Products > Test Equipment
BM786 multimeter - Opinion on suitability please - Possible Christmas present
coromonadalix:
check the prices some said the 789 was less expensive ???
but personally i hate the case design for stability issues on the bench while standing up, same for 869 867 ...
i loved the 859 for the square casing ...
but many have their opinions .. :-+
shapirus:
A great long-lasting DMM will be a great Christmas present for anyone who's into electr[on]ics, for sure. It's going to be an everyday use tool, so I don't think it can ever be a miss, unless it's for someone who already has the same DMM (and maybe even then -- you can never have too many multimeters). Every time you get into board-level repair, design or tweaking, or deal with batteries, power supplies etc., you need a multimeter.
BM789 is a great meter.
BM869s, which was suggested in previous posts, is a great meter too, in some aspects better, in some worse than the 789, but the differences in favor of the 869s are subtle, especially for someone who's not (yet) a DMM nerd.
I own the latter. The former is built on a newer platform and has some nice features such as autohold. More counts as well (except that the 869s has a special 500k counts DC voltage mode). The 869s is slightly more accurate (per the specification), but that'll hardly make any difference in the real day to day use. Maybe the BM789 is more future-proof. What would I buy for myself if I were to choose one today? I don't know. Both. And a hi-res bench DMM, too.
J-R:
The world is smaller now. We can do our research to find exactly what we want.
So unless they've set up an online wish-list, just give them the money. Gifts like this almost always miss the mark. I have so many iFixit tool kits I could open a store. I don't really use any of them except the exact one I wanted that I bought myself, decked out with some specific Wiha/Knipex/Megapro goodies.
You can put a note with the cash/card saying that you were thinking they could use a new DMM but feel free to use it for whatever. And point them to this thread!
I will say my opinion on DMM shopping is always get the top-end model in the range otherwise you'll regret the one feature you're missing. Also, get a color-matched carry case/pouch, alligator clips, banana adapters, a set of extra fuses (and batteries), and the interface kit if applicable. So you don't have to pay shipping charges for accessories later, and everything is there to rock and roll from the get go.
joeqsmith:
--- Quote from: ElectricalMum on December 02, 2024, 10:30:10 am ---Hi all
... and have started to look at the BM786 - it's a bit more than I was going to pay, but if it would likely be more useful across a range of tasks than a cheaper model and provide a tool to use into the future it's still doable.
So the questions are, you are a 22 year old, just completing a B-Eng Apprenticeship, would you want your own multi-meter, if so would you want a BM786 or would you want something else for Christmas if so what please?
--- End quote ---
Hello and welcome.
I started out with an analog meter and while in college, I bought a Fluke meter that was on par with what the local Harbor Freight stores would give away free with a purchase. I damaged that Fluke several times as it basically had no input protection and it cost some major cash back then to repair. Having testing a few Brymen meters now, they have all been very robust electrically and mechanically. The 78x series is really nice for electronics. Had I had one starting out, most likely would still be using it decades later.
My personal all around favorite meter that you can buy new is still the BM869s. You can connect it to a PC and log data. It has a dual display that I really like having. I make use of that 500k super high resolution mode that was mentioned. It's an older design, larger, heavier and uses a 9V battery but it covers the vast majority of my needs.
Fungus:
--- Quote from: coromonadalix on December 02, 2024, 09:31:47 pm ---i loved the 859 for the square casing ...
but many have their opinions .. :-+
--- End quote ---
Agree.
Mine's an 857 (which is an 859 with simpler dial - no temperature)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version