Please Recommend A Multimeter

Hi All,

After 15+ years, my cherished Fluke DMM grew legs and walked out of my garage. Arrgg..!! :(

I don't want to pay $200+ to get a new one.

Call me a heretic...but are there any multimeters that are more reasonably priced (~50) but have that Fluke feel, something that won't come apart after a few drops?

TIA,

-Le Chaud Lapin-

Reply to
Le Chaud Lapin
Loading thread data ...

Never happened here. But we also have a Rottweiler and a Shepherd.

I'm afraid you hafta.

Nope :-(

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

No.

Try ebay. You can usually find the Fluke you want for about 30-40 percent off.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

I'll call you a dreamer. The Flukes are not flukes but the cheep DMMs are.

formatting link

Reply to
Charles

You can get an Extech with the same features, and you can read the online specs and look at pictures all day and it will seem fine, but you will get it and it's just not a Fluke. It's a lot cheaper, though!

--
Ben Jackson AD7GD

http://www.ben.com/
Reply to
Ben Jackson

You're a heretic; happy?

We've run some terrible cheapies in the classroom, but they certainly lack the Fluke feel (not to mention the fitted rubber armor that helps so much with drops). I personally gagged on the price of Fluke clamp-ons that would measure DC amps and bought a Triplett, but I also try not to drop the thing, as it was in the $200 ballpark itself, and lacks a rubber jacket.

You can certainly try FLeaBay, if only to see if your local set of legs is flogging your very own meter.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Reply to
Ecnerwal

You won't get a top quality brand new unit for much less.

Plenty of 2nd hand Flukes on eBay for less than $100. It's possible to get an 80 series 3 Fluke for around $100 in as-new nick.

For the $50 you mentioned you could get a newer series 70 meter on Ebay.

The Meterman units (now owned by Fluke) are a lower price bracket with more features than the Flukes. Build quality is very good. The Meterman 37XR is a bit over $100.

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

That's why I leave a cheapo Harbor Freight $10 DvG (digital volts guesser) laying around in plain sight. The professional equipment borrowers tend to grab anything and run, thus leaving my various Fluke DVM's alone. I think I've lost about 5 of the $10 decoys.

I've had my Model 77 since I stole it from work in 1980, and my Model

10 since I stole it from a non-paying client in about 1995.

What model Fluke were you considering? How may digits do you need? Accuracy? True RMS?

Nothing close. Buy the Fluke, but also buy the $10 decoy.

I must confess that I also have a variety of Sears/Craftsman DVM's. No clue who actually made them (Made in China). They all have a slip on rubber drop protector and seem to be surviving my abuse quite nicely. I've never checked the accuracy. Some are auto-ranging, while others require that I remember to set the range BEFORE applying the probes. I use them for non-critical applications, such as continuity testing, vehicle repair, and filthy work locations. Several have banged around my truck for about 2 years without damage. I think the most I've paid was about $40.

I'm not sure I would actually recommend these meters, but if you must cut corners, and don't care about accuracy, then they'll suffice.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558            jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

I like my Extech MM560 just fine. :-)

Reply to
Anthony Fremont

I bought the TPI 153 from Digikey.. Can't complain yet..$71.00US..

formatting link
Combined it with a small parts order to dodge the min order handling charge. Came with boot so it can bounce off the floor and into the high speed mechanics :)

D from BC

Reply to
D from BC

I have units going up to the top end of HP/Agilent but the best multimeter investment I ever made is my cheap well $A80 Digitech QM-1530 does AC DC Volts ohms diode and continuity( the scales I find myself constantly using organized in that order), then nF uF Hz hfe uA mA A the scales I hardly ever use. it does have Data Hold but again I never use it, it has a rubber case. Also When I blew my first one up by putting

3000 Volts into it, Jaycar were nice enough to replace it for me. I do have a Fluke 110 which does have the Auto off function (very useful for service) it has the same first scales as the Digitech and it is smaller but considerably higher in cost. Since you have a French surname I would assume you were not from Oz, but you may well find a similar product with a different brand stamped on it in your part of the world.

This page has some related models

formatting link

the QM-1536 seems very similar, while the QM1462 has dataloging via USB

regards Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

Paraphrasing Charlton Heston: "They're gonna have to pry my Fluke out of my cold, dead hands!"

Reply to
Tom2000

I have been favorably impressed with my Extech Mini-Tec 26 which cost me $40 US. It has a rubber impact boot, and comes with a thermocouple and a *much* better capacitance test function than my Fluke 87, but lacks true RMS and Hi-Z input and is slightly less accurate. It has been more durable than my Fluke, which is on its second LCD and already missing segments again after less than 2 years, in spite of the fact that the Fluke stays on my bench and has never been dropped while the Extech goes out in the field and has been dropped several times and used in the rain a few times too.

IMO you really have to want the higher accuracy and true RMS to pay the big bucks for a Fluke, and most of these features are available from others at lower cost, with the possible exception of the very handy Hi-Z mode. So if I only had 1 meter it would still probably be the Fluke 87 or whaterver their current equivalent is, despite the poor reliability.

Reply to
Glen Walpert

Paraphrasing our Rottweiler: "Don't get between me and the Fluke meter!"

--
SCNR, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

Are you sure he didn't say 'Bite? Me'? ;-)

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I\'ve got my DD214 to
prove it.
 Click to see the full signature
Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

He's not much of a talker. Normally very friendly (except to cats) but if someone does mischief there will be one loud woof. Then you better stop or run.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Reply to
Joerg

I love my Protek 506 which has never failed me in more than 10 years of use. It is slightly larger and heavier than a Fluke 77 but does a great deal more and is hell-for-stout. It has just recently been discontinued but is still available on the net for $145 which will get you an autoranging 3 3/4 digit DMM (and the digits are huge as well as optionally backlit), true RMS, Fluke-like solid construction/feel, holster, temp range (type K thermocouple and adapter included), RS232 (optically isolated), signal source, freq counter to 10 MHz, limited cap and inductance range. It has a real on/off switch so you can leave the function knob on a frequently used position. It has real auto power off, not like the auto display off on my Fluke 77 which reduces power function by only ~20%. I primarily used my Fluke until I got the Protek and the Fluke is now stowed away as a spare.

I see a refurbished Protek 506 on eBay which apparently failed to sell yesterday (start bid $90) and was relisted today at the same price. I don't have personal experience with the current Protek models but I can vouch for the 506!

David PopMed.com

Reply to
PopMed

Mind the wrap:

formatting link

Cheers! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

formatting link

As long as we're pulling up antiques, go all the way and get a genuine differential voltmeter...

formatting link

Anyone else remember these suckers?

Reply to
Jim Stewart

It's hardly Fluke like construction or feel!

For less than that you can buy a very nice rugged Meterman 37XR for example.

Since when? The 70 series have famously low sleep current.

I have a Protek 506 that gathers dust. Wanna buy it? At my old job I had no less than 4 Protek 506's in my draw that gathered dust, no one wanted to use them over the Flukes.

Too bad about the horribly clunky range switch. It's just awful.

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.