I've got a Fluke 179, and it's great.
It's accurate, it can survive a 10 foot fall from a ladder onto concrete and not look or act any different, and it measures almost anything you'd ever want - volts, amps, temperature, frequency, capacitance...
Price tag aside (they're not your $10 Autozone DMM), I don't think you'd have any regrets for buying one.
It's accurate, it can survive a 10 foot fall from a ladder onto concrete and not look or act any different, and it measures almost anything you'd ever want - volts, amps, temperature, frequency, capacitance...
Price tag aside (they're not your $10 Autozone DMM), I don't think you'd have any regrets for buying one.
There is Fluke and everything else. I have used different DMMs but no other brand beats Fluke in terms of speed and accuracy.
Naturally this level of performance comes at a price.
Sometimes however one might get lucky like I have lately when I got brand new Fluke 85-III on close-out sale for $159.00 . And I think that was a mistake made by a store as at the same sale there was Fluke 83-III for $179.00.
For other mesurements like LCR, sound level etc. I am using Tenma meters. They are good enough for the money. Sometimes they are exactly the same meters as Extech, and I mean literaly exactly the same besides of label, but for much lower price.
Naturally this level of performance comes at a price.
Sometimes however one might get lucky like I have lately when I got brand new Fluke 85-III on close-out sale for $159.00 . And I think that was a mistake made by a store as at the same sale there was Fluke 83-III for $179.00.
For other mesurements like LCR, sound level etc. I am using Tenma meters. They are good enough for the money. Sometimes they are exactly the same meters as Extech, and I mean literaly exactly the same besides of label, but for much lower price.
I have a Fluke 77 a long time (first model). I abused it many times and it still works. For example, made a powersupply with current limitter and tested it by setting the fluke to amps and used it to shorten the ps output. The display said 20 amps, which meant that the current limitter did not work 
It's 10 amps max btw, unfused 
Would not do this nowadays..
On an other occasion the selector switch broke. It was (then?) easy to get a new one from a local distributor and it was quite cheap to my supprise.
It's 10 amps max btw, unfused Would not do this nowadays..On an other occasion the selector switch broke. It was (then?) easy to get a new one from a local distributor and it was quite cheap to my supprise.
I can only say that the only handheld meters that would hold their calibration were Fluke. Many others were out of tolerance when brand new! The Fluke were also the only meters with meaningful high frequency performance. I would get the same meters back for calibration over time and they normally did not need to be optimized, just cleaned.
Extech is a meter I would not trust. Service from Extech cost 1/2 the value of the meter, even if it was only adjustment. Not unless they have changed that policy lately. I don't trust them at all.
Hugo, you really know how to hurt a Fluke! You were okay?
soongsc, what happened to your Fluke? As I recall, switch contacts were a problem, so were display elastomers (but cheap). You may even have a broken lead in the battery connector.
-Chris
Extech is a meter I would not trust. Service from Extech cost 1/2 the value of the meter, even if it was only adjustment. Not unless they have changed that policy lately. I don't trust them at all.
Hugo, you really know how to hurt a Fluke!
You were okay?soongsc, what happened to your Fluke? As I recall, switch contacts were a problem, so were display elastomers (but cheap). You may even have a broken lead in the battery connector.
-Chris
A lot of people will say: if your just starting out...buy a meter...any meter, and if you keep playing with electronics...buy a Fluke.
I disagree. I say always buy the best tool you can afford, even if it means waiting. The experience will be WAY more pleasurable. Some of the lower end Flukes aren't that expensive and I'm sure they will eat up the cheaper meters for lunch, despite the fact that they lack some of the features.
If budget is a concern, I would suggest starting by buying a simple Fluke so you can make very accurate basic measurements. Then buy a Tenma(et al) as a secondary with a lot of features, as none of the secondary features are as important as V/I/R.
I disagree.
I say always buy the best tool you can afford, even if it means waiting. The experience will be WAY more pleasurable. Some of the lower end Flukes aren't that expensive and I'm sure they will eat up the cheaper meters for lunch, despite the fact that they lack some of the features. If budget is a concern, I would suggest starting by buying a simple Fluke so you can make very accurate basic measurements. Then buy a Tenma(et al) as a secondary with a lot of features, as none of the secondary features are as important as V/I/R.
Maybe I missunderstand the question??? Is Fluke and whomever the only choice??? I use many Fluke models daily. But, I also use the 34401 HP/Agilent and Keithley's also. Maybe a few I don't remember at this moment. If I had to choose, I like the 34401!
Sorry, but, I don't drop my intruments from ladders etc... I have Triplet or Simpson style tools for that. And they do well for that type of work...
Just my 2 Cents...
Sorry, but, I don't drop my intruments from ladders etc... I have Triplet or Simpson style tools for that. And they do well for that type of work...
Just my 2 Cents...
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