Best model fluke multimeter below $250 for electronics work ?

[diracshore]

I am looking at the fluke 289... but I think its overkill for general electronics work, and its going to cost me US $608 + tax. What would people recommend as a cheaper alternative ? Going for best value here but it has to be suited for electronics work and I want a fluke.

[ejeffrey]

The fluke 175 series are the best units for electronics under $250.

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this.  I wouldn't buy a fluke unless you were willing to shell out for the 289 or the 87.  For electronics work there are much better value-for-money meters out there in this price range. Would you consider Amprobe?  They are owned by fluke, but not fluke branded.

[saturation]

Used Fluke 87V on eBay, if you do it right between $160-250.

[diracshore]

OK, I guess I would consider Amprobe.
I would be very interested to know what is the absolute best value model by any manufacturer is in peoples experience.

[EEVblog]

There is the Fluke 17B
Made in china instead of USA, for the asian market, and build down to a price, but still a Fluke design.

Dave.

[nukie]

289 chew through batteries.

[vk6zgo]

Look around for a secondhand Fluke77--They are quite old,but  they will do most jobs OK.
I have one which is around 20years old.
I bet you will never find any of the current "cheapies "around in 20 years time!


73, VK6ZGO

[alm]

Second hand Fluke 77 should be way less than $250 I think. If he's considering used, some other models like a used 87 would also be worth consideration.

What was the verdict on the Agilent U124x series? Specs should be OK for electronics work, it does have the uA ranges and the other standard features. Of course not 4.5 digit like the Fluke 87 or Agilent U125x, but you won't find that from a top brand on a brand new meter below $250.

[vk6zgo]

Yeah, my recommendation of the "77" could cover most of this earlier generation of DMMs.
I never liked the really old ones with the silly square buttons on the side,though! 

VK6ZGO

[grenert]

Yeah, my recommendation of the "77" could cover most of this earlier generation of DMMs.
I never liked the really old ones with the silly square buttons on the side,though! 

Nah, I love the 8060A!    It's a great lab meter: 4.5 digits, clean high-contrast display, superfast continuity, really accurate (0.05% DCV), true RMS AC up to 100 kHz, high impedance mode (>1000 M).  No good for field use, however (too brittle, no rubber padding, no backlight).  It was Fluke's top of the line electronics meter until the 187/189 came along.

For a more durable/modern meter, but readily available cheap/used, the Fluke 79 series III is very similar to the current model 179 for a lot less money.

[Wartex]

Used Fluke 87V on eBay, if you do it right between $160-250.

this

[gregariz]

Yeah, my recommendation of the "77" could cover most of this earlier generation of DMMs.
I never liked the really old ones with the silly square buttons on the side,though! 

VK6ZGO

The 70 series was the mega-popular series for fluke. You can still buy the 77-4 for $260.

http://www.testequity.com/products/1486/

The only catch is if you buy a 73 or 77 series 1,II,III second hand since they were popular with electricians and technicians in the field you'll often find they have scratched up LCD windows from getting bounced around in toolboxes.

Its my understanding that this class of meter was replaced by the 117 (~150) or the 77-4 above.

Maybe its me but I find it hard to justify $600 for any multimeter these days. Even the cheap stuff will be fine for bench work, but they won't stand up as well in an electricians toolbox as a fluke perhaps. If I were setting up a bench today, I'd probably just buy a couple $50-100 extech's and save my money for the other stuff.

[img]

Extech is fine and quite affordable, but you state that you definitely want a Fluke. Then I'd stop looking at new meters and sit on eBay for a few days stalking a nice deal on a used 77, 79, 85, 87 (not necessarily V).
While it's very much fun to see people with 8 meters, I personally find that I am happiest with a couple of similar meters from the same manufacturer which feel right (Fluke in my case), with other meters just there for double-checking or toolbag.
Different meters have different 'personality', and I prefer to consistently work with the same/similar meter to make sure my attention is on the PCB's behaviour, not the meter's.

[qno]

No microamp range on fluke 70 series

[diracshore]

Wow Thanks for all your suggestions !

I think I will go for the Fluke 17B. Looks like a good compromise. I was almost going to get a 87v but after that cell phone interference blog I lost confidence. Thats basic RF testing QA. Not really excusable for a company making multimeters, although I am sure they are otherwise quality products. I did see they had revised the design but there is no way to know currently if I am buying a revised product or an older unit, say buying from Amazon, since they did not change the model numbers.

The 17B has rave reviews. Personally I think Chinese manufactured (and designed, although the 17B is a US design) electronic products have recently got very competitive on quality as well as cost and much of the negativity directed towards that sector comes from competitors, the xenophobic or those against economic globalization. Every empirical test I have seen shows you get what you pay for and then some in the majority of cases. Of course if you want a product below the US base production cost, corners will be cut, however the fact that you get a working product at all in this case, whilst covering labor and shipping, is a part of good design IMO, in that people who otherwise could not afford anything now how a productive instrument.

Anyway Thanks !

[RCMR]

I'm happy with my 17B.  Feels like typical Fluke quality and although the precision isn't as high as other (often cheaper) DVMs, I think the accuracy may be higher.

[zaoka]

I got Fluke 77-4 of ebay for $129 brand new and calibrated by fluke

[EEVblog]

No microamp range on fluke 70 series

I was about to say that.
The Fluke 70/170 series are "electrical" meters.
IMO a true "electronics" meter must be able to measure the full span of the basic Volts/Ohms/Amps. A meter that can't measure uA just doesn't justify the term. Any old analog meter can measure uA!

Oh course, that doesn't mean they aren't incredibly useful on the bench, and great meters. They are both of that.

But yeah, I'd spring for a 2nd hand Fluke 87. I've got them for as little as $100 on ebay before.
Hint, you can get bargains on the 83/85 as people don't search for them as much.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FLUKE-83-MULTIMETER-EXC-COND-CASE-MANUAL-2-SETS-LEADS-/190562671587?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5e6b9be3#ht_656wt_1396

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluke-83-III-3-Multimeter-Calibrated-and-Certified-/130517553372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6373d0dc

http://cgi.ebay.com/FLUKE-83V-INDUSTRIAL-MULTIMETER-NEW-BOX-/130558218396?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e65e0509c

http://cgi.ebay.com/EXCELLENT-FLUKE-MULTIMETER-83-V-TRUE-RMS-/300584538822?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45fc3c12c6

Dave.

[vk6zgo]

Maybe as an EE you may have the occasion to read uA with a DMM.

As a Tech/Technical Officer,I've never  had to do this--- I've normally had "any old" analog meter to hand to use on the extremely rare occasions I needed to measure currents of such small magnitude!
It doesn't have a uV ,milliohm or MegOhm range either.

VK6ZGO

[l84coffee]

I'm retired from working in the electronic field as both a Tech and Engineer for 36+ years. For the most part I can't remember when I ever need to measure uA of any sort.
Most of my trouble shooting and electronic testing involved voltage and resistance measurements.
In my opinion a good dependable meter is all one needs. I got by for decades using nothing but a Fluke plain Jane 77.

[vk6zgo]

Or an AVO model 8!
These young whippersnappers don't know they're alive!

VK6ZGO

[Uncle Vernon]

Or an AVO model 8!
These young whippersnappers don't know they're alive!

VK6ZGO

Those were the days eh? When calibrating your meter also included an inspection for white ants.
No hang on the "8" heralded the adoption of that space age bakelite. 

[RCMR]

I always thought it was *really* cool the way the Avo8's needle was damped, whereas my cheap 20K/V meter would go "ping" off the stops if I ever selected the wrong voltage range :-)

[l84coffee]

Being on the other side of the pond and not knowing was an AVO model 8 was, I did a search for it.
It's cousin on this side of the pond would be the Simpson 260.
Looks like both were the work horses of a bygone era.

This is where I found a picture and a short article: http://www.dustygizmos.com/arcpages/arctest.htm.
Might bring back some memories for some of you on the that side of the pond.

[vk6zgo]

Yeah,not only were they better insulated than DMMs,they were so heavy,you had to place them on the floor or a chair,or something like that to use them--none of this handheld nonsense,men were men in those days!
That,plus the big scale meant you could stand back about 2 ft,& still use them.

The AVO 8 had a 2kV scale,which worked,too!

About "heavy"--way back when,I was working up in Wyndham WA,wearing the standard local attire of
 T-shirt,"footy"shorts, & "thongs"(Just so we don't freak out the Brits & North Americans,"thongs" are the separate toe sandals called "flip-flops" outside Australia).

The AVO 8 was sitting on the top of a transmitter,when,in a deft(or,daft) move,I dragged it off its perch with the testleads.

I put my foot out to save the AVO from damage on the concrete floor.

Not a good idea!!No damage to the meter,but I limped for a couple of days. 

VK6ZGO