Multimeter for a beginner which meets spec, price range: 100€

[Lightages]

Wytnucls has the best intentions to help. So does anyone who is responding here. The problem is that if you ask 10 people about which is the best of anything, you usually get at least 5 different answers. The majority, and I, all think that your best buy as a beginner is the BM257S if you can afford it. It will serve you well in safety, quality, accuracy and features.It has the possibility of buying the PC kit later. Is it cheap? No. Nothing of quality is cheap. Do you NEED 22,000 counts? NO. Will you want temperature, back light, proper input protection, fast reading updates, nicer test leads, 5ms peak measurement, low Z option, and non-contact voltage detector? At least 5 of the above will be on your wish list in the future.

Conclusion? Just buy the BM257S and be confident that you have purchased quality that won't let you down when you need it. The UT61E is not a bad buy either but the BM257S is so much more versatile and better built that you won't wish you had purchased the UT61E. You might feel that you should have purchased the BM257S instead though if you buy the UT61E.

Yes I had had both so my opinion isn't skewed by my pride of purchase. Are there other options? Yes, but in my opinion nothing that beats the BM257S for close to the same money.

[Wytnucls]

I was here to broaden his horizons, not to push a specific meter.
If, in the end, he is happy to pay 100 Euros for a cute 6,000 count meter, that's fine by me.

[Lightages]

Like I said, 5 different opinions. Yours is just as valid as mine.   

I guess it might appear that I am trying to push one specific meter but I was just afraid of causing analysis paralysis. If one of the Gossens you mentioned in good condition can be had for 100€ then that would be great buy.

[rolycat]

I was here to broaden his horizons, not to push a specific meter.
If, in the end, he is happy to pay 100 Euros for a cute 6,000 count meter, that's fine by me.

(Almost) in the immortal words of Douglas Adams:

He doesn't want to be interested. He doesn’t want to be stimulated or relaxed, or have his horizons broadened. He just wants to be rescued (from not being able to choose a multimeter).

[larsdenmark]

To the first part: You are actually right that I should do some research myself (which I am in the process right now, the forum is just a side-car kinda thing), but with the second part you are wrong. I don't question better specs, but if the multimeter is a good quality and SAFE one. If you never had it (or it's double the price I wanted to spend) it doesn't really match.

I'll tell you what I did. I really want a Brymen 869 multimeter since it has very nice specs and is considered to be quite safe. On the other hand it costs 200€ so I really wanted something cheaper (for now). The Brymen 867 is only 130€ which is close to your (and mine) price range, but it doesn't do temperature, which I need.

The solution for me was to go for the UNI-T 61C, which has OK specs and OK safety (as long as you don't do any high power stuff ;-). It is only 50€.

Once I need to have two multimeters I get to buy something better than I already have (and one can only imagine what that will be in say 2 years time) and I don't have to use the new and better multimeter for temperature measurements (where the 61C is more than adequate and progress over the years expected to be minor).

The 61C is more than I need at the moment, but I only do low voltage, low power electronics.

[torr032]

I already bought an oscilloscope, Voltcraft 6100 (2CH, 100MHz), which is plenty enough for what I need. I already know the basics, but I want to advance now =)

What?

You firstly spent out a shit of money for a fairly priced oscilloscope (I am sure there are cheaper but better alternatives there).

Then you gripe you don't have money, not a €1 over 100€ and you wrote a mile long posts questioning why to own a multimeter that is over 6000 counts?

This is not a Brymen 257 edvertise, no way at all.......)))

[winfreak]

I already bought an oscilloscope, Voltcraft 6100 (2CH, 100MHz), which is plenty enough for what I need. I already know the basics, but I want to advance now =)

What?

You firstly spent out a shit of money for a fairly priced oscilloscope (I am sure there are cheaper but better alternatives there).

Then you gripe you don't have money, not a €1 over 100€ and you wrote a mile long posts questioning why to own a multimeter that is over 6000 counts?

This is not a Brymen 257 edvertise, no way at all.......)))

I don't get what you are trying to tell me. The scope was rather cheap, that's why I have it. I have NOWHERE mentioned that 100€ was my absolute limit, but if you compare 200€ and higher to 100€, you see that this goes in sort of the wrong direction.

[torr032]

Honestly I never met someone why firstly bought an oscilloscope and then wants to buy a multimeter to learn more.
You bought a scope without help, but for a dmm you asking for an advice?

[winfreak]

Quote from: torr032 on Today at 14:52:02

Honestly I never met someone why firstly bought an oscilloscope and then wants to buy a multimeter to learn more.
You bought a scope without help, but for a dmm you asking for an advice?

I know it sounds stupid but that's the way it is, obviously. Before I bought the scope, I had no idea about the EEVBlog forum, that's probably why I did it without asking.


EDIT: If I wouldn't have come here first, I probably would have bought the UT61E, blindly, sort off.

[torr032]

Well if you have a good scope and you want to learn more I presume you are an elektroniker. There is no way you will learn more with a Brymen257.

For elektronik, the bare minimum you will need is a UT61e, its possibilities are hard to beat. Deutschland GS version has an improved protection.

[Wytnucls]

I have NOWHERE mentioned that 100€ was my absolute limit, but if you compare 200€ and higher to 100€, you see that this goes in sort of the wrong direction.

You didn't read the posts very well. Nowhere did I recommend spending 200 Euros on a multimeter. I suggested you offer the Gossen seller 100 Euros, as that is the going rate for a Gossen 18S.

[winfreak]

I have NOWHERE mentioned that 100€ was my absolute limit, but if you compare 200€ and higher to 100€, you see that this goes in sort of the wrong direction.

You didn't read the posts very well. Nowhere did I recommend spending 200 Euros on a multimeter. I suggested you offer the Gossen seller 100 Euros, as that is the going rate for a Gossen 18S.

Which doesn't mean the seller will accept that. If he puts it in for 200€, I doubt he will accept a 100€ offer, but that's just my eBay experience. Might be that EEs are a little more generous

IF I had the chance to get such a Gossen meter, I would take it, of course.

[Wytnucls]

You don't know if you don't try. He couldn't sell it, so it will probably come up again.