Fluke 87 vs 112

[Wabajape]

I'm in the market for a new DMM, and I'd like to upgrade to a Fluke.
I'm considering the ever-popular model 87, and the less pricey model
112.

By my estimation, there isn't much that the 87 can do that the 112
doesn't... and at 1/2 the price. Anyone that has owned/used both have
any opinion(s)?

Darren Finck

[pincredible]

my DMM is on the fritz too, it's over 10 years old....
I'll be looking for a decent multi-meter to use for my restoration
projects as well.
I'd be interested in hearing some opinions from the experts out there.

All I basically use mine for is checking/measuring AC & DC voltages,
diode checks, continuity (with tone) and, uh...I think that's it.
Don't want/need anything too fancy.

Jeremy

[kirb]

The 87 is the only meter you will ever need to own. It's fast, easy to
use, has a lot of features, and is near bulletproof.

I have not used the 112, but I am sure it is fine for home use. They
make good stuff and they are the only field meters that we buy. Make
sure it can measure 10A of current and you will be fine.

Buy one on ebay slightly used and save a bundle.

Kirb

[John Wart, jr]

That's how I got my 87, on eBay. About $100 shipped. Dang fine meter!

--
http://www.myhomegameroom.com

"kirb" <kirb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1142277421....@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com...

[PT]

Flukes are available used on eBay for relatively cheap. You can't go
wrong with a Fluke 87. The 112 is almost the same and fine for home
use. It doesn't have the lifetime warranty that the 80 series does.

For the price of a new Fluke, I'd rather have a Protek. My Protek 608
is really nice and I only paid $130 for it shipped. It comes with all
of the extra items like computer interface cables and temp probe that
only come with the high dollar Flukes.

It has a "low voltage" resistance test mode. It tests resistors in
circuit using a low voltage that won't turn on parallel diodes etc. I
just used it the other day to find a bad resistor without first
desoldering it. The capacitance test is a handy thing too.

I use the temperature probe to make sure my wine refrigerator is at the
right temperature.

http://www.protektest.com/ProdInfo.asp?prodId=608

John

[Wabajape]

Hmmm.... I hadn't considered the Protek 608.

On the plus side:
-it has a zener diode test feature that the Flukes lack (from what I
can tell)
-it comes with a temp probe; the Fluke 87 has temp capability (buy the
probe), but the Fluke 112 lack that it.
-it measures frequencies to 5MHz, whereas the Fluke 112 is to 50kHz,
Fluke 87 to 200kHz
-it measures duty cycle; the Fluke 112 doesn't (Fluke 87 does)
-it has a PC interface... not sure what I'd do that for... but it
sounds neat...

On the negative side:
-it has different probe plugs for voltage measurement and for diode
check, two things I do often; seems like a pain to keep moving the
probe connection.
-it measures capacitance to 5000microFarad, whereas the Flukes measure
to 10,000microFarad

Great, now the waters are muddier...

df

[heckheck]

Same here. Ebay no regrets. Pawn shops sell these on E-bay all the
time. Probably hot (enough walk out of every lab I've ever worked in),
but then who can say...

h_h

[PT]

>-it measures capacitance to 5000microFarad, whereas the
>Flukes measure to 10,000microFarad

Good catch! It would have been nice if both went to 20,000+ uF since
there seem to be a lot of power supply caps that are around
10,000-15,000 uF. Fortunately those caps sometimes show some leaking
or physical deformation when they go bad. Still, this is the one spot
that the Fluke has a slight edge.

>On the plus side:

Don't forget the low voltage resistor check. That's a biggy to me.

> -it has a PC interface... not sure what I'd do that for...
>but it sounds neat...

I haven't used that yet. It comes with an optical interface cable to
isolate the PC from and stray voltages! It allows fancy logging and
graphing of data using software from the included CD.

John