Recommend me a multi-meter please?

peterharvey73

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What's the best multimeter to purchase?
A Fluke 289 with time & data capability, a Fluke 87V without the time and data memory etc, or a Fluke 115 & 117 with no milliamp capability, or a Fluke 116 HVAC with milliamp capability????
 

tobrien

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what do you intend to do? if you get the best Fluke of all those, while you'll definitely have room to grow into, you'll be doing yourself a big overkill in a DMM purchase.

if you just need resistance, voltage, and current capabilities, I think a 115 will do fine. I have the now-discontinued Fluke 111 and it's everything I need and a lot of stuff I don't even use (yet?).

so if you don't truly need logging stuff like time and data then you'll be fine with a 'basic' Fluke.

Fluke instruments are rock solid so you'll like whatever you get
 

peterharvey73

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Is it true that the Fluke 111 cannot measure current at all?
While the Fluke 115 can measure current, but not milliamperage?
While the 87V and 289 with timing can both measure micro-amps, eg to measure standby microamperage?
 

HotWire

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+1 on the Fluke. I've used several multimeters over the years and the Fluke is easy to use and appears *very* accurate. I have the automotive version, but they are all good. They have a wide selection of accessories that makes them even more useful.
 

jasonck08

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Fluke is definitely makes a good DMM. I own a Fluke 179, and an Agilent U1253A (which has datalogging). I really like them both.

Also UNI-T has some darn cheap sub $100 datalogging DMM's out, which are pretty solid from what I hear.
 
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Wrend

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In my opinion Fluke is only worth it if you specifically need their reliability and/or their high accuracy & resolution.

If it's about having "the best" you can get (well, within reason) then you'll probably want a Fluke with all the features you think you might ever use.

If it's about having a cost effective solution, then there are often better options.

Bottom line is that it depends what you specifically want/need out of a MM.
 
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desirider

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I would recommend the 175 as a good compromise. It has AC/DC Volts, DC mV, AC/DC A & mA ranges. It also measures resistance, capacitance, frequency and diode test. You get more accuracy with the 177 and temperature measurement with the 179.
 

HKJ

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You have to decide if you need logging, for logging the only Fluke is the 289. It is a very good DMM, but it has a few annoying details, like slow turn on and low contrast on the display, the menu system with F1 to F4 gives access to a lot of settings, but is not as easy to use as dedicated buttoms on other DMM's.

For a cheaper logging DMM, take a look at Agilent, they are also high end, but cheaper (One possibility is U1272A).

For a cheap logging DMM, look at UNI-T. I have tested the UT61E, it has good precision, but the mA and uA range is not very useful.

Without logging I would look at the Fluke 179.

Edit (Added picture):
DSC_2083.jpg
 
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Colonel Sanders

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I've been very pleased with the Amprobe I bought at Lowe's a few years ago. Seems I recall it was much cheaper than a Fluke. It does anything I've needed including current readings up to 10a.
 

Russel

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In my opinion Fluke is only worth it if you specifically need their reliability and/or their high accuracy & resolution.[...]

I would add safety as well, Fluke meters are much safer to use when measuring mains or other high voltage sources compared to cheap $10 meters.
 

qwertyydude

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Yup to all the above plus one advantage the Flukes have is beeping if the leads are placed incorrectly, nothing makes you jump more than measuring AC line voltage with the leads still plugged in to measure current.
 

Wrend

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I would add safety as well, Fluke meters are much safer to use when measuring mains or other high voltage sources compared to cheap $10 meters.

Yeah. I'm not necessarily recommending the very inexpensive options either, unless they'll do well enough for what they're being used for.

There are decent good quality MMs you can find for reasonable prices too though, say around $50 or so. It just depends what someone needs.

Fluke is of course the gold standard.

Yup to all the above plus one advantage the Flukes have is beeping if the leads are placed incorrectly, nothing makes you jump more than measuring AC line voltage with the leads still plugged in to measure current.

I very rarely measure higher voltage AC stuff, but having that feature on a couple of my MMs would have saved me the trouble of getting replacement fuses for them a couple of times.
 
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desirider

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Yup to all the above plus one advantage the Flukes have is beeping if the leads are placed incorrectly, nothing makes you jump more than measuring AC line voltage with the leads still plugged in to measure current.

Yep! Been there done that, although I have never blown the fuse. I now have a set of spare fuses just in case :)
 

guiri

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I have an old fluke somewhere that's always been awesome and easy to use., HOWEVER, I can't find it (it's around here somewhere) so I finally
caved in and bought another one but I thought I'd look at something different and I bought a Uni-T UT50B for around 50 bucks shipped.

It's very cool, has a buttload of features and has HUGE readout.

The Uni-T's are hard to find accurate info about and I finally did a 4 meter comparison with pics and specs that I can post here if you want it.

I chose the model I got because it had the most features/options that I wanted.

By the way, if all you need is a fairly simple meter, you can buy cheap Flukes online on ebay if an older model is ok.
Just look around

George
 

guiri

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Yeah, kinda. I did find their site some time ago but had a hard time navigating it. I finally DID find the info but considering they have so many similar models, it got confusing as
hell which is why I did that comparison thing I mentioned.

Also, the sites that SELL (NOT saying the Uni-T site isn't accurate since they make the stuff) them have different specs for the same meter.

HKJ is right though and I forgot that I DID find it on their site.
 

HighlanderNorth

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You have to decide if you need logging, for logging the only Fluke is the 289. It is a very good DMM, but it has a few annoying details, like slow turn on and low contrast on the display, the menu system with F1 to F4 gives access to a lot of settings, but is not as easy to use as dedicated buttoms on other DMM's.

For a cheaper logging DMM, take a look at Agilent, they are also high end, but cheaper (One possibility is U1272A).


For a cheap logging DMM, look at UNI-T. I have tested the UT61E, it has good precision, but the mA and uA range is not very useful.

Without logging I would look at the Fluke 179.

Edit (Added picture):
DSC_2083.jpg
[/QUOTE


Would something like this Klein multi meter be adequate for $31, or do you have to spend $100 or more to get something reliable?

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=H6nHT6W9GKe16AGg_6XJDg&ved=0CKMBEPMCMAE
 
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