Products > Test Equipment
Brymen vs bench top multimeter
<< < (3/7) > >>
nctnico:
Buy the Vicy VC8145 and be done with it.
nightfire:
I also had the same thoughts, as I equipped my bench. Long story short, I have two bench meters, bought used on ebay in good condition.

Advantages of a bench meter, that mattered to me:
- no batteries could go bad, empty or leak
- no powersaving shutdown
- illuminated display, AND no powersaving 15 seconds or so for no illumination again
- higher precision for same price
- stackable

I ended up with a Fluke 8600a and Fluke 45, which are more than good enough for what I am measuring. Of course, with some drawbacks, like no autoranging on the 8600a, but when you know what you are doing, autoranging in lots of cases is not needed.

I personally would try not to get those fancy bench meters below 200 $/€ - in most cases they are simply handhelds fitted in a case and then sold as "bench", so you get only the better power supply.
nctnico:

--- Quote from: nightfire on April 06, 2023, 09:25:41 pm ---I personally would try not to get those fancy bench meters below 200 $/€ - in most cases they are simply handhelds fitted in a case and then sold as "bench", so you get only the better power supply.

--- End quote ---
Why not? Your reasoning makes absolutely no sense to me. In the end not having to swap batteries and being able to leave it on all day is a major comfort improvement well worth the money. For bench use I'd take any bench meter with a power cord over any handheld just for the comfort. I could not care less about what is inside; I want the bench functionality.
nightfire:
The value of those cheap bench meters is... IMHO not very good. Here some used buy for nearly the same money will probably provide better value.
I got my Fluke 45 (calibrated) for 250 Euros, and have a reliable instrument.
But yes, I agree- when bench function and lack of batteries is the prime aim, then those cheap bench meters will fit the bill.
But as a good quality DMM is available, I would consider it as a waste of money to buy for similar money some bench DMM with significantly poorer performance.
nctnico:

--- Quote from: nightfire on April 06, 2023, 09:44:48 pm ---The value of those cheap bench meters is... IMHO not very good. Here some used buy for nearly the same money will probably provide better value.
I got my Fluke 45 (calibrated) for 250 Euros, and have a reliable instrument.
But yes, I agree- when bench function and lack of batteries is the prime aim, then those cheap bench meters will fit the bill.
But as a good quality DMM is available, I would consider it as a waste of money to buy for similar money some bench DMM with significantly poorer performance.

--- End quote ---
But that is the kicker: the VC8145 has more features, better accuracy for AC true RMS compared to the Fluke 45. And after a decade of sitting on my bench it is still bang-on because it is built around a good quality voltage reference. It is a fallacy to think the old meters are somehow better. They are not. Extremely outdated is the term I'd use. I have fallen into the trap thinking that old equipment is somehow better one time too many and kept my eyes open since then. When I look for test equipment I dig deep into the specs & reviews and think long & hard about what actually brings me value for my money.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
Previous page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod