EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: Syko_ on August 30, 2013, 11:31:13 am
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Hey guys,
My university uses mostly Fluke 175 True RMS DMM's for all of it's electronic labs, some of the research labs and whatnot.
I was curious about what you guys thought about them?
Cheers
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They are a high quality meter. What specifically would you like to know?
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I own the 179, another meter in the same series. They're in the same case, and look the same. The 179 has slightly higher accuracy, and has the ability to measure temperature, but is otherwise essentially the same as the 175.
The meter does what it's supposed to do. It is very rugged, both mechanically and electrically, and it has good, safe input protection. It has fast autoranging, good quality latching continuity beep, and a very fast bargraph. It has very long battery life.
As you move up the Fluke line, you can add new features like low-pass filters, microamp range, even data logging on some models. You can also add slightly higher basic accuracy. But, aside from the slightly different accuracy specification, the higher models don't do the basic job of measuring voltage, current, resistance and capacitance much better than the 175.
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I use a 175 for a field repair meter. For that it's very good. I'm pretty sure that's it's intended purpose.
It is a little limited in low current measurement (0.01ma resolution) if you're into that for your electronics work. The capacitance measurement is 1nF at the lowest so it's pretty much only for repair work. No REL button, which I suppose keeps people out of trouble but is a bit of an annoyance for electronics. Selectable auto-power-off which I really like because I often accidentally leave the meter on. Fluke's autohold.
There's no backlight on the 175, but that may be fixable. It looks like everything is there to do it, and if you hit the buried button the meter beeps. On the other hand, since discovering this I haven't bothered to set it up and have begun to really doubt the utility of the backlight. Are you really going to be probing in the dark? I haven't wished for it yet.
Only real annoyance is you have to disassemble it to replace the fuses.
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I have a Fluke 177 and an Agilent u1241B.
The Agilent has more features and comes with a sheet that tells you how close it is to the specifications.
However, the fluke is a little easier to use because it has less features, has a great auto hold and the continuity is much quicker.
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I also have a 179... It is a war tank and incredibly easy to use, although with the remarks by Paul if you intend to use it for electronics (I have a companion BM857 for lower current and capacitance ranges and additional features such as duty cycle).
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Hi guys,
thanks for all of your replies and opinions.
I'm sort of born again new into the electronics scene, I used to be up on it about 8 years ago as a strong hobby, but since starting high school I picked up other hobbies and it got forgotten. Basically this semester includes a unit that has an electronics lab component, and it's piqued my interest in electronics again.
So anyway, I just wanted to know what you thought, as I have experience using this unit, so then I can better gauge what to look for in a DMM when I inevitably go and buy one (and how it's going to perform compared to the fluke).
Thanks,
Syko
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The Fluke 175 is a very good meter. It is not, however, the best for electronics nor is it necessarily the best buy. You don't say where you are, but you might have a look at other makes like Brymen, Agilent, Amprobe etc. Have a look around the forums for opinions on them.
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There's no backlight on the 175, but that may be fixable. It looks like everything is there to do it, and if you hit the buried button the meter beeps. On the other hand, since discovering this I haven't bothered to set it up and have begun to really doubt the utility of the backlight. Are you really going to be probing in the dark? I haven't wished for it yet.
You can indeed add a backlight to a 175, especially if you happen to have a unrepairable 177 laying around to rob parts (like the diffuser and keypad) from. :)
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Heh! I saw replacement keypads on ebay. Didn't think of the diffuser. The front case might look a little funny if you simply drilled the hole for it though; they just plugged the mold for the 175 case but I see in your photo they have a chamfer around the hole for the 177+179.
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I also have a 175 for some time now. I upgraded from an older Handykit DVM, because I wanted
the Fluke consistancy, precision and true RMS metering. It's a very good meter, also suited for hobby
electronics. It's very pleasant to use, accurate, flexible and very durable. I dropped it 1m more than once.
Precision is much better than specified. However be careful when putting the case back
together after replacing battery or fuse, or else ruin this.Fuses are safe high voltage (ceramic) and very expensive.
There is no 100uA range, but Dave has come with The uCurrent device (see projects eevblog) which solves this.
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For almost the same price, the Brymen BM869 is far more, much more, multimeter. It has much better specs, has 500,000 count in some ranges and default 50,000 count in everything else. It is rated CATIV/1000V, the highest of any multimeter. It is also possible to connect it to a PC for data logging. It has been recently discovered that its peak capture function, called "Crest", does not work perfectly with the current ranges. Even with this fault it is far ahead of the Fluke 175 in features. It is a much better buy.
Now don't me wrong. Fluke has the best reputation in the business and you can't go wrong buying a Fluke except for the best bang for the buck. This is where the Brymen wins over easily. If you go for a BM867 instead you will get a lower price and a much more functional meter.
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I know the 87 has one or two additional SM components in addition to the backlight module and it's connector. I only own one or two 179s, I don't own any others of that series. It would be nice to know for sure.
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For almost the same price, the Brymen BM869 is far more, much more, multimeter. It has much better specs, has 500,000 count in some ranges and default 50,000 count in everything else. It is rated CATIV/1000V, the highest of any multimeter. It is also possible to connect it to a PC for data logging. It has been recently discovered that its peak capture function, called "Crest", does not work perfectly with the current ranges. Even with this fault it is far ahead of the Fluke 175 in features. It is a much better buy.
Now don't me wrong. Fluke has the best reputation in the business and you can't go wrong buying a Fluke except for the best bang for the buck. This is where the Brymen wins over easily. If you go for a BM867 instead you will get a lower price and a much more functional meter.
Are you Brymen's No.1 salesman yet? ;)
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Are you Brymen's No.1 salesman yet? ;)
Nope. I can see how I am starting to look like a shill for Brymen, but I sincerely believe in their products. I have paid for all of them. Fluke has a very well deserved reputation and if Brymen wasn't making such good stuff right now I would have Fluke or Agilent. I have had much experience with Fluke in the past and with other manufacturers that I have paid the privilege to be disappointed. Fluke has never been a problem but they are high priced for features.
Full disclosure: I have not received any consideration, money or product, from Brymen in any way.
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Fluke has never been a problem but they are high priced for features.
Having both brands I can tell that mechanically Fluke is much more robust than Brymen (teardown of my 179 is here (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-179-teardown-photos/msg178494/)). In my opinion that and the auto-hold make up in part for the price difference (other would be lifetime warranty, but I never had to use it and therefore I don't know how good it is).
But obviously opinions are like... well, you know! :)
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I do not doubt that the Fluke 175 has a great build. But I have been comparing the BM86X series to the Fluke because of price rather than features. In the case of the BM867 series which is much less expensive it out guns the Fluke in every way except for warranty and by personal opinion perhaps, build. So lets compare closer to features. In this case the BM257 is much closer.
The BM 257 has these advantages: similar accuracy, micro current range, back light, faster update rate, remembers your preference of a range ie AC or DC, temperature, one door access to battery and fuses with a captive screw into a metal insert, peak detect known as "Crest", REL function in auto range, "Auto Check" which is an automatically selecting voltage/ohms range, EF field detection function, 1MHz frequency range, separate rubber holster, and optional PC connection.
All of this, plus CATIV/1000 rated gold plated probes with full silicone wire, for $137 or less shipped to your door. It is $140 less than the Fluke 175.....
What does it have in disadvantage? No auto hold, 1 year warranty, and does not have the Fluke reputation. (Amprobe, a division of the same parent company as Fluke uses Brymen as an OEM for some models.)
Am I biased? Perhaps. I think I just have my own opinion based on experience.
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(...) and by personal opinion perhaps, build. (...)
Yes, I think I just felt the need to highlight that as I am probably a bit peeved by the fact the stand on my BM857 already cracked on the screw junction (I am not a heavy handed person)...
Despite all that, one cannot go wrong with any one of them. I still like my Brymen very much as well, and for the same reasons you mentioned.
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I'm sure others are more knowledgeable about this stuff than I am but I will offer my 1.5 cents anyway.
If you look around on ebay good deals can be had. I picked up a Fluke 87-3 for $50 a few years back and another for $80 recently. If you check out my post history you will see a tear down I did of a Metrix/BK Precision meter that I really like. It's a very accurate meter (spec wise it's on par with the Fluke 187) and I picked it up for less than $40. A great, if clunky looking meter is the Fluke 27 (8025A, 8025B, 25, 27, 27FM). Dave has a review of one. It's better than the 175 in some ways. Certainly a robust meter!
For the price of a 175 you might be able to get one of the modern Agilents. These are also great meters and make for good Fluke alternatives.
The Bryman looks promising but the state side prices aren't that great. There are some Greenlee/Ideal/Extech/Amprobe meters that I think are made by Bryman (they look like Fluke 87 knockoffs) that seem to have good specs and would problem work well. I've seen some go for under $50 on ebay.
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The Bryman looks promising but the state side prices aren't that great. There are some Greenlee/Ideal/Extech/Amprobe meters that I think are made by Bryman (they look like Fluke 87 knockoffs) that seem to have good specs and would problem work well. I've seen some go for under $50 on ebay.
Like I said the BM257 is available shipped worldwide for $137 or less.