Another fun way to spend money

Comments

• erco Posts: 20,261

  2010-04-11 04:30 edited 2010-04-11 04:30

  OBC: I have many fancy multimeters, yet I end up using this $2 HF cheapie the most. Harbor Freight tools certainly have their place for light duty, non-critical applications!
  
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• Ken Gracey Posts: 7,418

  2010-04-11 04:43 edited 2010-04-11 04:43

  OBC, in the past you have claimed technical incompetence but now you tell us you are replacing your car brakes. I think we can turn you into a robo-geek pretty easily.
  
  erco, wow, I have a tough time finding many things I'd like from Harbor Freight. The place certainly has a bunch of values but I'm really skeptical about their tools. Some of their "basic steel" products seem reasonably good, though: hitch receivers, jack stands, tow straps, etc.
  
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• Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091

  2010-04-11 13:38 edited 2010-04-11 13:38

  @Ken,
  
  Don't mistake me for a mechanic! Changing brake pads took me around 3 hours (both sides) as I bumbled
  my way into the tricks and techniques for getting it done. I was honestly using some Youtube material and
  Instructables stuff as a reference. (Don't laugh, the car stops without grinding.. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  
  I'm definitely interested in expanding my mechanical/robotics aptitude, but I'm taking baby steps. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  (Besides, it's in my blood... somewhere..)
  
  OBC
  
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• Bean Posts: 8,129

  2010-04-11 13:45 edited 2010-04-11 13:45

  I like the Harbor Freight $3 meters. They work fine, are reasonable accurate, and if I drop it, lose it, or toast it...Who cares. Throw it away and get another one.
  
  You have alot more freedom using a $3 meter, than you do a $100 meter.
  
  I usually buy 4 or 5 at a time.
  
  If I remember correctly, they even come with the 9V battery.
  
  Bean
  
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• localroger Posts: 3,452

  2010-04-11 19:26 edited 2010-04-11 19:26

  I have a Fluke 87 and at work a Fluke scopemeter, but 95% of the time It's the HF Cen-Tech meter I pull out to do quick stuff; in fact I own three of them. If I'm working in a wet or sloppy environment (which my work requires me to do pretty often) it's always the Cen-Tech. (I don't need the food plant cleanup crew hosing me down while I'm using my Fluke.) Every once in awhile I really need something the Fluke can do, such as measuring capacitance or beeping when it detects zero ohms, or the higher display rate. And then I'm glad I found the Fluke in a pawn shop
  
  HF tools are great if you use them like a hobbyist. Most of them don't hold up very well for constant professional use, but if you only use your battery drill on weekends the HF unit works fine. It won't hold up as well as a Makita but since it cost $30 instead of $300 when you do burn it out you can just return to HF and buy another one. Their little $20 4.5-inch side grinder is fabulous, and they are the only place you should even consider buying an air compressor that you only need to use occasionally.
  
  I've found, ironically, that their power tools and electronics tend to be better deals than their hand tools, which tend to be poorly hardened, sloppy, break easily, and wear out very fast. Their measuring devices such as mechanical calipers and dial gauges are fine. I haven't used them much but I also know people who swear by their hydraulic tools.
  
  And this reminds me, I need to pass by HF sometime and get a new 18V drill. I finally destroyed my old one by dropping it in a puddle of water, and as a result last weekend I had to run an extension cord out to the back yard.
• erco Posts: 20,261

  2010-04-11 20:25 edited 2010-04-11 20:25

  We're all on the same page. We all own multiple disposable $3 meters (work, home, car, dirty tool box) and those $15 HF cordless drills that are just good enough to get the job done!
  
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• Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514

  2010-04-11 22:14 edited 2010-04-11 22:14

  I'm glad I don't live anywhere near a Harbor Freight outlet. I'd be broke!
  
  -Phil
• Microcontrolled Posts: 2,461

  2010-04-11 22:27 edited 2010-04-11 22:27

  I have one of those $3 multimeters. I've fried it twice, and I mean fire and smoke, and have always managed to repair it. Nice little thing.
  
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• WBA Consulting Posts: 2,938

  2010-04-12 06:05 edited 2010-04-12 06:05

  PhiPi, start saving now for UPEW......
  
  Harbor Freight is 3.1 miles from Parallax (10min)
  
  while on the subject......
  Fry's is 4.7 miles (~10min)
  HFE, an electronics surplus/consignment store (used to be HSC), 16 miles, (20 min, mostly freeway)
  
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• Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091

  2010-04-12 13:11 edited 2010-04-12 13:11

  WBA Consulting said...
  PhiPi, start saving now for UPEW......
  
  Harbor Freight is 3.1 miles from Parallax (10min)
  
  while on the subject......
  Fry's is 4.7 miles (~10min)
  HFE, an electronics surplus/consignment store (used to be HSC), 16 miles, (20 min, mostly freeway)

  
  
  Ken was kind enough to make a couple trips to Fry's while we were there last time!
  
  HFE?? Do tell! details? [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  
  OBC
  
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• Shawn Lowe Posts: 635

  2010-04-12 13:30 edited 2010-04-12 13:30

  localroger said...
  ·If I'm working in a wet or sloppy environment (which my work requires me to do pretty often) it's always the Cen-Tech. (I don't need the food plant cleanup crew hosing me down while I'm using my Fluke.)

  localroger:
  If you don't mind me asking what is your job? I only ask because my last job was as a field service technician for a company that installs equipment in bakery plants. Precision Automated Technology. So I know what its like having cleanup crews hosing stuff down around tools, laptops,etc. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
  
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• erco Posts: 20,261

  2010-04-12 14:27 edited 2010-04-12 14:27

  At $3 , you can hack those Cen-Tech meters and build them into projects. $6 gets you voltage & current displays on a power supply. Beat that anywhere else.
  
  I can't vouch for those built-in transistor testers, mind you...
  
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• HollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398

  2010-04-12 18:22 edited 2010-04-12 18:22

  I love those stores!
  
  I got a miniature lathe there...had to leave it behind when I moved.
  No way to take such a thing on the plane. I never even got around to
  playing with it :-(
  
  I also got a meter that you clamp onto a wire and without any direct
  connection to the conductor it tells you how many amps are flowing
  through it...$10.00
  
  @erco
  I tried using one of those really cheap yellow multimeters in a project and discovered
  they must have a totally separate pwr supply to work. They can't be powered
  by the system you are trying to test. I have some panel meters I bought on ebay
  that do work even when powered by the same circuit.
• HollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398

  2010-04-12 18:35 edited 2010-04-12 18:35

  This is the model of meter I prefer from HF. They have a switchable backlight.
  
• Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091

  2010-04-12 18:49 edited 2010-04-12 18:49

  The only disappointment with my meter deal was that is doesn't beep on continuity testing.
  Otherwise, an excellent bargain!
  
  OBC
  
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• localroger Posts: 3,452

  2010-04-12 22:55 edited 2010-04-12 22:55

  Shawn -- I work for an industrial scale company. We do all sort of live tie-ins to plant equipment in all sorts of industries, and I'm one of the few people who can actually write software in my industry in the whole country who regularly does field installation and service.
  
  Holly -- I have one of those lathes too! There is a website about them that has all kinds of cool projects for fixing them up. I've used it quite a bit but you really need about $150 of tools and accessories (mostly also from HF LOL) to do anything useful.
• WBA Consulting Posts: 2,938

  2010-04-13 00:03 edited 2010-04-13 00:03

  OBC: HFE used to be the HSC store in Sacramento, but when HSC decided to close it late 2007, some people in the area (I believe die-hard shoppers and employees) decided to purchase the store to carry it on as HFE Electronics. It is about 3000 sq feet of jam packed surplus material and new components of every sort (and at excellent prices). I usually spend an hour there when I "run in to grab something quick". My wife calls it the nerdy thrift store. They are now open 9-5 on Saturday, so it may be easier for out-of-towners to swing by during UPEW. I would recommend putting a note about them on the UPEW page.
  
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• Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514

  2010-04-13 00:30 edited 2010-04-13 00:30

  localroger said...
  ...but you really need about $150 of tools and accessories (mostly also from HF LOL) to do anything useful.

  I discovered that same thing when I got my mill. The mill itself was just the tip of the iceberg!
  
  
  
  -Phil
  
  _

  

  

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• Microcontrolled Posts: 2,461

  2010-04-13 01:42 edited 2010-04-13 01:42

  @PhilPilgrim: LOL!
  @OBC: Come on! Your a hacker, remember? SURELY you can find a way to make that cheap-o meter beep on continuity!!
  
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• Alan Bradford Posts: 172

  2010-04-13 12:12 edited 2010-04-13 12:12

  Hi,
  
  I like HF a lot also, and Im 'Lucky' there is not one anywhere near me.
  My favorite HF tool is the tennis balls mounted on top of a extendable antenna with a magnet on the bottom.
  A pair of them stuck to your hitch and·trailer makes it easy to line up your vehicle with no outside assistance.
  
  On the other hand a word of caution on the 4$ volt meters.
  I used one for a long time and for 12-24 volt stuff they are great.
  On 120 VAC (and higher) I do not trust them when they say no voltage is present.
  I had one say the AC juice was off, and grabbed onto the hot wire and got blasted good.
  I gave/threw away all my $4 meters.
  It wasnt the first, (or last) time I got bit, but it was so·totally unexpected as I thought the circuit was off.
  
  I have several Fluke 87 V's and a ScopeMeter for the accurate stuff, but I use the $100 Fluke 117 for 90% my meter activities.
  
  They are small, rugged, can take more abuse than a $4 meter, and have a lifetime warranty from Fluke.
  You wil not burn one out anywhere as easily as the HF units, and if you do they will fix it. I have used the warranty 2 times in the past 30 years.
  (No I do not own Fluke or sell their stuff, just a satisfied customer)
  
  So Im not saying dont use HF Meters, just dont trust your life to them.
  
  
  
  
  
  
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• icepuck Posts: 466

  2010-04-13 14:36 edited 2010-04-13 14:36

  The good thing about cheap HF tools was if I needed to bend or cutup a tool to save $500 on a specialized tool just to use it once. I would never dare do that to my snapon tools.
  When I was a road tech it seemed that I always got stuck with going to the hog and chicken rendering plants in the spring, I'd take my HF tools that way if I dropped tools in chicken or pig guts I wouldn't bother with picking it up.
  The smell of rotting flesh in the spring is something I'll never forget.
  -dan
  
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