[Elecraft] DMM Recommendations -- Fluke 179?

[EricJ]

I have HB's top-of-the line autoranger for less than $40 and the next 
one down which is not autoranging for less than $25. One for the 
electronic shop and one for the garage. I build a LOT of electronic 
stuff and find them completely adequate for hobby level work. I only use 
AC/DC volts, amps, milliamps and resistance. I don't use any of the 
other functions. I have better, specialized tools to take care of the rest.

BTW, you have to CAREFULLY research Fluke features. They make so many 
different models with feature sets aimed at particular professions. 
There are some that look great for ham use, but when you dig into the 
features they don't even have a milliamp range!

No matter what meter you use, I don't think you should ever go in for a 
measurement unless you have already estimated or calculated what you 
expect to see. A weird reading could be caused by a circuit problem, 
test equipment failure or a lack of understanding of the circuit 
operation. Making a stab at it on paper first, makes it a lot easier to 
eliminate two of those.

Eric KE6US


On 3/19/2018 9:06 AM, David Fleming via Elecraft wrote:
> +1 for the inexpensive offerings from Harbor Freight. I have several of these cheap knock offs. They’re certainly not professional grade instruments, but they are more than adequate for hobbiest level work. I use a small CEN-TECH model for quick voltage, resistance and current measurents.  It works well and was actually FREE with a coupon. The readings are very close to my trusty, much more expensive, Fluke 79.
> David, W4SMT
>
> On Monday, March 19, 2018, 11:33 AM, Dave Heil <k8mn at frontiernet.net> wrote:
>
> In the past, I had Fluke and Beckman meters and, in my days in
> industrial electronic sales, I sold both of them.
>
> In recent years, I've become a fan of the Chinese-made copies at Harbor
> Freight.  They have the functions but not the price.  At $19.99, I was
> able to buy a couple of them--one for the shack and one for the barn.
> You might give them a look before throwing money at the market leaders.
>
> 73,
>
> Dave K8MN
>
>
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