Has anyone found a good comparison of digital multimeters anywhere? What does everyone here use, and what do you like about it? My dad has a Fluke 88 that I used a number of times in the late 80's, but I don't really recall much about it.

My cheapo analog multimeter needs an upgrade.

 

I have a fluke 77 at home and it's a very good tough meter. I also bought a meter at autozone for around $70.00 and it has never given any trouble. The fluke is an all around general purpose meter, where the one from autozone is more suited to automotive use. It has dwell, tach, duty cycle, dc and ohms, but no AC scales. Those extra features are handy when working on a car. I think it's an Actron or something like that.

 

My good meter grew legs and walked off. I bought a unit from Radio Shack in desperation the other day. At least it was on sale. It is an Extech unit I had never heard of but it works well. I has freq(tach), duty cyle(dwell), continuity, thermal probe, lighted display, 10A fused current, true RMS, and all scales.

 

Fluke makes some of the best meters on the market, check out their site then buy what you need as far as options, I have used Fluke,Amprobe,Beckman and Craftsman and the Fluke is the best, I use them every day.

 

I have used them all in my different jobs job as contractor, industrial maintenance tech, etc. and have found the ole Fluke is awesome. You just have to watch and not get more bells on it than you want. $$$$$ ! I use a 77 now, its great, the 88 is greater, so on,

 

Gee Eric, I wonder if my good Fluke is the one that ran off with your good meter? I have another old Fluke at work. Came with the job and I never use it. Don't have a reason. It's a good meter. I started buying smaller digitals, because they're easy to store in a tool box. I have about 4 or 5 meters total. Keep them all over the place, like garage, work truck, Bronco, etc. Have a Craftsman that has held up well. The test leads on them are not very flexible and wear out just when you need them the most. One of the nearby hobby shops sells the multistrand, superflex rubber coated wire and at the first hint of trouble on the stock stuff, I replace. I have a Velleman that's held up pretty well for a cheap meter.
I usually just glance at the specs. I want one that has some range to it. What I really look for: quick response - when I short the lead on the 200 Ohm scale does it lock quickly? Same with the audible continuity tone. Is it fast? Physical stability - Can I put it on an incline, like on a fender or up under the dash someplace so I can see the readout, and not slide off or fall over? The auto ranging ones are nice, but sometimes if I'm working in a dark location I'll read an open as about 300MOhm, (off my skin), and I have to really look hard at the readout and wait for it to calm down and lock. I hate waiting.
Nice thing about Fluke is they will last a lifetime.

 

One thing I still use is an old analog meter. Sometimes they can't be beat.

 

Fluke 77 here, had it for years.
I'm very happy with it.

 

I have a Fluke 87 and some others. I also have some Fluke differential vacuum tube voltmeters that are more accurate then the digital ones.

 

Quote: I also have some Fluke differential vacuum tube voltmeters that are more accurate then the digital ones.
True. I used to carry a big Fluke nulling voltmeter to work on analog to digital converters - it was right on. Now, since I don't need accuracy, I use a cheapo Radio Shack.
Dono

 

Well, I was very impressed with the Fluke 88 when I used it. My dad's friend worked for fluke and gave it to him as a "demo". That was probably about 1988 or 1989. He still has it, but unfortunately isn't willing to give it up.

I looked up the price right after posting the original message in this thread and got a bit of a surprise. At $300+, the Fluke 88 just doesn't make sense for me. I don't need pinpoint accuracy, and as for reliability... I could buy lots of cheapos and toss them out before I'd spend that kind of money. For a professional, I'm sure they're well worth the money. But, for someone like myself, who would probably use it a few times a month on average, I'm thinking a cheapo is the way to go.

So, rather than opinions on brand, what features do I want to look for so I don't end up kicking myself somewhere down the road?

 

Get a fluke, hands down. You will use it 'till the end of your days. But, you will still need an analog one when you want to check things with a quick pulsation. The achilles heel of a digital meter is they just are not quick enough, no matter what brand you choose. When I was a hydraulic mechanic testing servos, switches, relays, potentiometers, etc. I always had an analog meter handy (just a cheap one) to back up my fluke 77.

 

Mine says "Emco DMR 3800". I got as aprt of a computer repair course I took. It read ACV, DCV, ACA, DCA, and 20 to 20,000,000 OHMs. It has a nice loud tone for continuity. It's probably 14-15 years old and going strong.

 

Fluke 73III

 

Here's a fluke 12 for $119.00.

http://mcm.newark.com/NewarkWebComme...jsp?id=105-032

The place I work now provides my tools, so I use this and leave my 77 at home. I was a little aggravated with the 12 at first, because of the way the buttons are set-up. But now I am used to it, and otherwise it works just like my other meter with the fast response. And a feature I really like, and I think would be good for a novice, is the auto-ranging feature. It's good for occasions when you really don't know what to expect when measuring a circuit.