EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
EEVblog => EEVblog Specific => Topic started by: JohnS_AZ on October 17, 2010, 07:14:38 pm
-
I've been playing around with the Wiki, and populating some of the categories. This morning I was doing Manufacturers : Digital Multimeters. So far i have ...
HANDHELD
Agilent
Amprobe
BK Precision
Extech
Fluke
BENCHTOP
Agilent
BK Precision
Tektronix
Any others you have/can think of that should be included?
-
uni-t
hp / agilent - would help those googling for info on older models
-
HANDHELD
Agilent
Amprobe
BK Precision
Extech
Fluke
Gossen
High-end brands as far as I know are Agilent, Fluke, Gossen (and possibly Metrix/Chauvin-Arnoux, don't know much about them). Amprobe, BK and Extech are a lower class, there are more of them (see Dave's $100 DMM review for some ideas). And probably an almost unlimited amount of cheap brands, although many of them come from the same manufacturer. It's probably not worth trying to keep track of them.
BENCHTOP
Agilent
BK Precision
Tektronix
Fluke
Keithley
Current Tektronix meters are just re-branded Flukes (both are owned by Danaher, as is Keithley now), so they're not a manufacturer anymore. The only professional brands in that list IMO are Agilent, Fluke and Keithley. BK precision is a class lower, there are probably much more brands in that class, like Uni-T, Metex, Rigol and Picotech.
-
You can find directories with worldwide DMM makers, not the only one but a lot of listings:
http://www.medibix.com/CompanySearch.jsp?cs_choice=c&clt_choice=t&treepath=16052&stype=i (http://www.medibix.com/CompanySearch.jsp?cs_choice=c&clt_choice=t&treepath=16052&stype=i)
-
Added "HP" tag after all instances of Agilent
Added Fluke to benchtop
Added Gossen to handheld
Added Uni-T (Uni-Trend) to handheld and benchtop (and oscilloscopes)
-
Added a reference to Meterman (which has been absorbed by Amprobe) because Dave reviewed one.
-
Here's the final DMM Manufacturers list.
Agilent (HP)
Amprobe
BK Precision
Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation
Chauvin-Arnoux
Chy Firemate
Dranetz
Extech
Fieldpiece Instruments
Flite Electronics
Fluke
Greenlee (Textron)
Gossen
Hioki
Ideal Industries
Instek (GW Instek)
Jewel Instruments - see Triplett
Martindale
Megger
Meterman - see Amprobe
Metrl
Protek
Sperry Instruments (AW Sperry)
Summit Co.
Tecpel
Textron - see Greenlee
Triplett (Jewel Instruments.)
UEi Products
Uni-T (Uni-Trend)
Yokogawa
You can see the Wiki (cross-referenced to Dave's reviews) here ...
http://www.eevblog.com/wiki/index.php?title=Manufacturers#Digital_Multimeters.2C_Hand_Held_.28DMM.29 (http://www.eevblog.com/wiki/index.php?title=Manufacturers#Digital_Multimeters.2C_Hand_Held_.28DMM.29)
-
i would like to throw the one that i have thats perharps you havent heard... Sunwa and Sanwa! not sure which one is authentic. ;)
-
Metex is popular in some parts of Europe, don't know if that's the manufacturer or just a brand name.
Milwaukee tools is also making some DMMs in Taiwan or China, story is that some of Fluke engineers or marketing guys have defected to Milwaukee tools.
-
Sanwa is the original, its big in Asia, and been around at least since the 1940s.
http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/ (http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/)
i would like to throw the one that i have thats perharps you havent heard... Sunwa and Sanwa! not sure which one is authentic. ;)
-
Sanwa is the original, its big in Asia, and been around at least since the 1940s.
They are also sold in Europe. I use several Sanwa multimeters (PC5000, PC510). In my opinion, they are very good and they are excellent value for money. They have no display backlight and they lack some features the top Fluke meters have, but apart from that, they are still feature rich, safe to use, reliable and have a decent instruction manual. In my experience, they are also well within specs (I use the Agilent 34410A to check them).
-
How about Datron/Wavetek? They made some really nice precision multimeters (6.5, 7.5, 8.5 count) and precision calibration voltage sources.
-
There is less popular brands like Yokogawa and German firm Gossen Metrahit. Yokogawa Electric has a slim pocket sized, 73101 and three bench models, 7555, 7561, and 7562 with LED seven segmented numeral display. Dave Jones showed an industrial Gossen Metrahit. The Metrahit are difficult to find in the U.S.A. Keithley is a popular third brand in the U.S.A. and it is made in Cleveland, Ohio with a battery option and data logging features. The Agilent 34401A is really a HP-34401A from their HP Alf project code name in Loveland, Colorado. Agilent announces a who new variation of the 3606A series and one has an integrated DC power supply along with a 5.5 digits multimeter and 4 wires Ohm sense included as two instruments in one.
http://tmi.yokogawa.com/products/other-test-measurement-instruments/digital-multimeters/ (http://tmi.yokogawa.com/products/other-test-measurement-instruments/digital-multimeters/)
http://www.yokogawa.com/ymi/gmi/DigitalMultimeters/gmi-73101-001-en.htm (http://www.yokogawa.com/ymi/gmi/DigitalMultimeters/gmi-73101-001-en.htm)
http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=U3606A&cc=US&lc=eng (http://www.home.agilent.com/agilent/product.jspx?pn=U3606A&cc=US&lc=eng)
Improvements in the Agilent 34410A by Mark Bailey for HP and then Agilent Technologies:
Agilent 34410A vs 34401A (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUKcmntlaxw#)
Yokogawa family of handheld and pocket digital multimeters, handheld, analog, digital, and small pocket for low voltage and low current:
http://www.yokogawa.com/ymi/gmi/DigitalMultimeters/gmi-dmm-index001-en.htm (http://www.yokogawa.com/ymi/gmi/DigitalMultimeters/gmi-dmm-index001-en.htm)
I like the Yokogawa TY-720 with USB port.
The Yokogawa bench top multimeters are 7555, 7561, and 7562. The 7555 has 5.5 digits and 7561 and 7562 have 6.5 digits. These use segmented seven red LED numerals to display the digits:
http://tmi.yokogawa.com/products/other-test-measurement-instruments/digital-multimeters/75617562-digital-multimeters/ (http://tmi.yokogawa.com/products/other-test-measurement-instruments/digital-multimeters/75617562-digital-multimeters/)
This saves room on the work table and two instruments in one unit. It is pricey, $1,201.00 USD. It is cheaper to buy a HP power supply on E Bay for $99.00 USD and get a separate HP multimeter. It saves rack space in an industrial automated test environment with computer control. As an individual, that is too expensive instrument, two in one case.
I think your second lists and replies listed it all. Simpson, Weston, and Triplett are early instrument makers in the U.S.A. I have the Weston catalogues and educational notes from my dad in the 1950s. We were not around in the 1950s. Simpson and Triplett exists.
There are really unpopular ones like Radio Shack Micronta analog made in South Korea in the 1980s and geology physics electronics Schlumberger. The newest multimeter Schlumberger Solartron 7151 with 5.5 digits and large rack mountable form factor. Schlumberger makes precision voltmeters and multimeters:
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/schlumberg_multimeter_vm_1613.html (http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/schlumberg_multimeter_vm_1613.html)
National Instruments makes card digital multimeters that fits inside the computer or frame.
Datron 1061 were 1980s giant rack mounted 5.5 digits multimeters. Wavetek was not a key player in multimeters. The vintage Wavetek 1271 was 8.5 digits multimeter. Advantest R6441B bench top is a professional brand under Tektronix made in Japan. I do not own any of these vintage multimeters. I have a Philips PM2518 from Holland, my favorite. When I was in electronics school, I used a Beckman Industrial handheld multimeter Model 320, non autoranging, and it is made in Taiwan. Beckman makes science instruments, too. Surf here for more examples with specific models:
http://www.teknetelectronics.com/Search.asp?p_ID=17619&pDo=DETAIL (http://www.teknetelectronics.com/Search.asp?p_ID=17619&pDo=DETAIL)
Sanwa is not available in the U.S.A. I am skeptical that Sanwa is available in Australia. The Sanwa PC5000 is shown at this website. I found it listed in a Singapore place.
http://www.directindustry.com/prod/sanwa-electric-instrument/digital-multimeters-33114-203819.html (http://www.directindustry.com/prod/sanwa-electric-instrument/digital-multimeters-33114-203819.html)
http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/ (http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/)
We need to be aware of Sanwa counterfeit:
http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/index.php?imitation (http://overseas.sanwa-meter.co.jp/index.php?imitation)
We have not mentioned my favorite oscilloscope maker, Rigol. Rigol has a few bench top multimeters available, but the quality is always untried as Rigol is a new brand. Agilent and Fluke are established brands and proven designs behind their lines and offerings like the U34401A and Fluke 28 series 2. This is as fun as geology with lots of rocks and minerals and parent rocks and different forming environments and conditions. Biology has all the varieties life and too many facts and processes to do well. Electronics have varieties of multimeters available or around in the world.
Lawsen
-
The DMM list isn't on the wiki anymore. Someone replaced it and a few other pages with a shitload of spam links there that I just cleaned out. Anyone want some sex pills? ;)
-
Lawson, most excellent post. That's as much a history of DMMs as a list of makers.
-
We have not mentioned my favorite oscilloscope maker, Rigol. Rigol has a few bench top multimeters available, but the quality is always untried as Rigol is a new brand. ...
Rigol's DM305x and DM306x are very good DMMs by my experience. They definitely deserve a mention...