I am in the market for a good quality DMM. I really have occasion to use capacitance features and want the frequency counter feature. Is there anything that compares with Fluke quality without the hefty price? Thanks, Randy
TPI makes inexpensive Fluke wannabes. I have the TPI 183 and it works well. Its capacitance and frequency measurements seem to be targeted at AC mains electronics, though.
My favorite junk DVM is the Radio Shack 22-174. Its accuracy is absurdly bad at 2 1/3 working digits but it crams in a heap of features for under $99. This DMV is essential for hobbyists with a collection of miscellaneous leftover parts.
I bought a Vellman DMM at allelectronics.com . It has a bunch of features normally only found on expensive DMMs. It has: diode test, ohmmeter, transistor tester, voltmeter, temperture(built-in sensor or with included probe), 20k Hz meter, and ammeter(ammeter and voltmeter for AC and DC.). The only complaint I have is its not autorange. While thats a pain its only $45 which seems to be the cheapest here plus it has what seems like the most featurs. If you going just for cheap the same site has a DMM for $ 7.95. Atleast at that price if its destroyed you can buy another one:-).
I don't recommend auto range for my techs. I find they take too long to settle down and sometimes you miss-read the range. I much prefer the dial where you know the range you are expecting and the meter settles down faster (at least that is what it seems to me).
That Vellman sounds like an excellent buy.
John :-#)#
(Please post followups or tech enquires to the newsgroup) John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9 Call (604)872-5757 or Fax 872-2010 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
Personal preferences operate here, but auto-range causes more issues than it helps with for me. Of course, I also believe that any instrument that does NOT have a d'Arsonval meter with mirrored scale is probably a toy; so you can calibrate my opinions against your needs. ;-)
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