/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>550484

Fluke does not make crappy multimeters. Fluke is king. That said, make sure its not a knock off and not damaged. While they are very durable, they are not indestructible. A used one is probably cheapest but they tend to have hard lives.

That model you linked? Not made by Fluke. The VC 97 is about what you'd expect for that price. It costs about a third of what an equivalent Fluke does and its good enough for most things. A professional wouldn't be caught dead with one but a professional has $150 to blow on a "basic" multimeter. You can get it cheaper on Amazon either way (33 vs 37 bucks). I personally have a MASTECH/Sinometer MS8268 Multimeter that I paid about $30 for and I've very pleased with it. Its a great hobbyist level meter and you can get it for about $24 these days.

The thing about these types of meters is they don't have the fine accuracy of a Fluke or other professional level meters. You haven't mentioned what you need it for but I doubt you have a need for that level of accuracy regardless.

>>550484
Consider buying second hand. The quality of meters like Fluke, Agilent, Metrawatt and so on mean that even a 20-years old unit is often within spec as long as it hasn't been abused too much.

In my experience every multimeter is good enough.

Currently i'm using the one i got for free with oscilloscope on http://www.apogeekits.com

all the Fluke models are good, but for hobby use that isn't going to matter--and all of the Fluke models also cost way more than the one you linked.

there's not much need to spend more than $35-$50 for a multimeter now, unless there is a function you MUST have that only the expensive meters have.... for just general measuring, the differences in accuracy between a cheapo and a really good one aren't likely to be significant.

and for just general around the house stuff--a $10 meter (like OP pic) beats the hell out of nothing, and you can get ones with a few more features for only $20.

>>550519
Accuracy yes, but what you're buying is reliability and safety. Trying to eg. measure mains voltage with a $10 meter can quite literally risk your life. For battery-powered hobby electronics a Fluke isn't worth it (but still get one if you find one cheap!)

How in the heck did you get a multimeter for free with a built in oscilloscope? I didn't even know they fused the two into one.

On larger machines I know they did, but not handheld. Where can I get one of those beauties?

>>550706
what?

>>550706

He got a free meter when he *bought* an oscilloscope. Its not a meter/oscilloscope. Where did you even come up with that?

I guess I misunderstood the comment, I apologize. I was also looking for an oscilloscope but my dad heard me say that and he said he has a Snap-on Sun LS2000 oscilloscope that he never used. No idea what it looks like but he said its old enough that it might need a new battery

>>550484
I have an analog multimeter from the 60s-70s that my father owned (Micronta 22-214). It has been a real trooper and works better than most digital ones I've used and the cheap $20 analog ones from ACE (don't drop them or they completely fuck up). I had to get a clamp meter though. So, I use them in tandem.

The clamp meter I got was a cheap Harbor Freight one:

>7 Function Clamp-On Digital Multimeter
>$11.99
>Purchase In Store Only
http://www.harborfreight.com/clamp-on-digital-multimeter-95683.html

That clamp meter actually does pretty well and is pretty accurate, at least in the 10amp or lower range that I can double check with my other meters. I don't have anything else that can go above 10 amps, so I can't vouch for accuracy beyond that.

If you have the money to drop on a Fluke then do it, but you should have just as good function with a $20-$50 brand. If you need extremely sensitive stuff with a large range then you'll need to pay more money.

I've used a few multimeters, Fluke does rule.
Having said that, I bought a cheaper brand that fit my requirements and am happy with it. Being a mechanic, I needed other things like temp sensing, 15A current readings, and the ability to measure rapid changes in voltage (via a bar graph).
It just depends what you want it for, and how often you use it.

love my fluke

the only thing that sucks is if on that rare occasion you kill the fuse, replacing it is $11. i'll never say 'it's probably not 20+A for more than 10 seconds, let's try my meter' again

>>552264
I killed the fuse on my old Micronta 22-214 one time. It is only like $0.44 for a replacement, but boy I really make sure I'm more careful with it now. I blew it when testing power generation on a motor I was converting for use as a generator. I didn't realize it'd be so many amps. lol

>>550484
Get a fluke 17B its the cheapest fluke multimetter the only little detail its that that one ita a multimettter moslty for electronics (around 90 USD)

>>550484
Fluke DMMs are certainly amongst the best ones available.

What are you going to use your multimeter for? The Vichy ones available on eBay are pretty mediocre but will get the job done for basic hobby electronics. Those probes however are a heap of shit - they will change color and stiffen over time, as the plasticisers leach out of the crappy plastic.

However, if you ever plan to use the multimeter for any serious repair/maintenance work on appliances or if you want to rewire your house, STEER CLEAR OF THE VICHY.

Stump up the extra $$$ and buy a quality, brand name model e.g. Agilent, Fluke, Ideal, Extech, Keithley. Even a refurbished or ex-demo model is fine.

The cheap budget multimeters (like the Vichy) are built with safety as an afterthought. If you derp it good at mains voltages, the brand name meters will probably blow the shit out of the internals, but you'll be alive. The Vichy will arc over, explode and the subsequent arc flash will throw you across the room with severe bodily burns.

>>552834
It's also designed excusively for sale in China and has worse specs and build quality than the normal models. Any unit you buy outside of China has been grey-exported. I think Fluke will service them elsewhere in the world, but I'm not sure.

I purchased this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OCFFMW/
and have been very happy with it.

Unfortunately it practically requires
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NI49VA
for the back probes.

>>553454
I used that same one for years fixing office equipment. Definitely a good choice.

>>550484
As people have already said. comparing a Fluke to even a decent chinese DMM is like night and day. If you're only ever going to work on low energy battery powered stuff for electronics work, then go right ahead and buy what ever meter has the features you need and you'll be fine. however, the moment you start playing with mains, and i don't mean you turning into an electrician overnight, simple shit like testing an outlet can be dangerous.

You'll notice a lot of these cheap meters have both a CAT III and CAT IV rating, they may even have HRC fuses, but i can fucking tell you right now, you theres a fault at CAT IV or even CAT III you will start blowing things up. To make my point theres a low cost Fluke 117

Notice it only has CAT III? thats because even they know if you take this meter and try to current probe a 400V high energy system theres a very real risk it will blow up. So how do you think, something thats 10x cheaper, is going to hold up? even at CAT III, you still are dealing with 240V 16A fault current _MINIMUM_, the instantaneous energy can be in the hundreds of kW even at your power point, without propper protection, the fuses will rupture, the tracks will lift off the PCB, protection devices will vent and it all creates a nice high pressure bubble of explosive gas, now all you need is oxygen, but hey, you didn't want to spend extra to get a weather sealed meter, now you have a fully fledged arc flash, in your hand.

>>553473
>>553145

Sound advice, right here. And if you're ever unfortunate enough to be hospitalised for a good 2-3 months as a result of an arc flash, you're gonna wish you'd stumped up the extra $50 for a decent meter.

During a fault, the mains network will happily deliver thousands of amps instantaneously. The Chinese meters might say CATIII 1000V/CATIV 600V on them, but I'd sooner trust a politician than the fake ratings and approval stamps.

A decent meter will have: HRC sand filled ceramic fuses that can rupture 100,000A+ @ 1kV or greater, MOV/varistors to clamp over voltages, PCB slots routed between high voltage sections, fully shrouded terminals, gas tight rubber seals and HV resistors.

>>553365
Fluke just made an international version of the 17B, and yes it is made in china but, it still uses top quality components

you can look at its guts here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDQBFe7GSGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbEtcpM0RGc

I have one and its probably the best buy i have done in a while

>>554061
That guy has the most annoying style ever.

Midrange handheld Agilent refurbs can be had for about the same price delivered as a new 17B off eBay. Better accuracy, OLED screen.

>>554061
I did not know that. I guess they decided to react to the number of 17Bs being sold out from China, nice to see they didn't freak out but turned it into something positive.