Multimeter question...

[Bob Simpson]

There have been several posts asking about the "best" multimeter...
I'm in the market for one for non-professional use ( both my RatShack ones died early deaths...)
but I'd like to know about those which have bad track records.

Any totally useless for amp use?
Horribly overpriced crap?

TIA

Bob Simpson

[Andy Le Blanc]

Get the $50 rat sack DMM, and don't be afraid to BBQ the P.O.S.
Until..... you figure out how to not cook meters, then go shopping.

[charlesc]

Buy a decent multimeter and be done with the cheap throw aways

http://www.tequipment.net/BK2890A.html

[Andy Le Blanc]

Either way is valid, but will you use your investment?, is it for hobby or business?
If its a business expense it's also tax deductible.

[selloutrr]

the honest truth is you get what you pay for yes most meters will work to some degree but the more you spend the more accurate they become.. features.. etc.

my meter was stupied $$$ but it's legally calibrated and accruate to .025

JUST BUY A FLUKE AND BE DONE WITH IT

[gearhead]

Until..... you figure out how to not cook meters, then go shopping.

Unfortunately, I'm still in that phase. For HV such as measuring PT, B+1 to +5, power tubes, etc, I use cheap 5.99 sale meters and they're accurate enough for that. Been frying them at the rate of about one per build.

[C Moore]

I have had my Amprobe for a few years. It is a pretty well made meter, auto range, held up to daily use, but it only does 2 amps; that would be my only complaint. I would like to have a 10 amp meter, but those seem to get pretty expensive. My Amprobe was about $70.00.
Good Luck

[C Moore]

I have had my Amprobe for a few years. It is a pretty well made meter, auto range, held up to daily use, but it only does 2 amps; that would be my only complaint. I would like to have a 10 amp meter, but those seem to get pretty expensive. My Amprobe was about $70.00.
Good Luck

[Tinkerer]

I have a couple of Flukes I use which were quite cheap off fleabay. I use two when biasing, that way I can monitor both B+ and bias setting simultaneously. They're Chinese made not the good USA made units, but after all is said and done, they are still built to Fluke specifications, just at a cheaper price. The only down side as far as I've found is they're not overly accurate on capacitance checking...something like a 5% accuracy, so I bought a dedicated capacitor tester off fleabay cheap with an accuracy of 0.5% for measuring caps when building amps, which I'm happy with.

Hope this helps
Tinkerer

[MBD115]

I have a Craftsman model 73756 meter and I like it. Has temperature probe, volts, ohms, cap, and clamp-on amps up to 800 amps AC/DC. Zero button, auto off, and nice long leads. I think it was about $100. I've had it for a few years and it is a good well built meter.

I use it for everything

Good luck.

[gearhead]

so I bought a dedicated capacitor tester off fleabay cheap with an accuracy of 0.5% for measuring caps when building amps, which I'm happy with.
Tinkerer

Crap, didn't know they made those. Ended up getting a Triplett Multimeter with a dedicated capacitor-measuring port/probes. Good for higher stuff, but 47 picofarad's are quite a challenge.

[galtjunk]

I do computer work for several pawn shops so I am always on the lookout for a good used meter, cheap. I have several models of Fluke meters that I am happy with.

I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and they had their cheap 5.99 meters on sale for 1.99. I bought 3 for working around the house or fixing cars and motorcycles. It's almost cheaper to buy a new one than to replace the batteries.

[selloutrr]

capacitor testers.

cap wizard is a new dedicated in-circuit tester
sprague . heathkit, and elco make magic eye cap testers aswell

sencore makes the top of the line bench units.

[Phil_S]

With all respect to everyone who has commented on this...there is no wrong answer, but consider this. If you do the work professionally, you probably need to bite the bullet and buy a couple of Fluke meters for two reasons. You need the accuracy and the dependability. Where does that leave the hobbyist or amateur?

You don't have to suffer with a crummy meter. Once you've had an auto ranging meter, you'll never want to go back. I have a couple of suggestions.

1) Look for a sale price on a Triplett 9045. This is a wolf in sheep's clothing. I found one on eBay a couple of years ago for about 50% off list. Typical street price is around $80, so no, it's not your $10 throwaway. A distant second is a meter made by Tenma, I forget the model #, but not the super thin one, as it is not appropriate for HV amp work.

2) Look very carefully on eBay for a working Fluke 8600A. This is a relatively compact autoranging bench meter. There are two flavors: the plug-in kind and the battery kind. The battery kind can't be converted to plug-in or vice-versa. Get the plug-in kind because you won't have to go to the expense of replacing the 4 NiCd cells that are sure to be spent in a used meter (I made this mistake). You can get one of these for $25 or less, including shipping and it will meet all your basic needs for the rest of your days. It's nothing fancy, doesn't do caps or diodes. It's great for a/c, d/c, volts, amps, ohms. There are other similar models. Look carefully.

[Allynmey]

I have 2 Flukes but funny as it seems I've always used my Triplett 2103 for years now first...works great...never screwed up!