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| Pocket multimeter quest |
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| Lomax:
I'm on a quest to find the smallest practical companion to the UNI-T UT210E clamp meter I keep in my travel kit. Beyond serving to provide second measurement capability, it needs to complement the clamp meter in a few important ways (in order of importance): * While the UT210E does remarkably well clamp metering DC currents the measurement is not accurate when the current is small. I wouldn't trust it with anything below a couple hundred milliamps, and the UT210E doesn't do in-line metering. I already have a Brymen BM275s, and a TTi 1705, but these are far too big for the travel kit, so I'm looking for a pocket size meter that can do in-line current measurements of small loads. * The UT210E runs off AAA batteries, as does my head and pocket torches, and I carry a NiMh AA/AAA battery charger in my travel kit to keep them all going. It would be great if the companion meter used compatible batteries. * Another omission on the UT210E is the lack of a min/max function; It happens that I need to test things that are activated from another location, sometimes not even in the same room, and which can be momentary in nature. Being able to capture that a voltage was present - or the amount of current that was drawn - while I wasn't watching the meter is incredibly handy sometimes. * Since I use the UT210E as a general purpose multimeter I always carry two pairs of test leads, along with a selection of probes etc. It would be convenient if the companion could use these as well. * The UT210E has no frequency counter function, and although I very rarely need this it can sometimes be handy, so it would be good if the companion offered this functionality. * I like having a backlight What is not important to me: * 600 V rating * 6000 count * High precision * μA range * price (within reason) I've looked through some of the earlier threads regarding pocket multimeters here, and have started compiling a spreadsheet of potential candidates: MakeModelCountJackMaxFreqLightBatteryCurrentLengthWidthHeightVolumeCEMDT-1134000--Y-CR2032400 mA113 mm61 mm13 mm90 cm³CEMDMP-336000YYY-CR2032200 mA115 mm60 mm16 mm110 cm³UEIDM5B3200Y---2xA76VP5 AUNI-TUT120C4000--Y-CR2032400 mA110 mm58 mm11 mm70 cm³UNI-TUT125C4000--YY 2xAAA400 mA112 mm58 mm35 mm227 cm³ExtechDM1104000--Y-CR2032400 mA108 mm56 mm12 mm73 cm³Woods DMMW34000YYY-CR20321 A115 mm60 mm20 mm138 cm³Brymen BM27s6000--Y-CR2032 2 mAAmprobeAM-474000--Y-CR2032 2 mASanwaPM34000--Y-CR2032-108 mm56 mm12 mm73 cm³SanwaPM114000----2xLR44-117 mm76 mm18 mm160 cm³DER EEDE-19S6000-YYY 2xAAA-130 mm81 mm22 mm232 cm³DER EEDE-174300----2xLR44-117 mm76 mm18 mm160 cm³DER EEDE-154000--Y-2xLR44-121 mm68 mm20 mm165 cm³Chauvin ArnouxC.A 7032000----2xAAA200 mA104 mm55 mm33 mm189 cm³Fluke1076000Y-YY 2xAAA10 A142 mm69 mm28 mm274 cm³ To my surprise one of the meters that ticks the most of my boxes so far is the Woods DMMW3 - a cheapo consumer device from an unknown brand. Unfortunately this seems to no longer be available. Its only drawback is that it uses annoying CR2032 batteries. Another good candidate is the CEM DMP-33, but again this appears to be unobtainable. And it too uses a coin cell, and the 200 mA current capability is rather low. The DER EE DE-19S would have been a great option if it had current measurement, the Fluke 107 if it was smaller and had a min/max function, and the UNI-T UT120C lacks min/max and uses a coin cell. In other words, the ideal device eludes me, and so I turn to the forum for further suggestions! |
| simba15:
It seems its the Woods/ CEM is the tool for the job. I found another version under the brand Kobalt DMP-32 ( replaced Woods?) but it omits the "Max" feature (clearly a requirement) https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Pocket-Multimeter/5001926911 I really like the Aneng A3008, but no current or max function. |
| wasedadoc:
Those two entries of 2mA in the current column are surely incorrect. As are the zero volumes. :) |
| Fungus:
Forget it. There's no perfect pocket multimeter. |
| Lomax:
@wasedadoc: Those two meters can actually only measure up to 2000 μA. I'm sure this is useful for some, but not to me. Even the 200 mA range available on some meters is pushing it in terms of usefulness. The zero volume is just a consequence of me being too lazy to update my spreadsheet formula with a conditional to only calculate volume when dimensions are known. I've removed them from the post. I accept that I will have to compromise on one or more of my requirements :-\ |
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