Best VOM voltmeter for under $60

For basic VOM, I like the Beckman DM73 pen-style - it meets the need for most basic electrical, and it's very compact. AC, DC, auto-ranging, ohmmeter (all with chirp on value change), continuity w/ tone. Mine's lasted for 20 years, and I rarely need to pull out the larger units. (And no ammeter means no fuse. :-)

While folks like to pick on Radio Shack, they have several models that could meet your needs; you can get fairly cheap if you only want the basics (and sometimes simpler is better).

Here's a $20 basic unit:

$22 unit w/ integrated case:

$30 model:

HTH, Richard

Honest to gesundheit? Harbor Freight has digital VOMs now at $3 apiece. You can't replace a fuse OR the battery at that price; they become throwaways.

Jim

Unbelievable...

There you have it. $2 for a pair of test leads, or $3 for the whole kit. :-) Probably just the thing for automotive work.

$4. for the premium battery. ;-)

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

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I purchased 10 of these units for students at about $6 each, before. Of the 10, 6 were delivered "good." At $3 each, that'd be fine. I've also seen them in the discount bins at hardware stores, etc. They work okay.

Jon

I've only had one for a couple years. I blew 3 or 4 fuses and dropped the thing off the table several times and it keeps working. One minor problem I noticed is the DC voltage doesn't read zero in direct sunlight with the leads shorted.

-Bill

I'm afraid that those are why I am looking. My technicians have been railing on me for buying those, and I can't say I blame them. I go to Harbor Freight for a lot of stuff (and much of it is fine), but if you need the services of a good voltmeter, you should probably look elsewhere.

I bought one at my local store. Certainly is a bargain. I did measure my AC line at home, said

110, which I thought was low, so I used an MCM meter I had I bought for about $30 and it said 115 which is about right. With any meter, you need to use it and know its limitations.The MCM meter seems to have that good feel, but mine soes not have a beeper, so necessary at times. Fluke quality and feel is hard to beat.

greg

line at home, said

$30

know

have a beeper,

I have a couple of Fluke 77s (I think they're 77s) I use around the house but put the HF $3 specials in my tool boxes. If anyone wants to borrow a meter they get one of the HFs. I've had Flukes grow legs. If the HF strays from home, I'd likely never notice.

--
  Keith

I recently bought a Vellman Oscope and received a free DVM850BL multimeter.Bought the HPS10 at $125 and the meter was thrown in from Electronix Express. The free multimeter priced at $15 is not bad. I am initially impressed. Its manual only, but I usually like manual.

greg

They are spending *someone else's* money because they want a better name brand - not because they need better performance from the meter. Those meters are *ideal* for banging around in vehicle maintenance. I would suggest that if a tech can't fix the vehicle "because of the meter" there's something wrong ... with the tech.

Ed

Thanks to all of you for your feedback. I decided to go with the $30 Radio Shack. It is a pretty impressive meter for $30. All autoranging and the ma and volts are measured from the same front panel plugs, so you can't screw up if you want to. Of course, it is 10 times as expensive as the Harbor Freight unit...