Which DMM can you recommend?

[benta]

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.

 

[IRstuff]

What accuracy?

What is your definition of not "pricey?" eBay lists for under $200. The cheapest DMM on eBay is about $10.

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[benta]

0.3...0.5% is fine.
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.

 

[mcgyvr]

Check out these guys.. Not as pricey as fluke but not absolute "Chinaware" junk either..

http://www.extech.com/instruments/categories.asp?catid=48

 

[Timelord]

All the EE's I know agree that Fluke is still the yardstick by which all other DMM's are measured.

Timelord

 

[dpc]

If this is something to be used as an engineer in a work environment, just buy the Fluke and forget about it. if it is for your personal or home use, then you can look for bargains.

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.

 

[ScottyUK]

Used Flukes turn up on ebay all the time. Or check out Gossen-Metrawatt, Agilent, AVO / Megger. All make decent meters and some of the second-hand ones are an absolute bargain.

 

[IRstuff]

There's this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FLUKE-15B-D...054?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d181c0046

but the accuracy is ~10x worse

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[Sparweb]

I have a Meterman (now Amprobe) and a Fluke meter. The Fluke was more expensive than the Amprobe of course, but when I wanted accuracy, that's where I got it.
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

 

[IRstuff]

I've personally had pretty good performance from Agilent, Fluke, HP, and Keithley. None of these, however, are cheap.

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[benta]

Thank You All!

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.

 

[benta]

By the way, concerning used test equipment:
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.

 

[sibeen]

'ere, 'old on. You require accuracy and yet don't want a meter with true RMS? You need to trust the readings, how, without a TRMS can you, when measuring an AC waveform?

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.

 

[benta]

sibeen, you're right, but like I said, I don't need TRMS and if I can avoid paying for it I prefer that.
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.

 

[Skogsgurra]

sibeen
"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

http://www.gke.org

--------------------------------------
Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[itsmoked]

I hate Fluke. I will always go for my other meters if they're handy. They're cheaper, have 3 times the functions, allow ME some control, often have better leads, and they aren't Flukes.

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

 

[dpc]

Keith - don't hold it in - let us know how you feel. Very happy with my Fluke DMM. Beyond the DMM, I can't really say much one way or the other.

 

[itsmoked]

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[ScottyUK]

I don't think Fluke have the huge lead on quality any more, not like they did in the 80's and early 90's. The others have caught up a lot. Fluke's range has increased in breadth so far that they no longer produce a handful of excellent instruments, but produce a multitude of fairly good instruments. The hardware build is generally good, it's the firmware / software / user interface on the more complex instruments which lets them down in usability. And as Gunnar noted a year or two back there are some fairly serious and fundamental problems in a couple of cases.

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.

 

[sibeen]

Scotty, I loved the old (now) THS 720P. I won't state that the software was great, but it was what it was for the times. If one came up on ebay at a reasonable price I'd grab it in a minute.