My budget is ~$200 for a decent DMM. I think starting out, I will just be using it to diagnose/repair blown ICs and caps. I did a quick lookup of the non-DMM tools you mentioned and I think that's exactly what I am looking for. Huge thanks for giving me search terms to continue this research on. The red pitaya looks like a perfect platform to grown on.
Also, I understand that I'll eventually need hardware for jtag probing - any recommendations there, or are those unique to the manufacturer?
As for DMMs, I've was looking at used Fluke 87 V's on ebay, but I'm new to them and wouldn't know how to evaluate a used meter - either for authenticity or how out of calibration it is. I saw the teardowns from EEVBlog #99 ($100 Shootout) and the safety problems found in some brands. Until finding that shootout blog, my research was leading me towards something in the UNI-T brand. But the lack of proper fuses and all the board level mismatches from silkscreen design to actual layout was enough to remind me that inexpensive Chinese tools are usually not a good deal. Since the certifications are suspect from UNI-T, I worry that the accuracy at smaller levels would be suspect as well (pots!).
Also, when I say "never" mains, I'm a realist and know that someday I'll be looking at a dead outlet on a PDU in a rack, and be tempted to attach whatever DMM I have to troubleshoot. So "never" is really, maybe once every three years. I'm definitely not going to be tearing down large transformers, or DC motors, or three phase power.
For the types of projects that I want to do, PCB level signalling, I *think* I just need equipment tuned as small as I can reasonably afford. uA ranges, high read count rate (6000+), low-pass filter to drain tiny caps for replacement(?), fast continuity checking, good quality leads, etc.
I noticed that Fluke 189 have a data logger, so maybe that should rate higher on my feature set list.
Thanks for the response! This will give me plenty to research.