Top of the line Duratool worth it?

[debowsky]

Hello everyone,

New joiner and electrical engineer with a strong case of amnesia (I remember almost nothing of it since I got out of the industry) who is willing to get back into the game although nothing industrial or high power.

As many I am looking to buy my beginner multimeter and I know that for what I will do especially at the beginning the (in)famous “trashy” by Duratool would be perfect but I was wondering if their top of the line like the D03122 or D03124 would be a future proof investment or just a waste of money.

I am asking because I wouldn’t mind something that looks and is a bit more modern in aesthetic and functionality but I didn’t find anything online or on the forum about them.

I don’t need/want to spend a let and an arm for it but at the same time I think I can “splash” some cash beyond the fiver mark.

I was also looking at others like the Extech EX330 or the various re-brands of the Habotest HT118E.

What are your thoughts? Many many thanks for your help and input.

[Infraviolet]

What prices are you actually talking about?

I'd suggest an adequate multimeter for typical electronics use (low voltage mostly) must have autoranging, voltmeter mode, ammeter mode (and a lower current ammeter mode too), ohmmeter mode (really vital), continuity testing, and approximate capacitance measurement. Pricing would usually be in the £30 to £50 sort of range. Any no-brand with these specs bought from a real electronics supplier (Mouser, Farnell, RS, Digikey...), not from amazon or ebay which sell utter rubbish no-brand ones, should be good. A duratool one with those specs and that price range should be fine enough too.

EDIT: I think the meter I use a lot is a D03041(it has no branding marks on it, but the internet photo ofone of those looks just like mine), works fine.

The thing you'll need other than a multimeter will be an oscilloscope sooner or later, those are rather more pricey unless you get a basic USB one.

[debowsky]

What prices are you actually talking about?

I'd suggest an adequate multimeter for typical electronics use (low voltage mostly) must have autoranging, voltmeter mode, ammeter mode (and a lower current ammeter mode too), ohmmeter mode (really vital), continuity testing, and approximate capacitance measurement. Pricing would usually be in the £30 to £50 sort of range. Any no-brand with these specs bought from a real electronics supplier (Mouser, Farnell, RS, Digikey...), not from amazon or ebay which sell utter rubbish no-brand ones, should be good. A duratool one with those specs and that price range should be fine enough too.

EDIT: I think the meter I use a lot is a D03041(it has no branding marks on it, but the internet photo ofone of those looks just like mine), works fine.

The thing you'll need other than a multimeter will be an oscilloscope sooner or later, those are rather more pricey unless you get a basic USB one.

Thanks a lot for your advices.

About the Duratool I mentioned, they are about £32 and £13 respectively but I’m happy to pay anywhere in between £50 and £80 I’d say, I don’t think I need anything more than that. As I said the only reason why I’m considering the brand is because their cheapest one seems to be highly regarded on the forum and it surprised me that no one talked about the other models they have.

The code of your non branded one sound very much like a Duratool but I’m not expert, I’ll Google it later on.

The oscilloscope will come much later I think, for now I’m just tinkering with custom keyboard kits and Raspberry PIs so nothing that will require much, in fact for what I’m doing now I guess continuity and voltage might be enough even although as I said I don’t want to restrict myself and I prefer to spend once rather than twice.

EDIT: I can confirm that your no-brand in indeed a duratool (no longer available) and it seems to have been replaced by the D03122 I’m enquiring about.

Also I wonder why anyone would buy from UK Farnell instead of CPC Farnell with the latter being cheaper. Am I missing something?

[mwb1100]

From the options you mentioned, I'd probably go for the Extech EX330.  It's made by a reputable company that's generally well regarded. Dave did a $50 meter shootout more than 10 years ago where he gave the EX330 the win:



Other, somewhat pricier options to consider (but still in the range you mentioned):

At the high end of your price range Extech EX355

You can see a review and teardown at about 21 minutes into this video: https://youtu.be/d5F3-EWLI-I?t=1275

If you want to save a few bucks, the Extech EX350 is very similar except that it's 4000 count (instead of the EX355's 6000 counts) and doesn't measure temperature.

[debowsky]

From the options you mentioned, I'd probably go for the Extech EX330.  It's made by a reputable company that's generally well regarded. Dave did a $50 meter shootout more than 10 years ago where he gave the EX330 the win:



Other, somewhat pricier options to consider (but still in the range you mentioned):

At the high end of your price range Extech EX355

You can see a review and teardown at about 21 minutes into this video: https://youtu.be/d5F3-EWLI-I?t=1275

If you want to save a few bucks, the Extech EX350 is very similar except that it's 4000 count (instead of the EX355's 6000 counts) and doesn't measure temperature.

Thanks a lot for your recommendation and advice as well.

The EX330 made it to my list exactly because of that video which I found in another post on this forum that had a more generic "multimeter for beginner" question but without a proper shortlist, which is also where the £5 Duration was also mentioned. Unfortunately however I also just found this thread and so I believe the EX series is out of the equation.

I also found this thread that seems insightful but sadly very old and outdated, I wonder if there is a more recent list or if that one can still be considered current somehow.

[jonpaul]

Welcome/Bienvenu

1/ Low cost small/ basic 3.5 D : Harbor Freight $5

2/ Lifetime instrument, safe for CAT III, mains etc. highest qualtiy: Fluke 87 series esp 87V or 87 V MAX

$$$ $350..500 the best!

Many other fluke meters at lower cost and specs, lots used on epay.

3/ Benchtop: Older HP/Fluke/Keithley from 4.5...6.5 D.

$100...700


Jon

[debowsky]

Welcome/Bienvenu

1/ Low cost small/ basic 3.5 D : Harbor Freight $5

2/ Lifetime instrument, safe for CAT III, mains etc. highest qualtiy: Fluke 87 series esp 87V or 87 V MAX

$$$ $350..500 the best!

Many other fluke meters at lower cost and specs, lots used on epay.

3/ Benchtop: Older HP/Fluke/Keithley from 4.5...6.5 D.

$100...700


Jon

I think I need some help to decipher this one, what do you mean with 3.5, 4.5 and 6.5 D ?

[tunk]

What will you use it for?
If you won't measure current, then I guess the £13 meter will do.
When/if you outgrow it, get something better.
The "D" is number of digits, the £13 meter is 3.5 digits or 2000 count.

[debowsky]

What will you use it for?
If you won't measure current, then I guess the £13 meter will do.
When/if you outgrow it, get something better.
The "D" is number of digits, the £13 meter is 3.5 digits or 2000 count.

Oh got it... count would have been easier for me to understand because of all the review I am watching. As I mentioned earlier I am currently working mostly with almost from scratch custom keyboard kits like this or this and some Raspberry PI projects, so for the former application I will probably need continuity and voltage really and a little more for the latter. So yes I think something on the cheap side should suffice to get me started but equally I don't want something that I will outgrow too quickly if that makes sense.

[rstofer]

I have a gaggle of DMMs and a couple of analog meters.  On the high end I have a Fluke 181 so I'm not short of quality meters and I haven't even got to bench meters.

I tend to find the Aneng AN8008 the most handy in terms of size and features.  Dave did a review...

https://www.amazon.com/ANENG-AN8008-Multimeter-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B076GZK62B

[debowsky]

I have a gaggle of DMMs and a couple of analog meters.  On the high end I have a Fluke 181 so I'm not short of quality meters and I haven't even got to bench meters.

I tend to find the Aneng AN8008 the most handy in terms of size and features.  Dave did a review...

https://www.amazon.com/ANENG-AN8008-Multimeter-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B076GZK62B

Thanks a lot for your recommendation as well, lot of solid inputs here... I wonder if we need to update some of the list threads with those and help new comers like myself.

[jonpaul]

Debousky (Polish?)

Bravo forasking and seekeng assistance. We all like to help beginners!


3.5 D = 3.5 digits readout eg 1.999 max = 3 digits plus 0 or 1

a 5 D would be 99999 max and 5.5 D 1.99999 max.

For 99% of genral use, a 3.5 D is fine though most better than low edn DVM are 4.5 D or more.

To take in the field or throw in the toolblx, a small handheld  is best.

If you need more accuracy or se on bench or interfaces for readout, plots, contriol via webpage, HPIB, IEEE 488, Ethernet a benchtop is usually needed.

As you are in UK, Farnell or RS (Rado Spares) shouldhaave a great selection.

If you like radio and ham stuff see the GBRS Rasiop Society , many ham boot sales, fleas throught UK.

At thouse you can often find DVM, scopes etc vintage used at reasonable costs.

Bon Chance


Jon

(EE 55 yrs, have dozens of VOM/high end voltmeters)

[Jwillis]

All those Duratool Multimeters are re branded Mastech . The first two D03122 and D03124 are the old style MS8233. The new MS8233 was changed with different functionality and case. The D03122 is probably the  Mastech MS8250.
Mastech changed the cases and catalogue numbers on some and discontinued other models a few years ago. Mastech rebrands to many different distributors around the world.

Are they any good? They alright for the price. I have several re branded old and newer models and a couple Mastech branded newer models. I have no basis to compare or vouch for accuracy, but the readouts are pretty close when comparing each other. They're pretty high quality construction and rugged. Probes are pretty standard.
Biggest issue I had was finding the correct ceramic fuses based on the re brand model numbers because there were no markings on the fuses. By searching the Mastech number, finding fuses was easy. The Mastech numbers are printed on the PCB usually.

[Doctorandus_P]

What does "top of the line" mean for a "Duratool"?

If I were to buy a new DMM these days, then it would almost certainly be a Brymen. They make quite good meters for reasonable prices. There are some annoying and/or missing features too. Some Brymen's have PC connectivity (which is important to me) but the interfaces are disproportionally expensive, and they have different mechanical interfaces, depending on the model (sigh). If (remote) data logging is an important feature, then look into the DMM's which have bluetooth connectivity.

(Although (nearly) any DMM with serial output can be hacked into using bluetooth (or whatever) by adding a small uC).