Which DMM can you recommend?
Which DMM can you recommend?
(OP)
My old digital multimeter has passed away and I'm looking for a new one.
I've looked at the Fluke 175, but find it somewhat pricey. It has the functions that I need, plus some that I don't need, for instance TRMS, where my feeling is that you pay quite a lot for that.
I need:
Resistance
AC/DC voltage up to 1000 V (I can live with 500 V)
AC/DC current up to 10 A
Capacitance, frequency etc. is nice, but not 100% necessary.
Super high precision is also not that important.
Is Fluke that way to go today?
Or can you suggest other brands/types?
Thanks in advance,
Benta.
I've looked at the Fluke 175, but find it somewhat pricey. It has the functions that I need, plus some that I don't need, for instance TRMS, where my feeling is that you pay quite a lot for that.
I need:
Resistance
AC/DC voltage up to 1000 V (I can live with 500 V)
AC/DC current up to 10 A
Capacitance, frequency etc. is nice, but not 100% necessary.
Super high precision is also not that important.
Is Fluke that way to go today?
Or can you suggest other brands/types?
Thanks in advance,
Benta.





RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
What is your definition of not "pricey?" eBay lists for under $200. The cheapest DMM on eBay is about $10.
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RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
The Fluke is listed at 199 Euro plus 19% sales tax.
I know I can get much cheaper DMMs, but am looking for something a bit better than "Chinaware", and my question was really if Fluke is still a high-end brand, and which other brands could come into play.
My target price is 100...150 Euro, which should be possible for a quality DMM, that doesn't have things I don't need.
Thanks,
Benta.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
http://www.extech.com/instruments/categories.asp?c...
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Timelord
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
The Fluke is probably overpriced, but it will be the right color and should perform well - especially if you are prone to dropping things, like me.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
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RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Roundabout story - I once bought a Agilent meter. The current measurement never made sense. At first I thought it was me, but then I compared with a Fluke on the same line. I returned the Agilent and bought my own Fluke. Believing the number on the screen is worth most of the money I spent on that one.
Tip: while buying the meter look at the leads and make sure you're getting a set you will prefer to use. The Amprobe came with leads that have aligator clips that unscrew from pointed tip probes, so I can use them both ways. The Fluke didn't come with them so I ended up getting another set of leads. Leads that are insulated with silicone jackets do not get stiff in the cold.
STF
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
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RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
I've looked at your suggestions:
HP: now Agilent
Amprobe: looks good, but for appr. the same specs the price is equivalent to Fluke
Gossen-Metrawatt: the same
Agilent: the same
Megger: the same
Keithley: only tabletop types, I need hand-held.
Extech: worth a closer look.
In the end, I'll probably take the path of least resistance and buy the Fluke. But you have confirmed that Fluke is still the one to go for (the "yardstick").
Best Regards,
Benta.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
I've always shied away from this.
You never know who has used it, and particularly HOW. And for test equipment I need to trust the readings.
Cheers,
Benta.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Fluke used to be the yardstick. I'm not sure about their DMMs now days, but like another well known poster on these sites I found their handheld oscilloscopes to be overpriced pieces of ****, with a software interface that was written by a six year old.
Saying that, the DMM I have and gets regular use is a Fluke. A venerable 8020 B model. Had it since about '88. TRMS and all, and cost an absolute bomb back in the day.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
In the AC measurements I do, AC peak value is of more interest, and neither TRMS or average can give me that (I use the 'scope for this).
Cheers,
Benta.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
"their handheld oscilloscopes are overpriced pieces of ****, with a software interface that was written by a six year old"
Did you quote me there? Well, I know you didn't. But I could have said it.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
There is a huge number available. Look for the features you need not the brand. They pretty much all use the same schemes now internally.
Jameco link has the largest offering I've seen. Make some comparisons and you'll see a heck of a lot more bang for your buck than Fluke -The BWM of meters.- (That's not a good thing by-the-way.)
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Their handheld scope (which was the old Phillips design re-badged and tinkered with) was always inferior to the contemporary Tektronix THS range. I'd still take an early 90's Tek scope over the current Fluke one, but that's because Tek are a scope manufacturer and Fluke are a multimeter manufacturer dabbling in scopes.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Steve
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
I mean, if you do this for a living, the cost of a DMM every fifth year can't be decisive. The price is the last thing I look at.
The way the company that produces/sells the instrument is way more important. At least to me.
If the company tells everyone that you live a dangerous life and are irresponsible if you do not use the instrument with the right color and the right name on it - then I stay away from that company. There are so many others that are good.
Fluke did a good pioneering job a long time ago. I think back in the eighties. Their 8040 was good when it comes to accuracy and specs. But downright dangerous when you looked at the connectors (Cu plate tunnels soldered to the PCB, getting loose so you easily dropped a test lead from it and hit ground or something else). That was when John Fluke Mfg Co asked us what we really wanted. We told JFM and out came the yellow instruments, of which I still have a working 87 (Serial Number 48050551). I love(d) it. Sturdy and lots of measurement capabilities that we never had before (What about two peak measurements? One for motor current peaks, 100 ms, and one for voltage peaks, <1 ms.)
That put JFM back on track. But now, it doesn't even know that it is derailing. That company needs either a completely new board of directors or a bankrupcy.
Their new scope series was a catastrophy. And I still think it is. I haven't heard otherwise.
Re TRMS: If you leave that out - I don't know if I am interested in helping you at all. Scope or not.
Gunnar Englund
www.gke.org
--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Whether the meter has effective internal protection against voltage and current overload is something else that could be considered.
A very new Fluke model, the 325 clampmeter, which is quite well priced, is also worth considering.
It does have a lot more capability than the OP wants, but I consider DC amps in a clamp style is a fantastic capability. I have tried one of these and it does look Good.
Ray.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
@sibeen - I am in 100% agreement with you about the old Tek THS-720P portable oscilloscopes, and I've even called up Tek once or twice to beg them to revive that product line. I still use the THS-710P I purchased brand new in 1997, despite also now owning its theoretically superior replacement, an AEMC/Metrix OX7104-III (but that is a tale for another post...).
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Z
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Yes they are total crap and I always verify that the readings are working by checking on a known hot side before reaching in. I also keep a good meter like a fluke for the rare stuff I need an accurate measurement for. So get both a beater for the everyday stuff and on rare occasions blow the dust off a good one.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
The Fluke 177 meter was reported to beep a warning and not blow fuse (at 120V) and the Agilent U1242B got kudos for displaying 4-20mA as 0-100%.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
STF
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
A US importer recently had a shipment of cheapie Chinese made DMM's denied entry and was required to destroy them because the department of homeland security determined that yellow case was a Fluke trademark infringement.
https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428
I've got some old Harbor Freight cheapies that have the yellow case and I never confused them for a Fluke, not at $3 each.
Amazing that Fluke can own 'yellow'.
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
RE: Which DMM can you recommend?
They are OEM manufactures and you can find rebranded Brymen DDM under many names like Extech, Greenlee.