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Recommendation for a Good Multi Meter?

B

Bassphil

Active Member
Hi,

I'm thinking of picking up a multi meter, but I was hoping to get a few recommendations first.

So far, I'm just going to be trying to figure out which wires are which in a braided set of seven wires, but I noticed that Sears (for instance) has about 50 different multi meters. In addition to 50 different meters, each one seems to have a different feature set and a price.

Can someone recommend something under $100? Currently, I do a lot of tonearm rewiring and speaker building, but I would like to also check things like the strength of solder joints.

Thanks in advance for your time,

-Phil
 
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Fluke True RMS...will run around $ 185-260...Will be the last DMM you'll buy..
Just recently got a 179 off of the bay..Brand new $185...Newark Electronics and Sears were asking $259..
 
since imworking with vintage hi-fi i would like a working capacitor meter function on my mm. Maybe that would be something nice for you too.
 
I have 2 Fluke 73's and I really like them - so it's another strong recomendation for you to get a Fluke.

But
Bear in mind that sometimes you may want to see real-time what is happening to a fluctuating voltage (for example) and for this you will need an analog meter, as this is hard to see on a digital display meter - no need to get anything fancy - I understand these can be bought for less than $10 new over there - one of these would be just right - make sure you get a digital Fluke first !

Just my 3 ha'pence worth

John
 
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Wow, thanks for the replies! It looks like Fluke is the way to go. Luckily, there seems to be a ton of these on eBay. Of the Flukes mentioned, what's the order of importance? Is it as simple as the higher the number, the better?

179
87
77
73

Thanks again!

-Phil
 
Bassphil said:
Wow, thanks for the replies! It looks like Fluke is the way to go. Luckily, there seems to be a ton of these on eBay. Of the Flukes mentioned, what's the order of importance? Is it as simple as the higher the number, the better?

179
87
77
73

Thanks again!

-Phil
Click to expand...

Generally speaking, yes. However, not sure it's true 100% of the time.

If your plan doesn't include venturing beyond simple voltage and resistance measurements, there really isn't much need to buy a bunch of features you'll never use...IMHO, of course.
 
Used 77's most of my USAF career - good meter for the basic functions.87 looks to be a industrial model very good meter as well.Shop around--If it says Fluke you really can't go wrong.
 
I have a box of old analog and digital meters from the past 40 years or so. They are all from Radio Shack and Sears with a few oddballs thrown into the mix. None cost more than $100 and most are roughly $50 (sale price) units. They all have one or more functions that no longer work. Some have certain ranges that are no longer accurate enough to be reliable. The lack of confidence in the readings makes the meter nearly worthless for anything much more than a yes / no test. I am sure that I have enough invested in them to purchase several Fluke meters. I wish that I had done so a long time ago. in the early days I couldn't afford to buy an expensive meter so I had to make do with what I could afford. Some of those inexpensive meters served the purpose for a while before they failed.

By the way, don't count on the fuse to protect the meter from accidental over voltage or over current conditions. It happens to all of us sooner or later. The fuse may keep the meter from bursting into flames but that is about all.

There are several other threads about meters here on AK. There is a lot of good advice available in this thread as well as the others. I followed the sage advice given previously and purchased a Fluke 179. I couldn't be happier with it. It is a joy to use. They are routinely available on Ebay for around $200. Look for the Fluke 179/1AC-II Kit. It comes with a case and other very useful accessories, usually for not much more than the meter alone. The extra money that you invest now will hopefully keep you from having to replace a less costly meter several times - or more!
 
I use 1 of these btw. They are freaking awsome for all kind of stuff. they show sooooo much more than a normal multimeter. The only downside it they can meassure current. I have a other multimeter for that. They arnt very cheap tho. The old PM97 model i have still cost around 300,- euro used.

PM97.JPG
pm97.jpg
 
......oh, that's right: Fluke and Philips are one in the same these days. Pomona and Fluke too. Fluke must be doing well.
 
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