Multimeter

[christos]

is MASTECH MS8040 a good multimeter ..its only TRMS on AC?

[Bored@Work]

Until now no one has ever seen a really good Mastech multimeter.

The MS8040 is the successor of the M9803R. And the M9803R has seen some medium popularity not because it is really good, but because it is maybe the cheapest bench multimeter on the market. The MS8040 usually doesn't have that price advantage, although it has better specs then the M9803R. But still, I would stay away from both meters.

[Lightages]

I also have a very low opinion of Mastech.

[christos]

hehe..thx for the advise

[IvoS]

I have Mastech MS2026R clamp on meter and it's really poor meter and I don't use it these days anymore. Autoranging is slow, continuity check is also slow. What's worst is that the plastic casing 2 halves have gap in the middle - poor design. I replaced it with Fluke 117, that is 10x better multi meter.

[nanofrog]

Another vote for avoiding Mastech if you can.

[christos]

thx for the advise...is BK precision good? i know they make power supplys too

[nanofrog]

thx for the advise...is BK precision good? i know they make power supplys too

It would depend on the model IMHO.

In the case of a DMM, the BK2709B is decent for the money (covered in Dave's $100 DMM Shootout video). Not perfect though (i.e. beeps a lot, and the backlight isn't that great), so check out the forum and other sites such as Amazon for reviews to see if it will work for you.

If you can hold off, Dave's mentioned doing another one/others (some different price ranges) with some of the newer meters to have hit the market since then (didn't give any indication of when, so it could be awhile).

Or if you can offer up what you're looking for and a budget, then members could make some recommendations. Just a thought. 

[Jon86]

Dave's mentioned

Dave's mentioned doing a lot of things, I wouldn't hold your breath 

[christos]

lest say abou 100 euros. dont care if its like 10 or 20 euros more.. i need a good meter..

[nanofrog]

Dave's mentioned

Dave's mentioned doing a lot of things, I wouldn't hold your breath 

Well, he started a thread asking what ranges we'd all be interested in, so I'm thinking positively, and believing it has a decent shot of happening.  One day.... Now when that day will come, is anyone's guess. 

Dave, if you're reading this, no pressure. I understand being busy. 

[nanofrog]

lest say abou 100 euros. dont care if its like 10 or 20 euros more.. i need a good meter..

OK, that's a start. 

Now what features are you looking for/how are you going to use it?

[Dave]

Does it have to be brand new? Would you consider getting a used multimeter?
With a bit of patience you can find great used multimeters on sites like eBay, meters that would otherwise cost 3-4 times as much if bought new.

[idpromnut]

is MASTECH MS8040 a good multimeter ..its only TRMS on AC?

You mention True RMS; yes, this is related to measuring AC voltage/current only. Is this something that is important for you? If not, Dave did a review of the Fluke 27 (which I ended up picking up on EBay for ~75$+shipping). It's an older meter, but built like a tank and I would trust it with mains and other high energy circuits. It doesn't have a huge resolution, but I find it more than enough for the applications I'm working on. For very low power stuff, this meter may not be good enough for you.

[christos]

lest say abou 100 euros. dont care if its like 10 or 20 euros more.. i need a good meter..

OK, that's a start. 

Now what features are you looking for/how are you going to use it?

most for repair ..making my own circuits.. and other stuff... i need this to be more accurate...

i need to measure
(uA uV)  dc most
pF- 2200 uF(if you find some that dosent have so much volume at farrads..ill buy a capacitor meter..no problem)
Hz at 100 hz
these are the most i need ..other measurements i dont care
(sorry for my bad english)

[Frost]

What's with a UNI-T UT71B or UT71C both are near around
the 100Euro price range.

And yes, both are True RMS Meters including AC+DC measurement
http://www.batronix.com/shop/multimeter/multimeter-ut71b.html
http://www.batronix.com/shop/multimeter/multimeter-ut71c.html

[Lightages]

Staying away from high energy circuits? Then this is a full featured meter in your price range.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ModeL-UNI-T-UT71C-Intelligent-Digital-Multimeters-UT-71C-/370868603313?pt=US_Radio_Comm_Meters&hash=item56597dc9b1

Do you want a meter that will take a beating and be safer on high energy circuits?
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/bm257/portable-digital-multimeters/brymen/#
or from iloveelectronics here on the forum when he has stock for $135 USD shipped to your door.

or:
http://www.tme.eu/en/details/bm815a/portable-digital-multimeters/brymen/#

Or the BK 2709B as mentioned would be a good meter in your price range.

[nanofrog]

most for repair ..making my own circuits.. and other stuff... i need this to be more accurate...

i need to measure
(A uV)  dc most
pF- 2200 uF(if you find some that dosent have so much volume at farrads..ill buy a capacitor meter..no problem)
Hz at 100 hz
these are the most i need ..other measurements i dont care
(sorry for my bad english)

Lightages and Frost made excellent recommendations IMHO. 

Staying away from mains, the Uni-T UT71B or C models would do everything you've mentioned. Or go with either of the Brymen (BM257 or BM815) units if you want something that could also tackle higher voltages safely at some point down the road as well (better input protection). BK 2709B is still in the running as well.

Check for reviews on the models listed to get a feel for their strong points and limitations (poor backlight, slow on certain functions/auto-ranging, ... sorts of things), and see which one will best fit you. Amazon, blogs/forums such as EEVBlog, and YouTube would be great places to look for these.

Hope this helps, and good luck. 

[Wytnucls]

The 20,000 count 71B model is all you need really, unless you want extra accuracy and more space for internal logging. You could make an offer on this one in Germany and avoid import duties:

http://www.ebay.de/itm/UT71B-UNI-T-20000Stellen-100kHz-TRMS-Multimeter-100Speicher-USB-Tasche-PinSonne-/141149521866?pt=Mess_Pr%C3%BCftechnik&hash=item20dd2ac7ca

[christos]

Does it have to be brand new? Would you consider getting a used multimeter?
With a bit of patience you can find great used multimeters on sites like eBay, meters that would otherwise cost 3-4 times as much if bought new.

i prefer a new

[christos]

is MASTECH MS8040 a good multimeter ..its only TRMS on AC?

You mention True RMS; yes, this is related to measuring AC voltage/current only. Is this something that is important for you? If not, Dave did a review of the Fluke 27 (which I ended up picking up on EBay for ~75$+shipping). It's an older meter, but built like a tank and I would trust it with mains and other high energy circuits. It doesn't have a huge resolution, but I find it more than enough for the applications I'm working on. For very low power stuff, this meter may not be good enough for you.

i prefer to buy a new one so i know what to expect from it

[christos]

I also have a very low opinion of Mastech.

the problem in greece is that we only have mastech multimeters..i i want to buy a fluke or a bk ,i need to buy it from ebay or other sites..we still have some sites that sells good multimeters like the two i mention before but they are too expensive

[Lightages]

Well I gave you the other purchase options. I am sorry I can't be any more help.

[Frost]

the problem in greece is that we only have mastech multimeters..i i want to buy a fluke or a bk

Greece is a part of europe, so I can't see a problem.
Reichelt for example, offers at their greek WebStore
multimeters from Fluke, UNI-T, Benning, Amprobe
and PeakTech

Beha-Amprobe belongs to the Fluke Corporation
but their multimeters are more on the lower end,
compared with the mother company Fluke
So Amprobe multimeters are a little bit cheaper
then the Fluke ones.
http://www.reichelt.com/Digital-Multimeters/AMPROBE-33XR-A/3/index.html?&ACTION=3&LA=2&ARTICLE=42339&GROUPID=4058&artnr=AMPROBE+33XR-A
But a new Fluke meter around 100Euro, forget it.

In this low end range you get from e.g. UNI-T a lot more
multimeter for your money.
http://www.reichelt.com/Digital-Multimeters/UT-71B/3//index.html?ACTION=3&GROUPID=4058&ARTICLE=111325&SHOW=1&OFFSET=16&&SID=11Uriodn8AAAIAAHhLdwMc6c501b2305705cba9d8b4655ae32d5f&CTYPE=0&MWSTFREE=0

[christos]

sorry about the dealy of reading your ideas..i cound find the next page