Fluke 101 - a Fluke dmm for only $50

[rif]

I was looking through amazon to buy some cheap DMMs to fortify my arsenal (basically an old fluke 8060a and some dying cheapos) and found this, a $50 fluke

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00J...ords=Fluke&dpPl=1&dpID=41JeYoBLZ9L&ref=plSrch

Apparently it is genuine but meant for the Chinese market

I'm thinking getting this is smarter than say 2 exetech or innova that cost less but have more features.

Thoughts?

 

[abraxalito]

Looks like a kind of 'grey import' - the box is probably marked 'Not for sale outside P R C'. Living in China I've also found that Fluke make lower cost meters for this market, as the local competition is intense. I have a Chinese brand oscilloscope which announces on each boot up 'only for sale in China', export models are more pricey.

 

[rayma]

I'm thinking getting this is smarter than say 2 exetech or innova that cost less but have more features.

Looks good. Probably the AC volts accuracy/bandwidth is limited, though.
New FLUKE 101 portable/handheld digital multimeter F101,FLUKE15B smaller version | eBay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-101-p...6&pid=100005&rk=6&rkt=6&sd=162358680957&rt=nc

 

[rif]

Living in China I've also found that Fluke make lower cost meters for this market, as the local competition is intense. I

Do you think Fluke lowers their China only DMMs quality too? If so, I'm probably better off buying 2 less expensive meters that have more features.

 

[1audio]

is there any connection to Fluke USA? China is the land of counterfeit and they do make unique products that the associated company has no knowledge of until they arrive here.

Here is the Fluke USA page for the product: Fluke 101 Digital Multimeter At least if its not countefeit it will be safe and meet its specs. its a far cry from the 8060A however. You can get those on eBay for around $60. They have features and accuracy that even the new premium handhelds from Fluke don't have.

 

[abraxalito]

Do you think Fluke lowers their China only DMMs quality too?

It definitely looks like the case mouldings are of lower quality also perhaps the silkscreening. But neither of those are going to detract from the usefulness of the product. Having looked inside Flukes I take the view that their margins are extremely high (BOM cost against retail price) so they have plenty of flexibility in pricing.

If so, I'm probably better off buying 2 less expensive meters that have more features.

Even though I live in China and have tried out various of the Chinese brands of meter the one I've settled with is a Fluke 115C. Ask yourself which features you're really going to use - for me continuity is a biggie and it needs to react fast. Some meters take half a second before they bleep (just to give one example).

 

[gyro]

It is however the ONLY meter to have survived all of the electrical robustness (transients) tests on the EEVblog forum:

Handheld meter electrical robustness testing. - Page 1


Edit: Since I read that the battery of tests has been extended - it has only been tested to 12kV 50us from a 2 ohm source so far.

 

[rif]

It is however the ONLY meter to have survived all of the electrical robustness (transients) tests on the EEVblog forum:

Handheld meter electrical robustness testing. - Page 1


Edit: Since I read that the battery of tests has been extended - it has only been tested to 12kV 50us from a 2 ohm source so far.

Looks like he has hundreds of youtube videos, I'll check that out too.

There is a calibration service on ebay for only $25. If i can find a suitable (cheap) 8060a i may go that route. I like mine, except that it doesn't have autoranging (no big deal) or autoshutoff (very annoying).

 

[PedroDaGr8]

I'm surprised nobody on here knew about these. There are a variety of Fluke's intended for the CDM, most lack TrueRMS (not a huge deal), have a more limited warranty and lower cost external build quality but are still pretty good meters in general. Certainly better value than the Fluke 11x series sold here in the states which is basically imported CDM Flukes with TrueRMS added and features removed. All of the CDM meters are manufactured by Uni-T for Fluke, the designs though are 100% Fluke designs.

If you are looking for a budget meter from the Fluke family tree, you can also check out the Amprobe AM-510 (but not any others like the 530, 560, etc.) It is a solid meter, Fluke designed, manufactured by Uni-T, UL-Listed and runs around $40-50.

 

[rif]

I just bought an 8060a on ebay for $30! We'll see if its too good to be true. I think I'll get a cheap meter too. The amprobe looks interesting but is on the high end of "cheap "