I'd be wary of buying used.
There are many pretty decent offerings around new.
It's useful to have a high DC current range, perhaps 10 amps.
You have to decide if you want features such as auto ranging... which is nice but by no means essential.
I quite like Soar as a brand, have a really old LED one, still good and has a really good hfe tester on it.
There are many pretty decent offerings around new.
It's useful to have a high DC current range, perhaps 10 amps.
You have to decide if you want features such as auto ranging... which is nice but by no means essential.
I quite like Soar as a brand, have a really old LED one, still good and has a really good hfe tester on it.
Unless it's fully tested & preferably calibrated.
Indeed, & by the time you are looking for that meter you'll know what you are doing & it shouldn't "weird out"
What a great way of putting it 
Well the reason I say that is I've had cheapies with power consumption issues and I still have a Fluke 77 with a switch that sometimes doesn't make right. It can sometimes take way too long to figure out what is wrong with a meter, causing all sorts of grief from something you'd like to simply trust. I can only afford used scopes but I can't imagine there are very many deals in good DMMs. Why would you sell one?
Good point, well suppose one of your relatives passed away & a shed load of functioning test equipment was left to you. You know nothing about it so you sell it on ebay
This is where you can get a bargain
Lots of video reviews and teardowns of test equipment by an EE. Check out the ones where he looks at top-end Fluke meters and others where he looks at no-name cheapies and points out who's doing a good job and who's taking shortcuts. Good stuff which was not so obvious to my layman's eye!
http://www.eevblog.com/
But in brief, if Fluke still makes a sub-$100 meter as they used to, it probably should be on your short list. If you want to measure voltages of audio signals or work with power inverters, expect to pay more for a "True RMS" model, though for most of the stuff you're likely to encounter, this isn't necessary.
http://www.eevblog.com/
But in brief, if Fluke still makes a sub-$100 meter as they used to, it probably should be on your short list. If you want to measure voltages of audio signals or work with power inverters, expect to pay more for a "True RMS" model, though for most of the stuff you're likely to encounter, this isn't necessary.
Ahh, here's his Multimeter Buyer's Guide:
EEVblog #75 – Digital Multimeter Buying Guide @ Electronics Engineering Video Blog Podcast
EEVblog #75 – Digital Multimeter Buying Guide @ Electronics Engineering Video Blog Podcast
I have a Tektronix 157 with an auto-off that seems to kick in just when I need to read the meter and I don't think it can be disabled. Now that I mention it I wonder what IC is in that thing. It's probably not a big deal for troubleshooting but if you care to do anything that needs the meter set the same way for a long time you might grow to hate it. Although after the number of times I've seen that meter left on when I get back to the bench the next day, I understand why it's a "feature".
these work well, for starters.
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
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Local discount hardware stores probably carry some similar under-$20 DMM that is considerably better than nothing. Unless you're calibrating data acquisition gear, you don't need extreme accuracy. I still use my first DMM, an inexpensive Radio Shack model.
On the other hand, if you can pick up a Fluke at a pawn shop for a fair price, it's unlikely you will ever regret it. (They're more common than you might think, since Fluke marketed them to various trades including auto mechanics.) Unless the LCD display is bad... but sometimes that can be fixed by flipping the conductive rubbery strip around. That might be grounds for negotiating the price downwards...
Given a choice of Flukes, earlier versions of the 70 series had no fuse on the 10A range, which could lead to unpleasantness if one was not careful enough.
On the other hand, if you can pick up a Fluke at a pawn shop for a fair price, it's unlikely you will ever regret it. (They're more common than you might think, since Fluke marketed them to various trades including auto mechanics.) Unless the LCD display is bad... but sometimes that can be fixed by flipping the conductive rubbery strip around. That might be grounds for negotiating the price downwards...
Given a choice of Flukes, earlier versions of the 70 series had no fuse on the 10A range, which could lead to unpleasantness if one was not careful enough.
I once was curious how accurate my little $20.00 Radio Shack meter from about ten years ago was. Used a fully NIST certified Fluke 5100 Calibrator and voltage, current, and resistance readings were bang on in every reading. It came as a surprise.
For home measurements I have no problem using it. For work on 600V circuits I trust my health to my Fluke.
If you just want to do general hobby stuff a Canadian Tire special would be more than adequate if you are looking to save a few bucks.
Can't go wrong with a fluke 87. Buy one used cheap and spend the $40-50 to have it calibrated.
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