A good digital mutlimeter to get?

[Consul]

I know everyone will say "get this $300 Fluke" but I just can't afford that.

I started putting together those Melcor 1731 op amps, and I suddenly realized that my various other multimeters are packed up and still 4.5 hours away. Oh well, they were inexpensive ones anyway, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to get a halfway-decent one.

Here's what I would like:

Digital
Auto-ranging
Transistor tester

Now, that might be a tall order, but maybe you all know something I don't...

Thank you all for the help.

 

[Steve Jones]

Don't forget True RMS, with button to read out in dB.

 

[soundguy]

[quote author="Steve Jones"]Don't forget True RMS, with button to read out in dB.[/quote]

damn, what meter has that? That would be awesome!

dave

 

[Consul]

Yeah, I'm seeing "True RMS" getting mentioned all over the place. I take it that's a feature, right? :wink:

I'll keep on the lookout. I guess what I'm hoping for are known good brands, or at least, brands I should avoid.

 

[fum]

I've a fluke 111, not $300. Only thing it doesn't do for me is transistor test, and inductance.

ju

 

[Consul]

I found a Protek with true RMS and a bunch of other features. $99 plus shipping, but it ends in 2 minutes and I can't afford it right now. *sigh*

I don't think it had a transistor check either, but I can do that other ways.

 

[flyingfader]

[quote author="soundguy"][quote author="Steve Jones"]Don't forget True RMS, with button to read out in dB.[/quote]

damn, what meter has that? That would be awesome!

dave[/quote]

Hey Dave,
Fluke 8060A has this feature and you can buy one on evilbay for much less than 200$...it's a fine and accurate DVM.

Fly

 

[chriss]

For pro-audio stuff it's good to have a mV/dB-Meter and an Audio-Generator that terminate with 600 Ohms. For everything else I think it's not too critical. Take a look at 'Trio'-Meters, they are good and cheap to get nowadays.
That's my opinion...

Chris

 

[crazydoc]

If there's a brick and mortar Harbor Freight Tools near you, this is priced at $8.00 and often goes on sale for $4.00. There may be QC issues I suppose, but it works for me.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=30756

 

[BradAvenson]

I keep the cheap ones around like that to put across the b+ of tube stuff. That way you can make measurements with your expensive meter, but always know if the caps are charged.

 

[PatinaCreme]

Maybe this will be more your style.


http://www.web-tronics.com

I bought their digital solder station (Digital Display Soldering Station (CSI-STATION2)) for 50.00 and they sent me a free digital multimeter.

 

[Steve Jones]

Yep, the Fluke 8060A is the one to get, the buttons are really un-ergonomic, but it is really accurate and stable, and it measures AC Voltage with an accurate RMS reading which is essential for audio aligning, but unlike cheaper true RMS meters it will also read out in dB's directly which is really handy. If you can't find one at the right price, then whatever you do get, make sure it has true RMS reading.

 

[Consul]

Thanks all for the advice. Unfortunately, Fluke is a name sought out on eBay, which is why I was hoping to find a different brand that was also good. There was nothing on the web in the way of reviews for Protek or Jensen (another brand of multimeter I came across).

 

[NewYorkDave]

In addition to Flukes, which are my multimeter of choice, we have a couple of Protek model 506 multimeters at work. They seem to work very well, are true RMS (or at least claim to be), and read out in dB as well as volts. They also have a nice big display, as well as an RS232 interface (which I've never used).

http://www.hungchang.co.kr/eng/product/tester/dmm/506.html

http://www.howardelectronics.com/protek/506.html

 

[Consul]

Thanks, Dave! The Protek 506 is the one I was taking the most serious look at. It doesn't have a transistor checker, but there are other ways of accomplishing that.

 

[NewYorkDave]

I have never found "transistor check" functions on DMMs useful. I use the diode check function for a quick shorted-or-open test. More advanced than that, and I test in-circuit or on a curve tracer.

Come to think of it, "transistor check" is a function I've only seen on cheap DMMs.

 

[Consul]

A friend of mine has a DMM that has the niftiest transistor check...

You plug the transistor in. You don't need to know jack-sh*% about the device at all. It will then tell you which pin is which, the voltage drops, and the gain it produces.

It's pretty cool. But you're right, there are other better ways.

 

[owel]

Check out eBay. I got this for $40 at eBay ($199 if brand new). True RMS and all that, frequency counter, diode, TR Hfe test, etc..

 

[ytrehalf]

I bought a Fluke 179 from a guy on ebay for $155 new. It's true RMS and it comes with a temperature probe which is handy if you cook a lot, or get sick. :grin:

 

[Guest]

A Wavetek 37XR may be a candidate for you. It does true RMS, LCR, freq, logic and dBm.