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Need advice regarding which multimeter to buy

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ehayashi300

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Hello All.

I am considering buying a multimeter, this is the first one I have purchased.

I would like it to be able to measure:

AD & DC Voltages
Capacitance
Resistance
Diode test & Transistor test

I have heard Fluke are good. can anyone recommend which model is best value for money. I have looked at the full range and am kinda confused which one would be best for my needs.

Thank you in advance.
 
Go for a fluke if your going to use it a lot or have cash to spend.

If your starting out in electronics and want something to use at home on smaller projects then I'd save cash and get something a little cheaper.

Multimeter warehouse in the us do a Mini DT9208AL for 20 usd, does what you want.
 
Don't expect to find a Fluke with capacitance and transistor test. It's usually only the bottom-feeder meters that offer all that fluff in order to get sales. Remember that a multimeter usually becomes a multimeter because several good, high-end meters (functions) are compromised to be combined into a "multimeter" and the more functions there are, the more compromise there is. Meters that have a capacitance function have very limited ranges for measuring capacitance; meters with transistor checking functions don't do much but give a go-no go test. If you want to test transistors, buy a decent transistor tester or curve tracer; if you want to measure capacitance, by a decent digital capacitance meter; if you want to measure frequency, get a frequency counter. Corvettes are made for speed; Freightliners for hauling heavy loads; farm tractors for plowing fields. Imagine a multi-vehicle that can do all three of those and how well it will do each one of those tasks. Then take another look at a multimeter.
 
In the handheld department, I have 3 meters: A old Fluke 177, a $5.00 meter from Harbor Freight and something like or this one: **broken link removed** CSIMS8264 ~$27.00

The $5.00 meter is great for battery testing. Forget to turn it off and you need new batteries.
The CS meter doesn't autorange, but for $27.00 it's useful. I actually got both the HF and CS meters free.

I also have the 5-6 digit bench varieties too as well as a real frequency counter, ESR meter and transistor checker.

The Fluke is preferred because your less likely to blow it up. Not having auto-range is annoying. Peak-hold is useful at times, None of the handhelds are True RMS.

At $27.00 you have to be careful.

A decent set of probes (kit with attachments) might cost you $60.00 to $100. the included ones are clumsy.

My favorite probe is one with a really sharp tip that can be extended about 2.5". Then I combine this with a probe kit that gives you big clips, little clips etc.
 
Corvettes are made for speed; Freightliners for hauling heavy loads; farm tractors for plowing fields. Imagine a multi-vehicle that can do all three of those and how well it will do each one of those tasks. Then take another look at a multimeter.
An interesting analogy.
I like it and I also agree with your thinking on the Frequency/Transistor test/Capacitance measure features.

Nearly fourty years ago during a slack time at work, I built a transistor tester.
Measures leakage current and gain.

How many transistors have I tested since then? Probably hundreds.
How many times have I used the diode test function on a DMM? Hundreds or thousands.
How many times have I used my transistor tester? About five.

JimB
 
While not a huge fan of Radio Shack, I do find myself in the store occasionally.

Fact is, I have pruchased five of their various meters over the the past couple of decades.

This is one that has suited me just fine:

https://www.radioshack.com/product/...edium=RSCOM&znt_content=CT2032235#tabsetBasic
(Scroll up to the top. For some some reason the link puts you below the top of the page...)

On-line reviews are mixed, but for my part it is a good unit and accurate enough for the prototyping I play with.

More features than you list but you'de be surprised what features you will come to need as your education and experience progress.

Price ain't bad, either.

The PC interface (Windows only) is pretty useless. And you have to buy, separately, a probe for temperature reading (read the reviews).
 
I've a couple of radioshack meters from the uk version of the shop - tandy, one I've had 20 plus years and it still works.
 
Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

In all honesty, I'm sure I'd be fine with a fully functional $27 made in China model, but I'm thinking of treating myself to a Fluke :) probably one of these: Fluke 117 . I'm thinking it'll outlive me.

There are loads to choose from: https://www.newark.com/digital-multimeter but some are quite specialized or out of my budget ~$300.
 
I have a Craftsman from Kmart that can be had for $25. I've had it for about 6 years and it's still going strong. Not sure if it has a transistor test, but that can be done with a diode test function.

It's probably the best you can get for such a low price. However, if you have the money, go for a fluke.

Regards,
Matt
 
I religously use my Tectroniks DMM370M ...rebranded as Mac Tool's ET330,
Does ,all the basic stuff plus Hz,pulse width,diode check,RPM..Im happy with it ..
And tested against 4 other meters they all fall darn near the same on similar function.
I bought seperat stand alone capacitor meter's ,transistor tester's and such ..
A handy gadget I picked up on ebay was this
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Transistor-...459?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460a39a42b

Works for what i need it for..
 
Don't expect to find a Fluke with capacitance and transistor test. It's usually only the bottom-feeder meters that offer all that fluff in order to get sales. Remember that a multimeter usually becomes a multimeter because several good, high-end meters (functions) are compromised to be combined into a "multimeter" and the more functions there are, the more compromise there is. Meters that have a capacitance function have very limited ranges for measuring capacitance; meters with transistor checking functions don't do much but give a go-no go test. If you want to test transistors, buy a decent transistor tester or curve tracer; if you want to measure capacitance, by a decent digital capacitance meter; if you want to measure frequency, get a frequency counter. Corvettes are made for speed; Freightliners for hauling heavy loads; farm tractors for plowing fields. Imagine a multi-vehicle that can do all three of those and how well it will do each one of those tasks. Then take another look at a multimeter.
Hi Dean. Do you sell meters with few functions?

I really cannot see the comparison between vehicles and meters?

It's quite obvious that the more expensive any meter is, the better the quality is expected to be. However, say I go and buy a meter that has a lot of functions - an expensive one - why should that meter have less qualities than those with less number of functions?
 
I cant help but split a hair here.

You can actually buy meters designed for use on vehicles.
 
Do I sell meters with few functions? No. I don't sell meters. Do I use meters with few functions? Yes. All the time. A clamp-on DC ammeter for tweaking the final amplifer of a Hewlett-Packard 606A; an AC voltmeter for measuring the characteristics of amplifiers and filters; 4-terminal ohmmeters for measuring the contact resistance of connectors and switches; digital capacitance meters for matching capacitors in value; frequency counters for accurately adjusting oscillators and signal generators for certain frequencies.

Generally speaking, single-function meters tend to me more accurate than multifunction meters. For example, the older differential voltmeters were DC-only and measured DC voltage very accurately, down to 0.001% or so. AC voltmeters had a wide range, say 1mV to 300v full-scale with a frequency response to 10MHz. 4-terminal ohmmeters could measure low values of resistance, far less than 0.1 ohm and do it very accurately, say to 0.1% or better as well as measure high resistances. A frequency counter can measure from 10 Hz to 18GHz with an accuracy of at least 0.0005%. A good digital capacitance meter can measure from 1pF to about 1F at an accuracy of around 0.5%. If you attempted to put all these measurement capabilities together in to a single meter, it would cost you at least $10,000 and you'd lose your portability in the process. Instead, manufacturers try to put these functions into something affordable, and to do so, compromise heavily: smaller capacitance ranges and not nearly as accurate; less-sensitive AC voltage measurements and not nearly the same bandwidth -- you're luck if you get over 100KHz; and it goes on and on.

The vehicle analogy was supposed to be similar: a farm tractor can pull extremely heavy loads slowly over very rough ground; the Freightliner road tractor can pull very heavy loads at high speeds over smooth roadways; the Corvette can't pull anything but itself, but can to so at even higher speeds on curvey roads. There is no one vehicle that could do all of those things, because once you have the farm tractor's tires installed, you've just killed speed and maneuverability. If you tried to keep things low to the ground like the Corvette, you could barely clear speed bumps, let alone large rocks. You just can't compromise some things. That's why we have medical specialists or 25 different types of hammers.

Generally speaking, the more expensive the meter, the higher the quality. But there's more to it than that. Better accuracy and precision demands a higher price. Better realiability demands a higher price. Name brand recognition results in a higher price. More features (not necessarily functions) demands a higher price: remote readout, printer capability, GPIB interface, plug-in capability, long warranties, upgraded specifications. All of those things go together to better the quality.
 
Grossel said:
It's quite obvious that the more expensive any meter is, the better the quality is expected to be. However, say I go and buy a meter that has a lot of functions - an expensive one - why should that meter have less qualities than those with less number of functions?

Meters are becoming application specific. For instance a run of the mill meter can't test a Flame sensor, but one for HVAC can. PWM might be available on an automotive tester, but not an electronics DMM.
 
I agree with Dean..
I was doing Heavy Equipment repair and need an automotive style meter ...one thing You missed however ,,and it was a problem with the meters I initially bought for the equipment repair was noise and vibration..my electronics bench style meter ,,while very accurate would float around if someone was using an impact gun ..not good if your looking for a definitive .5 volt signal.If the vehicle was running using these meters was out of the question ...vibration....If I had to go from in the cab to under the trailer the meter would swing because the temp changed rapidly..
so I sacrificed near perfect accuracy ..for yes its right there enough to call it good accuracy(at least close enough not to have it put on the scope and look like a fool), or to call an alternator bad because of the resistance on the slip rings...
other option was to ask the shop foreman to park the rigs in the lobby ....where its quiet...and temperature controlled...

So absolutely ...its either a guy buys a tool that does a few things exceptionally well..or a tool that does a lot ...close enough.

totally get your point..based on past experience

Want a good meter that does basic things really well..the old anolog Simpson meters should be a first choice. for me at least..
 
Just feels to get a little OT here.
A couple of years ago I visited the Imperial war museum in UK, and I think that the Daimler armoured car (not my photo) is the closest vehihle that has all three prorperties.
 
Interesting, Grossel. But without bar-cleat tires, I'd think it would fail out in the field pulling a 16-foot disk. It didn't mention it's top speed. 140 mph?

Regarding meters, another thing that's interesting. I've never seen a 42-function meter that had any kind of safety rating such as CAT II, CAT III or CAT IV. Take a look an a typical Fluke handheld DMM: ACV, DCV, ACA, DCA, ohms, diode function, accuracy of around ±0.1%, built like a tank and withstands super-human abuse as well as profoundly stupid electrical abuse, has at least a CAT III or CAT IV rating, of extremely high quality build ... but sorry, doesn't test transistors.
 
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