[Elecraft] Useful DMM/Cap/Transistor Meters (WAS: Just built AADE capacitance meter - great!)

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

If you're in the market for a new DMM, the mid-range Radio Shack DMM's
provide these capabilities as well. One time I suddenly needed a part for my
Fluke and I was in the middle of building - my K2 IIRC. So I trucked down to
the local RS store and picked up a meter to use in the interim. It's a real
workhorse. It measures:

Voltage, resistance and current, of course current up to about 10 amps I
believe. 

You can plug a transistor into a socket provided and it'll report the type
of transistor, the gain and identify the leads. 

Capacitance from a couple of pF to many, many microfarads. It has about 100
pF "stray" capacitance, but a 5 pF cap reads exactly 5 pF more than the
stray minimum cap it indicates with nothing connected.

Temperature with a probe supplied. 

Frequency through the audio range. 

Of course, it has front-panel contacts for critical measurements to avoid
having the leads in the circuit.

The only thing it doesn't measure that I want regularly is inductance. I
have an inductance measuring device built from an ARRL "Handbook" circuit
that uses the DMM as a readout. Quite accurate enough from a one or two
microhenries up to several millihenries. 

I got RS meter about seven years ago, but I see they seem to keep a meter
with those capabilities in the US$80 to $90 range in their regular
instrument lineup.

Yeah, I fixed the Fluke. The Fluke is faster. The RS meter takes about 2 or
3 seconds to produce a reading while the Fluke is virtually instantaneous. I
compared them side-by-side and compared those with a third high-end meter I
own and all three agree on Ohms, Volts and Amps across the scale wherever
I've happened to check them within 1% or better. Usually they dial up
identical values on the display when connected together. 

The slow speed of the RS isn't an issue for me because I have an old VOM
(wiggly meter movement volt-ohm-amp meter) that I use for "peaking" things,
or I use my o'scope. 

Ron AC7AC