Hi !
I found this topic and decided to spend maybe ~30mins to read carefully everyone's comment and opinion on this apparently little&humble question from the title. I was happy to notice that the discussion went offtopic quite subtle and it became 50% interesting, 25% funny and 25% psychology class.
On the bottom of page #3 I've read this reply quoted below which I was hoping for. It's a simple and meaningful answer to this debate and I want to share my story related to the highlighted sentences...
May I give an example? I use resistance and continuity modes quite often. With the Fluke 87V I would just toggle between the two with a button. If I need a short look at a pn-junction it is a one detent twist clockwise. Without checking the display I know the Fluke will give me a diode check. Coming back to resistance I know, the device will measure resistance again. Toggle, and I am in continuity.
The Brymen can measure MORE. Yes, this is the reason it brings me to nSiemens mode when toggling between resistance and continuity. nSiemens could be useful, but I would need it just once a year. Now I have to skip this mode once or several times every minute. A quick diode check requires me checking the display for a potential capacitance mode. Rotating back to resistance I might be in continuity or resistance. Or nSiemens.
This would annoy me despite having more functions. My personal preference is a tool with a function set I use regularly and which excels in it's realm in ease of operation and speed. This is, in my opinion, where Fluke still is miles ahead.
I have a 179. It doesn't feature a uA range. If I do multiple precision measurements in a range this low (seldom) I grab an analog Metravo 4E. But for a quick measurement I just throw a 500 ohms resistor in the circuit and measure the voltage drop. I even don't need to reinsert test leads.
In other words (and slightly provoking): It is better to know your tools and how to handle their rare limitations than to buy new gear and handle the permanent ballast.
It took me a few years of buying, using and getting rid of many cheap/budget DMMs until I've figured out what I truly want in terms of ease of operation and truly need as features, regardless of the money. I reached a point when I had no dmm on my bench except the "2$" one that was thrown in the trunk of my car just in case I might need it once.
A suitable option for me was the 87V which had all the features I wanted, but I hate the fact that resistance, continuity and cap were all three crowded on the same rotary switch position and diode was single on the next position. No thanks!
Then I was looking for the 179 which has resistance and continuity as primary functions on two different switch positions and those less used diode and cap as secondary functions by pressing a button - well balanced and perfect for my needs, but unlike the 87V, the autohold was at a "twice button press" away, so no deal !
By chance I found a 77IV for 1/3 of it's brand new price. I took the deal since I don't need trms, autohold is at a "single button press" away, the spec is tight at 0.X% ± 1 digit (which is great when measuring on the low end of the scale), has power-up options like "Poff" and "Loff", has super-fast continuity. No more words, it just fitted me.
But of course this 77IV lacks some features I wanted since I was looking for the 87V: uA, temperature and relative(Δ). Since I don't own and can't afford a nice bench dmm as I have at my workplace (Keysight 34465), I was thinking that it might be a nice idea to have a second handheld dmm.
I tried BM235, it is a nice little meter that works very well, but I hate the rotary switch is very stiff and the probe's jacks are almost in the way when rotating it. Also the auto-v lo-z mode is to the left of the OFF position which annoys me sometimes. That feature is mostly unused, if you really need you can improvise something and take care not to shock yourself. The same with NCV (EF) function, I think it's better to have a dedicated NCV detector or a DIY one from a handful of common parts. So...I got rid of the little Brymen, but I still have and use those sharp gold-plated probes.
About 2 months ago I searched for something else similar with BM235, with autohold at one button press away, with the possibility to disable both auto power-off and auto backlight-off, default DC for volts and amps, better display viewing angle and contrast. I end up picking the U1241B which I happily use now together with the 77IV. And that's it...no more searching!
A similar dmm option instead of the 77IV could have been the DT4252 which was on my radar, but looking at reviews I figured out I surely won't like the faded display, the fact that it blinks in resistance mode during overlimit and the beeping noises when measuring resistance or diodes (I hate noisy test gear!).
@NEMAON: what I wanted to point out with my little story is that no matter what everyone else says/recommends/chooses, in the end it's down to your preferences and you should decide for yourself and take action to buy what you wish at that moment. If it turns out you don't get along well with your chosen dmm, you can easily sell it and pick the other one. I agree it's a mater of money and time sacrifice by doing so, but at some point you will settle down peacefully as I did. Don't forget that nothing is free/easy/for granted in this world, you are going to pay (sooner or later, in one way or another) for everything.
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