Author Topic: would you still buy the fluke 87V!  (Read 20362 times)

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Online Fungus

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #25 on: December 16, 2015, 07:31:18 pm »
What could you do with an 87V that you can't do with a 15B+? (15B+ has more features, eg. capacitance)
Hm, what makes you think the 87V couldn't measure capacitance?

Of course it can. Temperatures also. Can't see this option in 15B+ (only 17B+)

Oh, brain fart. Capacitance is a secondary (yellow) function.  :palm:

It did feel weird when I posted that, I was, like, "surely not..." but I totally missed it when I looked at a pic of the 87V earlier.


In my defense, the 15B+ has more switch positions than the 87V:


@Fungus...get a Fluke 87V first and ask yourself later what you missed with your 15B+ :)

I haven't got a 15B+...


« Last Edit: December 16, 2015, 07:39:30 pm by Fungus »
 

Offline nourTopic starter

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #26 on: December 16, 2015, 08:14:23 pm »
screw all of this >:( I just have ordered BM869s from TME and got my mind relieved :-+ :box:
if what I have wrote doesn't make sense for you or you think there is something wrong, please correct me, I am still beginner and what I know probably less than what you know
 

Offline Shock

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #27 on: December 16, 2015, 10:12:49 pm »
I own a Fluke 27FM - it's the big chunky meter that sits at the background of nearly all of Dave's videos.
It has almost the same features as the 87V, and you could build a bomb-proof dunny with them (if you had enough).

Fluke 87V is too new for me, I like my resistors burned in for a minimum of 30 years, these are recently calibrated.

Soldering/Rework: Pace ADS200, Pace MBT350
Multimeters: Fluke 189, 87V, 117, 112   >>> WANTED STUFF <<<
Oszilloskopen: Lecroy 9314, Phillips PM3065, Tektronix 2215a, 314
 

Offline TheSteve

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #28 on: December 16, 2015, 10:25:04 pm »
I wouldn't buy a brand new one but happily bought a used(but like new) one for a good deal locally. I then sold off my 87 gen I which still worked great. Ten years from now when I want to upgrade again I will be able to sell my 87 V for what I paid for it, or close to it - because its a Fluke.
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Online Fungus

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #29 on: December 16, 2015, 11:35:53 pm »


Nice collection of 27FMs. Can I get a mention in your will?


 

Offline mos6502

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #30 on: December 17, 2015, 02:30:08 am »
Why would you buy the 87V for low voltage electronics? The main reasons to buy the 87V are ruggedness and electrical safety. On top of that, the 87V defaults to AC. So you'd have to push a button after rotating the dial 99% of the time. Measuring the 5V of your Arduino is not its intended area of application.

Similar thing with the Brymen. Do you need CAT IV? Although the Brymen has some features that make it more useful in general, like data logging and PC interface. But unless you need those specific features, you're better off getting a $50 multimeter and investing the extra money in a (better) scope, an LCR meter or other things.
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Offline joeqsmith

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #31 on: December 17, 2015, 03:23:53 am »
Why would you buy the 87V for low voltage electronics? The main reasons to buy the 87V are ruggedness and electrical safety. On top of that, the 87V defaults to AC. So you'd have to push a button after rotating the dial 99% of the time. Measuring the 5V of your Arduino is not its intended area of application.

Similar thing with the Brymen. Do you need CAT IV? Although the Brymen has some features that make it more useful in general, like data logging and PC interface. But unless you need those specific features, you're better off getting a $50 multimeter and investing the extra money in a (better) scope, an LCR meter or other things.

I was  not aware the electronics meant Arduino level low voltage.   I have never worked with an Arduino and I did not buy the BM869s for its CAT IV rating or it's data logging.  Not that those are not good features to have. 

The Brymen, with all of it features is actually getting some use where the sub $50 meters I would normally have bought (pre-Brymen days, or basically my entire life) would sit in the trailer where they would have a rough life.

Maybe the OP will post what they think about them after a few months of use.   

Offline deadlylover

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #32 on: December 17, 2015, 05:50:44 am »
As a home hobbyist, the only reason why I bought the 87V was because I found one brand new for AUD300, they're usually 450ish here in Australia. It was a deal too good to refuse...you know how it is.  ^-^

If I were to be buying something again at full retail price, I think I will lean towards one of the newer Keysight meters or maybe a Brymen, the extra features will be more important for me than the 87V's track record, especially datalogging and such.

The 87V is my go to meter for everyday tasks even though I have a bunch of bench meters which are more accurate and faster by several orders of magnitude. 95% of the time all I'm doing is checking voltages and continuity, and the 87V is perfect for just that. Defaulting to AC current still pisses me off all the time though.  :-DD
 

Offline jpb

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #33 on: December 17, 2015, 07:47:14 pm »
I currently own two Metrahit Multimeters (X-TRA and Ultra) which have quite a few features that the 87V lacks. Like automatic blocking of voltage/current sockets,  separate power switch, full range current measurement with same socket, data storage, IrDA communication, higher accuracy etc. Plus they are very well built, probably even better than the Fluke. And they run from AA batteries.
They are cool and I will keep and least one of them in addition to the Fluke, but for my everyday measurements I still tend to use the 87V.
It's handier (at least with the rubber holster), faster and usually good enough for my needs. If I could have only one meter, I'd keep the Fluke. That's why I also order only Flukes at work.
Besides: we have some Fluke dinosaurs at work, some of them at least 30 years old. And they don't only still work: they are still pretty much spot on.
Oxdeadbeef, can  you expand on this a bit? I have been looking to get a Metrahit Ultra (I can get one at a reasonable price) but this would be my only hand-held apart from a cheap one I bought from Maplins years ago (I have 3 bench DMMs) but I have one or two concerns. One is the display which is (per digit) appears quite a bit smaller than rival 4 1/2 digit multimeters (as you'd expect as it needs to display 6 digits). The other is the extreme cost of extras such as the IR connector and software (though the BT option is perhaps a more economical route) and the powerpack.

The cost of the Ultra, if I get old new stock (i.e. one that has never been sold but sitting in stock for long enough for the calibration to expire) is less than buying a new 87V and the specs are much better, as you say but if the usability is less then perhaps it is not a good buy.
 

Offline 0xdeadbeef

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #34 on: December 17, 2015, 08:31:45 pm »
Pretty much off-topic, but I hope that's OK:

I have been looking to get a Metrahit Ultra (I can get one at a reasonable price) but this would be my only hand-held apart from a cheap one I bought from Maplins years ago (I have 3 bench DMMs) but I have one or two concerns. One is the display which is (per digit) appears quite a bit smaller than rival 4 1/2 digit multimeters (as you'd expect as it needs to display 6 digits).
Yes, the digits are a bit smaller but it can display two additional values (like data and time). The digit size wouldn't bother me at all. But there is no bar graph.
Also if you measure a constant voltage, it needs quite some time to settle to a value. And the rubber holster of the Metrahits is pretty large compared to a Fluke 87V.
As a side note, it has a lower CAT voltage specification than e.g. the X-TRA: 600V (instead of 1000V) for CAT III, 300v (instead of 600V) for CAT IV.
Both, X-TRA and Ultra have a slightly worse continuity compared to the 87V. It is probably latched, but ignores very short contacts (no beep). Also the beep is not nearly as audible as on the 87V.

The other is the extreme cost of extras such as the IR connector and software (though the BT option is perhaps a more economical route) and the powerpack.
Well, for the IR connection, I can offer a cheaper solution.
Note that the (slightly old fashioned) Metrawin10 software currently doesn't even support the Ultra out of the box as it doesn't recognize the Ultra's ID. Gossen support promised to release a new version 6.20 some weeks before, but it didn't happen yet. This issue can be overcome though by patching the ID in some Dlls. Note that the current version of the software was released in the 2012. Then again, the ASCII protocol is documented and similar to SCPI.

The cost of the Ultra, if I get old new stock (i.e. one that has never been sold but sitting in stock for long enough for the calibration to expire) is less than buying a new 87V and the specs are much better, as you say but if the usability is less then perhaps it is not a good buy.
I bought mine for 350€ unused (calibration valid until 1/2017) on eBay which is a bit more than what I paid some years ago for a Fluke 87V (new on eBay for ~260€). I planned to replace the X-TRA with the Ultra and sell the X-TRA but currently I'm hesitating. Also for some reason, there's an X-TRA sold on eBay like every week or so. Anyway, in my opinion, the X-TRA is closer to the Fluke 87V regarding everyday usability.

[Edit: typos]
« Last Edit: December 17, 2015, 10:28:12 pm by 0xdeadbeef »
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Offline jpb

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #35 on: December 17, 2015, 10:25:41 pm »
Pretty much off-topic, but I hope that's OK:

I have been looking to get a Metrahit Ultra (I can get one at a reasonable price) but this would be my only hand-held apart from a cheap one I bought from Maplins years ago (I have 3 bench DMMs) but I have one or two concerns. One is the display which is (per digit) appears quite a bit smaller than rival 4 1/2 digit multimeters (as you'd expect as it needs to display 6 digits).
Yes, the digits are a bit smaller but it can display two additional values (like data and time). The digit size wouldn't bother me at all. But there is no bar graph.
Also if you measure a constant voltage, it needs quite some time to settle to a value. And the rubber holster of the Metrahits is pretty large compared to a Fluke 87V.
As a side note, it has a lower CAT voltage specification than e.g. the X-TRA: 600V (instead of 1000V) for CAT III, 200v (instead of 600V) for CAT IV.
Both, X-TRA and Ultra have a slightly worse continuity compared to the 87V. It is probably latched, but ignores very short contacts (no beep). Also the beep is not nearly as audible as on the 87V.

The other is the extreme cost of extras such as the IR connector and software (though the BT option is perhaps a more economical route) and the powerpack.
Well, for the IR connection, I can offer a cheaper solution.
Note that the (slightly old fashioned) Metrawin10 software currently doesn't even support the Ultra out of the box as it doesn't recognize the Ultra's ID. Gossen support promised to release a new version 6.20 some weeks before, but it didn't happen yet. This issue can be overcome though by patching the ID in some Dlls. Note that the current version of the software was released in the 2012. Then again, the ASCII protocol is documented and similar to SCPI.

The cost of the Ultra, if I get old new stock (i.e. one that has never been sold but sitting in stock for long enough for the calibration to expire) is less than buying a new 87V and the specs are much better, as you say but if the usability is less then perhaps it is not a good buy.
I bought mine for 350€ unused (calibration valid until 1/2017) on ebay which is a bit more than what I paid some years ago for a Fluke 87V (new on eBay for ~260€). I planned to replace the X-TRA with the Ultra and sell the X-TRA but currently I'm hesitating. Also for some reason, there's an X-TRA sold on ebay like every week or so. Anyway, in my opinion, the X-TRA is closer to the Fluke 87V regarding everyday usability.
Thank you - it is very helpful having unbiased feedback from real users. This is especially true as I have no opportunities to see the different options without buying them - it is hard to judge accurately just looking at photos and videos.
 

Offline 0xdeadbeef

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #36 on: December 17, 2015, 10:46:35 pm »
Thank you - it is very helpful having unbiased feedback from real users. This is especially true as I have no opportunities to see the different options without buying them - it is hard to judge accurately just looking at photos and videos.
Don't get me wrong: if I had no 87V or would have owned the X-TRA long before the 87V, I might as well prefer the X-TRA today. For electronics work at home, you can remove the rubber holster of course which makes the multimeter much better to handle. Still the 87V has the better continuity mode and is a bit faster to display a stable voltage value - but of course it also displays one decimal less.
Actually, there is a lot that speaks for the Metrahit meters and it obviously depending on your personal preferences what you find annoying and what mandatory. E.g. the 87V annoys me (and a lot of other people) for defaulting to AC when measuring currents. Also the 400mA limit on the low current socket always worries me (so I prefer the Metrahits for current measurements). I also dislike the 9V battery, the somewhat cheapish battery connector and the lack of an on/off switch.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2015, 01:51:34 am by 0xdeadbeef »
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Offline HarlanKing

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Re: would you still buy the fluke 87V!
« Reply #37 on: December 18, 2015, 12:54:53 am »
I have no regrets so far. This has been my first week with the 87v and have used it extensively on some VFD's at work.

It's nice having a rugged meter and an lcd with good viewing angles. The ability to disable certain functions such as auto power off is nice.. I recommend getting the magnet hanger accessory if you are doing much field work!
 


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