And Dave sells EEVblog branded Bryman meters on his website: https://www.eevblog.com/store/
On the other hand, I recently bought this $33 DMM and for a 6,000 count meter, it is fine. Does RMS, frequency, capacitance, temperature etc. I have other meters, so if any measurements are suspect, I verify them. I think Amazon is currently knocking another 20% off.
On the other hand, I recently bought this $33 DMM and for a 6,000 count meter, it is fine. Does RMS, frequency, capacitance, temperature etc. I have other meters, so if any measurements are suspect, I verify them. I think Amazon is currently knocking another 20% off.
I've been using Flukes for decades and never had one fail, outside having to replace the probes and battery.
I have bought EEVBlog 121 GW directly from Dave Jones in Australia. I'm really impressed by this 60000 count DMM with power measurement and zener diode range! The picture shows a LM329 voltage reference. This multimeter has a very good quality impression. It matches Agilent U1252B which costs a lot more.
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As others may have mentioned, Brymen is brand labelled as Greenlee in the states. Picked up a Brymen DM869S as a Greenlee DM-860A from Global Test Supply. My other multimeter is used on house work, car stuff and when out in the field working on variable frequency drives, but the Greenlee/Brymen will stay in the office and never get dirty. With how advanced I am in electronics, which is NOT advanced at all, I don't think I'll ever need another multimeter. Buy once, cry once, but almost any Fluke/Brymen meter will give you confidence in its accuracy for the long run so you have a lot of great options to choose from without breaking the bank!
Thanks everyone for your feedback!
WuBai, I think I missed the Greenlee-Brymen connection, and I certainly trust Greenly as I have their punches and screwdrivers and such. I will also look at Dave, but it seems that would be an international transaction from Australia to the US, and you know how shipping is these days... I will, however, look at Dave's site more closely, H713.
WuBai, I think I missed the Greenlee-Brymen connection, and I certainly trust Greenly as I have their punches and screwdrivers and such. I will also look at Dave, but it seems that would be an international transaction from Australia to the US, and you know how shipping is these days... I will, however, look at Dave's site more closely, H713.
Well, if you're going to use a bargain basement meter, do yourself a favor and compare it to a good one before accepting those readings. Also be aware that very few meters will retain their accuracy over time. So buddy up to someone who did buy a reasonable meter to check it against periodically.
Also, DC accuracy has zero to do with AC and resistance accuracy - same as current. When you compare the AC volt function, try using an audio oscillator with a good meter and yours in parallel. Run the frequency up from 60 Hz up to 100 KHz anyway just to see where your response falls off. I can't tell you how many times people measure amplifier outputs at 1 KHz and we find out later their meter was reading way low by then. Newer meters are hopefully a lot better than they were, but take nothing for granted.
I'm not trying to convince people to buy expensive meters since i have already laid out those reasons (and they weren't that expensive). Given many will ignore advice and reason, at least know where you stand. I guarantee you all, people without metrology training tend to believe each digit on the display even when the accuracy figures are listed in the specs showing sometimes the last digit is pure fiction.
At least when I started, we used analogue meters and we knew to say "about" in front of any number we were quoting. Those were 2% accurate commonly for a good meter - near full scale. They could be 33% out closer to the bottom of the scale (not many knew that). Some digital meters can be 1% out or more on certain ranges and functions. When you are setting bias on an amplifier this can be very important as in mV, they can be a lot further off.
All I am saying is to check your meter. Know where you stand as if you (many will) assume the best, your meter will lie to you. Probably when it is really important.
Also, DC accuracy has zero to do with AC and resistance accuracy - same as current. When you compare the AC volt function, try using an audio oscillator with a good meter and yours in parallel. Run the frequency up from 60 Hz up to 100 KHz anyway just to see where your response falls off. I can't tell you how many times people measure amplifier outputs at 1 KHz and we find out later their meter was reading way low by then. Newer meters are hopefully a lot better than they were, but take nothing for granted.
I'm not trying to convince people to buy expensive meters since i have already laid out those reasons (and they weren't that expensive). Given many will ignore advice and reason, at least know where you stand. I guarantee you all, people without metrology training tend to believe each digit on the display even when the accuracy figures are listed in the specs showing sometimes the last digit is pure fiction.
At least when I started, we used analogue meters and we knew to say "about" in front of any number we were quoting. Those were 2% accurate commonly for a good meter - near full scale. They could be 33% out closer to the bottom of the scale (not many knew that). Some digital meters can be 1% out or more on certain ranges and functions. When you are setting bias on an amplifier this can be very important as in mV, they can be a lot further off.
All I am saying is to check your meter. Know where you stand as if you (many will) assume the best, your meter will lie to you. Probably when it is really important.
This. As always, RTFD (Read the _______ datasheet). Measuring without thinking is almost always a bad idea.
I personally do not know of any sub-$100 meters that I would really recommend. There are a couple Uni-T meters in that price range that I would describe as "passable". They do the job, but I don't really trust them.
I don't necessarily recommend most people shell out the money for a higher-end Fluke (I'm not talking about the 15B), but cheap tools are a painful lesson to learn (sometimes literally).