to the specialized Keysight U1461A Insulation Resistance Testing DMM and Fluke 279 FC/iFlex Thermal Imaging DMM (in addition to my bench-top DMMs).
I guess this means for the remaining winners … they’ll be getting something other than the DMM … good luck everyone!
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