[Boatanchors] Novice questions on buying a suitable meter for boatanchor work

[Al Klase]

Dennis,

I use a DMM for the bulk of my vintage radio work.  The feature I really 
recommend in "auto-ranging."  You just stick the probes in and get an 
accurate reading without having to select a range.  An analog bar graph 
and capacitance measurement are a real plus.

However, I wouldn't spend anything like two hundred buck for the 
instrument.  Settle for one of the imported units for about $50-60, and 
put the rest into a good used solid-state oscilloscope.

Al

On 5/18/2012 5:25 PM, R. Dennis Gibbs wrote:
> All,
>
>
>
> My last analog volt-ohms-milliamp meter (VOM) has finally died.  It's been
> over 30 years since I purchased a test meter, and they have certainly
> changed a lot in that time!
>
>
>
> I'm looking (hoping?) to spend less than $200.  I have no real idea *what*
> to buy, or if I can even buy anything decent in that price range.  I have my
> eye on a Fluke 115 DMM.  I can get it from Digikey for about $167.95.  In
> addition to volts, ohms, and current, it also measures capacitance, which I
> figure will be useful.  My novice questions are:
>
>
>
> 1)      IS this a reasonable choice for boatanchor work?
>
> 2)      What about input impedance for sensitive circuits?  I remember they
> used to rate analog VOMs at up to about 100K ohms per volt, and VTVMs at
> around 2 Megohms per volt, with the latter being more suitable for taking
> measurements without affecting operation of the circuit under test.  But, I
> see no ratings like this on the DMMs I've been looking at.  Is this no
> longer an issue with DMMs?  Can this be used much like the old VTVMs were
> used?
>
> 3)      One of the things I loved about the old analog meters is it was
> great for "Peaking" circuits when doing alignments.  With digital readout, I
> suspect it will be harder to do this.  Is there anything about the new DMMs
> that make it easier to use in this fashion?
>
>
>
> I'm hoping to make a quick purchase on this, as I can't continue with my
> projects until I have a usable meter!  I don't really have time to search
> for a vintage meter that would be suitable.
>
>
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> Dennis
>
> R390A at verizon.net
>
>
>
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-- 
Al Klase - N3FRQ
Jersey City, NJ
http://www.skywaves.ar88.net/