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.

 

[sibeen]

Giving my 'favourite of all time scopes', undoubtedly the Gould 4084. In the late 80s, so far ahead of anything else, at least in the power game, I still doubt anything has really caught up.

 

[SteveWag]

Check out Dave Jones on You Tube called " EEVblog ". He has done some very good and informative DMM reviews/comparisons.
Steve

 

[ScottyUK]

I remember those scopes, very good for their day. They had a remote unit on a flying lead if I remeber correctly. The ink on the toilet roll printer used to fade!

 

[geekEE]

I have used BK Precision for a good meter with a lower price than a Fluke.

 

[Skogsgurra]

Is it really about price?

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

http://www.gke.org

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

 

[rtronics]

One thing that I really dislike about the cheapo DMM's that I have used, is the slowness of the reading updates. For instance on one meter I have got, it can take several seconds for the ohms to settle.
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.

 

[stevenal]

Regardless of brand, make sure you get the appropriate Cat rating.

 

[panelman]

another vote for fluke

 

[MagicSmoker]

@benta - I keep trying to find something which is better overall than my Fluke meters, but, well, I end up preferring my Flukes. I previously replaced a 20 year old model 77 DMM with a 179 and I *really* like my new 381 clamp meter with the removable wireless display which replaced a 337. I do agree that the Fluke ScopeMeters are terrible - particularly, as others have noted, the software - but that seems to be true with almost all of the current generation of oscilloscopes, regardless of brand (and I include - indeed, highlight - Tektronix in this regard).

@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...).

 

[zappedagain]

Just to keep this thread going... I've surprised myself by grabbing my Extech before my Fluke when they are both available at work. I'll second the vote for Extech.

Z

 

[MacGyver15147]

So originally the question was cost vs. performance. As stated accuracy in not important. In your case like mine 99% of the time we just need to verify 480v is not present when pulling out a fuse or looking for a dead leg. For that I have been using the harbor freight DMM which is free if you got a coupon. I got a whole box full of them in the basement and don't bother replacing the batteries when they go bad just get out a new one. Also don't care too much when they get stolen.

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.

 

[danw2]

A discussion on another forum involved getting the warning feature to prevent blown fuses or meters when you rotate the dial to a Volts position but leave the red probe lead connected to the Amps socket.

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%.

 

[itsmoked]

Dan the "warn before blowing" is a nice feature. I've probably toasted 20 fuses pulling that boneheaded move. I've had to train myself to always take an amp reading then immediately moving the lead back to the voltage socket.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Sparweb]

The Amprobe DMM I have does that too.

STF

 

[danw2]

I didn't know a generic color could be trademarked.

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.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.sparkfun.com/news/1428[/url]

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'.

 

[itsmoked]

Indeed. Every DMM I have is yellow. Perhaps it was a very specific yellow?

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[GTstartup]

As far as warnings for blowing fuses while on the wrong setting, it's hard to beat my Dranetz. It has a shutter to prevent you from inserting a probe in the current jack when you are in voltage setting, and when the probe is in the voltage jack you can't move to current and vice versa. you couldn't blow a fuse if you tried at least by being on the wrong setting. Plus it's a 500 V Megger too!

 

[kallileo]

Check the Brymen.
They are OEM manufactures and you can find rebranded Brymen DDM under many names like Extech, Greenlee.