Which multimeter?

[webs]

Looking for one up to the $100 range. I'm new to these, what should I look for? Any particular models/brands? Will the $50 Radio Shack one work fine or is there a big difference between that and a more expensive model? Thanks!

[Blue Strat]

$50 is probably fine. The big feature is "auto ranging" which should be available in a Radio Shack model for $50. "True RMS" AC measurement, useful for measuring amplifier power (you'll also need a scope though) are found in the more expensive models.

If you can find a Fluke brand meter for $100, go for it. They are the gold standard in this type of equipment. If not, anything else will more than suffice.

[deeval]

Sears also has good ones for that price range,Radio shack is also ok.
You are going to get what you pay for,so if just dont need to use your meter all the time should be ok.
I use my meters everyday so Fluke is the only one for me.:jo

[Mike9]

I'm after a new one as well and looking for one that will go 1000 volts. The Fluke 77 will where as the Fluke 73 is only 500v.

[Robal]

Being able to test capacitors is handy, and some of the cheaper models don't do that. I have about four cheap meters and a Fluke and the Fluke is the one I always want to grab. I think I just have more confidence in it.

[vibroverbus]

Fluke = Snap-on - pros will take nothing else and they are priced to match. I have a Meterman 38XR which is great. It's over a hundo I think but they have others that don't have everything this does (caps, temp, RMS etc. and autorange/min/max/hold etc.). Seems to me to have that Fluke-like quality feel at a slightly less painful pricepoint and has been 100% reliable.

Some of the features you get in a better meter I never use but some are pretty cool - min/max/range/hold etc. The dumbass-buzzer that tells you when you don't have the leads in the right socket for caps or freq or whatever saves a lot of time if you're a knucklehead like me.

[Trout]

High Priced Meters?? haha

Here is a link to an article by a darn good audiophile designer and guitarist on multimeters.

When it comes right down to it, The cheapies are actually just fine.
http://www.tubelab.com/MeterUse.htm

After I lost 2 Flukes to a bad oscillation issue, I now use the $5.99 from Harbor Frieght. I bought 10 of them and they are like gold!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92020
Trout

[vibroverbus]

Agree that a lot of the cheap ones are probably fine for basic work and made in the same Chinese factories - I always keep a couple "Cen-Tech" or whatevers lying around for basic stuff. All the ones in that link don't have many features but if that's all you need, that's cool.

Respectfully, 2 things to watch for with a cheapie though, IMO:
1. Quality of the leads (which granted you can always replace with aftermarket - I have had them fry or go intermittent quickly), and
2. high internal resistance that won't alter the circuit under measurement.

[Trout]

Agree that a lot of the cheap ones are probably fine for basic work and made in the same Chinese factories - I always keep a couple "Cen-Tech" or whatevers lying around for basic stuff. All the ones in that link don't have many features but if that's all you need, that's cool.

Respectfully, 2 things to watch for with a cheapie though, IMO:
1. Quality of the leads (which granted you can always replace with aftermarket - I have had them fry or go intermittent quickly), and
2. high internal resistance that won't alter the circuit under measurement.


Exactly, to all of the above.
I think tubelab also mentioned leads are being very important, So far, I have not lost any, but I do have a couple of nice clip on sets. I hate probe style leads.

Trout

[vibroverbus]

TOTALLY. I picked up a set of these and they are my main choice now.

http://www.elexp.com/tld_lld1.htm

Note they are sheathed plugs not straight bananas so they wouldn't be appropriate for some of the real economy meters... (Of course $25 for a lead set is more than a bunch of the Chinese meters cost! I'm in Shanghai right now, bet I could go down the street and find these for about $2, and that would be overpaying...)

Anyway, the alligator clips are much better than the ones that came with my Meterman - nice leverage on the jaws but narrow at the end so you can reach into tight areas and clip them in without your hands being anywhere near death-inducing voltages...

[fadetowhite519]

i like extech for the cheapiest.

all the flukes, except for the 179(or 177 i cant remember)-189 are made somewhere in asia anyways.

[Trout]

TOTALLY. I picked up a set of these and they are my main choice now.

http://www.elexp.com/tld_lld1.htm

Note they are sheathed plugs not straight bananas so they wouldn't be appropriate for some of the real economy meters... (Of course $25 for a lead set is more than a bunch of the Chinese meters cost! I'm in Shanghai right now, bet I could go down the street and find these for about $2, and that would be overpaying...)

Anyway, the alligator clips are much better than the ones that came with my Meterman - nice leverage on the jaws but narrow at the end so you can reach into tight areas and clip them in without your hands being anywhere near death-inducing voltages...


Hey snoop around tubelabs site a bit and check out his beast hahhaaa
http://www.tubelab.com/833SE.htm

I think the 1/4 inch lexan barrier pretty much sums up the need for quality leads when dealing with 1500V.

http://www.tubelab.com/images/833A/LesPaulTest1b-2.jpg


Trout

[Norse]

Very nice LP, Trout!

[wahfreak]

http://www.tequipment.net/Protek506.asp
http://www.onlinecomponents.com/search-general.cfm?pn=506&manufacturer=PROTEK%20TEST%20%26%20MEAS.&ref=Froogle


Try one of these. Very nice for the price. Try to fnd something with better specs for the price. Capacitance AND inductance. Buy now because they are going obsolete. These were the only places I found them.

[boobtoob]

I have one of those $40 Radio Shack jobbies. It's OK, but it will only register AC voltage up to 400 volts. Some of my DIY amps have more than that at the recto. (frown). Also, it would be nice if it had the cap checker (I thinks the newer models do), but from what I understand, that function only checks for cap value, not leakage.

[donnyjaguar]

Get a Fluke with the capacitance checker. Its a one-time purchase. If you get something el-cheapo it won't be. :)

[vibroverbus]

I have one of those $40 Radio Shack jobbies. It's OK, but it will only register AC voltage up to 400 volts. Some of my DIY amps have more than that at the recto. (frown). Also, it would be nice if it had the cap checker (I thinks the newer models do), but from what I understand, that function only checks for cap value, not leakage.

absolutely right, boob. it's great for testing cap drift or otherwise quickly checking values but doesn't test under load. i have an old-school Sprague cap tester for that, which as a bonus does transformer ratios as well.

[KB9KXH]

my favorite brand for most test equipment is sencore, you can find out what they have new or refurbished here www.sencore.com (http://www.sencore.com)

[KB9KXH]

If you get an analog meter be sure to check the input impedance, the higher the better. a higher input impedance takes less power from the circuit under test and so dont upset it as much while making measurments.

[jimberry]

If you're considering a low-end but real flexible knockabout unit, I'm pretty happy with this guy:

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7102

(I apologize in advance if vendor links are frowned upon - I looked around for board guidelines and didn't see anything forbidding it)

It certainly ain't a Fluke, but I consider it to be 50-ish bucks well spent.

As has been mentioned, capacitance indication on something like this doesn't test for leakage, but it's nice to have. I really like being able to measure current as well.

Humidity, sound pressure level and light intensity are, well, kinda strange to have - but in a low-precision sorta way come in handy every now and again. I do have to admit that I use the temp probe a lot more often than I thought I would.

-jim

[mbratch]

I bought a Radio Shack DMM a couple of years ago. I think I spent $65 or so on it. It seems pretty good for the most part, goes up over 400VAC etc and measures capacitance.

However, I was very disappointed a few months ago to find that it won't measure capacitance on electrolytic caps for some reason, even fairly small ones. Not documented anywhere, and nobody's explained it. That soured my taste for Radio Shack DMMs.

[donnyjaguar]

I wouldn't use an analogue meter for tube circuitry. The load it places on the circuit is just too much for the high-impedance circuitry you find in tube amplifiers. Even the 10Megaohm input of a Fluke meter has to be considered when taking some measurements. Also, trying to use an analogue meter for measuring very low voltages in modern electronics makes it very frustrating as the resistance presented by them increases as the voltage drops. Hence they are rated in "ohms per volt".