Help looking for a decent $100-$150 multimeter

[Peter_G]

I am looking for a good quality DMM for about $100-$150 (though I may be willing to go a little higher if it makes a big difference).  As far as application I am a beginner electronics hobbyist mainly working on some Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects, so mostly small circuits and the like.  I want a meter that is going to last me a long time and as I get more advanced.

I have already spent many many hours watching videos, reading articles, and browsing forum posts here and have become quite overwhelmed.  I watched Dave's multimeter buying guide for beginners: https://youtu.be/gh1n_ELmpFI?list=PL4F0B97C59B1D509 and read Fluke's ABCs of DMMs: http://media.fluke.com/documents/2100079_6003_ENG_C_W.pdf, which sort of gave me a handle on what I'm looking for but the options are still staggering so I was hoping someone could give me a few suggestions.

I also tried looking through the multimeter spreadsheet: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/multimeter-spreadsheet/ on this forum, but again the volume of information to sort through and compare as a beginner is astounding.

Also, when browsing the spreadsheet one of the meters that looked acceptable to me was the Fluke 185.  So I tried looking it up and couldn't find it anywhere online, the only evidence I found that it even exists outside of the spreadsheet was this datasheet: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/100023.pdf.  Is this some kind of super-rare meter or something?  I get that it's probably not being made anymore, but there wasn't anyone on eBay or Amazon or anywhere else even selling a used one.  (I don't really want to get a used meter anyhow, but I did find that peculiar.)

So can someone please give me a hand here on finding a good multimeter for my price range?  Please let me know if I need to give more information.

P.S. How can I hyperlink text on this forum?

[edavid]

I am looking for a good quality DMM for about $100-$150 (though I may be willing to go a little higher if it makes a big difference).  As far as application I am a beginner electronics hobbyist mainly working on some Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects, so mostly small circuits and the like.  I want a meter that is going to last me a long time and as I get more advanced.

You don't need to spend that much.  A cheaper meter (or better yet 2 cheaper meters) would be fine for you.

Also, when browsing the spreadsheet one of the meters that looked acceptable to me was the Fluke 185.  So I tried looking it up and couldn't find it anywhere online, the only evidence I found that it even exists outside of the spreadsheet was this datasheet: http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/100023.pdf.  Is this some kind of super-rare meter or something?  I get that it's probably not being made anymore, but there wasn't anyone on eBay or Amazon or anywhere else even selling a used one.

Yes, super rare, and long out of production.  You would be more likely to find a Tektronix TX3.

P.S. How can I hyperlink text on this forum?

url tag.

[Lightages]

The Fluke 185 is a discontinued model. You might find one on the used market.

It is a good idea to have two multimeters for many reasons. With this in mind I would like to suggest the following options as well as single meters in you your price range:

UT139C $55  good overall meter with decent performance and build.
UT61E   $55?  good overall meter with PC connection and higher accuracy, but poorer build.
Amprobe AM270  $110 really well built meter
Amprobe AM530  $65 good meter
Daves BM235 $100 plus shipping? Nice meter
Brymen BM257S $135  really good meter and well loved on this forum.
Brymen BM857S $140 plus shipping so pushing things for your price, but a great meter.
Fluke 17B+ $120 or so  really nice meter

My personal recommendation is the Brymen BM257S. It is a nice handy meter, fast, more than accurate and has all the main features you will need. It is also built very well.

[Fungus]

Get a Fluke 17B+.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=fluke+17b%2B

Not the best bang-per-buck but very solidly built, and... it's a Fluke!

Other options:

Dave's own EEVBLOG-branded Brymen BM235 is within budget, but ... I dunno, lots of people report the screen isn't very good.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/eevblog-brymen-bm235-lcd-issues-or-normal/

The Brymen BM257 is also well liked around here but may be hard to find.

I wouldn't get anything made by Uni-T, not after all the horror stories on this forum.

PS: One meter is never enough. Get one good one and at least one cheapie.

[nctnico]

I'd get a Vici VC8145 bench DMM (I have two!). You can stack other equipment on top, it doesn't clutter your desk and it never needs new batteries. It also has a large amount of features.

[nanofrog]

I'd recommend getting 2 meters as well.

Specifically, you can get a Brymen BM257S for $110.50 as your good/primary meter (here; add ~$10 for shipping), and a Uni-T UT139C for just under $40 shipped on eBay, including from US sellers. Please note the link for the Brymen is located in Poland, but they do ship to the US (a number of members have done so), and have the best prices on Brymen meters.

Both of these meters have suitable protections for usage on mains, and combined, will run you ~$160. The Brymen is very well built. The Uni-T not as much (built to a budget after all), but it's decent enough and will certainly fair well for bench use.

[joeqsmith]

Hard to say what you are going to need it for down the road.   Suggesting you're just getting started and playing with low voltage,  I would pick up a free one from Harbor Freight to start with.   Once you start to figure out what features you need, buy something better.   

[MosherIV]

You have done your research so there is not much more we can tell you really.

Some things to consider about some of the recommendations:

Fluke17b - good meter, backed up by Flukes reputation BUT this model is for the Chinese market and there is no warrenty outside China or India. That said, if it works out of the box, it should be good.
It is well above your price range but have you looked at the Fluke179?

Amprobe is in the same corporate group as Fluke but they have seperate design teams. The good news is that the general consesus is that Amprobe have the same safety and build reputation as Fluke.

Bryman meters, I was under the impression that Bryman do not have a presense in the US, they rely on distributors.

I would not rule out Uni-T, I have one and it is fine, I have even bought the UT61E but have not received it yet. Yes, having read about the design issues, I would definitly check if it is safe for mains. I bought a Tenma rebranded model (rebranded for Farnell), which means it would have to pass specifications set by Farnell. I have measured mains with it but I am definitly more careful with it now even though it looks like it has all the design safety points that Dave recommends.
(The ut61e is a meter to consider if you are looking for a 4.5 digit multimter, though some question it's long term stability. I have bought one but it will take at least 12 months to even begin to determine its stabiliy)

Have you looked at Keysight meters?(Keysight is the newname for Agilant which used to be HP)
If you were looking at the Fluke85, look at the u1240 series (I find them quite uggly but that is not to say that they are not very capable meters) I would not get the u1230 series, they are not really electronics meters. I have the u1232a, has very slow annoying auto ranging and none of them have mA range.

Some have mentioned that it is a good idea to have 2 meters, yes it is but not a must. One thing you could do is get the cheap HarbourFrieght 'freebie' meter as your 2nd meter but avoid using it for mains/high voltages.

Have you checked out what you can get from your local shops?

Just some more thoughts (hopefully not confused you more)

[Fungus]

I would pick up a free one from Harbor Freight to start with.

Excuse my curiosity: I don't live in the USA and everybody keeps saying this^.

How exactly do you get free multimeters meters from "Harbour Freight"? (I assume that's something like Walmart).

Do you just walk in and ask for one? Do you have to buy a family size bag of Cheetos or something? 

[Fungus]

I would not rule out Uni-T, I have one and it is fine,

Just don't connect it to the mains using both hands simultaneously.

And make sure you touch a grounded metal object before every use. Right, Joe?

[MosherIV]

"How exactly do you get free multimeters meters from "Harbour Freight"?"

You need a coupon from the store or local paper and then need to purchase something to validate the coupon. Sometimes, the coupon does just allow a free meter without any purchases.

[Fungus]

Some have mentioned that it is a good idea to have 2 meters, yes it is but not a must.

I respectfully disagree. You need at least two meters just to compare readings against each other and make sure they're working properly.

If you only have one meter and get a weird reading then what do you trust? It might be the circuit or you might have a broken/damaged meter*. A second meter will sort out the confusion in seconds.

[nanofrog]

I would pick up a free one from Harbor Freight to start with.

Excuse my curiosity: I don't live in the USA and everybody keeps saying this^.

How exactly do you get free multimeters meters from "Harbour Freight"? (I assume that's something like Walmart).

Do you just walk in and ask for one? Do you have to buy a family size bag of Cheetos or something? 

Harbor Freight specializes inexpensive tools, some of which are actually quite decent (offer a lot of value, such as their roll-away tool cabinets; example). Their Taiwanese made hand tools are actually well made IME, and are cheaper than Craftsman.

As per the free meter, as mentioned, you get it when making a purchase and present the coupon for it. Other freebies too, such as flashlights and screwdrivers.

[nctnico]

I would not rule out Uni-T, I have one and it is fine,

Just don't connect it to the mains using both hands simultaneously.

I agree. For use with mains I'd recommend DMM from an A-brand like Fluke or Keysight so there is some amount of quality control involved. And if something happens to you because of the DMM at least it is possible to sue a company which isn't a hit&run operation. I like my VC8145 DMMs a lot but I would never ever use them for measuring mains. I have a seperate Keysight U1241B DMM for that purpose (and portability).

[imidis]

Bryman meters, I was under the impression that Bryman do not have a presense in the US, they rely on distributors.

You are right, they do not have a presence in the US, they have an agreement with their rebadger (Greenlee) not to touch the north american market. It's just too bad Greenlee does a crap job.

[Macbeth]

Bryman meters, I was under the impression that Bryman do not have a presense in the US, they rely on distributors.

You are right, they do not have a presence in the US, they have an agreement with their rebadger (Greenlee) not to touch the north american market. It's just too bad Greenlee does a crap job.

Maybe their trade agreement will come to an end soon and Brymen can do their very own BREXIT  and trade with the US directly!

[joeqsmith]

I would not rule out Uni-T, I have one and it is fine,

Just don't connect it to the mains using both hands simultaneously.

And make sure you touch a grounded metal object before every use. Right, Joe?

    There is no way I would ever recommend a meter that failed one of the first three tests I run, unless it was free.   I would not recommend any meters that do not meet the EMC as well as the safety standards.   

I have the 17B+ and it did very well in the testing.   However, it does not have TRMS, AC+DC or conductance.  The continuity test is also slow.   For me personally, these would all be deal breakers. 

I like the HIOKI DT4252 and the Fluke 115 TRMS meters.  They have similar features and both again did very well in the testing.  But no temperature, AC+DC, uA or conductance. 

While Fluke and Amprobe are both subsidiaries of Danaher, the quality is not as good.  You get what you pay for. 

To get the features I want, it seems I'm in the $200+ range.   Even these meters have not been all that great.   

The Fluke 87V still has no AC+DC and its pretty poor UI to get it into conductance.  The meter also did pretty poor during testing.  Not impressed at all.

I was loaned a 289 and was really glad I had not bought one after using it.   It has the features I want but it's slow to boot. Graphing is really slow.

The UNI-T UT181A, so many things wrong with it.  Yet could be one of the best meters I have looked at.  I like the UI.  Really easy to use. It's fast, logs.  Even the PCB build quality is not bad and looks like they used some nice parts in it.  Just don't walk across the carpet or pet the cat when holding it.   

The TPI/Summit 194II, careful you don't plug it into the wall outlet and rotate the switch past the resistance mode!  So many other things wrong with it.

The Extech/CEM EX540, will it even work when you open the box?  It's really slow.   

So what's left?  That Brymen BM869s.  Lowest price of the $200+ meters I looked at and still my personal favorite.  I'm sure there is something I would like even more.   Waiting to see what Dave comes up with! 

[Fungus]

I have the 17B+ and it did very well in the testing.   However, it does not have TRMS, AC+DC or conductance.  The continuity test is also slow.   For me personally, these would all be deal breakers. 

Yeah, but you don't do "Arduino work".

The Fluke 17B+ is a luxury meter for Arduino work. I've done years of Arduino work with a meter far worse than that.

[joeqsmith]

I have the 17B+ and it did very well in the testing.   However, it does not have TRMS, AC+DC or conductance.  The continuity test is also slow.   For me personally, these would all be deal breakers. 

Yeah, but you don't do "Arduino work".

The Fluke 17B+ is a luxury meter for Arduino work. I've done years of Arduino work with a meter far worse than that.

That's why I suggested they start with the free meter.   

I want a meter that is going to last me a long time and as I get more advanced.

More advanced to OP may be an Arduino +++ and a long time may be a day,  I really don't know.   All I can do is offer what I see are some of the shortcomings for the meters I have looked at in that price range and point out for a little more, they could get something much better.   

[boz]

Daves BM235

Just got mine last week, awesome meter for the price and no issues I can find with LCD

[Fungus]

That's why I suggested they start with the free meter.   

I'd at least get something with a continuity buzzer and some sort of fuse. I don't think those freebie meters have that.

[joeqsmith]

That's why I suggested they start with the free meter.   

I'd at least get something with a continuity buzzer and some sort of fuse. I don't think those freebie meters have that.

It comes with only the best glass fuse that is now soldered in place.   Blow it, just get another free meter.      The 10A is not fused of course.   The power supplies current limit becomes the fuse.  Cheaper..  If course, if they had something like the supply I used to melt the test leads to power their Arduino, they may get into trouble.     Then again maybe you saw what happened when I put 10A though that 61E with the fuse jumped.  Not that anyone would ever jump out an expensive fuse.

Continuity on the 17B+ was pretty poor.  I measured a max frequency of 1.7Hz on mine with a 50% DC.  Just no good for what I use it for.   I would end up making my own buzzer box if this was all I had. 

Looks like both the 115 ($129)  and DT4252 ($115) are on clearance at TEquipment.

[SkyMaster]

I would pick up a free one from Harbor Freight to start with.

Excuse my curiosity: I don't live in the USA and everybody keeps saying this^.

How exactly do you get free multimeters meters from "Harbour Freight"? (I assume that's something like Walmart).

Do you just walk in and ask for one? Do you have to buy a family size bag of Cheetos or something? 

Fungus,

The Harbor Freight free multimeter is a DT-830 (or a variant). Just google "harbor freight free multimeter".

 

[Hydrawerk]

joeqsmith

The UNI-T UT181A, so many things wrong with it.

  What is wrong with it from your point of view?
Well, I do not like DMMs with a color LCD and a special built-in accumulator. I prefer a low-consumption DMM that is powered by 9V battery or AA or AAA 1,5V cells.

Just don't walk across the carpet or pet the cat when holding it. 

Is UT181A fragile or what??

[ProBang2]

joeqsmith

Just don't walk across the carpet or pet the cat when holding it. 

Is UT181A fragile or what??

It does not survive ESD...