DMM

[Stu jaxon]

Hi Group, any recommendations for a good DMM, preferably a Fluke. under a $100.. are the ones made in China reliable.??? what kind do you use.???

[Rheilly Phoull]

On 23/04/2021 8:55 am, Stu jaxon wrote:
> Hi Group, any recommendations for a good DMM, preferably a Fluke. under a $100.. are the ones made in China reliable.??? what kind do you use.???
>

Does Fluke make any that sell below $100 ?

[Peter W.]

> Does Fluke make any that sell below $100 ?

Used, perhaps.

And it would depend on the use and the need. My fluke, purchased new over 20 years ago, meets my needs nicely. But it is strictly for hobby purposes, and the occasional bit of troubleshooting around the house and various appliances and such. However, I very much appreciate that it is an accurate and reliable device, and made in the USA.

If one wishes to purchase a used DMM of any nature, please be sure that you are able to kick the tires prior to purchase. The better the scope, the more than might be wrong with it.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA

[Ralph Mowery]

In article <511c3a4d-8319-4ec2...@googlegroups.com>,
peterw...@gmail.com says...

Fluke sells a few meters for under $ 100. I am not sure of the quality
or how accurate they are. When buying a meter you need to know what
features and how accurate you want them to be. If I don't care about
much accuracery , I often just grab my old Simpson 260 analog meter.

I have 2 of the Fluke 87 meters that cost several hundred each. I also
have a few of the 'free' Harbor Freight meters that are in various
places around the house. They are good enough for some testing.

There does seem to be a few meters around that are good enough for the
hobbist and home owner.

[Andy Burns]

Ralph Mowery wrote:

> Fluke sells a few meters for under $ 100. I am not sure of the quality
> or how accurate they are.

They sell a few low-end models such as 12E, 17B, which I think are
intended for sale only in China, but of course they turn up here in the
UK on eBay etc, from just under to just over £100, e.g.

<https://ebay.co.uk/itm/Fluke/274104889982>

Personally I went for a Brymen 789.

Joe Smith on youtube does some pretty stressful tests on multimeters

<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsK99WXk9VhcghnAauTBsbg/videos>

[Adrian Caspersz]

On 23/04/2021 01:55, Stu jaxon wrote:
> Hi Group, any recommendations for a good DMM, preferably a Fluke. under a $100.. are the ones made in China reliable.??? what kind do you use.???
>

CAT III Measurement category minimum, with a decent set of leads. A
manufacturer that will stand behind their safety certification as well
as calibration.

Country of manufacture doesn't matter.

Ye want something that is not going to vaporise in a deadly fireball
when placed across mains.

I have a few cheap DMM meters, of worth less than $10. They go nowhere
near 240V.

--
Adrian C

[Aoli]

Personally I like the free DMM give away with purchase at Harbor
Freight. Plenty of features including a transistor tester built in and
accurate enough. Unfortunately they have stopped the free stuff.
The only problems with the HF DMM is that the internal 9V battery
requires a screw driver to open the case and replace the battery. So I
have to buy a screw driver at HF. LOL

P.S. I had a Fluke DMM and it totally died. And not that old either.
Very disappointing.

[Ralph Mowery]

In article <s5umbi$uu0$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Ao...@Aoli.com says...

You should have gotten the 'free' screwdriver set. I have several of
them.

It all depends on what one wants to do with the meters. For low voltage
testing that does not need to be too accurate the HF meters are ok. The
ones I have are within 5 % or less than the Fluke meters I have . I
just don't like to put them on any thing over about 50 volts where there
is plenty of current avaliable like the house wiring. I have a couple
of good Fluke meters for that.

There seems to be plenty of DMMs out for less than $ 100. See if you
can find one that is CAT rated. That is meters certified to be safe is
you have them set for ohms or amps and put them across a voltage source.
The meter may never work again,but an internal fuse will blow and make
it safe . Some of the cheap meters may not do this but arc over
internally and the leads melt in your hands and may put you across the
voltage. Seeing some of the Fluke safety videos will make you think
about that.

I have a Fluke t100 that is made as an electricians test meter. I have
put it across some 240 volt circuits while set on ohms and no effect to
the meter. Did that at work a lot on purpose for some tests.

[Ralph Mowery]

In article <ieg49f...@mid.individual.net>, em...@here.invalid
says...

>
> CAT III Measurement category minimum, with a decent set of leads. A
> manufacturer that will stand behind their safety certification as well
> as calibration.
>
> Country of manufacture doesn't matter.
>
> Ye want something that is not going to vaporise in a deadly fireball
> when placed across mains.
>
> I have a few cheap DMM meters, of worth less than $10. They go nowhere
> near 240V.
>
>
>

I agree. I have several of the 'free' HF meters. They are fine for
what they are. I don't put them across anything above 50 volts that is
capable of supplying more than an amp.

For serious work I have a couple of the Fluke 87 meters and the good
old trusty Simpson 260 and Amprobe analog meters.

[Peter W.]

Don't get me started on Harbor Freight....

[John Robertson]

He has a great meter test box, nice work!

John :-#)#

[ohg...@gmail.com]

*resisting* *temptation* *of* *getting* *Peter* *started* *on* *Harbor* *Freight* ....

[Cydrome Leader]

Stu jaxon <stankow...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Group, any recommendations for a good DMM, preferably a Fluke. under a $100.. are the ones made in China reliable.??? what kind do you use.???

What is the end use?

[John Robertson]

"resistance is futile"

('42' and all that)

John ;-#)#

[Phil Allison]

Ralph Mowery wrote:
=================

>
> I have a Fluke t100 that is made as an electricians test meter. I have
> put it across some 240 volt circuits while set on ohms and no effect to
> the meter.
>

** That is not unusual, it is easy to protect the ohms ranges of a DMM from voltages up to 240VAC.
Along with being ( almost) drop proof, it is one of the great benefits of DMMs compared with analogue types.

The main safety features of a good multimeter are that the 4mm plugs are self shrounding and the battery compartment needs a tool to access. Goes a long at toward preventing accidental contact with dangerous voltages.

Meters with unfused *high current* ranges are a hazard around car batteries and the like, as the leads can smoke, burn or even explode.
Not likely at all with mains power as gross overload trips breakers *instantly*.

.... Phil

[amdx]

 I have the EEV Bryman BM235 and like it a lot. $139, but well worth it.

> https://www.amazon.com/EEVblog-BM235-Brymen-Multimeter/dp/B01JZ1ADCO
                                                       Mikek


--
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[amdx]

 Great for low priced tools you will rarely use.

Is that a start?

[Peter W.]

The Channellock Story

I could buy this at Harbor Freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/9-in-linesman-pliers-63820.html

I could buy this at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Channellock-369-2-Inch-Leverage-Linesman/dp/B00004SBD6

One keeps a small town in Pennsylvania vibrant, and its residents employed in good family-supporting jobs. The other does not. One will not spatter if one cuts a live wire (ask me how I know that). The other will - thankfully, not my experience, other than I had to transport that individual to a urgent-care facility immediately thereafter.

Bad tools injure, and sometimes kill their users - simply by being bad tools. Good tools require some level of abuse to do the same. I have had my pair of box-joint linesman plies for over 40 years now. So when it came time to purchase a second pair for our summer house - it was Channellock, even though it may get used perhaps 3 or 4 times per year.

[ohg...@gmail.com]

Speaking of tools, does anyone know if the Plato 170 shear is still made in the U.S., or is it now Chinese?

[Peter W.]

> Speaking of tools, does anyone know if the Plato 170 shear is still made in the U.S., or is it now Chinese?

https://www.techspray.com/5-ways-to-spot-a-counterfeit-tool-before-you-buy-it

The internet is your friend.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park. PA

[ohg...@gmail.com]

On Monday, May 3, 2021 at 1:01:46 PM UTC-4, Peter W. wrote:
> > Speaking of tools, does anyone know if the Plato 170 shear is still made in the U.S., or is it now Chinese?
> https://www.techspray.com/5-ways-to-spot-a-counterfeit-tool-before-you-buy-it
>
> The internet is your friend.
>

It is, but it doesn't always answer the question. That link doesn't either.

[Peter W.]

> It is, but it doesn't always answer the question. That link doesn't either.

THE TOOL IS SHIPPING FROM OUTSIDE THE US.
If the cutter you have your eye on is coming from outside the US, be careful. That’s not to say you can’t or shouldn’t buy our cutters from international sources. We sell all over the world to service the global marketplace. However, it is unlikely an authorized distributor would import cutters into their home country and ship them back to the US for an extremely low price.

[ohg...@gmail.com]

That doesn't directly prove their origin. My old Plato cutters have a made in U.S.A printed in them. I haven't seen one picture of the new pliers that say this and no mention from the manufacturer that they still are (they used to advertise them as such). Where they're shipped from isn't proof. If Techspray gets a container of them from the Far East, they can get them into their distribution network just as easily and at less cost than they could likely make them.

I sent them an email and will report back when I get a reply.

[ohg...@gmail.com]

I heard back from Techspray, and they are no longer made in the U.S. They are now made in Costa Rica.