Hate to just come in here and post like this; a longtime lurker I guess I should just ask.
Currently have one single multimeter, a handheld Hioki, and it keeps moving around all over the house as needed, including the bench, garage, car, attic, garden wherever. I need a bench multimeter.
Currently looking at a Keithley 2000 on offer for $300... Seems like a good price, and except for replacing a few caps it should be good.
But I'm losing mind here. I've also considered Fluke 8842A, the HP 3478A, the HP/Agilent 34401A.
I currently need continuity, diode, and DCV. Frankly 4 digits is more than enough, which brings me to my next point:
From what I've gathered, the fluke 8842a is a beast that holds calibration extremely well. I'm not getting that same confidence out reading about the Keithley 2000, and if it has 6.5 digits, if they're not calibrated, well, it's not 6.5 digits is it.
The HP 3478a looks like a bargain tank, caveat: the batteries on these need replacing, and you have to do that w/o losing power or you lose calibration. Fine. Also no display backlight. Does it beep for continuity?
But at $300 the Keithley seems like a good deal, and has nice-to-have features I might use down the line. Prior forum posts say the 34401A edges out the Keithley 2000. I don't know, I've never had a bench multimeter.
Like I said, I want a first/last bench meter. Rough LCR capabilities would be really nice (the handheld hioki has that), but is an unrealistic expectation. I don't want any chinesium unit. No rigol, or siglent, or gw-instek. I prefer a used quality unit that might need repairs to a new cheap-o.
Appreciate any input - losing my mind here.