Electronics > Beginners

Looking for help selecting a budget multi-meter. I'm quite overwhelmed.

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GreyWoolfe:

--- Quote from: Gyro on May 13, 2019, 05:34:28 pm ---If you want quality and trustable safety at a budget price, then you could do worse than picking up a Fluke 101 for around $50. It performed very well in joeqsmith's Handheld meter electrical robustness testing and is officially CAT III 600V.

--- End quote ---

I have one that I keep in my work toolbag.  For my use, no current function is a non issue.  Very accurate, however, I don't like the cheap leads.  I added a set of Brymen leads and, for me, it is a great combo.


--- Quote from: rstofer on May 13, 2019, 07:28:54 pm ---The Aneng 8008 is in the same price range ($26) and from Dave's tests, it is a very accurate meter.  It pretends to have CAT ratings but i'm not sure I would trust them.  I don't use mine on mains, but I would.  This whole CAT thing assumes a transient the size of a lightning bolt right on the wires leading to your panel.  Around here we almost never get ground strikes.  Maybe a few sky strikes from time to time but no ground strikes.

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I have the 8008 and 8009.  I did the mods found on this forum and they also work well.  I have tried them on mains but I will reserve that function for my Fluke 27/FM.  I WOULD NOT buy any of the Harbor Freight meters.  Even when there is a free coupon, you've overpaid.  I don't know which store Bob91313 got his, but the ones I had foisted off on me were way off on resistance and I didn't feel comfortable using them on mains.  They should be good enough for measuring voltage in your car.

rstofer:

--- Quote from: GreyWoolfe on May 13, 2019, 09:04:28 pm ---I WOULD NOT buy any of the Harbor Freight meters.  Even when there is a free coupon, you've overpaid.  I don't know which store Bob91313 got his, but the ones I had foisted off on me were way off on resistance and I didn't feel comfortable using them on mains.  They should be good enough for measuring voltage in your car.

--- End quote ---

When my grandson was in elementary school they were having a Science Fair.  We did a project explaining Ohm's Law by mounting 3 HF DMMs on a project board:

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-63604.html

They worked perfect for the application and he won first place in the Fair.  Surprised me...

I used to have one of these cheap meters on my sailboat for tracking the batteries. It worked ok and if it got damp or otherwise destroyed, I wouldn't much care.

I DO NOT recommend them for serious work.

About as far down the list as I am going to go is the Aneng 8008.  I like quality meters but money is still a consideration.  For $100, I could have 4 Anengs and a good start at the inevitable half-dozen or more.

There are many workable meters under $100 and it just comes down to picking one with the certain knowledge that it won't be the last.

rstofer:
Application:  Consider a common emitter transistor amplifier with adjustable base voltage.  You would want 1 DMM to measure the base voltage.  You might want another to measure the base current.  You would want a 3rd to measure the collector current and, maybe, a 4th to measure the collector voltage.

It isn't hard to come up with applications where multiple meters are just plain handy.

Shock:
I wouldn't let buying on Ebay scare you off, but you do need to read between the lines and ensure there is an understanding that the meter is in the operational/cosmetic condition you expect.

Multimeters (especially good brands) tend to last decades when looked after. Think of what you might like to end up with and focus on that. You want both AC and DC at least mV, uA and ohms, continuity and diode test, those are the essentials. I find the low impedance, LoZ function quite handy as well.

I don't use capacitance so much as I have an LCR and ESR meter, they do a better job. Until you get to that stage a cheap Chinese LCR/ESR tester is $20 on Ebay, a good substitute till you get better gear. Same goes for temperature it's not make or break on a multimeter for me as there are substitutes.

Some prefer super high resolution but if your not working in the field there is a point where bench multimeters make more sense than handhelds for resolution, accuracy and conservation of desk space. While indispensable as a tool another reason you don't need to get too crazy with a multimeter is some of there usefulness is replicated in oscilloscope functionality.

I have several different Flukes and happy with them, I haven't really strayed too far off that path though in 30 years. A few people are vehemently opposed to them. But Flukes have stood the test of time and you can still pick them up dirt cheap secondhand.

windsmurf:
For $100 you can get a used 175, perhaps a 117.  15B+ is under $100 brand new, and that'd be my choice for under $100.  Nice backlight, and huge readable numbers display.
Important thing is to get one and start using it.  You then start to understand what you might want/need in additional features or accuracy.
Another good thing with Fluke is, they hold their value.  Its easy to flip Fluke multimeters on EBay, and you can get most if not all your money back if you decide to upgrade (or get out of electronic altogether). 


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