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Multimeter recommendations?

buffi

buffi

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Slowly upgrading my gear to be less trash, and currently I have two cheap multimeters (one auto-rangeing, one manual) which are pretty slow and feel uh, low quality.

Anyone have any good recommendations? Preferrably 200usd or less, but i can stretch that higher if required to get something decent
 
If you have a workbench, I would highly recommend getting a bench meter - it's a bit above your budget, but I have nothing bad to say about the Siglent SDM3055. You may be able to find a used HP/Agilent/Keysight bench meter that's within budget.

For portable stuff and messing with cab power, temperature etc, I use a Fluke 17B+ (get the '+' model) which is not bad, I think it's made for the Chinese market so it's quite cheap compared to other Flukes, while still being a Fluke.
 
Yeah bench meters are great. I have a Fluke 45 from craigslist on my main bench and an Instek 8246 in the workshop. If you look around you can find used deals but you should verify it is in spec.
 
invzim said:
If you have a workbench, I would highly recommend getting a bench meter - it's a bit above your budget, but I have nothing bad to say about the Siglent SDM3055. You may be able to find a used HP/Agilent/Keysight bench meter that's within budget.

For portable stuff and messing with cab power, temperature etc, I use a Fluke 17B+ (get the '+' model) which is not bad, I think it's made for the Chinese market so it's quite cheap compared to other Flukes, while still being a Fluke.
Click to expand...
That bench meter is $500. What makes it work paying $400 more than the $100 TME for example? Is it features or accuracy? If features, which ones for arcade PCBs make the $400 jump worth it?
 
There is a huge jump in precision when you move to a proper bench meter. You will not miss it for most arcade work. It's also ergonomically great when you do a lot of bench work.
 
Also the thing about the Brymen is that it's made in Taiwan and UL listed, and has a great feature set and precision for the price. I don't want to hate on whatever works for others but the China Flukes are made in China to Chinese standards. There's a vast gulf between that and a made in the USA Fluke.
 
I must admit I was in a similar situation, I used a cheap store-brand one from a big electronic chain from ~30 years ago. I wanted something between "cheap rubbish" and "high end" - as I didn't use it professionally I couldn't justify the price tag for the likes of Fluke or Keysight. Most brand names outside the high end meant nothing to me, and I didn't just want something that turns out to be a relabelled Chinese model.
In the end I got an eevblog branded Brymen BM786. Seems to be OK.
 
XtraSmiley said:
That bench meter is $500. What makes it work paying $400 more than the $100 TME for example? Is it features or accuracy? If features, which ones for arcade PCBs make the $400 jump worth it?
Click to expand...
Mostly convenience and speed for basic checking of stuff. Speed is both in regards to actual measurements, and always being able to just grab the probes and not worry about batteries, placing it somewhere on my messy desk etc. Also it has a large screen, which makes reading measurements really easy.

Edit: and I make stuff, so I can sort of justify it.

signal-2022-05-15-220452_001.jpeg


Other stuff I like is that it's networked, so I can quickly take a screenshot to my NAS and it has stuff like trends, histogram etc for more complicated problems - something I may use once a year.

2022-05-15-SDM3055-trend.png


But mostly it's convenience and the large nice screen.

Brymen has the eevblog stamp of approval and is likely great bang for buck.
 
This is NOT my thread, but thanks again to the members for chiming in. I do need a new DMM, seems like I'm going with the Brymen as it's $40 less than the Fluke that was recommended.
 
Fluffy said:
In the end I got an eevblog branded Brymen BM786. Seems to be OK.
Click to expand...
This seems like a pretty great recommendation and I’ll probably go that route. Less than 200eur and the reviews seems to indicate its good value for that.
 
I bought a Vici VC97+ on Aliexpress back in 2016 for €24. It's basically a Fluke ripoff and got pretty good reviews. Never let me down, both features and accuracy are fine as far as I can tell. I still use it.
 
a quick warning about fluke,
they work,
they are well designed.

but dont buy one expecting lifetime warranty or long reliable life.
and dont buy one just to "wave a flag"

fluke was recently taken over by a financial investment company (yes, fucking bankers again)
and since then support has gone downhill faster than running water and most manufacturing has been outsourced.
ironically partly to Bryman!!!

spares such as the plastic block with the jack sockets in it are very expensive too.
 
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