EEV Blog Multimeter

[Whoops]

If your heart skips a beat when the meter falls from the bench, its not a good meter....

My heart is fine.
Unfortunately all my meters already fell of the bench a couple of times.
The UniT handled it very well, the Fluke didn’t.

But of course the best thing is to avoid that as much as possible, any piece of gear can get damaged in a fall, the best thing is avoiding it in the first place.

 

[Whoops]

You seem to have neglected all the other things I mentioned about the Keysight meter....

All the other things that we don’t need?

 

[user 37518]

All the other things that we don’t need?

You might not, I do.

 

[Whoops]

For sure, I don’t need to submerge my DMM in 1meter of water for 30 minutes.

 

[mjrippe]

Back on topic:

I am a fan of EEV Blog and I don't think Dave would put his name on anything to make a quick buck. However, he does expect a lot from his meters and most of it is overkill for audio DIY. Some of you may have day jobs where 1000v is a concern, or 5 digits of accuracy on the Ohms setting is important, but for most cases here that is like using a Ferrari to deliver groceries.

I have not purchased one of his meters (yet) but I did buy a Fluke 45 dual display meter after watching his video on them. I love it. You can display DCV and ACV at the same time to check power supplies for ripple. You can set it for dB and frequency, with selectable impedance. Really does everything I need and more. Plus the VFD is much easier to read than an LCD

 

[user 37518]

For sure, I don’t need to submerge my DMM in 1meter of water for 30 minutes.

Or a calibration certificate.... however, I do like to be assured that the meter is on spec.

 

[Whoops]

For sure also that's not needed for our work around here, even 5 dollars DMM measure + - 15VDC pretty accurately, the same for AC and resistance.

We are just doing audio work around here, we are not working for NASA or building the Atomic Bomb.

Let's be reasonable here, otherwise this becomes a gearslutz kind of thread.

 

[Whoops]

Back on topic:

I am a fan of EEV Blog and I don't think Dave would put his name on anything to make a quick buck. However, he does expect a lot from his meters and most of it is overkill for audio DIY. Some of you may have day jobs where 1000v is a concern, or 5 digits of accuracy on the Ohms setting is important, but for most cases here that is like using a Ferrari to deliver groceries.

I'm also a EEV Blog Fan and had my share of amusement with Dave Jones videos.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I miss my old Simpson 260 (not even mine, belonged to my employer).

JR

 

[Matador]

1000V rating is super useful for tube amps (if you are into that sort of thing).

But agree: a few inexpensive meters are better than just guessing.

 

[Moby]

They are both pretty good, but expensive.

These UNI-T multimeters are great and cost 1/4 of that price:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233971004428?hash=item3679c2340c:g:y2YAAOSwoDxgepwH
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13367720...4182a406c01809f6b305|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2334524
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164829452596?epid=10012053682&hash=item266099d934:g:-z4AAOSwcapge-n6

Yep. UNI-T meters are cool guys for the value. Not "super pro" but just good as the spare one if you are pro or way to go if you don't live from electrical measurings. Just my 0.1c

 

[user 37518]

For sure also that's not needed for our work around here, even 5 dollars DMM measure + - 15VDC pretty accurately, the same for AC and resistance.

We are just doing audio work around here, we are not working for NASA or building the Atomic Bomb.

Let's be reasonable here, otherwise this becomes a gearslutz kind of thread.

A $5 DMM accurate for AC? try it with a square wave, report back...

I don't care if I am doing audio or RF or whatever, I like good stuff, I don't care if that makes me a gearslut

 

[Tubetec]

I got a good price on a Uni-t 171b some years back direct from PRC , it works ok but takes a long time to settle on low AC ranges , also the EBTN screen is great if your in a dark place but totally useless (invisible)in bright daylight .
I eventually found a Fluke 187 with a funky input socket , got it for 80 euros , made an effective repair and never looked back . Fluke 189 is good too but the backup battery is prone to leaking and making a huge mess of the innards .

 

[Brian Roth]

Regardless of meter brand, some folks fall into the "True RMS" trap when buying a meter for audio measurements. Most inexpensive meters have a frequency response extending from 50 Hz to 400 Hz....only accurate for electrician work. 400 Hz was what was used on aircraft.

Bri

 

[leadbreath]

Buy a fluke used of ebay, send it to grt calibrated and you are set for life...
Dont waste your time with any other shit...

 

[Whoops]

A $5 DMM accurate for AC? try it with a square wave, report back...

I can try it for sure and report back, although I will only try it with sine wave/mains AC because I'm not going to try it on stuff that's out of the scope of this forum and the work that we do around here.
In 13 years doing projects in this group I never had to measure square wave AC in any project, and yes 5€ multimeter might not be sturdy or the safest thing on the planet, , and it's also not what I recommended, but would be enough for me and accurate enough to make any of the projects and repairs I did.

Next time I'm on the workshop I will try that out and make a video, I can try cheap 5€ DMM, UNI-T 136 and Fluke 179.

Best Regards

 

[user 37518]

I can try it for sure and report back, although I will only try it with sine wave/mains AC because I'm not going to try it on stuff that's out of the scope of this forum and the work that we do around here.
In 13 years doing projects in this group I never had to measure square wave AC in any project, and yes 5€ multimeter might not be sturdy or the safest thing on the planet, , and it's also not what I recommended, but would be enough for me and accurate enough to make any of the projects and repairs I did.

Next time I'm on the workshop I will try that out and make a video, I can try cheap 5€ DMM, UNI-T 136 and Fluke 179.

Best Regards

Make sure you use a 20kHz sinewave or even a 1Khz.

 

[Whoops]

Make sure you use a 20kHz sinewave or even a 1Khz.

I'm just measuring mains AC and AC out of power transformers, I'm not going to do any measurements that are out of the scope of the projects, works and needs we do in this forum.

 

[cyrano]

I kinda liked Fluke. That feeling went out the door when Fluke trademarked a colour...

 

[JohnRoberts]

I am cheap so did not pursue premium technology (the Simpson 260 was owned by my employer). I even built a Heathkit VOM back in the day for personal use. For decades I got good service from cheap (circa $20) rat shack VOMs.... Several years ago my Rat shack VOM was too old to be trusted (I had already repaired it a couple times).

I finally invested in a decent but not top of the line fluke 107, and a cheap VOM that does not deserve mention, for use out in the yard or driveway.

JR

PS: Don't hate Fluke for protecting their IP (trade dress). If they didn't have cheap (Chinese) knock offs trying to look exactly like them to fool consumers, they wouldn't need to protect it.