Best low cost (<$200) BENCH multimeter ?

[someguy123]

I'm having a hard time finding a decent bench multimeter.  I have an Aligent U1271, which I like, but I don't want it taking up bench space. 

Why can't I buy a bench multimeter as good as the U1271 for a decent price ?  Someone needs to do to multimeters what Rigol did to the scope market.

I'd love to see a sub $200 bench multimeter shoot out.

Can anyone recommend a good low cost bench multimeter ?

[nctnico]

I'd like to add the VC8145 to the list. I have two and both are on my bench permanently.

[someguy123]

I'd like to add the VC8145 to the list. I have two and both are on my bench permanently.

  I was looking at the VC8145.  How do you like yours ? 

Obviously the VC8145 won't have the feature set and quality of the higher $$$ DMMs, but I can't afford those as I just bought a DS2072A.  I don't see why some of the higher end DMMs should cost as much as a DSO.  Doesn't make sense.

 

[TimNJ]

Well, in my opinion. I just don't thing there's a market for <$200 bench meters. Handheld DMMs are far more useful on a day-to-day basis, in my opinion. Bench meters are more relevant when absolute accuracy/precision is needed. The people that are looking for bench multimeters are usually not people concerned with price.

Anyway, the only real advantage I see to bench multimeters is that there are no batteries to replace. I suppose you want to put the multimeter on a shelf above your bench, but I have to beg the question, can you not spare 0.5sq-ft of bench space for a handheld DMM? Maybe you should be looking at a bigger bench?

Meters like the VC8145 aren't half bad, and they have relatively good performance, but they're really nothing more than a power supply and a panel mount meter with some buttons...but I suppose if it works, then there's nothing wrong with that.

[LaurentR]

Which country are you in?

If you're willing to consider a used meter, there are very good choices. You can grab a highly-regarded 34401A off EBay for $250-400 (those are still in production). You can find very good out-of-production models for less.

[nctnico]

Well, in my opinion. I just don't thing there's a market for <$200 bench meters. Handheld DMMs are far more useful on a day-to-day basis, in my opinion. Bench meters are more relevant when absolute accuracy/precision is needed. The people that are looking for bench multimeters are usually not people concerned with price.

IMHO you are wrong here. Bench meters aren't about accuracy perse. Bench meters can be stacked and never run out of batteries (as long as you pay your electricity bill). A handheld DMM proved to be clumsy in my case because it stands in front of other equipment, runs out of batteries and/or is just in the way. The big plus of the VC8145 is that it can handle 20A current measurements.

@someguy123:
What I like about the VC8145 is that it's cheap and still provides a neat bag of tricks. It has capacitance and temperature measurement and the continuity check is instant.

[Electro Fan]

The VC8145 looks pretty good.  This might be an alternative:
http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-M9803R-Bench-type-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B004ISMUEE/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t/185-9604132-0408353#customerReviews
- I have no experience with either of them....

[sync]

Anyway, the only real advantage I see to bench multimeters is that there are no batteries to replace.

Usually they also have better displays. Not that LCD crap.

[nctnico]

I don't like the Mastech. It's only 3.5 digit. When buying a DMM you should at least get a 4.5 digit one. Otherwise you won't have enough resolution to see small changes.

[TimNJ]

Well, in my opinion. I just don't thing there's a market for <$200 bench meters. Handheld DMMs are far more useful on a day-to-day basis, in my opinion. Bench meters are more relevant when absolute accuracy/precision is needed. The people that are looking for bench multimeters are usually not people concerned with price.

IMHO you are wrong here. Bench meters aren't about accuracy. Bench meters can be stacked and never run out of batteries (as long as you pay your electricity bill). A handheld DMM proved to be clumsy in my case because it stands in front of other equipment, runs out of batteries and/or is just in the way. The big plus of the VC8145 is that it can handle 20A current measurements.

Bench multimeters are not about accuracy? You're kidding. Think about the venerable  (and not exorbitantly expensive) Agilent/Keysight 34401A which has a basic DC accuracy of 0.0035%. Most handheld DMMs top out at about 0.05% on dcV. Yes, perhaps a bench multimeter makes sense in a high-end professional electronics design bench, where there is already existing stacked equipment. I've worked in the engineering department of a smaller company, and they used Fluke 179s. I found that sometimes it's easier to move the multimeter to the device under test than to move the DUT to your bench. I do agree that handheld DMMs can teter about and fall over if you're not careful, but I think it's a fair trade off for flexibility.

[TimNJ]

Anyway, the only real advantage I see to bench multimeters is that there are no batteries to replace.

Usually they also have better displays. Not that LCD crap.

I think that's a highly subjective opinion. There are good LCDs and bad LCDs, good VFDs and bad VFDs. I own all LCD multimeters and I have no problems with them. Similarly, I've used VFDs in lab environments and I have not found them much easier to read.

[electr_peter]

There was discussion about bench vs handheld DMMs before: bench-or-portable-multimeter/

[nctnico]

Well, in my opinion. I just don't thing there's a market for <$200 bench meters. Handheld DMMs are far more useful on a day-to-day basis, in my opinion. Bench meters are more relevant when absolute accuracy/precision is needed. The people that are looking for bench multimeters are usually not people concerned with price.

IMHO you are wrong here. Bench meters aren't about accuracy. Bench meters can be stacked and never run out of batteries (as long as you pay your electricity bill). A handheld DMM proved to be clumsy in my case because it stands in front of other equipment, runs out of batteries and/or is just in the way. The big plus of the VC8145 is that it can handle 20A current measurements.

Bench multimeters are not about accuracy? You're kidding. Think about the venerable  (and not exorbitantly expensive) Agilent/Keysight 34401A which has a basic DC accuracy of 0.0035%.

You are confusing availability with necessity. Keysight also sells 4.5 digit bench meters. If bench meters where all about accuracy they wouldn't make a 4.5 digit bench multimeter.

[JohnnyBerg]

It all depends  on your needs.

For repairs and debugging I can do with a good handheld. For a test, I can do with 6 crappy DMM's as I need to get the big picture. For calibrating my voltage reference, I need resolution and accuracy.

[TimNJ]

Well, in my opinion. I just don't thing there's a market for <$200 bench meters. Handheld DMMs are far more useful on a day-to-day basis, in my opinion. Bench meters are more relevant when absolute accuracy/precision is needed. The people that are looking for bench multimeters are usually not people concerned with price.

IMHO you are wrong here. Bench meters aren't about accuracy. Bench meters can be stacked and never run out of batteries (as long as you pay your electricity bill). A handheld DMM proved to be clumsy in my case because it stands in front of other equipment, runs out of batteries and/or is just in the way. The big plus of the VC8145 is that it can handle 20A current measurements.

Bench multimeters are not about accuracy? You're kidding. Think about the venerable  (and not exorbitantly expensive) Agilent/Keysight 34401A which has a basic DC accuracy of 0.0035%.

You are confusing availability with necessity. Keysight also sells 4.5 digit bench meters. If bench meters where all about accuracy they wouldn't make a 4.5 digit bench multimeter.

Now you are confusing accuracy with precision. Yes, they sell 4.5digit meters for ~$500. They are still more accurate than handheld DMMs. Handheld DMMs provide basic levels of accuracy and precision at an affordable price. They are, in general, more versatile than bench DMMs. However, in some environments, high accuracy and precision measurements are absolutely necessary. So, in turn, you have to sacrifice the portability and cost of a handheld DMM.

So, what exactly is the point you're trying to make? As much as I seem to bash bench DMMs, I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to own one. The idea of a permanent/fixed DMM can make sense, but only if installed on a purely electronics design bench. Otherwise, the portability is indispensable for everyday troubleshooting.

[netdudeuk]

The VC8145 looks pretty good.  This might be an alternative:
http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-M9803R-Bench-type-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B004ISMUEE/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t/185-9604132-0408353#customerReviews
- I have no experience with either of them....

VC8145 thread here -

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vc8145-thread-it's-here-finally/

[TimNJ]

The VC8145 looks pretty good.  This might be an alternative:
http://www.amazon.com/Mastech-M9803R-Bench-type-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B004ISMUEE/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t/185-9604132-0408353#customerReviews
- I have no experience with either of them....

VC8145 thread here -

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/vc8145-thread-it's-here-finally/

I think the VC8145 is actually a decent stab at an entry level bench meter. I read through the whole thread and there were a few people complaining that it was a "lunchbox" due to how much empty space was inside, but half of the reason for having a bench meter is to be compatible with other stacking equipment...so that point seems moot to me.

Otherwise, the internal quality doesn't even look that bad, and it seems to perform pretty well.

[janaf]

In the UK, you can sometimes find Solartron 7151 at decent prices.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solartron-Instruments-Schlumberger-7151-Computing-Multimeter/151159511647

[JuiceKing]

I'm having a hard time finding a decent bench multimeter.  I have an Aligent U1271, which I like, but I don't want it taking up bench space. 

Why can't I buy a bench multimeter as good as the U1271 for a decent price ?  Someone needs to do to multimeters what Rigol did to the scope market.

I'd love to see a sub $200 bench multimeter shoot out.

Can anyone recommend a good low cost bench multimeter ?

There are many choices if you are willing to buy a used bench meter. You can get an HP or Keithley 5.5-digit meter for $100-200, and they are plentiful on eBay. If you care about accuracy you will need to get it calibrated, of course, but if the meter was only recently taken out of service, the chances are good that the calibration will require no changes and what you will have is a very stable instrument that just works.

- Ken

[rdl]

I have one of those M9803R meters. I bought it from RSR Electronics about 10 years ago (just to get a different badge on it than Mastech). It's a decent meter, 4000 counts and agrees exactly with my Fluke 87-III whenever I compare them. The empty space inside is available for probe storage or you can use it for the 6xAA battery holder. It also runs off a 9 volt or wall plug power (it has a standard detachable IEC cord). I bought it because I wanted a meter for my bench that could sit up and out of the way, not to have some metrology grade instrument. If you just want a better brand name, you can find plenty of HP3468A meters under $200 on eBay. If I'd known about the HP meters back then, I probably would have bought one of them instead.

[nctnico]

I also have an older HP bench 4.5 digit DMM but I'm not using it anymore. It has no continuity beeper, no temperature or capacitance measurement and the current capability is only 2A.

[Hydrawerk]

Any opinion on TTI multimeters from United Kingdom?
Well, they seem like designed in 1995, so they have only RS-232. But they might be OK for the price.
http://www.tti-test.com/products-tti/precision/digital-multimeters.htm
http://www.tti-test.com/products-tti/pdf-brochure/prec-1705-4p.pdf




http://uk.farnell.com/aim-tti-instruments/dmm1604/multimeter-digital-bench/dp/605499
http://www.tti-test.com/products-tti/pdf-brochure/prec-1604-2p.pdf

[Muxr]

I picked up a used 8842A Fluke off ebay recently for $120. It's a 5.5 digit meter, and I have been really happy with it.

[commongrounder]

How about the Fluke model 45?  I've had a couple of those for years and they are reasonably accurate and dual display.  5 digit 100,000 count.  They seem to pop up on ebay pretty regularly for under $200.00 US.

[XFDDesign]

How about the Fluke model 45?  I've had a couple of those for years and they are reasonably accurate and dual display.  5 digit 100,000 count.  They seem to pop up on ebay pretty regularly for under $200.00 US.

I came here to say this.

Fluke 45. 4.5 Digits, fast and well built.