multimeter suggestions

You could consider an old Avometer - nowadays go for beans on ebay - for a high quality instrument.

On a modern instrument, autoranging is nice, and not available on basic meters.

What kind of budget are you on?

For substantial dosh scope-meters are very nice indeed.

Is it domestic electrics or more stuff like electronics?

Flexible. I like a bargain though :)

Both. He's really getting back into making electronics at the moment though (I now know what a PIC is and what an AVR is!)

I bought one of these a few years ago and at a lower price.

However there are times when my old fashioned meter with a needle seems better!

Depends on what you want to spend. At the entry level (and perfectly adequate for most tasks) somewhere like Maplin has a large range of own branded ones that are fairly decent. If you want to push the boat out the a Fluke digital will last a lifetime since they are practically indestructible.

There are many models to chose from, and what usually varies is are the number of ranges and fields of measurement, plus what you might call the extras. These tend to be things like a temperature probe on one, or a frequency meter, or transistor tester. Some of these things can be handy, but again you need to decide what its main use is going to be.

Posher ones have autoranging - makes them quicker and simpler to use (and harder to break). Some have data interfaces to allow them to hook up to a computer. Can be handy for logging things over time. Some have a backlight which is good for DIY meter when you may be using it in awkward places.

Something like:

Posher fluke version with non contact voltage detection:

tempted now!

Don't get a big Avo, but do consider a S/H Fluke from eBay. My last was about =A325

Something that does wiring insulation tests (a specific sparky's model), again from eBay, is useful for much domestic repair stuff on mains wiring and motors. 17th edition testers are horribly expensive, but this has pushed down the price of a basic insulation tester, from a good maker like Fluke or Robin, to a couple of tenners.

If you're buying new, combined digital and analogue bargraph displays are nice and much easier to read for wobbly signals.

want. Second he knows what he wants, you've no idea, and if you get the wrong one it wont do what he wants it for. I suggest coming clean and asking him.

An old avo? Just about no-one wants one of those as a day to day meter.

NT

Does he do car stuff as well?

But they vary dramatically in price. My Fluke cost 200 quid. Worth every penny to me - but maybe not worth it for occasional use.

Despite having had a Model 8 from new, I'd not recommend one for general use. Batteries can be a problem. Large and heavy. And nothing like as accurate as one costing a few pounds.

In message , Michael Chare wrote

Which seems to have a resistance range in Watts!

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote

I regularly use a DMM (Digital Multi-Meter) now costing under £3 from CPC. At one time they were on special offer at around £1.50 and I bought four just to get into the free postage zone :) Cheap enough to leave one in the car

I do also have a couple of other DMMs at around £30 and I would agree with another poster that auto-ranging is a bonus, as is auto switch off. Ease of changing the battery may be a consideration. Very cheap DMMs don't have a battery compartment with a cover and the case has to be taken apart to replace the battery.

I've got a Wavetek RMS225 (I think it was originally a Beckman design). This one came from RS and I think they sold them for years.

True RMS, autoranging, analogue bar display below the digtal one, peak hold, etc., came with a tough plastic casing into which it fits for protection (from the marks and scratches on it, it obviously works!)

And you have to take case apart to change the battery ...

So what? I must have had it 15 years and can't remember the last time I changed the battery ...

which probably means it's waterproof as well ...

I would expect anything above budget range to have auto powerdown these days, anyway.

Oh look! This is it:

Has *anyone* ever got a bargain from Stewart of Reading?

Maybe that is why it was on a promotional offer, which IIRC was why I chose it.

In message , Terry Casey wrote

Leave a battery in any equipment long enough and it will leak and cause damage.

Usually a failing battery causes DMM to read high long before the LCD display indicates that there is a problem with the power supply.

Yes! Just writing that post prodded my memory!

All I have to do now is check it before the prod wears off ...

I've taken the meter apart to discover a Duracell Plus MN1604 with a use before date of March 2007 ...

Open circuit voltage was 8.19V (Good job I've got a spare meter to do these checks!)

Using the meter as a (virtual) short on the 10A range produced 1.2A - quite a commendable figure, I thought!.

Not surprisingly, this figure started to drop but, to my surprise, only to 1.15A after about thirty seconds - which is quite a lot of punishment for such a small battery! After this the o/c voltage had drooped to 7.5V but is slowly climbing back up again and had reached 8.03V after 10 minutes.

Three minutes later, it has just nudged up another 20mV and, no doubt, will continue to improve, given sufficient time ...

Which begs the question: is such punishment a realistic way of testing such a battery?

And, if so, how should such results be interpreted?

I have applied such testing methods to alkaline AA cells in the past - usually when a few turn up with no known provenance - and happily drawn in excess of 7A from good ones, though I don't do so for more than 2 or three seconds! It is a simple process, though, which quickly sorts out the wheat from the chaff ...

On the other hand, the MN1604 isn't likely to see the light of day again for quite a long time, so it might be a good time consider a replacement ...

What does the team think ...?

=A0 London SW

My ideas about cheap meters and the mains has changed somewhat after reading this;

Flukes are available on Ebay for a lot less than 200 quid for something basic, and a 30 quid one for things below 50V.....

Cheers Adam

My first DVM was a Maplin Gold which cost about 70 quid, many years ago. Bought to supplement my Model 8 AVO where you need a high input impedance. I'd had a valve voltmeter for this before which had blown up in a big way.

Some time down the line, I used it to measure mains. And it went bang. Brass dust from the switch tracks had caused a partial short. Which hadn't shown up on any other measurements. I cleaned it up and replaced a couple of components which got it going again - they had provided a circuit diagram in the instruction book. And calibration details.

Fluke - at least in their lower price range - are now made in the far east. What impact this has on quality, I dunno. But I suspect you're now paying through the nose for a name.