Fluke vs Amprobe

[FenderBender]

Fluke was (and for the most part, still is) the holy grail of handheld test equipment. They've developed an amazing reputation. Unfortunately, hobbyists and professionals alike can not always afford such test equipment, though we want something we can trust.  If you want to stick with the Fluke "brand", there's something called Amprobe, which is, I guess, Fluke's "value" subsidiary.

I own one Amprobe meter. Aside from maybe one thing, it's a very good meter and it was cheap.

So how much different is a Fluke from an Amprobe? Do any of the meters share the same/similar designs? Are we mostly just paying for a name when we buy Fluke?...instead of buying a cheaper meter from Amprobe, Extech, Uni-T, etc.

Any opinions? I personally kind of want another DMM because I only have one, and sometimes I've run into situations where two would be more than helpful.

[armandas]

So how much different is a Fluke from an Amprobe? Do any of the meters share the same/similar designs? Are we mostly just paying for a name when we buy Fluke?...instead of buying a cheaper meter from Amprobe, Extech, Uni-T, etc.

Both Amprobe and Fluke belong to the same group, but from what I have seen, there is nothing that suggests that Amprobe multimeters are designed by Fluke engineers. The insides of the new Amprobe meters (34XR-A, 37XR-A, etc.) are pretty much the same as the discontinued Meterman series (34XR, 37XR, etc).

I'm very satisfied with the quality of my 37XR-A and would definitely recommend it. Having said that, I don't think that anyone here would suggest that when buying a Fluke, you pay for the name.

I've seen a couple Extech and Uni-T meters and while they're not in the same league as other big players (Fluke, Agilent, Gossen, Yokogawa), they offer reasonable quality and a lot of features for your money.

[Kiriakos-GR]

The brand VS brand  argument is vain.

The winning product creates noise about the brand. 

And personally I have not feel the magic by any Amprobe product that I have see so far.
They have even blown away the compatibility of the test leads, so the probe tips to not host Fluke accessories.
This move makes Amprobe to look very narrow minded, the least that I can say.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=448.msg12349#msg12349

[FenderBender]

Well I don't think you'd be disappointed with an Amprobe product. Overall solid brand...I think.

I'm kind of thinking of getting another DMM or two because it might be nice to have more than one. Something with a few more features. I kind of like Amprobe's AM-270, though I'm not sure how much of a value it is compared to other meters, like the $100 meters Dave tested in a video. The BK he tested seemed pretty snappy etc. Too bad more people don't do DMM reviews. But beggers can't be choosers.

But how this ties in is because I was curious whether Amprobe can be compared to Fluke and whether that would make them a good value or not. The AM-270 does seem like a nice meter, but if it really has no affiliation with Fluke engineering, (which is not to say that Fluke is the absolute best, but they've got reputation and experience to live by),  then I guess there would be little point in buying an Amprobe when I could get a BK or an Extech that might be a better value.

[IanB]

I think you need to buy a meter based on its intended use. If you are looking for an electronic bench meter than you don't need industrial features like input protection or ruggedness. No need to pay for what you don't need. What you might care about in a bench meter is accuracy, reliability, measurement ranges, convenience of the controls and general build quality.

For instance I have a couple of the Radio Shack 22-812 meters at about $70 each, $50 on sale now and then. It doesn't have the ultimate in basic accuracy and it is only CAT II rated , but it is solid, easy to use, has a nice feel to it, has numerous measurement features, has an endless battery life and has a PC interface for logging with a documented protocol.

I was just recently looking at the Agilent U1252A at $400+. Apart from the 0.025% basic accuracy and the extra display resolution, I really don't know what it does for me as an occasional user. It would be an expensive toy, that's all. I'm all for fun toys, but $70 for an occasional toy is plenty.

[FenderBender]

I guess you could say I'm a bit of a build quality nut. I'd much rather take a piece of equipment that will last me forever,  even if the functionality isn't 100%, in comparison to something that has a lot of functionality but has some sketchy build quality. Maybe that doesn't make sense, but perhaps you've run into a situation like that.

[IanB]

Oh, I like build quality. The 22-812 meters have excellent build quality. They have a solid case with not the slightest flex or creaking when trying to twist or bend it, a big display with large clear digits, a range selector with positive clickyness and two off positions, a removable rubber case for impact protection and a secure tilting bale that supports one handed operation.

Measurements include the usual DC/AC volts+amps, plus microamps, resistance, capacitance, continuity, diode test, frequency, pulse width, duty cycle, logic level, Rel, Max/Min, Hold, and transistor test. And of course data logging.

It's a really good value for the price.

[FenderBender]

Perhaps it is. I have a lot of things that I want to do...and I think I should get my priorities straight. I need a good bench PSU, oscope, function generator...and another DMM. That's my plan. I could go for the budget end of all of those categories and walk away with a decent lab for cheap...

But yeah there's so many multimeters out there, it's really hard to know. =/

[Simon]

I have an amprobe AM220 which I always recommend to those asking what first multimeter to buy. It is a decent machine and has not given me grief.