I just purchased a 87-IV also.
I do old radio restoration and other hobbyist electronics, now that I'm retired.
I have a 179, which is great for minor electronic work and great for electrical.
I was going to get a Keysight 1252B but decided even though I could afford one, it was more than I wanted to spend. I also considered the 87V but thought the 87IV was a better meter.
Only for strong hands: HP 3458A.
Not sure that counts as "handheld".
How about this?
Profitest ? I had a profitest in for repair. The selftest tests the relais according the display. Nice, it passed, strange because I had removed the relais....
For me portable enough, my wet dream the Keithley DMM7510, If I ever win the lottery I buy one. My main meter at this moment is the meter I trust above everything, my Keitley 2000. Ultrafast in everything, stable as a rock. (but but I love my Brymen 869s too)
Are there really people who use the bargraph ?
Must say that I have looked at the Hioki DT4282 when I bought the Brymen and if money was no option, I would have bought it.
In my limited knowledge and experience I have found that 3 of my meters cover everything I need all doing different things better than the other. I could lose my 2 cheaper meters and still be covered all round but the other 3 all have a specific thing they excel at. I don't think there is a meter that does "everything" better than all others.
If I was prepared to accept average results from a meter from the rest of my days then my Fluke 177 is the best "all rounder" that I have. If I need more accuracy, resolution or data logging or things like that then I have other meters that are "better".
One practical function was an variable tone beep before the bar graph apparition, i had one on an wavetek hd160 aka beckman industrial, and on an Fieldpiece hb7x ?
It was very practical to the fact you dont have to peek the display value but hear it while probing, it was very fast triggering too ...
Would be fun to hack an meter to do that again ...
Are there really people who use the bargraph ?
Yes.
The bar graph can be much faster to read when you're measuring a lot of similar values, especially if you fix the range. Apart from the easier visual aspect (position vs. numbers) the bargraph is usually updates faster than the main display.
I guess it's less useful if the settling time of the digital numbers is
very fast.
I thought Hioki lcd weren't so good?
Not just the bargraph.
DT4282 even do not have an avg in max-min function, according to the manual.
Not just the bargraph.
DT4282 even do not have an avg in max-min function, according to the manual.
Isn't that the same as the DC value which is shown in DC+AC mode?
I thought Hioki lcd weren't so good?
My Hioki LCD is as clear as my Keysight but with a much better backlight and they entire LCD backlight flashes red with the continuity test.
I thought Hioki lcd weren't so good?
Some of the photos look like the contrast isn't as good as you might like, but could just be a bad photo.
I thought Hioki lcd weren't so good?
Some of the photos look like the contrast isn't as good as you might like, but could just be a bad photo.
They show viewing angles at 3:45 in the promo video:
The video also shows the AC+DC+min/max features nicely.
(also has Japanese video-game style sound track
)
I've only ever seen batteries leak when they are flat, so for something in daily use probably not an issue - I do always take them out of stuff I don't use often.
Good point about the replaceability of a PP3 connector.
I have bad experience with AA and AAA cells and have seen several badly damaged instruments because of leakage batteries. Some of them were destroyed beyond repair. Last case was my Fluke VoltAlert 1AC-E II, a voltage tester for electrical stuff. Bought before 2 years, seldom used, laying in a shelf. Original AA batteries, usable until 2022. One of them was leaking and messed up the complete tester. The other was in 100% full charged condition.
Same happend with several other gear in the last time.
We are living in the year 2018 now and have still to life with leaking batteries...
On the other side I have never seen an Instrument that was destroyed from a 9V Batterie. So these cells are the most save solution and I cannot understand why some People prefer AA and AAA cells in measuremt instruments.
OK couldn't resist the speed of the Hioki - just ordered from Ebay Japan - stay tuned....
Looks like a very nice meter.
I've only ever seen batteries leak when they are flat, so for something in daily use probably not an issue - I do always take them out of stuff I don't use often.
Good point about the replaceability of a PP3 connector.
I have bad experience with AA and AAA cells and have seen several badly damaged instruments because of leakage batteries. Some of them where destroyed beyond repair. Last case was my Fluke VoltAlert 1AC-E II, a voltage tester for electrical stuff. Bought before 2 years, seldom used, laying in a shelf. Original AA batteries, usable until 2022. One of them was leaking and messed up the complete tester. The other was in 100% full charged condition.
Same happend with several other gear in the last time.
We are living in the year 2018 now and have still to life with leaking batteries...
On the other side I have never seen an Instrument that was destroyed from a 9V Batterie. So These cells are the most save solution and I cannot understand why some People prefer AA and AAA cells in measuremt instruments.
AA and AAA have mugh higher power to volume ratio, and lower internal resistance.
I wonder if anyone has successfully claimed against a battery manufacturer for leakage damage.
Maybe instead of useless Batterizer sleeves, someone should make a "battery condom" for leak containment.
Maybe there could be some sort of chemically treated paper that could be used to neutralise the effect of leaks
I'm going to go out on a limb and say I still like the UT181A and if they would make a better version of it, I would buy one. As it is, unable to use the meter when charging that odd ball battery, lens is easy to scratch, typical UNI-T ESD problems etc, I give it a no go. On the plus side, I like the Fluke 289 interface and the fact that they out right stole it. They even improved on the 289s UI in some respects. The meter is very stable with temperature. Graphing and boot times are much better than the 289. Like the BM869s, the 181A also has two thermocouple inputs. The bargraph is one of the fastest and is bidirectional. That is just slick.
I'm liking the UT181A a lot too. With the
3rd party logging software it's even better. Allows for downloading data out of the meter and automatically exporting it to csv as well. Something that the horrible Uni-T software doesn't do. That battery and charging sucks though.
AA and AAA have mugh higher power to volume ratio, and lower internal resistance.
None of which really matters for a multimeter.
(Does anybody here change the batteries more than once a year in a meter with LCD display? Mine last for years...)
Maybe instead of useless Batterizer sleeves, someone should make a "battery condom" for leak containment.
Isn't that what most decent 9V batteries are, 6x1.5V batteries in an electrolyte containment sleeve?
I see a lot of comments on US and Europe-based brands, but very little for the Japanese. Kyoritsu, Hioki and Sanwa seem to have products high end specs. .. is there something about them that make them not stand in the same tier as other brands?
I see a lot of comments on US and Europe-based brands, but very little for the Japanese. Kyoritsu, Hioki and Sanwa seem to have products high end specs. .. is there something about them that make them not stand in the same tier as other brands?
They are simply not as visible or available in Western markets. You have to make a special effort to seek them out and buy them.
or they are overpriced too
or they are overpriced too
The title of this thread is "at any price".
The Brymen 235 is a great little meter to have around the bench and I wouldn't want to be without it. When I need precision I turn on a bench meter. Don't think I'd ever give more then 300 euro for a hand held, at least for electronics. Anything above that competes with bench meters for me. Will be ordering another Brymen soon, probs the 257.
Bottom line at any price I'd get a Keithley.
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/uken/digital-multimeters/advanced-multimeters/fluke-289.htm?PID=56061I use Fluke 289 at my work. I repair HT power supplies for scanning electron microscopes.
I like the
Two terminal 50 ohm range with 1 milliohm resolution, 10 mA source current. Useful for measuring and comparing differences in motor winding resistance or contact resistance.
I do not know about any other DMM that has this feature.
This is also useful:
LoZ Volts. Low impedance voltage function for eliminating ghost voltages. Also recommended when testing for absence or presence of live power.
But it is more common even at UNI-T DMMs. But not available at Hioki DMMs.