Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

On 22 May 2006 01:22:39 -0700, "RchTop" wrote:

Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

If that is what you want it for, you don't need a multimeter, just a
voltmeter.

If you really want to measure all sorts of stuff, just get yourself
along to your nearest electronic hobby shop and see what they have.
Everything on the shelves will be more than accurate enough for that
sort of work. To make your choice, look at the maximum voltage to make
sure it is enough, and see that the thing isn't going to fall apart in
your hands. That is about it.

You can pay huge amounts for a DMM that does things you aren't ever
going to want, so think carefully about your needs. If you are just
starting out, you are probably going to buy something better within a
few years, so don't spend too much.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

RchTop wrote:

Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

I have a Fluke DMM with auto ranging and it been in continual service
for about 6 years without anything
failing except the dc millivolt range after 5 years of use, but ok
because i rarely use that range. It cost about aud $200 and has outlived
several other meters.

A good test for a DM meter is to be able to connect to 700Vdc and rotate
the range dial all the way around without
any failure.

I strapped 6 x D cell batteries to the rear of the Fluke since I got fed
up with replacing little 9V batteries every 2mths.
The D cells last about 3 years.

Eventually the leads tend to break from cable metal fatigue so be
prepared to fix or replace them every year or two.

Patrick Turner

RchTop wrote

Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

I use a Beckman HD110, ex USAF. Cost 30 UKP with hard leather case. Up to 1500V,
2A, usual A,V,O + diode test. Probably still available all over the world. Nice
probes too, and super-slinky leads. No "features", but useful and accurate
features are expensive and perhaps best left to specialist instruments, such as
an LCR bridge for reactance, oscilloscope or counter for frequency, etc.

OTOH, no-one ever got sacked for buying Fluke.

cheers, Ian

Flukes have a lifetime warranty on many of their better meters... at
least here in the US. I have never needed to use it for mine, but
several friends have and gotten excellent, fast, no-questions-asked
service. They will charge you through the nose for stupids... such as
not replacing the internal fuse(s) before sending it off for service.

But, as a rule, they are worth the money.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

On 22 May 2006 05:23:55 -0700, " wrote:

Flukes have a lifetime warranty on many of their better meters... at
least here in the US. I have never needed to use it for mine, but
several friends have and gotten excellent, fast, no-questions-asked
service. They will charge you through the nose for stupids... such as
not replacing the internal fuse(s) before sending it off for service.

But, as a rule, they are worth the money.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

Amen to that. I have had my Fluke for more years than I care to
remember, and it has never had a single problem - apart that is from
having to prise the battery pack apart to replace failed cells. I
wasn't about to pay what they wanted for a new one.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

"RchTop"

Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

** A Fluke.


Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.


** The Fluke 110 is a nice one.

http://au.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSear...sp?SKU=3558642


I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.


** Farnell in One in Sydney have them.

Deliver all over Australia if you pledge your plastic.





....... Phil

RchTop wrote:

Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

If you want to be able to measure small values, one of the best I found,
at low dollars, was the old Keithley 177. It has "only" 4-1/2 digits,
but if you read the specs for 5-1/2 and 6-1/2 meters carefully, it turns
out that even after calibration, they have a minimum error of (making up
a number) 10 uV, and the Keithley often does as well or better than they do!

Phil

P.S. To email me off-list, cut off my head.

On Mon, 22 May 2006 12:27:21 GMT, (Don Pearce)
wrote:

On 22 May 2006 05:23:55 -0700, " wrote:
Flukes
But, as a rule, they are worth the money.

Amen to that.

I'll third that. "If it works, it's a Fluke". Can't
imagine a compelling reason to stray too far.

All good fortune,

Chris Hornbeck

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)


No specific models come to mind, but be aware that some DVMs are a bit
slow to measure high voltages like the above. Electricians have been
known to get bitten when they take a quick reading of a powerline
voltage (some American industrial sites have 480VAC power or even
higher) and the meter took too long to report the actual voltage and the
electrician withdrew the meter too soon, and thought the wire was dead.

I used to service Flukes in Australia, I don't
think they had a lifetime warranty for any models
here or if they did the ageants kept quiet about
it.

The 9 volt battery they use is some kind of special
make battery that lasts for ages and ages, maybe
silver oxide?.

A few of the models had no protection if you stuck
the battery in backwards, it just killed the meter.
Budget model 10's if I recall correctly.

Somebody tells me there's a budget brand meter that
is identical to a Fluke, if you pull off the cover
they are indistinguishable except for the price.
I'd be interested to know the brand.

http://www.emsco-usa.com/fluke/flwnty.htm

Only on their top models, and it does extend world-wide.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA

Mark Harriss wrote:

I used to service Flukes in Australia, I don't
think they had a lifetime warranty for any models
here or if they did the ageants kept quiet about
it.

The 9 volt battery they use is some kind of special
make battery that lasts for ages and ages, maybe
silver oxide?.

A few of the models had no protection if you stuck
the battery in backwards, it just killed the meter.
Budget model 10's if I recall correctly.

Somebody tells me there's a budget brand meter that
is identical to a Fluke, if you pull off the cover
they are indistinguishable except for the price.
I'd be interested to know the brand.


The battery is probably a 9 V lithium, which needs just 3 "normal"
lithium cells in series to get the 9 V, thereby doubling the life (since
each cell is twice the size), plus lithiums have more energy per cubic
inch anyway, so you wind up with something like 3 to 5 times the life of
a normal alkaline 9 V. Really nice!

Phil

On Tue, 23 May 2006 15:36:53 +1000, Mark Harriss
wrote:


I used to service Flukes in Australia, I don't
think they had a lifetime warranty for any models
here or if they did the ageants kept quiet about
it.

The 9 volt battery they use is some kind of special
make battery that lasts for ages and ages, maybe
silver oxide?.

A few of the models had no protection if you stuck
the battery in backwards, it just killed the meter.
Budget model 10's if I recall correctly.

Somebody tells me there's a budget brand meter that
is identical to a Fluke, if you pull off the cover
they are indistinguishable except for the price.
I'd be interested to know the brand.

I think Keith G over on uk.rec.audio has one. You might want to ask
him.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

the best is fluke
"RchTop" schreef in bericht
oups.com...
Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

"RchTop" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, I need a new digital multimeter.

I would like some suggestions on what sort of DMM I should get.

Suggestions on what brands, voltage/current limitation (cat III, IV,
etc), etc.

I live in Australia, so would prefer to be able to buy it here.

Since I will be measuring across transformer secondaries,
I suppose it should be able to read at least 750VAC (and DC too?)

Any thoughts would be welcome.

thanks in advance.

**It really doesn't matter all that much. I still own and use every digital
multimeter I have ever owned. My first digital meter was an auto-ranging
SOAR. Flimsy, crappy plastic case, but a respectable meter in other
respects. I bought it more than 20 years ago. You may want to think about a
bench meter. I have a couple and find them very convenient. Handhelds are
very convenient, when moving around the place. The cheap ones tend to fall
apart (though not so much with newer ones) and the good ones (I have two
Flukes) are really tough. They'll survive a 3 Metre drop onto concrete
without damage (handy when you employ careless apprentices). The only other
problem I encountered was with a Tandy bench meter, which I connected to a
laser power supply and nuked it with 3kV (It was only rated to 1kV). Still
works fine on the current and resistance ranges though. One of my meters is
a bloody beaut. Along with all the usual stuff, it has an SPL meter, light
meter and relative humidity. Very handy for the tool box and less than 100
Bucks, as I recall. I agree with the others, however, in that if you want a
good meter, Fluke is very good, albeit over-priced. In reality, anything
around the AUS$100.00 mark will serve you well for a long time. Lesser
meters will probably be fine too.

Here's the stuff which I find useful in a meter:
* Backlighting.
* Auto-ranging (VERY handy)



--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au



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new

Fluke
FLUKE
FLUKE

Did I say Fluke ?

What Ireally like is it turns off by itself
that really saves 9vdc batteries when I return 2 days later ;-)