Electronics > Beginners
First DMM?
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xani:

--- Quote from: Gizzygone on July 11, 2018, 12:58:53 pm ---First of all: I’m the “buy it right and buy it once” kind of guy. I know there are plenty of cheap meters to be had, but I want one that is safe, fairly well featured, and long lasting.

--- End quote ---

Me too, but what I've noticed is that you will rarely know what *exactly* you need from a given piece of equipment till you actually use it for some time.

Like I bought my first meter with PC cable to do datalogging. After playing around a bit I ended up never using it and a bunch of budget went to waste. And for first few years of my dabbling in electronics, something like $25 meter[url] would be entirely okay.

And you will at some point need more than one meter, even just to see current and voltage of the circuit at same time, so it's not like cheapie will go to waste after you get a better one.

So I'd advise to not go crazy and buy something cheap and reasonable *first*, then, once you start hitting limits of what you can do you will know what to buy

I generally for stuff I know I will use I tend to get "good enough and cheap" option and splurge only if I think it will get some use.

But for stuff I'm not sure and I have no clue about I just get a cheapie option and upgrade when I need it. Like getting pack of cheap chinese screwdrivers then buy a nice versions of ones used most.
rhb:
Not sure where you live.  But if you're in the US I suggest you buy a pack of gum at Harbor Freight and get a free DMM.  With a cal they are good to better than 0.1%.   And you can do the cal with some fresh batteries.  All you need is the right coupon.

I now have two 6.5 digit HP 34401As in addition to the 3478A, but the DMM I use the most is a bottom line HF unit from before they gave them away for which I paid $3 on sale.  Why? It's convenient and good enough 99% of the time.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/habor-freight-giveaway-dmm-test/msg1473132/#msg1473132

I'm going to test them all against the 34401As and and a DMMCheck Plus and then calibrate them some time soon.

If you buy a $3 Chinese AD584JH based voltage reference you'll be all set and have money left over for more exotic toys  when the occasion arises.

I have no idea how many of the bottom end HF DMMs I have.  Between the ones I bought, my dad bought and the ones HF gave me it is well over 2 dozen.  I've had one fail.  I have one in every toolbox in which they might be relevant.

The test probes are fragile, but a bit of hot melt glue where the wire goes into the probe is supposed to solve that.
_ar_:
As beginner I bought a Brymen BM235 and I can say that I am _very_ pleased with this DMM. Quality built, tons of features and I know that as long as I'm holding the probes I'm safe. Or take a look at the Extechs, they are basically budged Brymens (?) and Dave also commended them before.
larsdenmark:
There is no such thing as buying only one meter. If you start doing more of this electronics stuff you'll need more meters. If nothing else then just to be able to measure voltage and current at the same time.

Hence I would propose that you get the cheapest you can live with. This will give you an idea of what to buy next time (and by then the prices will have dropped).

A Brymen 235 (or better) will suit you well, but you could also consider a UNI-T - e.g. the 61 or 139 series.
xani:

--- Quote from: rhb on July 12, 2018, 03:14:01 am ---Not sure where you live.  But if you're in the US I suggest you buy a pack of gum at Harbor Freight and get a free DMM.  With a cal they are good to better than 0.1%.   And you can do the cal with some fresh batteries.  All you need is the right coupon.

--- End quote ---
Life is too short for non-autoranging DMM ^-^. Also non-fused 10A range is something I'd avoid for someone that's just starting. If I got one for free sure I'd toss it in a toolbox as spare, but I woudn't want to pay for one


--- Quote ---The test probes are fragile, but a bit of hot melt glue where the wire goes into the probe is supposed to solve that.

--- End quote ---
I think that's all cheapish meters, good probes cost more than them for the most part
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