Fluke 87V successor from Fluke?

[lowimpedance]

I purchased a Fluke 87 in 1995. It has traveled the world. I lost it once, only to find it in Las Vegas 2 years later.

Still in daily use.

Short and misplld from my mobile......

Huh!.........okay I'll bite, You lost it where ? and 2 years later you found it again how?.
Not in the same casino I guess  .

[rx8pilot]

The lost Fluke 87 story....

I was working at a trade show in Amsterdam when it was lost. It was a couple of weeks before it was even discovered missing because I didn't immediately unpack my stuff when I got back home in Los Angeles.

I was quite disappointed in the loss as this meter was part of my kit on many adventures around the world.

Long after I had given up, I was working at another trade show about 2 years later in Las Vegas. I saw some friends setting up their booth and stopped by to say hello. I saw a Fluke 87 on the counter and picked it up. I said to my friend, 'I used to have one of these!'. About the same time I noticed a few familiar scuffs. I asked who owns this meter, my buddy said he did not know. It has been in their trade show tool kit for a couple of years. I then took it out of the yellow case and my name and telephone number were on the back with P-Touch tape. We had a big laugh.

One of the other guys said he found it in Amsterdam and when no one came looking for it, he just put it in the tool box and forgot about it. No one ever took it out of the case to see my name. I vaguely remember walking around with my tool bag at that show, guessing I set it down while stopping to say hello.

Safe and sound now.

Short and misplld from my mobile......

[BBBbbb]

Work in some more details and don’t be afraid to describe the emotions a bit (on both sides), and you’ve got a Hollywood worthy love story on your hands.

[Electro Detective]

It's a great ending to a love story no doubt   

but sell the script and rights to Fluke direct, and let them commission an independent talented film maker to shoot it 

Don't give it to hollywood, they'll turn the whole thing into some grey shaded, incomprehensible pos,

and subject the innocent 87 to s e x, drugs, murder, dialogue mumbling, toilet humor, pointless scene changes and flashbacks that start, go and return nowhere,

with a last minute alien invasion thrown in for good measure... whereby the 87 gets thrown into an extra-terrestrial tradie's toolbox    (yo mofo earthlings!)

and taken to another galaxy    How else will the sequel and prequel happen ?   

[GameProgrammer79]

fluks are desirable like apple (not mango) i-phones.. i have taken a selfie with a fluke so to look professional  it is all about branding and image it creates. They are doing some thing right that has created a positive image - for example consistent good quality with successive products and new revisions.. durable products and good after sales service. Brand awareness through advertisements and other means to create a positive impression about the product.

[dirtcooker]

Fluke needs to add LoZ volts, PC interface, ac+dc rms and recall of meter state between power ups. A 60 ohm range would be nice too.  Then I would have bought the 87V instead of the BM869. The Fluke 289 would be perfect if it weren't so big and heavy and power hungry. 6 AA batteries? That's 150g vs 45g for a 9v. I love Fluke gear and have an old 76 multimeter and 199c scopemeter which is fabulous. I work on 400vdc EV gear and need safety and isolation. The Brymen has better accuracy and higher safety rating too. Fluke needs to up their game. TME delivered the Brymen in 3 days to USA.

[floobydust]

There's no need to spend money on R&D for new products when you can continue milking the 87 cow. It is King of the Hill. 87-V $430 USD, the 289 $600 USD at Mouser. Worth it for some of us.
Fluke is not the same company, it's just a brand name ever since evil mega-conglomerate Danaher bought them for $625 million in 1998. Now it's spin off Fortive. The focus is on creating shareholder value through mergers and acquisitions.
John Fluke had his heart in the business, many legendary products were developed - back then.

[james_s]

That happens to every successful company sooner or later, eventually the people who really had their heart in it either retire or pass away, nothing lasts forever.

That said, I've been very happy with my Fluke 87, the only thing I really wish it had was an audible diode test function like the old Fluke 29/79 had. It's such a time saver since you can test semiconductors quickly without looking up from the board.

[Fungus]

Fluke needs to add LoZ volts, PC interface, ac+dc rms and recall of meter state between power ups. A 60 ohm range would be nice too.

I'd add a high impedance mode that goes above 600mV. 6V would be enough.

The Brymen has better accuracy and higher safety rating too. Fluke needs to up their game.

Hardly anybody outside these forums knows about Brymen, everybody knows Fluke.

[rsjsouza]

That happens to every successful company sooner or later, eventually the people who really had their heart in it either retire or pass away, nothing lasts forever.

That said, I've been very happy with my Fluke 87, the only thing I really wish it had was an audible diode test function like the old Fluke 29/79 had. It's such a time saver since you can test semiconductors quickly without looking up from the board.

Interesting; you mean beeping when the diode is reading from 0.2 to 0.6V?

If so, both my old 179 and a recently added 189 have this. I agree it is quite convenient.

[james_s]

Yes, a short beep for a good junction, a solid beep for shorted, my benchtop Fluke has it too, I use it all the time.

[newbrain]

Yes, a short beep for a good junction, a solid beep for shorted, my benchtop Fluke has it too, I use it all the time.

Which Fluke 87 series have you got?
I am not at home to try it, but I'm sure my 87V beeps with good diodes!

Straight from the horse's mouth, the manual, page 22:

In a circuit, a good diode should still produce a forward-bias reading of 0.5 V to 0.8 V; however, the reverse-bias reading can vary depending on the resistance of other pathways between the probe tips. A short beep sounds if the diode is good (< 0.85 V). A continuous beep sounds if the reading is ≤ 0.100 V. This reading would indicate a short circuit. The display shows “OL” if the diode is open.

EtA: Found that you have a series III, the 87IV also has it (though it's not a "real" 87...).

[james_s]

Yes I think mine is a series III, I'm not home at the moment so I can't check. The differences are a bit annoying, one would think that each series would be an incremental improvement over the last.

[tszaboo]

2018 and still no replacement for the venerable 87...

It's still the industry standard, still selling like hot cakes, why would they replace it?

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

[Fungus]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

[rsjsouza]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

I agree on the Brymens, but the U127x family is also really nice and has many useful features that, at least for me, tip the scale towards it: smart Ω, Low Z, reversible continuity test (NO or NC) and different trigger modes for logging.

Years ago one of the former members did a very thorough review of the BM869 and at times compared it to the U1272 and the 28II - quite interesting.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/brymen-bm869-review-by-the-eye-of-the-industrial-electrician/

[windsmurf]

No one likes FlukeConnect?   I think its rather nice.   Eliminates the need for any of those opto coupled USB cabling.  I think the next 87V (87VI?) should have FlukeConnect (I think its FlukeConnect2 now).

[coromonadalix]

Even the 287 and 289  need a redo  loll   a 87 VI  would be needed loll

yeah  it would be nice to have wireless communications / bluetooth ...    away the usb cable.

[tszaboo]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

The U1272A  is about 350 EUR while the 87V is about 500. So it is cheaper.

[windsmurf]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

The U1272A  is about 350 EUR while the 87V is about 500. So it is cheaper.

You can't buy a Brymen 869s here in the U.S. (although available through oversease resellers... and no warranty).
It looks like the Keysight 127xa and 128xa series are all discontinued now, at least it appears so in the U.S.
https://www.tequipment.net/AgilentU1272A.html?v=0

So you have to buy the Greenlee dm860a for $314.32 or a Fluke 87v for $386.99, a $72 difference.
https://www.tequipment.net/Greenlee/DM-860A/Multimeters/
https://www.tequipment.net/FlukeDigital87VMultimeter.html?search=true

[tszaboo]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

The U1272A  is about 350 EUR while the 87V is about 500. So it is cheaper.

You can't buy a Brymen 869s here in the U.S. (although available through oversease resellers... and no warranty).
It looks like the Keysight 127xa and 128xa series are all discontinued now, at least it appears so in the U.S.
https://www.tequipment.net/AgilentU1272A.html?v=0

So you have to buy the Greenlee dm860a for $314.32 or a Fluke 87v for $386.99, a $72 difference.
https://www.tequipment.net/Greenlee/DM-860A/Multimeters/
https://www.tequipment.net/FlukeDigital87VMultimeter.html?search=true

Or they dont have calibration plan for example. Which doesnt matter for home users, but it does when it comes to these kind of equipment. So you cannot compare a Fluke 87V to a Brymen based on the features, because it will fail on these basic business requirements.

[Cnoob]

My Fluke 87V has a revision 13 PCB and from memory in Dave's video his Fluke 87V had a revision 9 PCB , Which shows Fluke still tinker with the meter.
If you want more functionality get a Fluke 289 if you want wireless connectivity get a Fluke 3000 series.

The 87 has stood the test of time and I say leave well alone.

[Mr. Scram]

My Fluke 87V has a revision 13 PCB and from memory in Dave's video his Fluke 87V had a revision 9 PCB , Which shows Fluke still tinker with the meter.
If you want more functionality get a Fluke 289 if you want wireless connectivity get a Fluke 3000 series.

The 87 has stood the test of time and I say leave well alone.

Our pet Canadian has demonstrated a few times that tinkering with a product can simply mean cost optimising to the point you can no longer get away with it. It unfortunately often tends to be, especially with companies which buy up well known names. I should mention I'm not aware of this currently going on at Fluke.

[rsjsouza]

I started suggesting the U1272A instead of the 87V a long time ago.

Even more expensive!

The Brymen BM869S is about 200 euros.

The U1272A  is about 350 EUR while the 87V is about 500. So it is cheaper.

You can't buy a Brymen 869s here in the U.S. (although available through oversease resellers... and no warranty).
It looks like the Keysight 127xa and 128xa series are all discontinued now, at least it appears so in the U.S.
https://www.tequipment.net/AgilentU1272A.html?v=0

These meter families are still active.

This is TEquipment being terribly disingenuous with their practices. They mark something as "discontinued" from their website when, in fact, it is not carried by them anymore. That happens also with Siglent products.

Yeah, they could justify this as the product being "discontinued " only from their product line, but this term is not used in this sense by anyone else in the marketplace - everybody else uses "non-stock" or a variant of that.

[Fungus]

My Fluke 87V has a revision 13 PCB and from memory in Dave's video his Fluke 87V had a revision 9 PCB , Which shows Fluke still tinker with the meter.

Were those revisions done to improve it or to cut costs?