What's a good multimeter to use?

I purchased the Fluke 116 a while back off of ebay for a fairly good deal. I haven't had any problems with the meter, but I feel it isn't the right one for digital circuits. Fluke made this meter for HVAC specialists, and I am not planning choosing that as a career path. I was hoping someone could suggest a good meter that can obviously measure VDC, VAC, mVDC, resistance, mA (milli Amps), and uA (micro amps). The Fluke 116 can not measure mA which is my main gripe, and I feel being able to measure mA is a big part in building/troubleshooting digital circuits. Any thoughts?

Go to circuitspecialists.com, get yourself a nice power supply (or other item of your choosing) and get this DMM for free.

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The Gadget Shield: accelerometer, RGB LED, IR transmit/receive, speaker, microphone, light sensor, potentiometer, pushbuttons

RuggedCircuits:
Go to circuitspecialists.com, get yourself a nice power supply (or other item of your choosing) and get this DMM for free.

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The Gadget Shield: accelerometer, RGB LED, IR transmit/receive, speaker, microphone, light sensor, potentiometer, pushbuttons

$30.00 does not sound like a bad deal.

Or, the Bargain Level, which still has all the features and good accuracy for $7.50:
BUT: Shipping to USA is probably $10 or more, so not so good for a single item =(
http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=150
DISCLAIMER: This is in my store...

I looked through about 5 or 6 different low-cost multimeters for one to carry. This has some things I wanted:

  • Audible continuity test for circuit checking without looking.
  • Transistor and Diode test
  • Capacitance measurement
  • High current (20A) measurement as well as low (20 Ma fullscale)

So, whatever you buy, look for those too...

Wow $7.50 that's a deal :astonished:

...you want to sell my yours for $10.00 shipped :stuck_out_tongue: I can paypal you the funds :slight_smile:

I think it would be more like $17.50 to $20 shipped; you can put it in the cart and set a shipping address and see 3 different shipping options.... No commitment to buy...

It might be a little less shipping; I'll have someone weigh it exactly tomorrow...

Stuff like 1 or 2 Arduinos only weigh 50 grams or so each....

That is a good deal. Little light on the frequency counting... but it has features mine does not. I have the UT60E and am happy with it. It cost me $600NM as I recall (600 Pesos)

I use the Frequency counter a lot more than I thought I would have...

The transistor and diode checking capacity is nice. The ability to read capacitors is good.

They are sold in many countries under many brand names.

http://www.uni-trend.com/recommededproduct.html

Unless you are filthy rich it is always a trade-off.

How's $5 sound?
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=390-500
Looks to have Freq measurement also, see the square wave choice on the dial.

CrossRoads:
How's $5 sound?

Sounds good! I'll try to find one like this I can sell for $5. Shipping is the kicker. OK if you're buying other stuff too. But this one (I have a couple personally like this) is lighter than the one I sell, (140 grams compared to 350) so it could go cheap HongKongExpress :slight_smile:

What I really want to find is a much more excellent multimeter for maybe $40 or so...

The one I use is EXTECH brand, model EX330.
Was $35-40, very nive meter.

That and a USB scope, I use www.dpscope.com, all you need for debugging arduino circuits.

CrossRoads:
... The one I use is EXTECH brand, model EX330.

Thanks! I'll do some digging for a good price....

WillR:
That is a good deal. Little light on the frequency counting... but it has features mine does not. I have the UT60E and am happy with it. It cost me $600NM as I recall (600 Pesos)

I use the Frequency counter a lot more than I thought I would have...

The transistor and diode checking capacity is nice. The ability to read capacitors is good.

They are sold in many countries under many brand names.

http://www.uni-trend.com/recommededproduct.html

Unless you are filthy rich it is always a trade-off.

Well $50 shipped seemed like a good deal, so I decided to go with the UT60E multimeter. I chose this one over others because it seemed to have quite a bit of features and the sub $50 multimeters appeared to be missing a stand, which is something I was using a lot with my Fluke. Not to say a simple stand was the deal breaker, but the $50 USD price was hard to argue with especially when their selling for $70 on ebay.

Thanks for all the input.

I am a big fan of the cheap imported DMMs sold by Harbor Freight (and others.) They periodically go on sale ("Half Price!") and I picked up my last several for something like $3 each. (The dollar has been declining and the current sale is $5 each. Hmmph.) http://www.harborfreight.com/7-function-digital-multimeter-90899.html

Get two; it's handy to be able to measure current and voltage at the same time.

With a cheap meter like this, you tend to be willing to use it a lot more often. But don't expect great accuracy; shorting the probes hardly ever yields a zero ohm reading, for instance, and the reading you get doesn't look very likely.

From back in the day:

I feel being able to measure mA is a big part in building/troubleshooting digital circuits. Any thoughts?

I find I very rarely use the current ranges on my meters.
I'm far more likely to use the voltage and resistance ranges, and the continuity tester.
YMMV

I feel being able to measure mA is a big part in building/troubleshooting digital circuits. Any thoughts?

I find I very rarely use the current ranges on my meters.

I don't often use the meter for measuring currents in digital circuits, because it tends to be "intrusive" and a bit of a pain to set up (I should create some fixtures where to make it easier to insert it into standard power supplies.) (like, use a meter to measure the current your arduino is drawing via the USB cable? painful!)

On the other hand, I have one of those "lab style" power supplies that has meters and limits for both current and voltage, and I really like being able to see (and limit) the current there...

(Last coupon from HF for the meter that I hadn't gotten around to deleting from my mail file was $3 back at the beginning of March. Not so bad...)

CrossRoads:
The one I use is EXTECH brand, model EX330.
Was $35-40, very nive meter.

Holy ^%@&*, I actually have something in common w/ CR :slight_smile: I also have the EX330, and it's great. I use the temp sensor way more than I expected. Beats using a finger to test motor driver chip temp.

I have one of those "lab style" power supplies that has meters and limits for both current and voltage

Ditto - also useful for constant-current charging applications.