DMM GIVEAWAY CONTEST FOR BEGINNERS

[iamdarkyoshi]

my best DMM is a 5$ cheapo

Mine is a DT830, one of those free-to-$5 clones.

Mine is a lower end version of this: http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v1/32225401281_1/Digital-multimeter-font-b-DMM-b-font-font-b-electronic-b-font-universal-meter-DVC-ACV.jpg
No backlighting or transistor testor. Also no fuses.
My other one is one of these: http://www.triplesmileplus.com/Shop/images/_Electronics/RadioShack_22-179_Pocket_Digital_Multimeter.JPG
Used to work great but has fallen way out of spec. its my only autoranging meter, and the upper ranges are too low. sweeping 0-3.5 volts reads 0-3.35, and then it ranges higher and reads 3.1. Derp. Fantastic beeper though.

[rexxar]

I'm a beginner, but I don't need another DMM, just want to say thanks to xrunner for doing this! 

[xrunner]

Bump ...

Do we really have only 3 beginners that need a DMM? If so I think they can just claim their dog ate their DMM and we can be done. 

[edy]

Kudos to the OP... nice of them for doing the contest. I have a few DMM's but not bench top or "precision", just the $10-20 ones that look like Fluke knock-offs.

I have some suggestions to get the beginners thinking. Ask how does an old analog meter actually work to check voltage, resistance and amperage. What simple circuits are actually in place to convert each type of measurement into a needle deflection.

The other question is how does a bench DMM differ from a handheld one and why use one or another? And what is a common way to blow the fuse on a DMM that is often a trap for beginners (I fall into that category).

I'm curious as well to see the answers. I'm a beginner hobbyist but I think others would appreciate it more so I don't want to enter (I do have a US shipping address as my parents live in Jersey). Good luck to everyone and great on the OP for doing this!

[Fred27]

Your post has added nothing but a bit of negativity to this thread... Good job, xrunner... we could use more folks like you around here

I also think xrunner's doing an excellent job. Not just with the giveaway but also checking who actually would make use of a meter.

...and fewer cynical curmudgeons.

You're absolutely spot on. 

[iamdarkyoshi]

Like others have said, the OP is doing something awesome here. I hope whoever this meter goes to enjoys it. I know I would.

[zerorisers]

I am a begginer who has been looking for test equipment to be able to use. I am a hands on learner and I am currently in high school. I can send either a text or a pm of my workspace as I am on my phone for this. I do not have a laptop that currently works. My mother had an old Windows 7 laptop that no longer works and I have a few ideas of what may be wrong but other than that I can't get any precise tests on it to see what's wrong.this benchtop multimeter would be very useful for me. And to prove I am a higschool student I can send pictures of my world geography homework or even my schools noodle page Where it shows what classes I am enrolled in.

[radix]

Sorry to go all off topic on you...
I'm a bit confused; isn't the Fluke 27 actually better than the Tek? The Tek is just a multimeter built around the ICL7107. It isn't even true RMS. Neither is the Fluke, but it has 3200 counts. A handheld multimeter also seems infinitely more convenient than a big box connected to the mains...

[xrunner]

Sorry to go all off topic on you...
I'm a bit confused; isn't the Fluke 27 actually better than the Tek? The Tek is just a multimeter built around the ICL7107. It isn't even true RMS. Neither is the Fluke, but it has 3200 counts. A handheld multimeter also seems infinitely more convenient than a big box connected to the mains...

Well start your own contest and do it the way you want. 

[MattHollands]

I would like to enter please Will update soon!...

[Edit] I'm in the UK, do you have any idea how much postage would cost, and could I enter if I were willing to pay [/Edit]

[xrunner]

So we have four so far -


jobog
TrunKate
zerorisers
DudeGibbs
MattHollands No interantional shipping 


So far only zerorisers has attempted an explanation of why he needs one under the rules.
P.S.: Shock was going to speak for another person, but we decided to work on a solution for that other behind the scenes. Remain calm - it doesn't involve any of these prizes. 

[jobog]

Okay, I'm going to plead my case here and hope for the best.  I can't say the dog ate my meter because I don't have a dog.

I think I know how an analog volt-ohmeter works.  The meter has a very high resistance coil rotating between the poles of a magnet.  Various other resistors are switched in series with the meter winding to change the voltage range and this combined resistance is placed in parallel across a load.  The meter movement acts as an electromagnet and rotates against the pull of a spring based on the current flowing in the coil.  For resistance the meter has a battery which puts a current across the resistance being measured and the meter responds to the voltage drop across the unknown resistance.

I have been interested in Electronics since a young age and built my first Knight kit, a volt-ohmeter, back in about 1963.  You can see this meter on the shelf in my work place photo behind the lamp.  After high school life happened and college, 2 kids, and 7 years in the Air Force took up pretty much all my time.  In 1975 I did a correspondence course in Electronics from NRI and built an analog meter that has since bit the dust and an analog oscilloscope that I still have and it still works.  I tried to devote as much time as I could to keeping up with the changes in Electronics over the years but with a family and working full time I've pretty much forgotten everything I once knew.  Now that I am retired and turned 70 I am trying to relearn the basics and get into the digital world.  I have enrolled in an Electronics course at our local Community College and I'm sure the DMM would be very useful while taking this course.  I do have an old Ideal meter and a hand held Radio Shack meter that I purchased a couple weeks ago at a very good price since our local store is one that is closing.  I also recently purchased a Siglent SDS1052DL scope and was very lucky in winning their review giveaway and took the SDG1025 Function Generator.  I also recently bought a Yihu YH305D DC power supply off of Ebay.

While I'm certainly no beginner in terms of age I feel like an infant when looking at our digital world and the rapid advances being made.  I never progressed beyond some basic transistor knowledge so I'm looking forward to relearning the basics and then into ICs and the like.

Joe

[xrunner]

OK jobog, looks like you're doing pretty good with equipment but we'll see. Contest ends tomorrow, Mar 25 at 1700 UTC.

[DudeGibbs]

I would like to apply for this meter

[xrunner]

I would like to apply for this meter

OK, go to the first post & read the rules.

[xrunner]

[Edit] I'm in the UK, do you have any idea how much postage would cost, and could I enter if I were willing to pay [/Edit]

^^^ I just saw your edit. Matt -  I appreciate your interest but I don't want anyone to pay for the meter or shipping. If you have the money to pay for international shipping you really don't need it as much as some other people might. I'd just go on Ebay and find one. But thanks for your interest! 

[DudeGibbs]

I would like to apply for this meter

I posted a question about the readings I was getting from my DC powersupply project; With the DMM in the attached picture. With a 64 volt dc output i was also reading 140vac when i switched to ac mode. I wondered what was happening and asked here.  A gentleman from Lithuania told me it was my meter giving the false reading. I checked later today and he was correct. I get an ac reading from a 12volt battery(please see attached image).

post here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/ac-readings-on-dc-supply/

The next post i viewed was this one. A perfect opportunity to receive a proper meter. Im going to spend more time with electronics to avoid destructive habits and I believe in being in the right place at the right time(if it suits the universe).

Thanks for reading. O0

[xrunner]

^^^    DudeGibbs noted. I will be considering your entry. 

[zerorisers]

As I will be at school the time this contest is over would you be able to text me the results? I can send my number via pm.

[miguelvp]

I posted a question about the readings I was getting from my DC powersupply project; With the DMM in the attached picture. With a 64 volt dc output i was also reading 140vac when i switched to ac mode. I wondered what was happening and asked here.  A gentleman from Lithuania told me it was my meter giving the false reading. I checked later today and he was correct. I get an ac reading from a 12volt battery(please see attached image).

You should stick to DC readings if measuring DC, but I feel your pain, I endured my GB GDT-200A for more than I could stand it, but now I have something better even if everyone says it's a danger with probes

Btw, keep the GB for when in doubt as a sacrificial tester, that's what I do.

Edit: also it looks like you left your meter in subzero temperature by looking at the strange LCD pattern that shows in yours.

[iamdarkyoshi]

I would like to apply for this meter

I posted a question about the readings I was getting from my DC powersupply project; With the DMM in the attached picture. With a 64 volt dc output i was also reading 140vac when i switched to ac mode. I wondered what was happening and asked here.  A gentleman from Lithuania told me it was my meter giving the false reading. I checked later today and he was correct. I get an ac reading from a 12volt battery(please see attached image).

post here:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/ac-readings-on-dc-supply/

The next post i viewed was this one. A perfect opportunity to receive a proper meter. Im going to spend more time with electronics to avoid destructive habits and I believe in being in the right place at the right time(if it suits the universe).

Thanks for reading. O0

At least you GB meter isnt as derpy as mine. I have yet to get 2 consistant measurements from the damn thing. Have I mentioned that it has no fuses?

[TrunKate]

As a youth my stepfather owned a computer repair business. I worked with him every day and he taught me much about their components and problem diagnosing. That is when my love for computers developed. I married a man who had his first computer at the age of 7. He got me interested in vintage hardware. Recently, after watching EEVBlog for more than a year I worked up the courage to crack open my Chromebook. Her left speaker had stopped working a year or so previously. After replacing it with one I had salvaged from an older laptop I proceeded to take apart the laptop the rest of the way. It was so enjoyable! I began taking apart any broken or out of date electronics. Which we had 10+ years of laying around. Soon my son Thomas began helping me. We started by making a fan using parts from an old DVD drive and some electrical tape. We experimented with LEDs, resistors, batteries, solar panels out of calculators, whatever we could find! On order we have an Elenco 150-In-One kit for Mama and Tom to really have fun with! I have been learning the basic fundamentals of electronics. For now I am saving him from those complex theories. Keeping him interested with real world application is my goal.  In the picture I am posting you can see him taking apart our old See-N-Say. Just like the one Ben Heck modified and sent in to Dave. It was fun seeing him realize what made the toy work! Now he understands all those fancy moving parts were just a complex mechanism to push a few buttons on a little circuit board. We will be happy with a win, but are keeping our fingers crossed for one of the Fluke 27’s! He thought it was pretty cool looking when I showed him a picture online. He gave himself a new nickname, “The Electronics Kid” he must always have his rubber boots on for safety whenever we are experimenting together! No matter who wins what, this is an awesome community of people and we are lucky to have it!

Thank you for the consideration,
Thomas AKA The Electronics Kid & Lacey Coyle

[zerorisers]

As a youth my stepfather owned a computer repair business. I worked with him every day and he taught me much about their components and problem diagnosing. That is when my love for computers developed. I married a man who had his first computer at the age of 7. He got me interested in vintage hardware. Recently, after watching EEVBlog for more than a year I worked up the courage to crack open my Chromebook. Her left speaker had stopped working a year or so previously. After replacing it with one I had salvaged from an older laptop I proceeded to take apart the laptop the rest of the way. It was so enjoyable! I began taking apart any broken or out of date electronics. Which we had 10+ years of laying around. Soon my son Thomas began helping me. We started by making a fan using parts from an old DVD drive and some electrical tape. We experimented with LEDs, resistors, batteries, solar panels out of calculators, whatever we could find! On order we have an Elenco 150-In-One kit for Mama and Tom to really have fun with! I have been learning the basic fundamentals of electronics. For now I am saving him from those complex theories. Keeping him interested with real world application is my goal.  In the picture I am posting you can see him taking apart our old See-N-Say. Just like the one Ben Heck modified and sent in to Dave. It was fun seeing him realize what made the toy work! Now he understands all those fancy moving parts were just a complex mechanism to push a few buttons on a little circuit board. We will be happy with a win, but are keeping our fingers crossed for one of the Fluke 27’s! He thought it was pretty cool looking when I showed him a picture online. He gave himself a new nickname, “The Electronics Kid” he must always have his rubber boots on for safety whenever we are experimenting together! No matter who wins what, this is an awesome community of people and we are lucky to have it!

Thank you for the consideration,
Thomas AKA The Electronics Kid & Lacey Coyle

I think it is cool that you are teaching your kids electronics and how they work. It brings tears to my eyes knowing that there are parents out there who are able to relate to their kids, teach their kids, and give them a hobby they love. Crossing my fingers for you, and your son. You are a great parent from the looks of it and I envy you. Hopefully when I am a parent I can teach my kids, and relate to them the same way you do now.

[xrunner]

The contest is now officially over.

I wish to thank everyone for their participation and for the EEVBlog / Dave for allowing me to run this contest.

I will now carefully consider the entries, noting what equipment you have and also that some people have been lucky enough to have already been donated items from other EEVBlog members. But I'll take that all into consideration. I will announce the 1st place winner later this afternoon, and either I or Excavatoree will announce the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

 

[DudeGibbs]

You should stick to DC readings if measuring DC, but I feel your pain, I endured my GB GDT-200A for more than I could stand it, but now I have something better even if everyone says it's a danger with probes

Btw, keep the GB for when in doubt as a sacrificial tester, that's what I do.

Edit: also it looks like you left your meter in subzero temperature by looking at the strange LCD pattern that shows in yours.

Its bizarre to see another person with this same meter. This meter has been pretty faithful working with electronics on my work bench. Although one time I used it to troubleshoot a boat lift at a rich man's estate. Checking to see if the breaker switch was faulty I tested a 220volt rail to see if was hot, it was. The meter didnt see that. Thankful I wasnt feeling stupid that day.