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recommendation for a good, affordable multimeter? — Parallax Forums

recommendation for a good, affordable multimeter?

WhelzornWhelzorn Posts: 256
edited 2011-07-15 14:30 in General Discussion
I have a few multimeters around my house, but they are mostly fairly cheap/inaccurate, not the greatest things I've ever used. Sooo, I was wondering if anyone could give me a recommendation? I am willing to spend probably anywhere from $40-90, a bit over/under would be fine, I would just like to know what people have had the best luck with, one thats accurate, and has lasted? My friends have had them burn out, die, whatever. Thank you in advance!
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Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-08-16 02:32
    Whelzorn said...
    I have a few multimeters around my house, but they are mostly fairly cheap/inaccurate, not the greatest things I've ever used. Sooo, I was wondering if anyone could give me a recommendation? I am willing to spend probably anywhere from $40-90, a bit over/under would be fine, I would just like to know what people have had the best luck with, one thats accurate, and has lasted? My friends have had them burn out, die, whatever. Thank you in advance!
    Unfortunately, the best DMM I ever owned isn't made anymore...I've been babying my Beckman DM27XL for almost 10 years since the company was bought out.· They made the best meters...Now I guess you've got Fluke and BK Precision.


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    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
  • Russ MillerRuss Miller Posts: 25
    edited 2004-08-17 18:44
    For reliability you can't go wrong with Fluke. They work well as meters of course but the mechanical design is extremely rugged. I have 3 handheld Fluke DMMs:

    An 8060A that I got used 18 years ago. This is a nice 4.5 digit true rms meter. I've mostly used it on the bench because it's a little larger, more valuable and less rugged than the newer meters (below). I've never had a problem with mine but these older Flukes had a lot of slide switches and a slide power switch which could be a problem. The cheapo wired battery clip on mine has been an irritating but easy to fix problem. Both of the newer meters have auto-off funtions and very rugged internal battery arrangements.

    Fluke model 12 carried in my toolbag for almost 10 years - It survived _many_ drops on concrete and continues to function. It has a very useful feature for troubleshooting electrical systems called vcheck that switches from continuity to voltage measurement whenever it detects AC or DC voltage >4.5 volts. Doesn't measure current though.

    Currently my favorite meter is a Fluke 111. A little over the price range you mentioned ($139 list) but a high quality peice of test gear that should last a couple decades.
  • WhelzornWhelzorn Posts: 256
    edited 2004-08-18 00:56
    Ok thank you both, I will probably be looking into a fluke, for I have heard SO many good things about them. Thank you again.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2004-08-18 09:19
    Fluke is great for ruggedness, put pricey.

    I have had my eye on a '5-in-1' DMM sold byCircuit Specialist (advertised in Nuts and Volts) because it included a Light sensor, Sound sensor, Humidity sensor, and apparently a 'primative scope' function. ALL for $49.00 US.

    It seems to offer some goodies that will help you program and compare your sensors with an outside reading.

    Does anyone have one?

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    G. Herzog in Taiwan
  • AlWilliamsAWCAlWilliamsAWC Posts: 135
    edited 2004-08-18 12:53
    http://www.wd5gnr.com/meter.htm

    Not a Fluke, but you could buy 5 of them for the price of a Fluke. I am sure they still make these, but I haven't bought one lately. The cheap meters at http://www.web-tronics.com are OK but the probes are usually junk - you will want to replace them (at least, the ones I have gotten from them as freebies).

    Al Williams
    AWC
    Easy RS232 Prototyping
    http://www.awce.com/rs1.htm
    ·
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2004-08-18 16:21
    I cannot find good probes in Kaohsiung - just aligator clips.

    It is really important to have the kind that can grab and hold on to one IC pin for the kind of stuff you do with the microcontrollers and breadboarding.

    I have a list of growing items for Digikey as they seem to have nearly everything under one roof.

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    G. Herzog in Taiwan
  • nick bernardnick bernard Posts: 329
    edited 2004-08-28 04:58
    i have a fluke81438 for $100 at sears
    it has vdc, vac, Adc, Aac, diode check, ohms, hz, capacitance and continuity

    the fluke 110 series has simular characteristics but cost $20-50 more
    the next models with simular features price at ab $350

    just be choosey and make sure you get the features need regardless of the brand

    rox on
    nick B
  • t_j_walkert_j_walker Posts: 7
    edited 2004-09-02 13:48
    Whelzorn said...
    I have a few multimeters around my house, but they are mostly fairly cheap/inaccurate, not the greatest things I've ever used. Sooo, I was wondering if anyone could give me a recommendation? I am willing to spend probably anywhere from $40-90, a bit over/under would be fine, I would just like to know what people have had the best luck with, one thats accurate, and has lasted? My friends have had them burn out, die, whatever. Thank you in advance!
    roll.gif
    I recently purchased a DMM from·Radio Shack for ~$60.· It even has a serial port to plug in to your computer and it will read thermocouples.· I found out this past weekend that they are made by Fluke.

    Tim
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2004-09-02 15:34
    Yeah, almost everything Radio Shack sells with their name on it is made by someone else.· A long time ago they were one of my favorite places...But not the Slogan should be, "Radio Shack, you've got questions, we've got blank stares!"· The staff is usually not qualified to answer technical questions, and I've seen some BS their way through them, possibily costing people money they don't need to spend.· Same with Staples...


    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    Chris Savage

    Knight Designs
    324 West Main Street
    P.O. Box 97
    Montour Falls, NY 14865
    (607) 535-6777

    Business Page:·· http://www.knightdesigns.com
    Personal Page:··· http://www.lightlink.com/dream/chris
    ·
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-14 10:19
    I have that same problem with Radio Shack. I asked them if they had a RFID sensor from Parallax and the gave me the look "What the ** is that".
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2011-07-14 12:44
    At home, I only trust my Fluke 87, even though I have two other cheapy meters that get used for basic things like checking a car battery. At work, we have mostly Fluke, but we do have a few of these cheapy Cen-Tech meters that we use as reference only testers for cable assembly (use them as continuity testers basically). However, when I checked them for use with other measurements, they are surprisingly accurate when compared to a calibrated meter. As someone else mentioned, the probes are really crappy with cheap meters, so if you do buy a cheap one, get some decent probes.

    If you can go with Fluke, I would recommend the Fluke 113 ($120 at Lowes) or the Fluke 114 ($135 at Sears). You will not be disappointed.
  • Spiral_72Spiral_72 Posts: 791
    edited 2011-07-14 12:50
    piguy101 wrote: »
    I have that same problem with Radio Shack. I asked them if they had a RFID sensor from Parallax and the gave me the look "What the ** is that".

    I have a related story.... When Radio Smile had the RFID readers on clearance, we searched far and wide to find some for $8 a pop. Most said, "What's that?" but ONE! HAHAH! "Um, hello, Radio Smile, do you have an RFID reader part #12345"........ Salesman: "How do you spell that?"
  • piguy101piguy101 Posts: 248
    edited 2011-07-14 13:11
    @Spiral
    I pretty much gave up my search for the RFID sensor yesterday, even though it was only $8.47 because no employee had any idea what I was talking about.
  • tonyp12tonyp12 Posts: 1,951
    edited 2011-07-14 19:24
    $30 looks like a great deal, check store availability before heading out.
    Edit: not many zipcodes have it, 90210 did.

    http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3623264
    pRS1C-6099079w345.jpg
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-07-15 05:17
    tonyp12 wrote: »
    $30 looks like a great deal, check store availability before heading out.
    Edit: not many zipcodes have it, 90210 did.

    http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3623264
    pRS1C-6099079w345.jpg

    That looks like a good deal. Some of the budget Extech meters are pretty highly regarded. None available in my area.

    I use a Meterman 37XR (now Amprobe) and Amprobe 35XP (was a Meterman model before Amprobe bought them).

    Edit: It looks like the same Extech kit is available on Amazon for $30.08. It is not sold by Amazon, but it is shipped by them.
    http://www.amazon.com/EXTECH-Extech-Electrical-Test-Kit/dp/B002IFLCVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310732315&sr=8-1
  • Spiral_72Spiral_72 Posts: 791
    edited 2011-07-15 06:01
    piguy101 wrote: »
    @Spiral
    I pretty much gave up my search for the RFID sensor yesterday, even though it was only $8.47 because no employee had any idea what I was talking about.

    See if the item number is still on their website. I don't remember which number they go by in the store, but just say "Yes sir, I'm wondering if you have item #12345 in stock at your store" It simplifies the arguing and explaining. If you need a link, there was a discussion here in the forums with the link. I bought all I could find in my area (TWO!)
  • Erik FriesenErik Friesen Posts: 1,071
    edited 2011-07-15 10:30
    ebay fluke 179. There are quite a few, some as low as $125. Its out of your price wants, but if you buy you will wonder how you did without.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2011-07-15 10:38
    There are a number of videos at the EEvblog worth watching if you are looking to buy a new multimeter. #91 and #99 are multimeter "Shootouts", #75 is a buying guide, and many other episodes deal specifically with multimeters. #169, "How to Set Up an Electronics Lab" is well worth watching for anyone interested in doing electronics.

    http://www.eevblog.com/episodes/

    #66 is fun to watch as Dave tries to destroy a Fluke 28-II
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2011-07-15 14:30
    I have a ~$40 Extech multimeter that I like. I looked, but couldn't find a part number. I personally like multimeters with autoranging.
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