Multimeter recommendation

Oct 26, 2011 10 Replies

I decided its time to get another multimeter. Maybe two. The problem is that there are so many out there that I'm a bit lost. What I want is:


- at least 4.5 digits



- preferably LED, VFD or backlit display with a wide viewing angle.



- current measuring range at least 10A



- mains powered. I'm fed-up with changing batteries.



- cheap (Ebay)



I have an HP 3466A which matches all of the above except for measuring current.



Does anyone have a recommendation?


Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply indicates you are not using the right tools... nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.) --------------------------------------------------------------

I like the Thurlby-Thandar 1906 5.5 digit multimeter. It does cost 584 euro new from Farnell, but you get a lot of bang for your buck.

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There's one on sale on e-bay at the moment for 200 UK pounds, including the optional GPIB interface.

-- Bill Sloman, Nijmegen

I purchased a BK 5492 bench DMM on Ebay last year for good price.

15A VFD 5.5 Digit Perhaps look for bench DMMs by B&K Precision.

I got sick of using a battery DMM for several reasons.

*Hated spinning a clack clack clack dial. *I have bright lights and the LCD display was hard to see. *The meter never had a home and keep floating around on the bench. So less order. *I needed more precision.

This does everything you asked for

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This might. It is cheaper. The display is LCD but is not TFT (OK in bright light)

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That is a nice one. I also found it on Ebay. It does have a backlight according to the manual. I think I'll buy this one.

Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply indicates you are not using the right tools... nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.) --------------------------------------------------------------

multimeters_p460.html

multimeter_p3900.html

Here are some more choices.

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I have an UNrecommendation.

The Radio Shack 43 range multimeter.

I had an older one fail after what should have been a minor and low energy glitch.

The first store replacement had the same symptoms. A second replacement from a different store did likewise.

The first store replacement came back in six weeks. I have yet to test it.

The neat feature about these is their electrostatic line tracing.

Many thanks, Don Lancaster voice phone: (928)428-4073 Synergetics 3860 West First Street Box 809 Thatcher, AZ 85552 rss: http://www.tinaja.com/whtnu.xml email: don@tinaja.com Please visit my GURU's LAIR web site at http://www.tinaja.com

Not particularly cheap, but the Agilent 34410A is pretty nice. Ethernet interface as well as GPIB.

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Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

.

one:(928)428-4073begin_of_the_skype_highlighting=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0= =A0=A0=A0(928)428-4073=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0

I just ordered one of these meters, thanks for recommending. The postage charge is more than the item, but still good value. Meter is cheaper than a battery tester in the UK!

Lyn

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I ended up ordering this one:

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Failure does not prove something is impossible, failure simply indicates you are not using the right tools... nico@nctdevpuntnl (punt=.) --------------------------------------------------------------

On a sunny day (Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:08:57 GMT) it happened snipped-for-privacy@puntnl.niks (Nico Coesel) wrote in :

Seems good value for money.

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