Good cheap meter for hobbiest

[innkeeper]

Background, my brother is doing a lot of work with Arduino's driving MOSFETs, along with other relatively low voltage projects.

Personally, I would forget the meter and go with a scope.

When you want to look at what an Arduino pin is doing then you need a 'scope, yes...

...but you still need a multimeter! 

If you read their first post they already have at least one.

he owns an ideal brand 6000 count meter, which, upon trying to use it to measure current in the ma range was extremely far off (reading 2ma when it is actually 8ma), and id not be surprised if it is off on other readings. 

Possible two or more as they claim the current was off 6mA.   Was it really?  Was it a question of the person using the meter?    Maybe they were expecting peak and looking at average.   Not being there, I have no idea.   

 I've already given him one of my old scopes.
as far as if the meter is really off by that much... i personally tested this against 3 other meters, which all read the same. and... one of those meters was the GW121

 

[innkeeper]

it would certainly be convenient for how he would use it if he could measure ripple, but not something he would miss unless it is explained to him.

[innkeeper]

The Best for an Electronics Hobbyist or Technician is the RuoShui 9808+ (Victor VC9808+).

[ LINK REDACTED ]

Precise with very good specs, costs only $25 (free shipping) with ALL the Features you need, even inductance measuring.

Prove I'm wrong.   

i am gonna call you out on this one Trader.

Seriously 1999 count meter....it appears that you posted that just to get an affiliate link on a forum.

[myf]

Hello,

I have an old ut-61e and I appreciate it because it's the only one with 20000counts and an IR-usb data-logger for about 10eur more.
Freesoft Sigrok is perfect in simple reading its data.   I feel that ohm mesasures are 5counts too light : with 2 or 3 série or parallel resistors (at 10kohm) I get 4995, 9995, 14995, and 19995. I don't know the exact value of these resistors, bu this error isn't a proportional error, but an offset error. I don't know its proportional error.   

This one doesn't have temperature measures, others ut-61 have, but they only have 4000 or 6000counts. ut-61a has not usb link ability. One of the ut-71 has also and temperature measures and 30000 or 40000count and usb link, but it is older, more complex to use and a lot of people explain it is less secure for mains use. With it's IR-usb link (recognise by Sigrok) it costs about 100eur with its usb link.

Hope this help !

[rstofer]

Ultimately, there is a need for more than 1 DMM.  I can hang 3 of them around a transistor:  base current, collector current and Vce come to mind.

One of them, if not all of them, might as well be the Aneng 8008.  I have several meters including a Fluke 189 and both of eevBlog's offerings but I actually use the Aneng.

It's a handy little meter available via Amazon (stocked elsewhere).

https://www.amazon.com/ANENG-AN8008-Multimeter-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B076GZK62B

I don't see the DMM as all that handy for uC projects once we know that the power is present.  OTOH, I can't see the colors on small resistors so I measure every one of them before I put them in place.

The BSide ZT-X is a pretty nice meter with a BRIGHT display.  Dave did a review that was generally positive but he hated the BRIGHT display.  I like the BRIGHT display!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJ9MR3L

https://youtu.be/xB-Fs4yPL2o

It is also known as the Aneng Q1

[rsjsouza]

The BSide ZT-X is a pretty nice meter with a BRIGHT display.  Dave did a review that was generally positive but he hated the BRIGHT display.  I like the BRIGHT display!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJ9MR3L

https://youtu.be/xB-Fs4yPL2o

It is also known as the Aneng Q1

Rstofer, at this price (on Ali/Banggood) the Bside ZT-Y is a much better offer with a very well lit display (the ZT-X I recall it was spotty) and overall a solid build.

The ZT-Y is also known as the Aneng SZ-18 or Richmeters RM777

Amazon sells it for a bit more:
https://www.amazon.com/BSIDE-Multimeter-Auto-Ranging-Capacitance-Temperature/dp/B08N13WN86