Father's Day Gift

[linuxman]

My electrical engineering neighbor says I need a new decent multimeter.

He says I need an auto range, with extra test leads, probes, and aligator clips, etc.

He says I should be able to find one for between $40.00 and $60.00 that will be accurate enough for anything I want to do.

Where can I find such a beast and get it locally for my Father's Day Gift?

We have Lowe's, Home Depot, Radio Shack, all kinds of electrical supply houses, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, you name it.

Where can I get a good deal on one?

Thanks!

 

[osu1991]

I have two that I use.

Craftsman Digital Multimeter, Gray - Model 82175 at Sears.com

This is the new version of my model from about 2 years ago.

RadioShack.com - Cables, Parts & Connectors: Test & measuring equipment: Multimeters: 29-Range Digital Multimeter

I just got this one at radioshack because I was in a bind and needed one quick and it was all they had in the small town where our lake house is.

They both do a lot more than what i need them for.

 

[rv1pop]

Maybe because I used to work for them, "If it's not a Fluke, It's not a meter!" I do not trust any other meter than the Fluke brand... Any model - most any electrical wholesale house. Probably more than $60. though. But I don't do retail - as I said I used to work for them...
POP

 

[linuxman]

Hey OSU.

I never even thought about Sears. That looks like a good one. I'll have to check it out more closely.

I know Pop. Fluke is "the" name when it comes to these things, but a little out of my price range.

 

[ACRadio]

There are Fluke 114's on eBay from opening bids of $59 to BIN's of $85...just a little more than you were wanting to spend. I have a Beckman Industrial that I have had since 1990. I lost the battery cover several years ago and had been using electrical tape to hold the battery in. Over the years I found out that Fluke had bought Beckman so I contacted them about the cover. A man contacted me back and told me that meter wasn't being made anymore but he had several "deceased" meters of that model sitting in a box beside his desk and he would be glad to send me one. Not only did he send it, it arrived the next morning Next Day Air...that was a surprise!! My meter was all dirty and used looking and the cover he sent was shiny and new looking. I had to scrub the meter so the parts wouldn't look goofy together...

Fluke made a customer for life.

 

[linuxman]

There are Fluke 114's on eBay from opening bids of $59 to BIN's of $85...just a little more than you were wanting to spend. I have a Beckman Industrial that I have had since 1990. I lost the battery cover several years ago and had been using electrical tape to hold the battery in. Over the years I found out that Fluke had bought Beckman so I contacted them about the cover. A man contacted me back and told me that meter wasn't being made anymore but he had several "deceased" meters of that model sitting in a box beside his desk and he would be glad to send me one. Not only did he send it, it arrived the next morning Next Day Air...that was a surprise!! My meter was all dirty and used looking and the cover he sent was shiny and new looking. I had to scrub the meter so the parts wouldn't look goofy together...

Fluke made a customer for life.

Cool, I'll check out the 114's.

Thanks!

 

[ACRadio]

Here's one...BIN at $67.49...#320260237490

It says it's a true RMS meter too! That's not necessarily a selling point for me but true RMS meters are usually more expensive. It is a feature that gives more accurate AC measurements.

 

[Fizbi]

I would pick the tool to match the job.

I have my moderately priced Jenson JTM-69A, which was in the $40 to $60 range complete with temperature probe. LARGE LCD backlit display. Way cool, and I believe Radio Shack has it under a different make/model.

I have an analog model from Radio Shack I bought in the 70s (for real engineers who like Simpsons)

Also, I have some cheaper Radio Shack disposable pocket multimeters that I wouldn't trust my life to for other than checking for lethal voltages.

Flukes are cool trustworthy tools. The real question is how fast and accurate does it need to be? How many digits are required? Do you need to measure Amps, miliamps, microamps, nanoamps? It makes a big difference. If the display is too slow to update, you may hate it in a hurry.

The absolute best can do 4-wire test for measuring micro-ohms (laser trimmed resistors).

For calibration work, I wouldn't get anything less than a Fluke.
Sears brand for cheap disposable.
Radio Shack for middle of the road.

 

[rv1pop]

There are Fluke 114's on eBay from opening bids of $59 to BIN's of $85...just a little more than you were wanting to spend. I have a Beckman Industrial that I have had since 1990. I lost the battery cover several years ago and had been using electrical tape to hold the battery in. Over the years I found out that Fluke had bought Beckman so I contacted them about the cover. A man contacted me back and told me that meter wasn't being made anymore but he had several "deceased" meters of that model sitting in a box beside his desk and he would be glad to send me one. Not only did he send it, it arrived the next morning Next Day Air...that was a surprise!! My meter was all dirty and used looking and the cover he sent was shiny and new looking. I had to scrub the meter so the parts wouldn't look goofy together...

Fluke made a customer for life.

I'm surprised he did not send you the complete case! When I worked for them (HVAC tech) they gave me a meter to use (8030 I think). I was told if they caught me carrying the meter up or down a ladder, they would fire me - I had to throw it! Up or down three stories. Never a problem until it bounced into the drive just as the safety shoe truck pulled in. He got it with 3 sets of tires. I took it into the shop - The techs were excited and they had it working again in less than 15 minutes. Part of the attitude there was if it costs more to do the paper work for a repair and billing - do not bill it! I use a Fluke 77 that is over 25 years old and still passes QA tests!

 

[turbosat]

I'm with Pop on the Fluke brand, even though I don't currently own one. I do have
a "Scope" brand DVM632 that wasn't very expensive, is tough as nails and does everything I need. Forget where I ordered it, but I know it's prob at least 10yrs old. Got some extra long leads from RadioShack for it awhile back for cheap (on sale!)

 

[linuxman]

Hi Guys!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

I think Fizbi hit the nail on the head when he said:

I would pick the tool to match the job.

As most of you know, I am just beginning to experiment with checking voltages, continuity, and dabbling with soldering in replacement batteries, capacitors, and following traces on boards for modification.

I don't need nano accuracy, or even micro for that matter, but I would like to get something that will last a while.

I think it is more important to me to get something that I can buy extra types of leads and accessories than to buy a more expensive device right now.

Thanks again!

 

[Larry1]

I have a Fluke 73. It's a relatively small meter with the basic functions but has served me well for many years. It has to be over 20 years old now.

 

[linuxman]

This item is very similar to the one I actually bought, but mine was $5.00 higher and is not on the sears website.

I also bought the test lead kit that goes with it.

Yes, I could have bought the Fluke on E-Bay for about the same money, but this is 20 minutes away, and if I don't like it, I can take it back.

I think it will be more tester than I'll ever use.

 

[Anole]

I think you did fine.
Those test leads will make the machine.
You will soon see how helpful they can be.

 

[linuxman]

Thanks Anole!

I showed it to my engineering neighbor, and he said I picked a good one for what I will be using it for. He also said that it has some features that some of his more expensive ones don't have simply because his are older and somewhat outdated.

So I think it will be fine.