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| Best multimeter for my price range? |
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| bdunham7:
--- Quote from: BlueApple on October 11, 2022, 09:50:49 pm ---Are B&K Precision multimeters good? I've seen a few of them that have the specs I'm looking for. (Mainly the 388B and 2709B) --- End quote --- They're OK, but not typically a good value at full price. Some models may be on the list of meters that don't meet their listed safety specifications, but I haven't seen any that looked dangerous. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-list-of-multimeters-that-do-not-appear-to-meet-their-claimed-safety-specs/ The 388B is pretty basic and not a good value, IMO. It lacks TRMS, MIN/MAX, autoranging and a backlight. It also is only 4000 count. I'm not sure what its redeeming characteristics would be. I had a 391A from the same series and it was pretty good overall, but I got it for 1/3 the retail price. The 2709B seems a much better value, with 6600 counts and having all of those features and a 3-year warranty. |
| David Hess:
--- Quote from: J-R on October 06, 2022, 01:01:49 am ---- Amprobe AM-530 has a lot more features but is only 4,000 count, which is really bottom of the barrel. --- End quote --- The number of counts is rarely more important than the accuracy. Fluke 107 6000 0.5%+3 10V +/- 80mV Fluke 110 6000 0.5%+2 10V +/- 70mV Amprobe AM-530 4000 0.8%+1 10V +/- 90mV EEVblog BM235 6000 0.3%+2 10V +/- 50mV So when measuring 10 volts, the Amprobe AM-530 is only barely worse than the Fluke 107. I would look for other features to make a decision. The Fluke 110 has no current measurement. The EEVblog BM235 is by far the best meter of these four, at least for electronics. |
| J-R:
4,000 counts is a loss of one digit of resolution at 5V compared to 6,000 counts. A valid negative in that specific circumstance and others. For example, a lot of popular bench power supplies have a 10mV resolution display, so it is very nice to have a DMM that can exceed that, such as 50,000 count. Published accuracy specs are not as reliable a metric as it would appear. Some companies are conservative while others push it to seem better than they are. Checked some reviews on the AM-530 and two big negatives are it defaults to ACV when powered on and the continuity beep is very slow. The BM235 is fine if you're on a tight budget, but if you have any money to spend on your electronics hobby, it could quickly become a toy compared to what else is out there. |
| james_s:
--- Quote from: BlueApple on October 06, 2022, 07:09:09 pm --- --- Quote from: J-R on October 06, 2022, 06:38:12 pm ---For circuits capable of making high voltages, how about a high-voltage probe? There are some of the Fluke 80K-6 probes on ebay right now for under $50. There are also older Fluke DMM kits with two high voltage probes included, such as the Fluke 27. --- End quote --- How do those work? --- End quote --- They're just a resistor voltage divider in a long HV probe housing, the divide the voltage down by factors of 10 so you can read high voltages as much lower DC voltages. |
| Fungus:
--- Quote from: J-R on October 08, 2022, 11:21:28 pm ---Probably time to really lock in what your requirements are, this thread is going sideways... --- End quote --- Yep. Two pages in and we have no idea what the meter will be used for. (and I'm beginning to suspect OP is more interested in buying at Lowes than the meter's abilities) |
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