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shopping for a new DMM

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slopagafud

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I am a mechanic by trade,who dabbles in electronics off the clock, so my first instinct is to go to Snap-On tools for my needs. I found this **broken link removed** on their website.It has all the features I want, but a higher price tag than I would like, Snap-Ons mark ups can be ridiculous sometimes.Dont get me wrong I have no problem spending the money if its worth it. Im not looking for a cheap piece of crap.Does anyone have any suggestions for a fairly priced,comparable meter? Is this worth the price?
Thanks for your help!
 
Okay well, I'm not sure where L.I.N.Y is, could be "Live In New York" but I don't know... lol

If you take a look at **broken link removed**
It comes to about US$350, with postage on top of that, unless there is a farnell/newark location near you, which there very well might be.
It has pretty much exactly the same features. If you don't need the automotive features, the Protek-506 is a good meter too.
 
Long Island :)

I doubt Snap On makes their own meters, looks like a Fluke meter. Fluke are just about the best meters made, wonderful tools.
**broken link removed**
 
When equipment comes to mind that I've used in my past. Three names come to mind. Fluke, Techtronix, HP, and Agilent. Some of them make DMMs, others make o-scopes. I realize thats not what you're looking for but I'm thinking back to my lab days when I was around that equipment a lot. Now I only use matlab and haven't done anything pratical in a few years.

As for what I own, I own 2 Fluke DMMs similar to the one you linked. I've had good luck with both of them and would buy them again. My only complaint with Snap-On is that I'm not familar with the type of experience that their company (more their design engineers) have with the fields these meters are used in. Fluke has an extensive product line of Industry meters and other related tools.

Although I wonder if you would be better suited with an oscilloscope? Depending on what you're planning on doing with your electronics hobby you might get more mileage from an o-scope. And if you're looking on spending somewhere around 500 dollars you can get a reasonably nice oscilloscope for that. And for my purposes I'd rather use an o-scope hands down than a DMM, having pictures is always better than not.

I guess in the end I need more information.
 
Eventually I would like to get an O-Scope, but for now a DMM would suit me fine. The features of this meter would make it a good choice for both hobby and, diagnostic of computerized automotive circuits and sensors when I do side work. At work I use a Snap-On **broken link removed** Which has a lab scope option(with many more features than whats listed) which I can use to check freq., waveforms, etc. I can bring my projects to work to check all that, but bringing the MODIS home when working on something, electronic, or automotive, is out of the question.
Basically, right now I just need something to get me through the weekends.
 
Another good thing you can do during the mean time is get a piece of software that uses your audio card as an o-scope. There is a ton of free software that will do this for you. That'll give you 20 Khz of bandwidth in addition to whatever DMM you choose. Not a lot of bandwidth for most purposes, but I find that it generally suits my needs.

Also, if Snap-On will work with a nice piece of software that you have at work, then I would definitely recommend going with them. I didn't have a huge objection to them in the first place, but knowning that you have additional software support really makes the choice clear.
 
I just found the Fluke 88V/A Automotive Combo Kit,Which is basically the same thing, for about $160 less than Snap-On. Unless anyone can suggest any other functions I may find useful, I think its the road Ill take.
As for the soundcard O- Scope, Its a great idea and will probably be useful on future projects, but, right now Im playing with 30khz. It figures!
 
Missing features?

slopagafud said:
I just found the Fluke 88V/A Automotive Combo Kit,Which is basically the same thing, for about $160 less than Snap-On. Unless anyone can suggest any other functions I may find useful, I think its the road Ill take.
As for the soundcard O- Scope, Its a great idea and will probably be useful on future projects, but, right now Im playing with 30khz. It figures!

Personally I would never pay that kind of money for a multi meter. For 99.99%of my bench work I use an old Radio Shack meter that I payed maybe $50 for over 20 years ago. It is auto ranging, a feature that I would never be without. The only other thing I am going to get the next time is a back-lit display, it is an absolute must under some circumstances.
 
I've got a Fluke, and it so incredibly reliable it's hard to fault (except for the price). I also have a Beckman auto-ranging meter I use almost exclusively.
On cheap & cheerful I think the China made Mastech meters are a bargain.
**broken link removed**
**broken link removed**
Mastech MS8222H $60
 
I am going to run out and buy one!

blueroomelectronics said:
I've got a Fluke, and it so incredibly reliable it's hard to fault (except for the price). I also have a Beckman auto-ranging meter I use almost exclusively.
On cheap & cheerful I think the China made Mastech meters are a bargain.
**broken link removed**


This meter has the auto ranging and the back-lit scale and uses AAA batteries, just what I want! **broken link removed** and for only $ 24.95! Thanks for the link.
I have a capacitance meter built in China that I am well pleased with, so I am not worried about country of origin.
All meters should be very reliable these days, the only thing to wear out is the switch contacts. I venture to guess that 99% of all failures are due to miss-use.
Back when I worked in calibration laboratory, I checked for curiosity a few "cheap" multi-meters and all were well within their specifications.

Edit:
I forgot about the auto shut-off function of the above meter. That is great, don't know how many times over the years I have found my meter accidentally left ON at the cost of a 9v battery.
 
Last edited:
Rolf said:
For 99.99%of my bench work I use an old Radio Shack meter that I payed maybe $50 for over 20 years ago. It is auto ranging, a feature that I would never be without. The only other thing I am going to get the next time is a back-lit display, it is an absolute must under some circumstances.

I also have a Radio Shack autoranging 22-196A from 1983. It was in a bargain bin for $15. It had a blown fuse.

I really dislike the RS meter plated probes. Taking a voltage or resistance reading on clean nickel, stainless steel or solder, the probes sometimes don't make reliable contact so readings fluctuate. Happens with the many RS VOMS I have had too. With the DVM though it'll start flipping ranges due to the fluctations. I don't have this problem with my Fluke 79. I bought some expensive Fluke SS adjustable length needle probes.

I think the problem may be due to some undiscovered surface effect (not oxidation). That might also explain why gold plated PCB edge connectors in gold plated sockets also occasionally develop unreliable connections.

For April, it would be nice to see an environmentally friendly solar powered backlight project. ;)

Bob
 
Auto range,back light, and auto off, are definitely useful features, but I am sold more on function, and durability, than features. I am a little skeptical about the cheaper, China made, and radioshack meters, dont forget I will be using this for automotive work also, so durability is a must! Ive used radioshack meters and can honestly say they just cant stand up to the abuse. About 10 yrs ago I bought a basic **broken link removed**. Believe me when I say THIS METER HAS BEEN THROUGH HELL AND BACK TWICE! and never had a problem! I went through about 3 comparable radioshack meters before this, and found myself replacing them every few months.Do the math! Thats why I dont mind paying for a Fluke. Fluke, and Snap-On are proven names in my trade.

Keep em coming though, Im sure most, or even all of you have more experience with electronics than I do, what do you look for in a DMM?
 
For April, it would be nice to see an environmentally friendly solar powered backlight project.
Have anything particular in mind?
 
Probes...

Bob Scott said:
I also have a Radio Shack autoranging 22-196A from 1983. It was in a bargain bin for $15. It had a blown fuse.

I really dislike the RS meter plated probes. Taking a voltage or resistance reading on clean nickel, stainless steel or solder, the probes sometimes don't make reliable contact so readings fluctuate. Happens with the many RS VOMS I have had too. With the DVM though it'll start flipping ranges due to the fluctations. I don't have this problem with my Fluke 79. I bought some expensive Fluke SS adjustable length needle probes.

I think the problem may be due to some undiscovered surface effect (not oxidation). That might also explain why gold plated PCB edge connectors in gold plated sockets also occasionally develop unreliable connections.

For April, it would be nice to see an environmentally friendly solar powered backlight project. ;)

Bob

I don't really know (remember) if the leads I am using are the original RS, but they have newer given any problems like the ones you describe.
I would not live with a problem tile that, I would just buy a new set of brand name leads, problem solved. But they would probably cost more than you (we) paid for the meter.
 
I finall found what Im looking for, and it has all the bells and whistles you have suggested, Backlight, auto range, auto off, etc., with a pricetag of about $200 From Cornwell tools. Model # **broken link removed**

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!
 
Hi, funny you ask, but i just came back from a basic electronics training session for work (I'm a tech at BMW) and my instructor told me that his SNAP-ON meter he bought "with all the neat functions" which costed him close if not more than $600 CAN, was the worst piece of crap he ever bought and that he prefered his basic FLUKE to this one. He also said that he backed a car on his fluke once and it's still ok, but after droping the SNAP-ON once, he had to send it to get fixed.
And don't get me wrong, all the tool i have are SNAP-ON, so this is not an anti-snapon rant.

I'll try to e-mail him to ask for the model number of the DMM he bought.
Don't want you to make the same mistake he made. It might look like a fluke on the pics, but the protective cover is orange in fact and not yellow.

Anyways, I'll let you know.

Ciao.
 
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