My fluke DMM Broke!!!!1111one NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

[raspberrypi]

This is a sad day for both myself, my family, and my country. I warped the piece that holds the LCD in place and it doesn't look like it can be fixed.

So I'm asking the Americans here what I should do. As some of you know I live off social security and that's how I'm going to pay for a new one. Since its your tax dollars I figured you should have a say. Are the EEVBlog meters still for sale? I need something with high visibility and a back light since I'm legally blind. Way better use of tax dollars them some stupid wall at a time when more hispanic people are leaving this country then are coming in. (Its about -2% per year, yes thats a real fact you can look up).

A capacitor and transistor tester would be nice or are these better as stand alone units?

[xrunner]

This is a sad day for both myself, my family, and my country. I warped the piece that holds the LCD in place and it doesn't look like it can be fixed.

How did it happen?

I need something with high visibility and a back light since I'm legally blind.

Have you considered a bench unit that has bright LEDs or Fluorescent display, or is there no room?

[oldway]

If the display is not broken, only the piece that hold the LCD, is it not possible to repair it with glue ?
I use a lot of "super bond" in my repairs, I have just repaired a broken loudspeakers connector of a JVC amplifier with cyanocrilate glue.

[rstofer]

https://www.amazon.com/EEVblog-BM235-Brymen-Multimeter/dp/B01JZ1ADCO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488823140&sr=8-1&keywords=eevblog

[joseph nicholas]

Sorry fresh out of patriotic zeal.

[MrAl]

Hi,

If it is just the display sometimes you can get it to work by using a pressure type clamp of some type that holds the connector to the LCD glass.  I did this with one of my meters and used it for years after.  After some 10 or more years, i finally bought a new meter.

The pressure clamp i used in that meter was a black binder clip with the two metal handles removed, leaving just the clamp part.

[Ian.M]

Which model Fluke?  Maybe someone here has a scrap one they could spare you the part from.

The problem with transistor testers is they make it difficult to get a high CAT rating due to the very short creepage distance between the contacts and the finger-accessible top of the socket.   As cap testers can use the regular test leads (or even short stubby ones for low pF ranges), they can be implemented on a higher CAT meter, as long as it doesn't have a dedicated capacitor socket.

[rstofer]

The transistor tester couldn't do much of a test if you can't vary the base current.  It is common to spec h_FE at some point but we are generally more interested in a) a different point or b) a family of points.  At best the DMM transistor test will show if the transistor works at all.

If you need a transistor tester, build one, there are quite a few on the Internet.
There's a least one thread here on EEVblog:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/diy-transistor-curve-tracer/

[james_s]

Look on ebay for a parts meter that has something else wrong with it. Or put a WTB post in the buy/sell/trade section here asking for the specific part you need.

[macboy]

The transistor tester couldn't do much of a test if you can't vary the base current.  It is common to spec h_FE at some point but we are generally more interested in a) a different point or b) a family of points.  At best the DMM transistor test will show if the transistor works at all.

If you need a transistor tester, build one, there are quite a few on the Internet.
There's a least one thread here on EEVblog:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/diy-transistor-curve-tracer/

It can do more than that, allowing you to identify the pinout and type (PNP/NPN). As you assert, "measuring" the gain is not something they can do. As an alternative, I would definitely recommend getting something like this:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/$20-lcr-esr-transistor-checker-project/
It's still far short of a curve tracer but leagues better than a DMM, and an extremely versatile component tester/identifier. If you need to match or truly characterize transistors in any real way, this isn't the tool, but it's pretty useful nonetheless.

[Soxfan]

Which fluke meter are we talking about?  My job breaks a few fluke meters a year.

[raspberrypi]

Which fluke meter are we talking about?  My job breaks a few fluke meters a year.

Its a fluke 73. The gray piece that holds to LCD in place. I tried sqeezing the hell out of it and some of the display comes back but I dont see how glue to could get those kind of pressures or rather how to keep that much uniform pressure while it sets. I was using a surgical blade for removing skin cancer that was heated up with a blow torch. Some how the plastic warped, not enough to be seen but just enough that the glass wouldn't go back into it. Sucks because I found this really cool white LED back light strip thing that is just about the right size. I also peeled the foil off the back of the LCD glass so it has to either have a back light or have foil tape reapplied to see it, although it does look really cool seeing the numbers "float" above the circuit board in the meter. Would be nice to have that piece of plastic. I think this time I could cut it without warping it, but really its time to buy another dremal tool as I'm always fiddling with tiny things.

As far as a transistor tester I just need to see:
1. Is it blown up?
2. Whats the pin out?
3. NPN PNP or is it something else in the same package?

[james_s]

I've always just used a regular multimeter to check transistors, use the diode test function and check each junction, that will tell you everything you need to know. If you want to know the gain, look up the datasheet.

[raspberrypi]

I ended up buying two cheap 8.00 chinese ones off ebay for now, was tempted to go to home depot but I'm sure their 50.00$ model is the same pile of shit as the 8.00 ones online. Not having a DMM is like running around in the dark. I'm going to have to do more research before I get one. Although the eevblog one is not too bad at 125$ but, I'm just debating buying a cheap one and then spending the rest of the money on a used bench top model, I did see some but they looked pretty beat up.