Fluke 117 vs China branded meters?

[001]

Hi! Is it ok to pick Fluke 117 or some china substitutions is ok too?

[tszaboo]

The 117 is not really an electronics meter. No mA range. And the display is actually not that big, in fact it is a small meter. I would much rather have the 15B or similar for almost the same money.
Or you know... The EEVblog BM235 Multimeter. It must be awesome.

[BMack]

There are a few reasons I don't like Brymen; the tilt stand isn't very good, no quick beep for diode test, excessive button presses(not a problem on the EEVB meter).

You'd want the 115 for the cheaper Fluke's unless you're doing electrical stuff. Brymen does have a larger screen and is about the same size but thicker, their leads are also great. If you can do without the large display, I'd have no problem recommending the 115 or even a used 112.

[kasone]

If you can get a Fluke 117 for $70.00US, that is a good buy. It is lots better than China branded meters.

[Rabid Badger]

If you can get a Fluke 117 for $70.00US, that is a good buy. It is lots better than China branded meters.

Yeah, where are you seeing them for that price?

They're not the best for electronics but they are a great meter for general stuff. For $70 I'll buy another to keep in my home toolbox.

[Mr. Scram]

There are a few reasons I don't like Brymen; the tilt stand isn't very good, no quick beep for diode test, excessive button presses(not a problem on the EEVB meter).

You'd want the 115 for the cheaper Fluke's unless you're doing electrical stuff. Brymen does have a larger screen and is about the same size but thicker, their leads are also great. If you can do without the large display, I'd have no problem recommending the 115 or even a used 112.

I guess the excess button presses complaint depends on the model. Having the multimeter return to the same settings when turned on again is a feature that actually saves user interaction. Flukes don't tend to have that.

[kasone]

Rabid Badger: the OP is the one who talked about the $70 price. Maybe he is talking about a used one? You will have to direct your question to him.

[BMack]

There are a few reasons I don't like Brymen; the tilt stand isn't very good, no quick beep for diode test, excessive button presses(not a problem on the EEVB meter).

You'd want the 115 for the cheaper Fluke's unless you're doing electrical stuff. Brymen does have a larger screen and is about the same size but thicker, their leads are also great. If you can do without the large display, I'd have no problem recommending the 115 or even a used 112.

I guess the excess button presses complaint depends on the model. Having the multimeter return to the same settings when turned on again is a feature that actually saves user interaction. Flukes don't tend to have that.

I have the BM257s

I do like that it remembers the setting but cycling through diode, resistance, continuity and capacitance is just stupid. Resistance and continuity together, diode and capacitance together seems rather obvious...or do it Fluke style where one position has two different buttons you can push to select mode (Capacitance and continuity). 

Though, when thinking about it a little more, setting memory might be slower because you have to look to see what mode you're in. With my 87V, muscle memory gets me to where I need to be without looking, ie fast (of course I'm going to look when I probe-test anyway).

[Electro Detective]

The Low Z function on the 117 (which the 87V lacks) is very handy for confirming stray/ghost voltages vs ouch voltages  ,

checking batteries, rough trip testing of RCD/GFCI,

and 117 has a non contact voltage detector too, and features True RMS AC and Min-Max recording/capture


Fluke 87V and 117 is a great combo for covering most bases   

[joeqsmith]

Is it ok to pick Fluke 117 for $70 or some china substitutions is ok too?

The 115 I bought to run was designed in the USA but was made in China. Are you sure the 117 was not outsourced as well?   

Most of the meters I have looked at came out of China.  So far, the Chinese made Fluke have been some of the most robust meters I have looked at.   

[Mr. Scram]

Fluke 87V and 117 is a great combo for covering most bases   

I think the Brymen BM867 and BM869 have most, if not all of the combined functionality.

[BMack]

Is it ok to pick Fluke 117 for $70 or some china substitutions is ok too?

The 115 I bought to run was designed in the USA but was made in China. Are you sure the 117 was not outsourced as well?   

Most of the meters I have looked at came out of China.  So far, the Chinese made Fluke have been some of the most robust meters I have looked at.

I know you were asking in jest but all model 11* meters are made in China including the 117. It's definitely myth that China can't build good quality stuff, they build what is asked of them. I think the 115 and 117 are great meters for the price. It's hard to not look at used Flukes though, I've bought a 87V for cheaper than the 117 at most retailers. I've bought a 87III for $100.

On the second hand market you can get the 110+ (I think it's a SMU, I've only seen it at Lowe's) for around $50-$60! It's VERY basic, but still a great small meter. The 11* series is great because they're plenty accurate and work well but they're small. I do a few different troubleshooting jobs as an independent contractor and working in a shop; it cannot be overstated how big an 87 series is in a tool pouch. In my big bag I carry an 87V but in my smaller bag I carry a 77IV in one of my smaller bags, the 115/117 is even smaller. Let's also not discount the bar graph too, very handy feature.

One thing I forgot to note in my original post, the piezo on the 87 series is quite a bit louder than the 11* series. The 87 is really loud compared to any meters I've used that weren't a sister model of the 87/83. Not sure about the larger Brymens, the big Hioki I've used wasn't as loud as the 87.

[BMack]

The Low Z function on the 117 (which the 87V lacks) is very handy for confirming stray/ghost voltages vs ouch voltages  ,

checking batteries, rough trip testing of RCD/GFCI,

and 117 has a non contact voltage detector too, and features True RMS AC and Min-Max recording/capture


Fluke 87V and 117 is a great combo for covering most bases   

I like the Low Z and the NCV on the 117 but I travel with a Klein CL700 clamp meter which has both and is really comparable in speed and accuracy as my Fluke 324 clamp meter.

[Electro Detective]

My first 'Low Z' feature meter was a Klein CL3200 semi-clamp cheapie and only bought it for the Low Z to iron out some power transformer stray voltage issues which were confusing my other meters and me   

It did that fine and not a bad meter for the price, I keep it in the car or travel bag for the occasional odd job and won't cry too much if it gets stolen 

My Fluke 114 and 117 do all the Low Z stuff and great problem solvers, 114 has no current inputs which means lower chances for CATastrofik bangs, 

just have to watch the Low Z function when probing mains electricity because it trips out the RCD/GFCI  (meter has an internal 2k or 3k resistor as a load IIRC)   


Cheap or used 117 =  no brainer