Poll: Handheld meters with minimally-annoying auto power off (APO)

[BillyO]

Auto power off doesn't annoy me anywhere near as much as default to AC current. :Rage:   

None of the meters I mentioned above do that.  They either have a separate position for AC/DC or default to DC.

I'm too lazy to go through the rest of my HH meters, but I think at least one does what you say.  Apparently I don't use it much.

[alm]

The Fluke 87III works the same as the Fluke 187 and 189: any button press wakes it, but it reverts to the primary function on that dial position.

The 87III does have AC and DC current sharing a dial position, but DC is the default unlike the latest 87V, so it's not been a problem for me. It can just be slightly annoying when using continuity or manual ranging. I rarely use the capacitance function on a multimeter, so haven't had it power off while measuring capacitance.

On the 187/189 you can set the power off time to up to 24h, though you'll want to use rechargeable batteries then.

[RAPo]

Aren't we making things needlessly tricky: there are three categories of multimeters, analogue, those where APO can be turned off and those that can't.
I prefer to choose a meter that can be turned off.

[BeBuLamar]

The Fluke 87III works the same as the Fluke 187 and 189: any button press wakes it, but it reverts to the primary function on that dial position.

The 87III does have AC and DC current sharing a dial position, but DC is the default unlike the latest 87V, so it's not been a problem for me. It can just be slightly annoying when using continuity or manual ranging. I rarely use the capacitance function on a multimeter, so haven't had it power off while measuring capacitance.

On the 187/189 you can set the power off time to up to 24h, though you'll want to use rechargeable batteries then.

But would the rechargeable batteries would last for more than 24hrs?

[alm]

But would the rechargeable batteries would last for more than 24hrs?

The data sheet specifies battery life as 72h typical on alkaline cells, and modern NiMH batteries have more usable capacity than alkaline (flatter discharge curve). So yes, easily. But obviously there's not much point in having a battery powered meter on for 24h unless you're logging something. The point is that you can set it to long enough so it won't turn off while you're working if you don't mind recharging the batteries every couple of months or so.

[BeBuLamar]

My often used meter the Fluke 87V, 189, 289, 287 do turn themselves off but they don't bother me much. When logging the 180,287,289 stay on and don't turn themselves off.

[sotos]

My Fluke 233 shuts down and it does not notify you with a small beep that it will go to sleep. I was searching for a fault in a not working machine and I found out that that it had 2-3 shorts and then they went away, but the machine refused to start up, the shorts had gone, meter was in (beep) range.

It took me another 5-10 minute saying to myself, what the f….ck, there were shorts here and now they’re gone, why?

After starting again, swearing with that situation, I found out that the Fluke 233 had fall to sleep without a notice.

So now every time I have the meter stay on continuously, disabling it at startup. Couldn’t the makers make them notify you with a small beep?

[Fungus]

But would the rechargeable batteries would last for more than 24hrs?

The data sheet specifies battery life as 72h typical on alkaline cells, and modern NiMH batteries have more usable capacity than alkaline (flatter discharge curve). So yes, easily.

The 187/189 had a battery pack extension so you could use C cells to power them.

[Fungus]

It took me another 5-10 minute saying to myself, what the f….ck, there were shorts here and now they’re gone, why?

After starting again, swearing with that situation, I found out that the Fluke 233 had fall to sleep without a notice.

So now every time I have the meter stay on continuously, disabling it at startup. Couldn’t the makers make them notify you with a small beep?

When I'm looking for continuity I touch the probes together as a test before a reading just to make sure the meter is working and set up correctly.

[joeqsmith]

The free meters from HF have the highest battery life I have measured and a mechanical switch to turn them on and off.  Plus the added benefit of each position of the selector switch has only one function.  It's the perfect meter if this is the only metric used.  And... did I mentioned these are free with purchase....

[Fungus]

The free meters from HF have the highest battery life I have measured and a mechanical switch to turn them on and off.  Plus the added benefit of each position of the selector switch has only one function.  It's the perfect meter if this is the only metric used.  And... did I mentioned these are free with purchase....

Added.

The metric is "not annoying on the bench" so I guess they count. 

[joeqsmith]

They are in many ways better than my first Fluke DMM which was a bench meter.   The free meter has longer battery life, smaller, lighter, lower cost.   My guess is it just about as electrically robust as the Fluke was too. 

[Fungus]

They are in many ways better than my first Fluke DMM which was a bench meter.   The free meter has longer battery life, smaller, lighter, lower cost.   My guess is it just about as electrically robust as the Fluke was too. 

They definitely have something going for them in terms of being simple to use and not-annoying. I'm tempted to get some of Big Clive's favorite trashy meter with the Fluke-like holster.

https://youtu.be/-QDW0LRQVrY?t=1280

[floobydust]

I'll never buy a multimeter with an "APO" icon on the LCD, that is beyond stupid.
Are alkaline batteries made of gold-pressed latinum in china, why does the meter spazz out and beep and then beep and then long beeeeeep it's off, pressing a button to wake up and it BEEPS, and then function/range back to what it was and it's BEEP BEEP BEEP again. Imagine the factory people dying beeped to death from all the noise.

Aneng AN8008 defaults: APO time in minutes 15 0xFB: 0x0F, Backlight time in seconds 15 0xFC: 0x0F beep beep beeeeeep beeep beep ahhhh left in the dark where's the buttonz can't see anything LOL. A multimeter that seems to do standup comedy.

I have old DMM's with 2,000hr and another with 12,000hr battery life. I can leave them on for days.

APO should be smarter - reset the APO timer if there's activity in the readings. Just reading OL or 0.000V etc. then, like a PC screen saver with no mouse movement, turn it off after XX minutes. Look for say a 20% change in readings to reset the timer?

[Fungus]

APO should be smarter - reset the APO timer if there's activity in the readings.

Some meters do that.

eg. My Brymen does. My Fluke 187 doesn't.

I guess the best way to use a 187/189 is to disable auto-power-off completely (or set it to many hours) and use Eneloops.

The 187's 72 hours total isn't much lifetime but swapping the 4xAA batteries is quite fast/easy - no rubber boot to remove and just two thumbscrews to get the back off.

(I leave mine unscrewed - it's rubbery and stays on just fine by itself).

[mwb1100]

Fluke 187/189 lets you set the APO timer to up to 24 hours - or disable it completely - in the settings.  Just set it to 4, 6, 8, or whatever hours and forget about it.

[Per Hansson]

I have another category for you:
Aneng AN8009 has auto power off after 15 minutes even if you are actively using it.
There is also a beep warning at 14 minutes that it will power off in the next minute.
If you hold down the yellow select button when powering on the auto power off is disabled.
However the meter still beeps at you after 14 minutes and then 15 minutes.
Or put more succinctly:

Switch on:
00:00 beep!
14:15 beep beep beep beep beep!
15:15 beep beep beep beep beep! (then powers off).

Switch on with SEL held down:
00:00 beep beep beep beep beep!
14:15 beep beep beep beep beep!
15:15 beep beep beep beep beep! (does not power off).
29:30 beep beep beep beep beep!
30:30 beep beep beep beep beep!
(repeats indefinitely).
 

[Fungus]

(repeats indefinitely).
 

 

[py-bb]

Following up on the handheld-vs-benchtop meter debate...

Let's make a list of handheld meters that will auto-power-off silently then wake up in the same mode with a single button press, ie. they aren't annoying to use on the bench all day long.

Meters that DO this:
Brymen: BM857  BM789  BM235


Caveat: They lose min/max/rel values but if you're doing a long min/max session you need to temporarily disable APO anyway....

Meters that power back on with a button but lose the secondary function setting (eg. they APO in continuity mode then come back on in Ohms mode):
Fluke: 87, 187, 189, 289


Meters that don't have APO (or can disable APO permanently) and have a really long battery life (1000 hours or more):
Fluke: 27FM   37FM

Other: DT830 ("Harbor Freight")


Meters that beep when turning off and/or require you to turn the dial to wake them up:
Fluke: 101
Kaiweets: HT118E


Special hell:  Meters that beep twice - once to warn you they're about to APO then again a minute later when they actually do it.
Aneng: AN860  AN870  V04A   AN8008
Surpeer: AV4

What do I vote if my main meter doesn't just go off? I love it because even the backlight stays on until I tell it to turn it off (so I can leave it on reading stuff)

[shapirus]

BM869s: turns off without a beep, then, on key press, powers back on to the same function and secondary function where it was. Range isn't preserved though: it goes to auto-range regardless of what was selected.

[JOSM]

KAIWEETS HT206D: Beep before APO. A key press wakes it up again.

CEM DT-989 (RND 355-00010, PeakTech 3440, PCE-HDM 10): APO can be disabled. APO timeouts can be configured. 2 key presses wakes it up to primary mode at selected dial.

[Per Hansson]

Meters that don't have APO (or can disable APO permanently) and have a really long battery life (1000 hours or more):
Fluke: 27FM   37FM

Other: DT830 ("Harbor Freight")

What do I vote if my main meter doesn't just go off? I love it because even the backlight stays on until I tell it to turn it off (so I can leave it on reading stuff)

It is for the category quoted above, if it has decent battery life too.

[Fungus]

Does anybody have a Hioki DT4282? I'd love to know how APO works on those. I know you can disable it by holding a button when you power it on but does the backlight stay on? What's the power consumption...?

[py-bb]

I recently got a Venlab VM-600A and to turn off auto-off you hold the function button when you turn the dial from the off position - I thought that was quite good.

I actually love it, it's a brilliant thing - my only complaint is the usual: backlight doesn't stay on for very long (I want meters that keep the backlight on until told otherwise or the battery dies!)

[KungFuJosh]

My favorite handheld meter is still the Amprobe 37XR-A:

It does a single beep and shuts off after 30 minutes. Move dial to avoid shut off, or move dial to turn it back on.

From the manual:
The Auto Power Off feature can be disabled to keep the meter from going to sleep...
To disable the Auto Power Off feature use the following procedure:

1. Set the Function Switch to OFF.
2. Press and hold the MIN MAX AVG button while turning the Function Switch from OFF to the desired function. The SLEEP OFF message shows on the display.
3. Release the MIN MAX AVG button. The Auto Power Off feature will remain disabled until the meter is turned off and then on.

Note: To disable both Auto Power Off and the beeper press and hold the REL button while turning on the DMM.