Author Topic: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?  (Read 4036 times)

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clockmanFRA

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Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« on: December 20, 2019, 01:36:01 PM »
Its that time in ones life when things start failing.

My trusty old digital multimeter is giving spurious readings, its over 30 years old so probably just worn out.

Can Fieldlines forum members recommend a new replacement general multimeter.

I mostly use resistance, diode, voltage DC & AC, HZ, low amperage, simple capacitance.

My Old one has a rear stand flap, that can come out of the rear and therefore stand up on my bench.

Yes, I do have very accurate testing gear that's mostly on racks and gives me true datum, but its a hassle dragging it out and plugging in and warming up.

Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

3 Hugh P's 3.7m Wind T's (12 years) .. 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (8 yrs) .. 9kW PV AC coupled to OzInverter MINI Grid, back charging AC Coupling to 48v 1300ah battery

DanG

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Mary B

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2019, 04:16:41 PM »
Tenma is a decent brand for test equipment. No it is nota Fluke DMM but they work well and have comparable specs. Mine lasted 20 years until a friend borrowed it and used the DC setting to try and measure 4kv... everything inside arced over, it was beyond repair...

https://www.newark.com/c/test-measurement/multimeters-clamp-meters?brand=tenma

Reasonable accuracy, flip out stand... https://www.newark.com/tenma/72-7730a/multimeter-digital-handheld-trms/dp/93T9150

Newark does have EU websites also.


SparWeb

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2019, 09:38:41 PM »
Hi Bryan,

I have one of these: https://www.amprobe.com/product/37xr-a/

It's been a trusty tool for ~14 years, needing only about 4 9v battery changes.  It came with really nice to handle silicone-jacket leads.  After the original set of leads were damaged (nibbled by a curious goat!) I couldn't find replacements quite as nice.  I have also exposed it to over-currents on a few occasions.  The low-current circuits and high-current circuits are protected separately by fast-blow fuses.  After replacing the fuses it's come right back to 100% functionality.  The frequency measurements are fooled by harmonics in the wave - an annoying problem for me making motor-conversion generators - but for detailed frequency analysis you need an o-scope anyway.

For currents higher than 10 Amps, and for an extra voltmeter doing more complicated tests, I have a Fluke clamp-meter, too.  Like this one, but without the phone-app link:
https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/electrical-testing/clamp-meters/fluke-374-fc
It comes with a zipper-case but the test-leads aren't the greatest.
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
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frackers

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2019, 06:23:13 PM »
I've used one of these for a while - no complaints at all!! Certainly the most accurate meter I have. The auto sleep is a great battery saver, goes for months even when I forget to turn it off.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32625496992.html  I'm sure you'll find the same model from lots of vendors

It has an opto isolated USB interface as well for data logging etc using a ch341 serial chip.

A suitable driver (helps to avoid the bloat from the supplied s/w) can be found at https://github.com/radionerd/ms8236usb - this also allows for the examination of the protocol (quite interesting as it turns out it was written by a guy I used to work with!!)
« Last Edit: December 23, 2019, 07:07:58 PM by frackers »
Robin Down Under (Or Are You Up Over)

clockmanFRA

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2019, 04:38:19 AM »
Thank you 'frackers.

Thanks 'SparWeb' although I se you get more exocentric with a goat now? haha!

Thanks 'Mary' nice choice.

Thanks 'DanG', the French 'boncoin' folk are highly strange.

Thanks again chaps, and have a nice Christmas break.

Just fed all our animals double rations, no goats here,! thank goodness darn things eat everything.!
Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

3 Hugh P's 3.7m Wind T's (12 years) .. 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (8 yrs) .. 9kW PV AC coupled to OzInverter MINI Grid, back charging AC Coupling to 48v 1300ah battery

SparWeb

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #6 on: December 25, 2019, 06:09:22 PM »
Quote
darn things eat everything.!
Darn useful, IMO.  Compost is pre-processed, now...
No one believes the theory except the one who developed it. Everyone believes the experiment except the one who ran it.
System spec: 135w BP multicrystalline panels, Xantrex C40, DIY 10ft (3m) diameter wind turbine, Tri-Star TS60, 800AH x 24V AGM Battery, Xantrex SW4024
www.sparweb.ca

clockmanFRA

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2019, 04:58:57 PM »
SparWeb!

This is seriously getting surreal, could have sworn I thanked You, 'Frackers', 'DanG' & 'MaryB'.

Am I losing reality?

Or is it those pesky Goats again, eat everything ? 
Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

3 Hugh P's 3.7m Wind T's (12 years) .. 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (8 yrs) .. 9kW PV AC coupled to OzInverter MINI Grid, back charging AC Coupling to 48v 1300ah battery

JW

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2019, 06:03:51 PM »
cool feature huh

I can put it back just as easy.

JW

JW

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2019, 06:23:09 PM »
You would be surprised how much effort it took to make posts replaced easy, we dont have to hit split topic and all that other crap. I think it was TechAdmin that made that for us.

I have some ongoing issues with ads but we will get to it.

So im not off topic I have a Fluke88 still works :)

JW

DanG

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2019, 06:32:42 PM »
Allez.. Bref?  Have you chosen?

clockmanFRA

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Re: Any recommendations for a hand held general Multimeter. ?
« Reply #11 on: February 01, 2020, 03:07:00 PM »
Thank you very much Guys!

Hi DanG,

Its a lot of hassel getting stuff in France, mainly because there consumer rights are very poor. And getting a refund on faulty stuff is darn near impossible, you just get a credit note.
I now find that Ebay France gives me some security but electronics are few and about 20% more expensive.

Thanks 'Frackers', I got your recommendation, and it works fine.

In November I did order a new Fluke, but it never arrived.


Here you are 'Frackers' a photo of my bench meters as I am assembling/populating PCB's.  In this day and age the individual components need close checking as so many are not in specification.

As you can see that FET tester also does Capacitance.

That little meter is a Battery tester with a USB cable for printing out results, (for those who like that data thing).

The meter extreme right is my old one that is missing a beat and become unreliable.

12609-0

Everything is possible, just give me time.

OzInverter man. Normandy France.
http://www.bryanhorology.com/renewable-energy-creation.php

3 Hugh P's 3.7m Wind T's (12 years) .. 5kW PV on 3 Trackers, (8 yrs) .. 9kW PV AC coupled to OzInverter MINI Grid, back charging AC Coupling to 48v 1300ah battery