multimeter help

You can never go wrong with a Fluke.

If you don't want to afford one, just ask for the cheaper you find. They all are operated quite in the same way.

As one, "complete idiot" to another, be sure you understand the user manual. If you don't know what all the little symbols mean, it's your only hope. And they are written with the assumption that you know this. You'll probably want one with an amp probe.

You can probably find a good explanation on Wiki or other sites.

Buy whatever you can afford, based on the intended use. While Fluke is fine, so are many other more reasonably priced brands. Mine cost $39.00USA, and has more functions than I could ever use.

How much accuracy do you need? Multimeters are rated in ohms per volt. If you want accuracy, get one that is rated at least 20,000 Ω(ohms) per volt. Fluke is your best bet. If you want cheap, try Radio Shack.

building a home windmill, not very accurate, I guess. spacecannon

Many years ago, I was an avid Fluke customer. I have had to change my mind lately, because I have had too many failures of Fluke equipment in recent years. The current reliability and quality of manufacturing does not, in my mind, justify the premium price.

I've been hearing that as well. Many years ago they did hold the standard in meters but over the years countless other manufactures became their equals and often superiors while still providing that quality at much lower prices.

I too have heard the common talk that something changed in Flukes designs apparently. They don't always die but often get glitch's or tend to freeze up in certain modes or ranges. The old units are still held in high regard by many but apparently not the latest ones.

I have talked with many service and maintenance techs that have mentioned a severe drop in the Fluke craftsmanship and overall quality. Paying $500 for a basic meter that predictably dies or develops sever glitches a month or two after its warranty is up is just not cost wise in todays business. Especially when countless competitors are offering superior products at far lower costs.

The people I know have seen their businesses switching to the imports and said they do as well or better in all measurable aspects in regards to Fluke. And always with as good or better warranties, functions, user friendliness and service. Even though they are often around 1/4 - 1/3 the price.

Take a look at this site for a comparison of various multimeters from different manufacturers.

Funny that this particular question surfaced today. A few hours ago I ordered a new DMM (a Fluke 287) from Digi-Key after my son-in-law fried my 30-year-old Radio Shack model. Hell, the damn thing's older than he is!

If it works, it's probably a Fluke.

While I am partial to my old Simpson analog meter,in my opinion you get a more true reading with analog, but the Fluke has definitely changed the way meters work. They have more functions than I would ever need. But you can get a "cheap" Fluke or equivalent to do the job.

As far as "easy enough for a 10 y/o to use",well I know a few 10 year olds who can run rings around me on both the computer and the meter.

Good luck.

Never mind the 'brand name' status game. Ask yourself this. If I dropped my meter from up on the tower how bad would I feel if it was my expensive FLUKE or whatever.

I used to work as an instrument tech and naturally always bought good quality meters. That is until I dropped it in the bilge. It wasn't in the water 10 seconds before I scooped it up and it took another 120 seconds to get my tool box for a small screwdriver and some WD40 and spray down the circuit board. Too late. It was kaput! $250 worth. Looking back I realized I never really needed super accuracy or precision or 4 digit resolution or any of that other stuff out in the field. Now I buy $25 meters and get adequate results. and if I drop it; oh well. It didn't cost nearly as much plus now I already have a spare in the truck.

I still do have a new super accurate precision meter but it stays on the test bench for real precision work whne I really need it.

Listen to what the majority has said, you don't need a Fluke or a highly accurate instrument unless your working with electronics. I use my cheap VOM's for everything including trouble shooting complex systems on commercial aircraft. ? do you have voltage- yes, ? do you have current flow- yes, your good to go from that point. I myself prefer analog over digital, especially for doing a quick check on capacitors. Get yourself a cheap multimeter with a clamp on amp prob, I can assure you, you won't go wrong. I too have drop a Fluke off a three story roof and was sorry for it, never again will that happen, as I won't put out that kind of money for an instrument that I use for troubleshooting.

For bench work get the best you can afford. for field work think kleenex. If absolute precision is not required, go analog over digital. (I hate it when I ask the time and informed "12:32". "Half past 12" would be sufficient to know what speed laws I must violate. There is a spurious air of accuracy that comes from indiscriminate use of digital readouts, particularly those with no method of calibration. )

I work in industry and only use Fluke (as supplied by my employer). I've bought a few few different "lesser" brands to use at home and have only been left disappointed. Fluke's auto-ranging always rocks.

The bottom line is to ensure what you buy is minimum Cat III. This will make sure that what you buy will be properly protected/fused should you mess up when measuring!!!!!

"blow up in your face" is a common slang term but in reality a bit of an exaggeration if taken literally. The actual results vary. As a repair tech in an instrument shop I have seen some pretty blackened insides but I have never yet seen a multi meter go off with the force of a hand grenade oa anything close to it.

Having said that, one common modification we did for a couple of power utility companies was to supply test probes containing an inline ACG fuse body. I think it was 10 Amp so the amp meter function was still usable. The fused probe was in effect a one shot since field personel could not repair it. They were told it was one shot and the volume of replacement probes was not great. In other words, mistakes happened but not that often. fuse was sealed inside with heat shrink. Not easy to unravel, but it offered goof seal and protectionin adition to the lexan tube.

I do not know exactly what CAT 111 involves but this was a mod we did as far back as 30 years ago. Some 15 years later I ended up working for the same utility company that used to be our customer. Yep they were still buying the probes.

So you didn't need any more caffeine for the rest of the day; but did you need band aids and burn ointment or worse? I know what you mean, but lets not scare the newcomers right out of the park before they get going. A resounding snap, crackle POP! followed by the magic smoke escaping is definitely a wake up signal but unless real physical damage occurs its just part of the job as far as I'm concerned.

We had one instance where the blown caps was almost as routine as loading a breech cannon and firing it. Install cap, close door, power up, and Boom! Followed by wisps of smoke. It took three tries after a long 16 hour shift to finally figure out somehow a 120V AC circuit had been crossed with the 12V DC power circuit. No way those 350 mfd caps would stand up. Oh yeah we did blow one meter on 12VDC range before we clued in. Like you it was a job at the end of a three hour drive then a 16 hour shift trouble shooting and what have you. Reminder, never work on live power circuits while yawning! Test probe usually ends up in wrong place.

OK what is cat111? spacecannon.

I spent 12 year troubleshooting and 4 years teaching electrical. The biggest question you need to answer first "is what is you need with a meter?". What exactly are you going to check with it. It is my experiance that; if you have never troubleshooted a curcuit you may not know what to make of the readings to get with the meter. There are a lot of rules, "hop scotching", turn power off when you are reading ohms, etc. that need to be followed when decerning problems with in a curcuit.

Fluke is a very good meter and I believe if you get a model 76 or higher they are gaurenteed for life, however they become very expensive and would not be justified for a couple of uses. UBE makes a couple of cheap non RMS meters that could get a person by if the testing is not critical. I perfer the Field Piece that comes with components for clamp on amp meter, temperature and many others may be purchased. I guess about $150.

Hope this helps.

What I'm about to say is by no means anything against spacecannon, but he is a self proclaimed novice, so why lead him into a piece of equipment that takes 3 years of college to benefit from all the bells and whistles that come upper end equipment? Learn the basics with the cheap models, so when he forgets to select from ohms to voltage, and probes a hot line, he's not out $100.00+, and I know we all have done that at least once in our careers. Master the basics then move on up if so desired to.

thank you very good advice, spacecannon.

For a ten year old, buy 2. One to blow up , one to use afterwards. Current and ohms scales die quickly when mistakenly hooked to line voltage. I havent met a youngster that doesn't make that mistake at least once.

SPACECANNON how about posting a bit more of a description of what you actually need in the way of measurement? Do you only need relative measurements to see if one coil puts out more voltage than another, a continuity checker to find breaks in wiring and maybe an ammeter to see how much current is flowing?

Or do you really need high precision? Your self description of being an electrical novice suggest the former, in which case a precision multi featured meter costing $$$ is a waste. Incidentally even an idiot proof meter is not likely to stand up to a drop onto concrete from any real height. Yeah I know. Some meters promise drop resistance. ( read the fine print) In reality none of them are truly immune.

Sorry Ive was gone for the weekend, building a home windmill. spacecannon

To tell you the truth... The fluke 83 Multimeter is very easy to use..for recording high/low signals, ohming circuits..diode checking AC/DC reading etc......for simple projects..Yo'll find it easier to use then the cheaper Radio Shack multimeter in my opinion. I use it day in and day out troubleshooting robots for injection molding machines... Now when you get into the servo drives and have to use the Fluke 123 ScopeMeter...now there one confusing scope / meter .... I rather use a Techtronic scope meter..I find it easier to use.... Take care - have a great day...

Stick with cheap. Here's one for $10.50 including P & P.

Europium's $14 meter comes with a recommendation.

Just a couple of other points.

1.) When you get above the very basic stage resolution is much more use than absolute accuracy.

2.) When you've got half a clue what you're doing auto ranging just wastes time, I prefer manual ranging meters.

3.) Consider one of the very small meters which will fit easily in your pocket. Something like this or this. Both these have disadvantages the first the shipping cost from China, the second the use of a 12V battery which you will need to replace at some time. Trouble is google knows I'm in the UK and won't let me search sensibly for US sites.

Ok we Have established I will destroy a few during the learning curve, I already own three, and cant figure them out, after I learn I will probably buy a fluke or equvalent since money is not the problem, but Im a novice not stupid, so I'll destroy some cheap ones, the problem is I haven't found any with easy to follow directions, stick this here and here and you'll get this. I need something that is more user friendly, everything works like you already know what your doing. Is there such a thing as a learner multimeter? I have lost my pride from the continual failures on this subject and so I come asking you guys....(I can tolerate training wheels attached to it), THX FOR ALL OF YOUR GOOD ADICE, sincerely. Spacecannon

Hey Spacecannon, try googling "videos on using multi-meters", there's quite a few out there. Practice with using low voltage like a car battery before moving on to higher voltages. Best of luck,

dj

IS NOT exactly what you wish FLUKE ARE GOOD BUT I HAVE USED MULTIMETERS various makes and models and also has many PRECISION. I THINK IT FOR WHAT YOU NEED NOT GOING TO USE A MULTIMETER VERY POWERFUL AS WELL AS Presice
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Buy the Fluke, They stand by their products and honor their warranties. Then Read the directions! Yes I know that actually reading the directions is out of style and you would rather have someone produce a video but that is not how the real world works. In the real world you actually have to read.

Good point! Most flukes also come with an instructional disc as well.

Good answer kyle, thats what Im looking for, something that comes with a easy to follow instructions or a disc. all these meters seem so different that web instructions dont easily translate if you dont have that brand and model of meter.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU, SPACECANNON

Thats the same ones I buy from Harbor Freight for $3.99 ten at a time!

I will sell you some of mine for $12.99!

OK thx, I should clarify the question. Spacecannon