Help Picking a $100 multimeter

[Russ]

They look to be the correct physical size. But Dave’s meter calls for 400mA fuses. Thank you for the effort.
Thanks
Russ

Ah  ..  I don't actually have a 235.  The 257s manual calls for .63A 500V rated fuse.  I guess I just assumed they all used the same fuses.  The ones I got are only 500mA but I figured under rating them wouldn't hurt.

You think in a pinch, dropping a 500mA in the meter instead of the required 400mA would be alright?

Thanks
Russ

[savageautomate]

They look to be the correct physical size. But Dave’s meter calls for 400mA fuses. Thank you for the effort.
Thanks
Russ

Ah  ..  I don't actually have a 235.  The 257s manual calls for .63A 500V rated fuse.  I guess I just assumed they all used the same fuses.  The ones I got are only 500mA but I figured under rating them wouldn't hurt.

You think in a pinch, dropping a 500mA in the meter instead of the required 400mA would be alright?

Thanks
Russ

No ... dropping from 630mA to 500mA.  Again I was looking at the specs on the 250 series meters ... not  the 230 series.  My bad!  You are right the 230 series takes 400mA fuses and I would never put anything rated higher in it if I owned one

[WesM]

Consider Dave's BM235? Since you've mentioned you are going to work with VFDs, so a meter with LPF will definitely help. BM235 is one of a few low cost DMMs with built in VFD LPF mode.

https://www.amazon.com/EEVblog-BM235-Brymen-Multimeter/dp/B01JZ1ADCO

I did look at the BM235 meter. If I was going to jump to the $100-150 meters It would have been between that and the Fluke 115, and honestly the BM235 is a lot more feature rich for a quality meter then the 115. So I probably would have gone with the BM235.

[Lomax]

30 seconds is much to short to be of use. Can it be altered?

Sadly not, unless Brymen were to release a firmware update, along with instructions on how to flash it. Unlikely.

Edit: That said, it should be possible to power the backlight LEDs separately - perhaps wiring them up so that they're on whenever the meter is on. This would of course shorten battery life dramatically, but since I use rechargeable batteries and always have charged spares to hand this might not be too bad. Assuming a dozen or so mA draw, battery life should still be many hours. Alternatively, find a way to mount a physical switch for turning the backlight on/off.

I really cannot understand what the purpose of "auto off" on the backlight is; if I press the button to turn it on, that means I need the display to be lit - and I am perfectly capable of pressing it again when it is no longer needed.

Edit 2: In fact, this is one of the main reasons I'm thinking of getting the new EEVBlog 121GW meter...

[Russ]

   I dropped rechargeable Eneloops into my 235 and have two fully charged spare sets in my Eevblog case. 👍

Russ

[WesM]

Just a little update, I am very happy with my meter. Seems to be excellent quality and has all the features I was looking for (although the min/max would have been nice).

As a side note it comes with these

http://www.greenlee.com/products/50118684%2540cTEST--(TSG%2540d3).html?product_id=18015

They are a really nice set of silicone insulated gold tipped probes. Now I just need to find a good set of alligator clip probes, any recommendations on brands/models?

[Russ]

How about the alligator clips that come with Dave’s Eevblog Meter case? I like mine.

[Russ]

Just a little update, I am very happy with my meter. Seems to be excellent quality and has all the features I was looking for (although the min/max would have been nice).

As a side note it comes with these

http://www.greenlee.com/products/50118684%2540cTEST--(TSG%2540d3).html?product_id=18015

They are a really nice set of silicone insulated gold tipped probes. Now I just need to find a good set of alligator clip probes, any recommendations on brands/models?

   
   Which meter did you get?

Russ

[WesM]

Just a little update, I am very happy with my meter. Seems to be excellent quality and has all the features I was looking for (although the min/max would have been nice).

As a side note it comes with these

http://www.greenlee.com/products/50118684%2540cTEST--(TSG%2540d3).html?product_id=18015

They are a really nice set of silicone insulated gold tipped probes. Now I just need to find a good set of alligator clip probes, any recommendations on brands/models?

   
   Which meter did you get?

Russ

I got (well was given as a Christmas present by a special someone ) the Greenlee DM-810A

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003TO5YUA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I2VM00LFSA148R&colid=KKXWLHZ7NKC9&psc=0

[Russ]

Cool. Have fun with it. Looks similar to mine.