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Looking for a good multimeter — Parallax Forums

Looking for a good multimeter

benben10benben10 Posts: 9
edited 2010-07-02 04:38 in General Discussion
im looking for a decent digital multimeter. has the standard AC/DC voltage and current, and resistance etc. anyone have any recommendations? are there any companies considered name brand? what about calibration? looking to spend about $50 USD tops maybe a little more if its really worth it but definitely not over $100.

Comments

  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2010-06-28 09:11
    I've always liked the Fluke range
  • Paul Sr.Paul Sr. Posts: 435
    edited 2010-06-28 12:24
    I have always liked Fluke also, however, I had several occasions to use Extech meters and liked them very much. My last MM purchase (3-4 years ago) was one of their top of the line units and I have been extremely happy with it.

    Worth looking at!
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2010-06-28 13:59
    The Fluke 87-V·is a good true RMS recording multimeter which "does it all", but not $100...

    http://metersuperstore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=374FLUKE875TRMS
  • bambinobambino Posts: 789
    edited 2010-06-28 14:10
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=910236
    I like the one that came with this rework unit. At their website you can get just the meter if you like. It can't be beat for the price!
  • Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
    edited 2010-06-28 22:03
    If you do buy a fluke, you will never be sorry.
  • James NewmanJames Newman Posts: 133
    edited 2010-06-29 00:47
    Fluke
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-06-29 02:09
    Extech has some awesome meters .
    I love mine..


    I have had Fluke .. wavetech .. and Tripplett. I love how well my extech does the job ..


    Peter KG6LSE

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    "Carpe Ducktum" "seize the tape!!"
    peterthethinker.com/tesla/Venom/Venom.html
    Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. —Tanenbaum, Andrew S.
    LOL
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-06-29 15:34
    I wanted a Fluke costing about £80 when I needed a new DVM over 10 years ago. My local Maplin branch was out of stock so I bought their most expensive own-brand for £50 or so. I'm still using it!

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    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,260
    edited 2010-06-29 15:50
    We've had a previous thread about the cheapie $3 Centech meters from Harbor Freight. They're small, fused, cheap, and disposable, buy 'em 2 or 3 at a time. Keep one in the car, one at work, one in the house and one in the shop. Plenty accurate for 99% of apps. You can even build them into projects for cheapie V/A displays.

    I have a nice Fluke and several "Shack" benchtop meters for measuring caps, RMS, sorting transistors, etc, but I use the Centech cheapies 95% of the time.

    Like cheap sunglasses, you can't lose 'em, even if you try!

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    ·"If you build it, they will come."
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-06-29 16:22
    I have both a cheapie RadioShack portable multimeter, and a $1000 HP (now Agilent) high-precision benchtop unit. Guess which one gets used every day, while the other mostly collects dust.

    -Phil
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-06-29 16:49
    It's not worth having an expensive instrument like that unless it's regularly calibrated, which can be expensive. Where I've worked in the past every instrument had to be calibrated every 12 months, but we were developing military equipment.

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    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-06-29 17:09
    True enough, Leon. My HP meter was used for calibrating voltage-output DAC modules when it was new. But, considering the frequency and kinds of use it gets now, a recalibration is probably not worth the price.

    -Phil
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,666
    edited 2010-06-29 17:36
    On the other hand, an older high-end bench-top DVM such as the HP3478A is built of top quality components, and even left uncalibrated for years is likely to hold better calibration than the reading error of a cheap 3.5 digit meter. One can find fully functional 3478A's on Ebay for less than $100, although re-furbished/calibrated ones draw $500 up. Bench-top meters usually do not suffer the abuse that handheld meters go through, you know, dropped on the floor, kicked around in a toolkit, chewed by the dog etc. etc. There is something very satisfying about using a name-brand 5.5 or 6.5 digit meter, if only for its capability to detect small changes without moving from scale to scale, not to mention ATE and other advanced measurement capabilities.

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    Tracy Allen
    www.emesystems.com
  • SeariderSearider Posts: 290
    edited 2010-06-29 21:41
    High quality test equipment will last a long time so don't be afraid to purchase used equipment from top companies such as Fluke and HP.
    I picked up Fluke 8842A for about $75 USD on Ebay and it works like it was new.

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    Searider
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2010-06-29 21:49
    While I do have a couple of Fluke DMMs, my favorite has always been my Beckman DM27xl. If only Beckman were still around...they had the best meters.

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    Chris Savage

    Parallax Engineering
    ·
  • Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
    edited 2010-06-29 22:12
    I have a fluke 179, and I suppose there are other dmm's with these features, but they are handy.

    1. Quick acting range bar along the bottom to view fast acting signals.

    2. min max

    3. Amp and volt hz measurement
  • benben10benben10 Posts: 9
    edited 2010-06-30 22:56
    well if i can find a fluke for cheap i would get it, but im glad to here that extech is a decent brand too. they seem to have some meters in a lower price range than flluke. thanks for all the suggestions.
  • SeariderSearider Posts: 290
    edited 2010-07-02 03:30
    Today I recieved an order from www.circuitspecialists.com . One of their sales gimics is that you can get a Free Gift with orders. The gift choice is based on the size of the order. My order was over $79.95 and so I qualified for and selected a DMM. They say it has a $24.95 value so I did not expect much.
    Wow
    In addition to the normal DC, AC, Current and resistance scales it also measures
    Frequency
    Capacitance
    It has a K type thermocouple and can read it for temp
    It is a full sized hand help DMM not one that only looks big in the photos
    It has a Transistor tester in addition to the diode test
    It comes with test leads and a battery

    It agrees with my 5-1/2 digit fluke on a 5 volt signal to 1/100 of a volt
    I have not used it but to check out some of the functions but it seems solid and has done everything I would expect.
    If there is a negative it is that it is only a 3-1/2 digit meter. Still it was free.

    [noparse][[/noparse]edited to add an 's' in the link and to change 6-1/2 dmm to 5-1/2 dmm)

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    Searider

    Post Edited (Searider) : 7/2/2010 12:00:18 PM GMT
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-07-02 04:38
    Hey Searider,

    Add an "s" to your link: circuitspecialists.com.

    -Phil
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