Alternative DMMs to Fluke?

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,

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DaveC
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DaveC
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For portable use, probably not. Some might not find quality their main concern. For ruggedness, I don't know who wins. I ordinarily would not use a Fluke as I find them expensive, but if I carried something with me all the time, it would have to be good, and price would not be as much concern, unless I kept loosing track of where I sat it down.

greg

Reply to
GregS

Portable use, true RMS, V-O-A, would like C & L but not necessary. Rugged build would be nice.

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DaveC

On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 12:13:09 -0700, DaveC put finger to keyboard and composed:

I just use any cheapie with the features that I need. I have built a

5.000 +/- 0.001 volt precision reference which I take to the store to do my own "select-on-test".

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- Franc Zabkar

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Reply to
Franc Zabkar

I hear a lot of good things about protek. They have a lot of products with similar specs to Fluke's. I don't own one yet.. I'm still agonizing over spending the extra cash on the Fluke myself.

Reply to
stickyfox

"Meterman"

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is Fluke, I mean Philips, I mean... whoever owns them these day's own line of inexpensive meters. I bought one for my brother, and it seems pretty nice.

I've had lots of cheap meters and a few Flukes, and so far the only one I ever had die was a cheapie that lived in the trunk of a car for years on end. The others have always been in heated indoor "lab" type environments, so I'd suggest that in such situations you might as well shop by features & price more so than a brand's reputation for ruggedness.

What I'm really trying to say here is that I don't think Fluke's are necessarily a rip-off, just that for me I'm perfectly happy with something that costs less. This reminds me of an article in some woodworking magazine I read where a production cabinetry shop purchased a bunch of "prosumer" level routers (Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, etc. from the likes of Home Depot) and tested them to see how long they held up in a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week continuous-use production capacity. The answer... not long! (Something like a few months!) The experiment was to convince themselves that -- given their particular situation -- the really high-priced routers they'd been purchasing were indeed worth the premiums.

I own a Tektronix TX1 that seems pretty indestructable; I like it (although I wish it would remember whether you were last measuring AC or DC when you change it from voltage to, e.g., ohms and back -- it always defaults back to AC!). I used to own a Fluke 87 and was annoyed that it suffered from the then-common problem of the zebra strip separating from the LCD, thereby causes various LCD segments to fail. A quick trip through a Panavise fixed it for good... or at least until I sold it some time later.

---Joel Kolstad

P.S. -- Another pretty common question on here is what college students should get for meters, and my response to them is also not to bother with a premium brand until they're really figured out what features they like in a meter and just how abusive they are with them. :-)

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those $2.99 Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

Reply to
Joel Kolstad
[snip]

I have a Micronta that's served me well for I can't remember how many years... maybe 20 or more.

...Jim Thompson

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|  James E.Thompson, P.E.                           |    mens     |
|  Analog Innovations, Inc.                         |     et      |
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Jim Thompson

(Following up to myself here)

Speaking of these... If anyone wants it, I have a spare one

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that I'll send, completely free of charge, to the first person who e-mails me (remove "hatesspam" at the end of my e-mail address). I would prefer that it goes to someone who can't readily visit Harbor Freight themselves, is low on disposable income, a student, etc. (i.e., if you own a BMW or a Lexus, please let it go to someone else).

---Joel (who presently drives a Honda Civic...)

Reply to
Joel Kolstad

a used Fluke might be as good qaulity as a Fluke!

just kidding. I don't know the answer.

I bought a cheapy ($30) Right Tech 2323552 or something like that from Marvac.com cause it had min max and i wanted to test auto sensors. Then i found out that it didn't have min max AND average the way fluke had it setup. Even worse min max was manual and limited to voltage!!! Absuloute junk!. Well, a fluke is about 300 dollars or so. Now i have a junk fluke wannabe so my inevitable Fluke is now gonna cost 30 dollars more (to include my cheap shortcut). Paying for more is worth it only when you pay for the best. The best is always priceless. The only problem is that all of us have paid for the best and have only gotten the bwerst.

Please tell us what your research finds! Although i have given up and am saving money for that fluke 80 series already. Still doesn't hurt to imagine that someone out there would be willing to give more than they take like is prevalent with all these freeware software folks on the net.

Reply to
whyzard

---------------------

We use a lot of meters here. The following might be of interest, where we checked them out a few months back on low AC voltage..

meter reading

Fluke 8600A 1.500 volts bench type maybe 10 years old Fluke 189 1.4975 about 1 year old Fluke 83 III 1.497 new " 1.497 new " 1.497 new HP 8060A 1.497 about 5 years old HP 8060A 1.499 " HP 3465A 1.497 bench type about 10 years old Simpson 360A 1.499 bench type about 25 years old Triplett 9015A 1.498 2 years old Triplett 9015A 1.501 " Valhalla 2101 1.500 6 months old. This measures power, current, and voltage.

Of the above, only the Simpson 360A and the Fluke 8600A have been recalibrated since leaving the factory.

jc the elder

Reply to
jclause

I've had a few Fluke 77s for fifteen or so years. No problems, except one wandered off so I bought a pile of $3 HarborFreight DVMs to put in tool boxes and lend to possible thiefs. They're the sacrificial lambs so the Flukes stay warm and dry on the workbench in the cellar.

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Reply to
Keith

For what it is worth to anyone with that problem, there is a relatively inexpensive display retrofit kit available all the time on eBay that replaces the zebra stripe with a newer type, and also upgrades the display itself and the backlight. It is worth the money if you want to update a Fluke 80 series meter. Mine has been working great, and the new display has larger characters.

And you can have them blow up in your hand due to inadequate safety design. It happens! Probably not an issue for a homeowner doing troubleshooting around the house, but forget them if you do industrial work. Buy one of the major brands that has an IEC CAT III or CAT IV rating at least 600V.

As for my preference, my field multimeters are Fluke, and I like their reliability. However, I suspect that other major brands such as Tektronix, Amprobe, etc. would be fine as well. I recommend against Rat Shack, Harbor Freight, etc. for serious work, both for reliability and safety reasons.

Ben Miller

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Benjamin D. Miller, PE
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Ben Miller

I prefer Fluke. All of our lab technicians and field engineers use them. I would recommend Tektronix, but they have discontinued their DMM line.

Charles Perry P.E.

Reply to
Charles Perry

Jim, your post reminds me that my Micronta handheld, model# 22-188, formerly my workhorse which I stashed away years ago as a spare, needs a proper fuse. I'd completely forgotten. I popped the fuse somehow and, because I was hot on some project at the time, kludged an ad hoc repair by soldering wirewrap wire across the blown fuse (and me an engineer!). I gotta replace that fuse! Thanks for the reminder.

I would recommend this meter - or similar - to anyone who is just starting in electronics. It was inexpensive and is versitile and accurate enough for the beginner.

Reply to
Michael

I was surprised to learn that HP (now Agilent) used to make handheld meters -- some guys at work have them; I've always thought of them only as the source of

6 1/2+ digit "bench top" meters in the $1000+ range.
Reply to
Joel Kolstad

This place lists just about everything not made by Fluke/Meterman or the other Big Guys:

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DaveC
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DaveC

How about an Omega HHM290 ? It comes with built in infrared temperature, Dual thermocouple inputs, will measure differential temp between the two thermocouples. 5 digiti display. and not too bad a price.

Reply to
Spokesman

Thats one think i like about the Fluke, I can replace the LCD cheap when i crack it.I have a nasty habbit of dropping tools from great heights, and the fluke seems to survive many big drops, aside from the odd shattered LCD.

I am sure lots of other big brands will supply spare parts, but will they supply them for a 15year old model? I bought my current fluke at the end of my sparky career and it is still going strong. I have replaced the battery once in this time.

Reply to
The Real Andy

many

formerly my

fuse. I'd

hot on some

wire across

Thanks for

starting in

for the

Back when I still had a paper route, my very first DMM was a Micronta with 3 1/2 digit red LED display - had it for years, and it's still in the basement of the other house but no longer usable. It was designed with a 1.35 V mercury cell as a voltage reference, floating in the feedback loop of an op-amp - sadly, mercury button cells are now impossible to get ( I think), so unless I come up with a substitute the meter is heading for the recycle bin.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Shymanski

Ive had quite a few (cheap) multimeters in the past, then I got a second hand fluke 77 fairly cheap, its far beter than all the others ive had put together and its lasted ages. probably atualy works out cheaper in the long run (and the battery lasts ages too). I like flukes and this model in particular, it was the one to go for at the time at work especialy if you didnt have to pay the price tag, however im not sure what else is around that can match it in terms of being nice to use reliable and rugged.

Incedently I saw a project for a home made power supply on the web where the insides of a multimeter were used as the volt/current readout, some are so cheap they are actualy cheaper than a proper panel mounting digital meter.

Colin =^.^=

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colin

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