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DMM Recommendation

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Paul Neuman

DMM Recommendation

I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any
recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack
DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was
only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it
off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my
3080 option.

I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I
guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but
I don't want to be buying one again in two months.

No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance.

Paul

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Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: DMM Recommendation

Paul, KD2MX, asked:
I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any
recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack
DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was
only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it
off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my
3080 option.

I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I
guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but
I don't want to be buying one again in two months.

No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance.

-------------------------------------------------------------

About 7 years ago my Fluke died temporarily. The Fluke was ten years old
then and part of the button mechanism died. While waiting for a new part I
swung by Radio Shack and bought a mult-function DMM from them for about $80.

Seven years later I'm still using the RS meter. My Fluke is back in business
but the RS does a few things the Fluke doesn't and I don't worry about
hurting it as much. Indeed, running a temperature cycle test one time I put
the whole meter in the environmental chamber forgot about it! The case
warped on the RS meter, it got so hot (around 100C). I've dropped it, banged
it and done everything but hook it across the mains in Ohms mode, but it's
still tickin' and still matches the Fluke's accuracy within 1% or so.

I feel a little guilty about how I've abused the RS meter. Been thinking of
ordering a new case to replace the battered, warped one it now has.

So I'm surprised that you've had RS meters "blow up" on you! What exactly
did they do?

There is an obvious difference between the Fluke and Radio Shack meter. The
Fluke displays values much faster. The Fluke is virtually instantaneous. The
RS meter takes about two or three seconds although it's "relative level"
bargraph for peaking adjustments is plenty fast. In my experience, that is
one of the big differences in DMM's these days. It all comes down to the
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) the DMM uses. Fluke, Radio
Shack, etc., all get them from various chip manufacturers, and the faster
chips apparently cost more. At least the meters they go into do! Of course,
the other differences are in the number of digits in the display (and my RS
has one more digit than my Fluke, which I find very handy at times) and in
the number of operations they perform. One thing that keeps my RS meter on
the bench is the ability to put any old junque box transistor in a socket on
the front of it and it reports the Base, Emitter and Collector connections
and the current gain (hFe) in a moment. As a tinkerer with a messy junque
box, that's very handy!

As much as I paid for the Fluke meter, if I had to let go of one of them
today, I'd keep the RS meter. The specific model I bought has been replaced,
but they always keep a model that has the same features and which sells in
the $80 - $100 range.

Ron AC7AC

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John Young-10

Re: DMM Recommendation

In reply to this post by Paul Neuman

Paul
I think meters are like shirts - one size does NOT fit all. I have
my 20 year old Fluke 73, several $2.99 Harbor Freight DMMs and some in
between. Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is
almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you
blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back to work.

73 John
WA8KNE

Paul Neuman wrote:

> I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any
> recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack
> DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was
> only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it
> off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my
> 3080 option.
>
> I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I
> guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but
> I don't want to be buying one again in two months.
>
> No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance.
>
> Paul
>
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Thom LaCosta

Re: DMM Recommendation

On Sun, 3 Sep 2006, John Young wrote:

> Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is almost cheaper to
> buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you blow up a cheap meter
> you can just pull out a spare and get back to work.

Kinda like watches....

73,Thom-k3hrn
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Rajiv Dewan, N2RD

Re: DMM Recommendation

In reply to this post by John Young-10

One of the characteristics I look for is response time / refresh time /
time to read. It is much easier to make adjustments that depend on
measured voltage or resistance if the meter quicks refreshes the
readings. Some multimeters, especially some of the Flukes, are
excellent in this regard. For example Fluke 170 series will detect open
and short conditions as short as 250 micro seconds. It also has a loud
beeper and I find it to be a great continuity checker.

Regards,
Raj, N2RD
K2 #5613

John Young wrote:

> Paul
> I think meters are like shirts - one size does NOT fit all. I have
> my 20 year old Fluke 73, several $2.99 Harbor Freight DMMs and some in
> between. Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is
> almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When
> you blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back
> to work.
>
> 73 John
> WA8KNE
>
>
> Paul Neuman wrote:
>
>> I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any
>> recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack
>> DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was
>> only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put
>> it off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of
>> installing my 3080 option.
>>
>> I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many
>> choices. I guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like
>> something for <$100 but I don't want to be buying one again in two
>> months.
>>
>> No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Post to: [hidden email]
>> You must be a subscriber to post to the list.
>> Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.):
>> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help:
>> http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm
>> Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
>
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>

John Young-10

Re: DMM Recommendation

Raj
Good point on the refresh time. I never liked tuning for a peak or
dip using a digital meter. Guess my analog brain doesn't like living in
a digital world. I've picked up old analog VTVMs for a buck or two at
hamfests and converted them to FET op amps in place of the tubes. Zero
drift/warm up and all the advantages of an analog meter that runs on a
9v battery.

If there is any interest I will write it up after I retire at the
end of this year. Looking forward to more time for what I WANT to do.

73 John
WA8KNE

Rajiv Dewan, N2RD wrote:

> One of the characteristics I look for is response time / refresh time /
> time to read. It is much easier to make adjustments that depend on
> measured voltage or resistance if the meter quicks refreshes the
> readings. Some multimeters, especially some of the Flukes, are
> excellent in this regard. For example Fluke 170 series will detect open
> and short conditions as short as 250 micro seconds. It also has a loud
> beeper and I find it to be a great continuity checker.
>
> Regards,
> Raj, N2RD
> K2 #5613

Ron D'Eau Claire-2

RE: DMM Recommendation

John, WA8KNE wrote:

Good point on the refresh time. I never liked tuning for a peak or
dip using a digital meter. Guess my analog brain doesn't like living in
a digital world. I've picked up old analog VTVMs for a buck or two at
hamfests and converted them to FET op amps in place of the tubes. Zero
drift/warm up and all the advantages of an analog meter that runs on a
9v battery.

--------------------------------------
For peaking adjustments, even some of the cheap(er), slower DMMs like the
Radio Shack I mentioned have a relative level scale - a row of dots below
the numbers - that moves according to changes in the voltage or current
level. That scale works quite fast to show a peak or dip even though the
numeric display takes a few seconds to update. It's something I recommend
one look for if they are going to rely on only their DMM for making
adjustments.

Ron AC7AC

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Darwin, Keith

RE: DMM Recommendation

In reply to this post by Paul Neuman

I needed (wanted) a new DMM a few months ago. Initially was leaning
toward Fluke but didn't want to spend the money. I ended up buying an
Extech off e-bay. It in the Mouser catalog for $200+. I got mine for
about $90 or so, new in the box. I think it was a discontinued model as
the seller had more than one.

The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A. It seems to
work OK although it is not that fast in auto mode. I also find the
backlight feature gives uneven lighting but it's better than nothing.
Overall the meter does what I need, which isn't much, and it was
certainly priced right!

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Neuman

I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any
recommendations of specific models.
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Dan Barker

RE: DMM Recommendation

Wow! A meter that receives Voice Of America? Who'd a thought that?

Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456

<snip>
The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A.
</snip>
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Darwin, Keith

RE: DMM Recommendation

OK, Ok, smarty-pants, I'll spell it out ... Volts - ohms - amps.

:-) LOL!~

- Keith KD1E -
- K2 5411 -

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Barker

Wow! A meter that receives Voice Of America? Who'd a thought that?

<snip>
The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A.
</snip>
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