Products > Test Equipment

Big Clive's "Trashy" meter, unboxed ( Duratool D03047 multimeter )

<< < (4/43) > >>

Fungus:

--- Quote from: David Aurora on April 12, 2023, 04:20:00 am ---Like is it the "I got a bargain" feeling if it works or something?

--- End quote ---

Nope. Not even close.


--- Quote from: David Aurora on April 12, 2023, 04:23:17 am ---Yeah I can totally understand someone going "I have X dollars, this is literally my only option", 100%. It just baffles me that anyone else would buy one. Having owned shit like that myself when I was broke and starting out I was so glad to get rid of it at the first chance I got and be able to actually trust my tools. But hey, people collect shit like stamps and spoons, to each their own, I'd just love to know what the draw of these things is?

--- End quote ---

I guess this is a bit like humor: If I have to explain it to you then you'll never really appreciate it, but here goes...

Leaving aside the fact that I don't recall a DT830 ever giving me a reason not to trust it (they either work or they don't) and the fact that I believe I get more "trust" from owning several cheap meters that agree with each other than by owning a single monolithic multimeter, no matter how expensive, I can come up with plenty of reasons to buy meters like this:

a) You can own lots of them and leave them in different places where they might be needed.
b) You can use them in bars where they might get beer or allioli spilled on them (ie. Arduino club meetings).
c) They're small and fit in cases/pockets easily, no special protective case needed.
d) You can use them at shows or places where an expensive meter might go missing if you take your eye off it.
e) You can let other people use them without worrying they'll drop them or scratch the screen or blow a $15 fuse with an AA battery.
f) You can give them away to beginners or other people who don't have a meter yet, turn them into enthusiasts.
g) It's just plain good fun to open new things and learn from what's inside them.

(See Clive's video for more reasons...)

Any info about this sort of meter is useful and these seem like worthwhile meters to me, hence the post.

PS: Have you never, ever, collected anything at all?

David Aurora:

--- Quote from: Fungus on April 12, 2023, 09:44:39 pm ---
--- Quote from: David Aurora on April 12, 2023, 04:20:00 am ---Like is it the "I got a bargain" feeling if it works or something?

--- End quote ---

Nope. Not even close.


--- Quote from: David Aurora on April 12, 2023, 04:23:17 am ---Yeah I can totally understand someone going "I have X dollars, this is literally my only option", 100%. It just baffles me that anyone else would buy one. Having owned shit like that myself when I was broke and starting out I was so glad to get rid of it at the first chance I got and be able to actually trust my tools. But hey, people collect shit like stamps and spoons, to each their own, I'd just love to know what the draw of these things is?

--- End quote ---

I guess this is a bit like humor: If I have to explain it to you then you'll never really appreciate it, but here goes...

Leaving aside the fact that I don't recall a DT830 ever giving me a reason not to trust it (they either work or they don't) and the fact that I believe I get more "trust" from owning several cheap meters that agree with each other than by owning a single monolithic multimeter, no matter how expensive, I can come up with plenty of reasons to buy meters like this:

a) You can own lots of them and leave them in different places where they might be needed.
b) You can use them in bars where they might get beer or allioli spilled on them (ie. Arduino club meetings).
c) They're small and fit in cases/pockets easily, no special protective case needed.
d) You can use them at shows or places where an expensive meter might go missing if you take your eye off it.
e) You can let other people use them without worrying they'll drop them or scratch the screen or blow a $15 fuse with an AA battery.
f) You can give them away to beginners or other people who don't have a meter yet, turn them into enthusiasts.
g) It's just plain good fun to open new things and learn from what's inside them.

(See Clive's video for more reasons...)

Any info about this sort of meter is useful and these seem like worthwhile meters to me, hence the post.

PS: Have you never, ever, collected anything at all?

--- End quote ---

Not really  :-// Maybe music I guess, but not as a collector, just as a lifelong music fan/musician that wanted to listen to it all.

For me meters are just tools rather than anything I'd think about collecting. Like I'm not going to go buy 12 cheap screwdrivers in case I need to take one on holiday, keep one in the car, have one to display and so on, I'm just going to buy a good one and look after it. I'll generally only grab a second one if I find I need two at once.

I guess though I've got a very different take on the trust thing too, maybe partly because I'm generally working at higher voltages. If I'm sticking my fingers in a 600V circuit I feel confident that my good meters are telling me the truth about what's there. I'm not worried that I left them on a little long last week and the battery has faded and thrown readings off or the banana terminals have cracked solder joints or something like that. I also don't want to have to double check a measurement with 3 different meters to get confidence in a reading.

Hey, you do you, whatever floats your boat. I've just always wondered about this, especially when I see guys like Clive using them when he could very likely choose a better made unit.

NoisyBoy:
I will share my use case for my Harbor Freight meters.

When I work on electrical problems on my cars or tractors, I don’t need accuracy and precision, often all I need to see is whether it is receiving power, or rough voltage.  While working in the engine compartment, my gloves are covered with grime, oil, smudges, hydraulic fluid, etc…. It leaves a greasy black smudge on everything I touch.  While I have nice Fluke and Brymen handhelds, the black oil and smudge will never come off the case, and it will fill every cracks.  Since I am working on low voltage with no need for accuracy, I can care less about what happens to the HF meters, if they get trashed, into the trash they go.  I view them as disposable meters for truly dirty work.

DMM is like dishes at home, there is fine China, there is everyday dishes, they is plastic and paper disposable dishes. There is nothing wrong to have more than one type of dishes.

xrunner:
Yep, kept one in my vehicle for years. Didn't care what happened to it. Eventually the battery corroded and I threw it out (should have repaired it though). No doubt it would have still worked.

David Aurora:

--- Quote from: NoisyBoy on April 13, 2023, 12:36:46 am ---I will share my use case for my Harbor Freight meters.

When I work on electrical problems on my cars or tractors, I don’t need accuracy and precision, often all I need to see is whether it is receiving power, or rough voltage.  While working in the engine compartment, my gloves are covered with grime, oil, smudges, hydraulic fluid, etc…. It leaves a greasy black smudge on everything I touch.  While I have nice Fluke and Brymen handhelds, the black oil and smudge will never come off the case, and it will fill every cracks.  Since I am working on low voltage with no need for accuracy, I can care less about what happens to the HF meters, if they get trashed, into the trash they go.  I view them as disposable meters for truly dirty work.

DMM is like dishes at home, there is fine China, there is everyday dishes, they is plastic and paper disposable dishes. There is nothing wrong to have more than one type of dishes.

--- End quote ---

That I get, 100%. Totally usable as a disposable yes/no meter if things aren't mission critical

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod