First impressions of my new Fluke 17B

[alm]

Fused probes are a safety hazard, since they would indicate zero voltage in voltage mode (you are supposed to measure a known live circuit before and after the unknown circuit, but you're not supposed to make stupid mistakes like measuring current across a circuit either). You can have indicators that the fuse is blown, but you want to make it hard for people to make mistakes, and these indicators might fail. Fluke recalled some of the 170 series multimeters because they didn't indicate a hazardous voltage fast enough. In my opinion, designing the probes so that they can withstand the required current for a short amount of time, and designing the fuses in the meter, where you can separate current from voltage measurement, is the better strategy.

[NiHaoMike]

Isn't one solution to making sure the meter is operating correctly is to use something like an AA battery with a simple voltage booster to ensure that there is always a known live circuit nearby?

[Kiriakos-GR]

only a stubborn "mangas" would continue to claim that glass fuses are fine

We are many "manges"  but   scattered all over the world , and some have landed to Poland ,
and have fantastic pictures of Italy in their home page.

But I have not see yet any blender - TV set - Home HiFi sound system , or air condition ,
to had be killed from transients .

Thats why I am skeptical , about this matter.

And the bottom line are , that behind brands , there is electronics engineers who did the " Wrong design " ,
if they did it ..
This is an electronics engineers Blog .. right ?

So instead of using the brand names as practice target, we should learn and find the true responsible,
behind every small or large scam ..

Those electronics engineers are not worth to be called as electronics engineers .

I am just the end user , and all that I have are my opinion , based on common logic.  

And right now , I like to kick in the rear , the designer behind the Fluke 87V .
The meter with the latest protective holster , does not let the beeper to sound powerful enough.
And If  I remove the holster , so to restore the volume of the beeper .... I loose the ability to use the TPAK hanging system ... that I have buy and pay !!

I got screwed on that ..  from the bad design .. of some one who works for Fluke ... ( Yes he is an American )
The one brings the other , and Fluke gets the fully responsibility , of this large mistake,
because they gave the " ok " , so to start the production of this holster and hanging system .
 

And I am saying all this , because i feel very unhappy because of this.
And this is what matters , satisfaction and happiness .    

[alm]

Isn't one solution to making sure the meter is operating correctly is to use something like an AA battery with a simple voltage booster to ensure that there is always a known live circuit nearby?

Sure, but safety equipment should be as intuitive and easy to use as possible. A meter (w/ probes) that might stop reading voltages at any point is not intuitive. And a properly designed meter wouldn't need those fuses in the first place.

[slburris]

And right now , I like to kick in the rear , the designer behind the Fluke 87V .

OK, so you're unhappy with your Fluke.  If you were to buy a different multimeter,
what would it be?

Scott

[ThunderSqueak]

And right now , I like to kick in the rear , the designer behind the Fluke 87V .
The meter with the latest protective holster , does not let the beeper to sound powerful enough.
And If  I remove the holster , so to restore the volume of the beeper .... I loose the ability to use the TPAK hanging system ... that I have buy and pay !!

regarding the Fluke 87-v

You have a hard time hearing the beeper with the holster on?   I consider it on the loud side.  The technicians that work under me have even complained a few times that it is obnoxiously loud, although I think part of that is they are recovering from a night of too much alcohol . I should take the holster off next time they complain  

I like my Fluke meters.  I own a 12, 87, and 87v and they all get use.  I have NEVER had an issue hearing the beeper with the holster on them, on any of them.


What meter do you consider the best?

[Kiriakos-GR]

What meter do you consider the best?

The best ...  is it any really, that it can get the title ?
I do not know.

All that I can say are that I was not expect from an meter at this price tag,
to suffer for ridicules, external design flaws.
I can forgive it that it defaults on diode with the beeper off .

The best .... TRUE RMS could be the 87-6 , if Fluke decide to become open minded,
and unlock the Fluke forum , so voices like my , to find an way to trigger them.  
I always nag for an truly good reason .  

Finally only Dave , can do an DMM  " loudest Beeper comparison " ...  at the high priced ones.
 
 

[saturation]

I just received this weekend from eBay a used heavily grimed up Fluke 87V, and certainly was used in the outdoors a lot.  I originally was going for a used name brand bench meter of high accuracy, or a new low end Agilent, but for about $120+$20 for shipping, how can you lose, considering a 17b runs in that price range.  I was looking for a working meter to use as a 3rd meter for circuit monitoring, so appearance wasn't a factor, but factory intact function was. 

Similar to one pictured below but a bit dirtier.  In deference to the original owner, I'm not posting the real photo.



There was dirt inside the input jacks.  It came with the electrician kit, but without a bag, and the replacement one was so worn and dirty I discarded it.



I spent at least 2 hours cleaning the meter and the accessories.  The probes on the meter were bent.  Soap and water was the only way to get the grime out, and it blackened my hands and the sink.  The magnet was full of rusted metal particles, so I knew this meter was put to work in a field setting that was not clean.  The meter body itself has some deep scratches at back, and the yellow holster has cuts.  There were many scratches on the LCD clear panel but I managed to buff most out with Novus plastic scratch remover.  The yellow holster grime was so sticky, I put it in the dishwasher, and I must say, that did the best job in cleaning it out.

I've disassembled it completely and checked the internals, inside its pristine.  I'm going through testing all its functions and calibration, and so far, its working superbly to spec.

The one thing I find off with the 87V I got, is the battery compartment does not have an O ring seal.  The casing, and input jacks of the 85 and 87V have O rings that seal tightly when the case is closed, and the rubber buttons seal against the casing like an O ring, but the battery compartment is just plastic on plastic.  Is there supposed to be an O ring here?  I'm not concerned, but unlike the 85, without an O ring here its a weak spot for water to enter the PCB.

Compared to my older Fluke 85, the 87V beep is extremely loud, and that's with the magnet holder and hanger on.  so I'm not sure what K's issue is, maybe my meter is better or his worse?  I can only surmise that either K's meter has defects, because he has complained about other things with his eBay bought 87V, or he works in a very noisy area.  Hopefully its not hearing problems.

The only thing I can suggest is check the piezo beeper, make sure the 3 springs are intact and making a good contact with the PCB. 

One has to get a device one can work with, but I don't think the complaints K registers is typical of most users of the 87V.

And right now , I like to kick in the rear , the designer behind the Fluke 87V .
The meter with the latest protective holster , does not let the beeper to sound powerful enough.
And If  I remove the holster , so to restore the volume of the beeper .... I loose the ability to use the TPAK hanging system ... that I have buy and pay !!

regarding the Fluke 87-v

You have a hard time hearing the beeper with the holster on?   I consider it on the loud side.  The technicians that work under me have even complained a few times that it is obnoxiously loud, although I think part of that is they are recovering from a night of too much alcohol . I should take the holster off next time they complain 

I like my Fluke meters.  I own a 12, 87, and 87v and they all get use.  I have NEVER had an issue hearing the beeper with the holster on them, on any of them.


What meter do you consider the best?

[Kiriakos-GR]

My next DMM will have volume control over the beeper plus  tremble and bass adjustments.
No one will decide for me , how loud , are loud enough. 

The industrial electricians hang out at noise places .. thats a fact.

As about my 87-5 , at my low noise bench ,  with the holster and the rear leg closed its almost problematic ,
when it stays horizontally .

When I pull the support leg , and set the meter standing, I have sound ...
If I remove it from the holster it sings songs ..

Once I had said that I am gonna drill the sucker     , and probably I will just do that..
Right now I am busy with the resistors decade project..

[PetrosA]

only a stubborn "mangas" would continue to claim that glass fuses are fine

We are many "manges"  but   scattered all over the world , and some have landed to Poland ,
and have fantastic pictures of Italy in their home page.

But I have not see yet any blender - TV set - Home HiFi sound system , or air condition ,
to had be killed from transients .

Thats why I am skeptical , about this matter.

Thanks K I don't have much time anymore for photos, but the old ones stay up anyway.

Blenders, TVs, Hi-Fi's, etc, don't need HRC fusing because they are not designed to be used in CAT III or CAT IV conditions. Most residential overcurrent protection around the world limits the available current to 10,000A at or near the mains which makes it very hard to ignite an arc flash (not impossible, but less likely...). Some multimeters ARE designed to test voltage in conditions with much higher available fault current where transients can be in the thousands of volts.

[Kiriakos-GR]

Any way, personally as adult - consumer - technician.

I see more danger in the picture, of one young one to be bare foot in the  room and pocking one mains plug.
Than thinking that the A type Fuse will save his life , and the B type , not.

From the many conversations about this matters, the conclusion always was, that the DMM that it will operate mainly at homes, it does not need to comply at the maximum ratings.

The industrial environment , its less forgiven ,  but there is no need for an such conversation.
The Fluke 17B  its not an industrial meter.    

 

[PetrosA]

From the many conversations about this matters, the conclusion always was, that the DMM that it will operate mainly at homes, it does not need to comply at the maximum ratings.

The industrial environment , its less forgiven ,  but there is no need for an such conversation.
The Fluke 17B  its not an industrial meter.    

 

True, the 17B is only rated CAT II so no one should be using it on the line side of the mains or even in the main panel/fuse box. Even so, the HRC fuses are designed to be safer than a glass fuse when they blow and the most likely situation for that is if you leave the leads plugged in the current terminals and try to check voltage (dead short to earth or to second phase/leg). Even in a CAT II area this can cause some big fireworks, so better safe than sorry.

[sonicj]

DX is listing the 18B for $107.10 usd shipped
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.45434

tempting! my fluke 12 is still "going", despite years of abuse! it's taken a good bit of effort to keep it afloat though... lack of current measurement capability finally has me considering investing in a new meter. i rarely needed to measure current via a meter until. if i did, i would go to my craftsman dmm from like 10 years ago. not having it on my go-to dmm is a real pain now that im delving into developing my own circuits. anywho, this looks like a pretty sweet deal if the build quality is anything like my 12.

i don't know what the rest of you are thinking cause i personally thought the led tester looked handy! i have a bin full of LEDs for which i have idea what the Vf is, nor how it will look when lit. this feature will allow me to quickly choose the flavor of led im feeling at the moment and at the same time tell me exactly what the Vf is so i can choose the proper resistor without any further effort!

-sj

btw re: the buzzer on my fluke 12... i filled mine up with hot glue and its still too loud 

[semaphore]

To me the 17B is better than 18B. The 18B is missing below items:

- Temperature read
- Frequency read
- Duty cycle read
- Relative function

Which look more to me like the Fluke 18B is the Fluke 15B with an LED tester! However, it cost the most out of these 3 models. Here are the DealExtreme prices:

15B = $73.54
17B = $90.50
18B = $107.10

I think 17B still the most value.  

[Salas]

Striking the probes together produces a disappointing response. I cleaned them with automotive brake cleaner but it didn't seem to help. But when probing with the points on a piece of metal the response was excellent. So I don't know. The tone for continuity is the same tone when changing modes with the yellow button. There's nothing wimpy about it. It's loud and clear.

Zombie thread resurrection post. I got a 17B too, and I have seen that with leads from another DMM, striking the ends responds much better. So its own probe pins neck surface conductivity must be a part of the let down. Don't know if its some measure against hard side-shorts between live PCB components when probing or just crap metal. They are nice ergonomically non the less. About the meter in general, I am happy primarily for the sturdy construction, clean big digits, straight forward classic functionality, fair auto ranging speed VS most Chinese designed meters. Regarding its price of course, misses out noticeably to expensive higher model Flukes. Great for the tool box, fair on the bench in casual jobs. Now why they just could not give it a 2.5V diode range to at least light the odd RGY led for a quick check...Up sale they call the design difficulty term?