Anyone ever tried one of these ? I just blewup my 30 year old fluke.
Joe


http://www.futurlec.com/Multimeters.shtml

I don't know what model meter you are considering but all of those are nothing to write home to mom about. Their accuracy drifts and they also experience display problems at times. They are far from the Fluke you had... even a basic model Fluke. There are many Fluke DMMs on ebay for sale (new & used) and even a Wavetek Meterman is better than those. Then again, if precision isn't that important and all you need are relative readings, go for it and save the $$. I have a Wavetek Meterman handheld DMM for general, quick troubleshooting and it works well. I also have much better quality meters for precise measurements.

Thanks for the advice somewhat I expected. I have a Simpson DMM on the bench but it is not portable. I was justlooking at the hign end model as it seems to have a lot of features. Accuracy is not that much of a requirement as I just looking for a portable unit. I do miss the old Fluke I have had for so many years I just accidently put it across to high a voltage.
Thanks
Joe

Of course, DMM's in this price bracket have their purpose. For example, in our cars we pack something like this in the emergency roadside repairs toolkit, so if the DMM gets volted/jolted, falls into a deep snowdrift or drops through city sewer grating (it has happened), run over by accident, or frozen at minus 20 F there's no problem to replace it. I don't need Fluke accuracy for roadside car repairs. Another place we use these is with laboratory classes of high school or college students who, in general, have not the experience or care to handle a better DMM, or on a chem bench where it gets annoying having students accidentally pouring strong acids into a good Fluke...which has also happened at this college.

Harbor Freight have a cheap meter like the one at Futurlec , sometimes they are on sale at half off and if you have a HF near you, no shipping

What's the saying??---"You get what you..........."

Sorry ment DMM.
Thanks
Joe

For your electronics bench, I would buy another Fluke. Those cheap meters are fine for car/garage/target practice. But honestly every time I use one, no matter what the purpose is, I question how much trust can be put in what its feeding me for a measurement. IMHO any respectable electronics bench should have at least one high quality multimeter that can be fully trusted, any others can be throw-aways.

-Mark-

Those inexpensive DMMs are okay for what they do, but agree with the others that for serious electronics work, you need at least one good "go-to" meter. I use "throw aways" on the job because it's no great loss when they get damaged or pilfered. But just don't expect to get 30 years out of them. 30 months--if you are lucky--and the switch will become flaky or the probes will fall apart, etc., etc. But then it's just another $4.99 or $9.99 and you're back in business again.

Yep, I have the cheapies in each vehicle and another in the garage for when Im climbing towers or doing some other work that an Oh S**t isnt even necessary....unless Im at the top of the 180' tower and have to make a round trip again.

Carl

Get yourself ONE OF THESE. I checked it against my fluke and HP meter calibrators and they were well within specs. You can find the manual at the product link. For nineteen bucks,current price, its a great little meter, with a tilt up display. They measure just about everything but the speed of light, and gravity. The temp measurements are great when working with hi-power stuff with heat sinks. I bought two more for $14 each on sale.

One thing about the $4.90 meter, and many other cheap meters, you are
one click from blowing it if you accidentally switch from 250 Volts AC (house voltage)
to 250 MICROAMPERES . The fuse may blow, but after replacement will the meter
work?

And I own about 20 of that type of meter for learners to use in experiments.

You meant to say "for experimenters to abuse and learn from" right?

In the Harbor Freight lineup of quality meters ( )you can move your technology forward a couple of decades with this one to get auto-ranging: http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-dig ... 98674.html

I have one of them as a spare junk-a-round, it's made by Mastech and although it's not close to Fluke quality, it's good for the price and does have some nifty features.

-Mark-

I would like to know more about Joe's mishap. Not to embarrass but to learn from.
Hopefully the only damage was to the meter and not to Joe.

Fluke's have a reputation for shrugging off most abuse.

I'm thinking if a highly respected meter brand was destoyed due to operator error, why replace with something less ?
Cheapies have their place. So do brand names that have earned their trust.

Taking measurements in a circuit breaker panel ?

Its like this: The snake of power outlets is under my control. When all is fine, I switch it on.

I also can lift the hot,neutral, ground,or reverse the hot and neutral, control the voltage, and
insert a dim bulb in series with the whole system.

And if inclined, I can change the outlets to DC or even change the frequency to 180 Hz....

I put the meter across the DC voltage output of a Swan 1200X amp by accident it being over the 1000V range.
Joe

Hey, I have that exact HarborFreak meter in my garage also. Paid $19.95 on sale w/ 25% off coupon also. I figured it could be handy for quick checks on simple things like a lamp switch, or power tools. I love that meter so much I have no idea where it is in the garage. It's been AWOL for months and could be between some stacked 2x4s, at the bottom of a bucket of nuts n bolts, or maybe it's on the garage floor underneath the tool chest? Who knows? I should probably follow the line of mouse turds that leads to that pot of gold!

Here's a homework assignment for you: test that meter for drift/error over time. I think you'll be surprised at how much it's accuracy drifts over a relatively short time span. Hail Fluke handheld DMMs! Then again for $20 what the heck... it's more accurate than the battery guage on my car's instrument panel!

I have been tracing the calibration of a Harbor Freight meter since new. Not that model, but the $9.99 one that you can get for free with a 20.00 purchase. It was within its published specs for everything except AC volts when new. It has been sitting in a drawer in my semi-climate controlled garage virtually un-used, and thus far has drifted down on every voltage and current scale 1% every six months. (By contrast, I have other digital meters that haven't drifted off their specs in 30 years.) The ohms scale has remained within spec. I have put a new battery in it before each test to be as fair as possible with it.

-Mark-

Sure its dead and not just a blown fuse?