Suggestions for a good Multimeter

GameBro

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Howdy Folks. I hope you are all enjoying your holidays.

So I am looking around online for a good workstation multimeter.

Any suggestions?
 
Any of these have a lock-on backlight? My Harbor Freight one locked on for only 10 seconds and I guess it's designed for stuff you stuff the leads into and leave them, because if you were going for "touch temporarily" reads, it was not good, as you had to rush to the points after activating the light.

Glad I didn't die or blow anything while doing that circus act.
 
fluke 115 is a very good one and not super expensive.
 
fluke 115 is a very good one and not super expensive.

Sears is having a "hot buy" sale online only on those right now. with in store pick up it's just $80.
http://www.sears.com/fluke-115-mult...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJPXr6_0o9gCFQ96YgodjJsM8w

The test lead set with the alligator clips is on sale there too.
http://www.sears.com/fluke-tl220/p-03481293000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4


If GameBro prefers more of a bench type one you can pick up a used Fluke 45 on Ebay pretty cheap.
 
For the arcade repair person that needs "almost everything" in one meter. :)

dm284-285-banner-image.png
 
Sears is having a "hot buy" sale online only on those right now. with in store pick up it's just $80.
http://www.sears.com/fluke-115-mult...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJPXr6_0o9gCFQ96YgodjJsM8w

The test lead set with the alligator clips is on sale there too.
http://www.sears.com/fluke-tl220/p-03481293000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4


If GameBro prefers more of a bench type one you can pick up a used Fluke 45 on Ebay pretty cheap.

This's what I use and that is a great price. I think I paid $140 for mine.
 
For the arcade repair person that needs "almost everything" in one meter. :)

dm284-285-banner-image.png


Ooooh yes! As a commercial electrician I drool over that thing. Right now I use a Fluke 117 multimeter and a Fluke 62 Max infrared thermometer to check exactly what's pictured here; electrical motors and breakers in panels. That Flir is just delicious!
 
all joking aside, Amazon has probably a dozen models of multimeter in the $20-$40 range.

I kind of find it hard to believe that nobody has tried any of these brands (Exwell, Volcraft, AstroAI, Innova, Neoteck, Etekcity, etc), since they are probably all made in China with the same guts.

Would like to hear from anyone who has purchased one of these.
 
This's what I use and that is a great price. I think I paid $140 for mine.

I thought I'd read that wasn't a great DMM for arcade game work because it was more geared towards electricians and less towards our use.

I like my Extech meter but it's accuracy ratings aren't that great.
 
Actually now that I'm looking at my Extech 330 meter and this Fluke 115, I'm a little baffled. Can someone explain this to me? What I really care about is the accuracy of DCv and ACv. What does this even mean?

Fluke:
DC volts Range/resolution
6.000 V / 0.001 V
60.00 V / 0.01 V
600.00 V / 0.1 V
Accuracy ± ([% of reading] + [counts]): 0.5% + 2

AC volts1 True RMS Range/resolution
6.000 V / 0.001 V
60.00 V / 0.01 V
600.0 V / 0.1 V
Accuracy 1.0% + 3 (DC, 45 Hz to 500 Hz)
2.0% + 3 (500 Hz to 1 kHz)

from here: http://en-us.fluke.com/products/digital-multimeters/fluke-115-digital-multimeter.html#techspecs

Extech:

Function Range Resolution Accuracy
DC Voltage
(V DC)
00mV 0.1mV (0.5% reading + 2 digits)
4V 0.001V
40V 0.01V (1.0% reading + 2 digits)
400V 0.1V
600V 1V (1.5% reading + 2 digits)

AC Voltage
(V AC)
(50 / 60Hz)
400mV 0.1mV (1.0% reading + 30 digits)
4V 0.001V
40V 0.01V (1.5% reading + 3 digits)
400V 0.1V
600V 1V (2.0% reading + 4 digits

from here: http://www.extech.com/resources/EX330_UM-en.pdf

Edit: Gah, my carefully arranged table got scrambed by this forum software. Sorry!
 
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I just opened up a brand new Fluke 115 that my father-in-law gave me for Christmas yesterday.

Have wanted one for a couple years to replace my old Radio Shack DMM and cheap Tenma DMM.
 
I thought I'd read that wasn't a great DMM for arcade game work because it was more geared towards electricians and less towards our use.

I like my Extech meter but it's accuracy ratings aren't that great.

The Fluke 117 is the electrician's DMM. The 115 is more general purpose.
 
all joking aside, Amazon has probably a dozen models of multimeter in the $20-$40 range.

I kind of find it hard to believe that nobody has tried any of these brands (Exwell, Volcraft, AstroAI, Innova, Neoteck, Etekcity, etc), since they are probably all made in China with the same guts.

Would like to hear from anyone who has purchased one of these.

If you're going to go with that price range I'd go with UNI-T. I always like having a meter in every car, at my other house, my girlfriend's house. I use those cheapies for that purpose.

https://www.amazon.com/UNI-T/b/ref=...=6579490011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=UNI-T
 
I wish someone could compare those Fluke and Extech accuracy specs and interpret them for me.

There is no comparison between the Extech ex330 and the Fluke 115. There is a huge quality difference between the Fluke and the Extech.(Fluke being high quality) On top of that the Fluke 115 is a true RMS meter while the Extech EX330 is not. That means innately the Fluke is more accurate. Non true RMS meters use averaging to come up with their readings and while useful they are less accurate.
The Extech EX330 is also considered a "mini" DMM which is low on the cost scale for Extech. With it's K type thermocouple capabilities it may be targeting hvac techs.

I hope this is helpful.
 
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