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| Any modern alternatives to the Brymen BM867s? |
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| Pars:
Now I'm debating between the BM867 and the eevblog BM786. They appear to be ~ the same price more or less. I have a Fluke 89 IV and an HP3468a (IIRC, have to look at it). I am building an electrostatic headphone amp and need 2 meters which can handle 400-500Vdc, which the HP bench meter cannot. My harbor freight Centronic or whatever cheapie was over 100V off on the bias measurement (580V), so need something else. I need two meters to balance the offset, etc. Any thoughts between the 2? The temp measurement on the 786 would be handy to measure heatsink/device temps as this amp runs hot. The Fluke has temp on it, need a thermocouple however. |
| J-R:
The 500,000 counts mode on the BM86x is very limited, as in only usable for DC V/mV and also of limited accuracy. I've also observed drifting and filtering that makes it iffy to use even just for relative measurements. However, calibrated and stabilized it can be of SOME use ultimately. Your mileage may vary. A bench meter seems more desirable for breaking the 50k/60k count barrier if your goal is lots of trustworthy digits. The BM78x battery life is still only about 100 hours from the 3 AAA batteries, although they are easier to change I suppose. No interface options, no dual display. I still find the 121GW compelling with the 600 hours of battery life and Bluetooth, although it could better if development would continue bit more. I think they want to protect the sales of their non-EEVblog DMMs... For regular, daily 500VDC use, I would vote for a dedicated high voltage probe. Keep the high voltages over by the device, not on the DMM right in front of you? Also, maybe just skip the BM867s and get the BM869s? |
| coromonadalix:
If you need real counts over 60k 100k Go with an Chauvin Arnoux Metrix MTX3292 MTX3293 ??? 300k Gossens 28 and 29s but slow on display speed 80k are the Vici VICHY VC8145 lolll there was an rare 80k count handheld meter, can't recall the model ... Now most of the average big brand meters are stuck at 60k counts I would pick known "good ones" relaibility proven, price is second ... My Amprobe AM-140a is solid and stable, and it runs on 9v battery once again the 500k count gimmick is not used very often I do hate opening it if i blow a fuse Battery life is so-so, it doesn't beat my fluke 189 AA batteries (energizer) or i put the fluke 189 battery pack for a beautiful +/- 400hrs of fun loll I would say nothing beats some flukes with the huge battery cover who give access to the fuses, Mastech had one too for an 22k count dmm Had sold an Brymen 857s witch i regret selling it |
| Pars:
Thank you for the thoughts. Other than this amp that I am building, my needs rarely go over 60Vdc, so the higher voltages aren't a regular occurrence. The Fluke 89 has been a very dependable meter for me, but I bought it used several years ago before DMM prices skyrocketed. Battery life (4xAA) hasn't been an issue for me with it, and I have spare battery contacts for it. I use Duracells in it. I had been looking at used Flukes, but find that one of the Brymens that I am looking at is often cheaper that these are used. Some of the used Flukes appear to have had a hard life as well. I also don't need PC interfaces, bar graphs or any of that, so maybe I am looking at more meter than I need as I only use these for hobbyist purposes (audio equipment mainly). The prices in the $150 USD range is acceptable for something that will give dependable readings, normally DCV or resistance measurements (matching), as well as uA/mA if I am doing BJT matching. Regarding counts, I'm not knowledgeable enough on this to know what the benefits/drawbacks are. I guess I would need to do a LOT more reading on this board to begin to understand the subject. Looking up the Fluke 89 I have, it states 50,000 count for the primary display, which has certainly been acceptable for my use. |
| graybeard:
I use rechargeable ā9Vā batteries in my meters. I use both NiMH and LiIon versions. They work great and are much less expensive if you use them frequently. |
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