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Choosing a USB DMM and software

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SLJ:
I have been looking for a mid range DMM that I can connect to a USB port.  The only thing the DMM would be for is the probe interface to the on screen display.  I want something up to $150 US.  I see quite a few DMMs with a USB interface but none seem to give any screen shots of what the software display on the monitor would look like.

I will mostly be monitoring 1-400 DC volts, 0-250 AC volts, and 0-3 amps.  I don't need high accuracy.  I have bench Flukes for that.  I just want something that will give me an on screen display and maybe a time line/logging for monitoring levels and changes over time.  True RMS is not necessary but would be nice.  My biggest concern is finding a DMM and software with a graphical display.  Does not even have to be a handheld.  The box could even be software driven but it's not necessary.

Any suggestions of what has worked for you and maybe a screen shot of what's available?

M. András:
try to download the agilent dmm software, its free from their website and runs without a meter connected

mariush:
Uni-T UT61E  is a 22.000 count multimeter with True RMS for about 60$

By default it comes with a serial connection to the pc but you can easily use a 3-5$ rs232 to usb adapter to connect it to the PC, I use such adapter and it works great.

It measures twice a second on any setting, sends to pc twice a second, has free software AND is also supported by UltraDMM (that has a thread on this forum about it, and you can download it freely)

Downsides (if you can call them that) : 

* in rare cases, usually when its autorange code changes between internal ranges, it's possible to show a single measurement that's higher than normal then immediately reports the correct value (so for half a second it shows a bad value)... this is shown in the video review below. Basically if you log the measurements to a file, they jump out and can be easily spotted and removed so it's not a big issue

* no backlight ,

* no auto power off (but runs on 9v battery and gives accurate measurements as low as 3-4 volts, so you can change it to something else if you want to),

There are hacks published that enable power off or backlight, if you'd ever be inclined to mod it.

There's a huge thread about this meter on this forum here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/uni-t-ut61e-multimeter-teardown-photos/

There's an extensive video review of the meter here:

presentation, construction, dc voltage accuracy,


the PC data logging software, UltraDMM software, mains measurement,  continuity , also shows that minor issue with the value being reported incorrectly for ONE measurement in some cases



inside , teardown , battery consumption and how low can it go before turning off , it doesn't show incorrect values even on low battery



temperature stability, calibration etc




 

Lightages:

--- Quote from: SLJ on March 03, 2013, 08:33:30 pm --- The only thing the DMM would be for is the probe interface to the on screen display.

--- End quote ---

I am not sure what you mean by that.

SLJ:
Just means I don't need the stand alone dmm.  Some just make a box with prob jacks that connects via USB and all controls and ranges are software driven from the keyboard.  Not usually found in this price range though.

Screen shots of the computer display would be good.  I've see the screen shot of the software for the Uni-T UT61E.

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