Electronics > Beginners
Looking for help selecting a budget multi-meter. I'm quite overwhelmed.
<< < (5/7) > >>
CatalinaWOW:
Asking for advice on meters is much like asking for advice on cars.  There are many folks who are fans of a particular manufacturer and many others who have a particular application that drives their choices. 

I have owned handheld DMMs from many different manufacturers, including a few Flukes and other big name brands.  It turns out that there are three brands/types that end up being my go to meters. One, a Beckman device that hasn't been available for decades just fits my brain and style.  The other two run totally contrary to the advice here on the forum.  The ones I use most frequently are those free Harbor Freight jobs.  They get used because I place them everywhere and one is at hand at all times.  The ones in the car get used when I am visiting and didn't know I needed to bring a DMM.  The ones in the woodshed, or well house, or kitchen or bedroom all see duty from time to time.  I have used them on mains with no problems, but I use a lot of caution and don't really recommend that.  Accuracy has been fine for the things I use them for.  To me the biggest flaw is the lack of auto turn off which means I frequently find one with a dead battery.  It isn't worth replacing the battery, get another free one.  The leads are really cheesy also which bothers some folks a lot.  But same story, if they break or whatever get another one.

The other one is also a Harbor Freight unit:

https://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-digital-multimeter-98674.html

Like the Beckman, it fits my style.  The ergonomics are good, it has stood up to my abuse so far, is as accurate as I expect a handheld to be and packs a lot of functionality into the $60 purchase price.  Autorange is slow, but can be overridden.  Continuity buzzer is very fast.  My biggest knock on this, the sound pressure level function has a very short time constant making the readings jumpy and hard to interpret.

Something else you may want to consider is getting a DMM with only the basic functionality, and getting one of those "$20 Transistor Checkers" for the diode test, transistor test, capacitor test and other functions.  There is a long thread on the forum about them and the various functions they can perform.  I find myself using mine in preference to a DMM when evaluating components, matching values and similar activities.
KL27x:

--- Quote ---If your meter isn't going to be bouncing off of wrenches in your toolbox in the back of your pickup truck on the way to measure some electrical panels, a Fluke is overkill.
--- End quote ---
Perfectly said. You don't use a Fluke when the reading is "important." You use a Fluke when you have dragged a meter halfway across the state and up a pole or through a narrow 110F crawl space only to find out it musta broke that 9th time you dropped it 20 feet onto concrete.

Unless you work on the high voltage stuff and/or the wrong side of the lighting rod, you may not want a Fluke. Personally, I accidentally own a Fluke 77 for 5 years, and I could probably locate it if I needed it. But I haven't used it, yet. Sitting at my climate controlled bench and working with "consumer mains" at the worst, the worst that will happen if my meter fails is I grab one of my other meters.
BoredSysAdm:
Thanks everyone for responses and sharing your experience.
I don't need DMM to kick around my toolbox and play soccer with it. slightly more delicate is ok. Accuracy and speed are more important. I guess that means Fluke is out for reasons above.
Lass poll:
Used Greenlee DM-820 (maybe 820A)
or
New UNI-T UT61E
?
rsjsouza:
The Greenlees are good DMMs, especially the DM820A which is triple the price of a UT61E if bought new. Both models are OEMs of Brymen:

The DM820A is equivalent to the Brymen BM827S.

The DM820 is equivalent to the older Brymen BM815 and a teardown is in the thread below.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/greenlee-dm-820-dmm-(rebranded-brymen)-teardown/
(the thread erroneously claims this is an OEM of the BM859).
rstofer:

--- Quote from: BoredSysAdm on May 14, 2019, 02:33:34 pm ---Accuracy and speed are more important. I guess that means Fluke is out for reasons above.

--- End quote ---

My theory of test equipment (assuming adequate funds):  If you want to SEE a signal, buy Tektronics.  If you want to MEASURE a signal, buy Fluke.

Everything else is just something else.  Not that I can afford Tektronix but I do have a Fluke 189 which was around $400 some years back.  It's a great meter but I still reach for the little Aneng 8008.

Here's the thing about lots of digits:  Suppose you can measure 1 part in a million.  Can you adjust 1 part in a million?  1 part in 10 million?  If you can't adjust it, why measure it?  If a mouse farts nearby, will you have to recalibrate the meter or the device under test?

Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod