Products > Test Equipment
Choosing a multimeter - decisions.... decisions....
Martin72:
At work we got nothing else than fluke meters.
It´s the standard what industrial needs concerns.
In private I use a Brymen meter (869s), in my opinon it´s the one which comes closest to the fluke models with nearly same features.
The first 869s I´ve bought, I´ve given it away for external calibration, no joke.. 8)
Just to see how good it is in real.
And I wasn´t disappointed.
kayasaman:
I think you are both giving me very good advice here and I really agree in terms of Fluke and Gossen.
In terms of shipping to me from abroad, unfortunately if something is not sold locally there are heavy import and duty fees to be paid. Actually I am having the same problem with photography and astrophotography equipment, in that we no longer can benefit from EU shipping advantages.
For that reason I'm not entirely sure how easy it is to find the Hioki stuff.... Google does not reveal anything apart from what I mentioned.
Way earlier on there was a suggestion to buy from AlliExpress... again I will be hit with customs and duty fees. Actually I have installed many Android tablets on my walls (they are PoE based and use Ethernet rather then wifi) for building control that come from Shenzen in China and having things sent back for repair is a nightmare due to export/import paperwork etc...
I guess that leaves my choice between Brymen and Yokogawa. I haven't really heard much about Yokogawa here on the forum through searches but the "how to choose a DMM" video does mention them. They are a little more pricey then Brymen but still loaded full of features.
Though I'm not sure if the excess price will mean better build or more robust software?
From what I am reading there is a reason that Brymen is very popular.
One thing that did come up in the thread that I linked in at the top was an issue with the sample and hold feature where it was being compared to Fluke. Maybe it's not so important but definitely convenient to have.
Finally if there's no big difference between Brymen and Yokogawa to justify the increase in price then which Brymen model out of the ones I shortlisted? But if there is a significant difference to warrant the price increase what exactly is it?
With the Brymens being so cost effective ie. cheap compared to all the other brands mentioned it makes it hard to choose because there is not a lot of difference in price between the different models. Though at this price point I almost feel like getting all 3 though I am not sure what I would do with them all as I have only 2 arms and hands haha
AG6QR:
I'd vote for at least two meters: a crude but safe one for mains and full-featured but perhaps not so rugged one for electronics.
I'm not totally sure what your mains work consists of, but for mains electrical (as opposed to electronic) work, consider the Fluke line of "testers" (as opposed to meters). https://www.fluke.com/en-us/products/electrical-testing/basic-testers They're all designed for use by electricians, appliance repair technicians, etc. Very safe, rugged, and with enough precision to get a typical job done, but nowhere near as precise or full-featured as an 87-V.
As an extreme example, a non-contact voltage detector is a very quick, easy-to-use, and inexpensive tool for figuring out how far mains AC is getting, when you've discovered that it doesn't seem to be getting to where you need it. But it's a hopelessly imprecise tool for electronics work. At around $20, they're cheap enough that, in addition to whatever other meters I own, I'll always have one of those "fire sticks" for electrical maintenance around the home.
AG6QR:
--- Quote from: Fungus on November 13, 2022, 07:53:02 pm ---The golden rule of measuring current is to always use the 10A range - the 10A range will usually have mA resolution and 10A fuses are relatively difficult to blow around the house (even if you short out mains AC your circuit breakers will probably be faster than the fuse).
Only use the mA/uA ranges if you've already tried the 10A range and have seen that it's safe.
( Cue all the people who blow 10A fuses on a daily basis... :popcorn: )
--- End quote ---
Excellent advice, usually. But automotive work can easily blow 10A fuses. Starter motors will pull hundreds of amps, and there are lots of smaller accessories that pull tens of amps.
My golden rule is to start with an AC/DC current clamp, and only put the multimeter in the circuit at the 10A range after the current clamp shows it's safe. Then progress to the lower range if warranted. Exactly the same principle as you describe, just taken a bit farther.
Fungus:
--- Quote from: AG6QR on November 14, 2022, 03:37:52 am --- automotive work can easily blow 10A fuses.
--- End quote ---
Putting them inline with something that draws hundreds of amps is bad for fuses, obviously, but you can't expect a multimeter to measure that current either, so... :-//
(...so get a clamp)
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