My old multimeter's fuse went kaput and it was a rather odd fuse form factor that I couldn't find in Radioshack or the like stores. So I found one online but it will be like $10 w/ shipping. No thanks.
So, I thought. Well, maybe I'll just get a new multimeter. The multimeter that just blew a fuse was about oh I don't know, $10?
Super cheap but it was also sort of a piece of junk. Some of the values were definitely off. Regardless,
I realize that that multimeter was junk. I would like one with improved quality but that isn't too expensive. People talk about their Flukes, some of them are over $300 USD. No thank you. So I found this one called the ExTech EX320 which is about $35. It seems alright. Good quality, does what I need it to do. My question is, can I get any lower and not sacrifice performance/quality?
I actually have a few Harbor Freight Cen-Tech "throwaway" meters; I think the most I ever spent on one was $3.99 (on one of the few days it wasn't on sale!). I've never had a problem with them accuracy wise, but then again, I've never really ran them thru their paces; they are likely to be trash, for all I know (you get what you pay for).
Not too long back, though, I bought that ExTech you mentioned (I think that's the one I got); I actually like it - still a very cheap meter, and once again, I haven't run it thru its paces, but it seems OK to me.
You might consider trying to find a used Fluke that hasn't been abused; sometimes you can find those pretty cheap second-hand (well, cheap compared to new, that is).
I think a related question to yours would be "how do I test the accuracy of a multimeter?" - I'm not even sure this is possible in a hobbyist setting (I am imagining that somewhere one can purchase some kind of "standard" testing resistor set, and there are probably calibrated test voltage/current sources - and after having seen the prices for oscilloscope calibration equipment, something tells me none of it would be cheap)...
And I like the build quality and the auto-range feature (also is much more accurate than my old ultra-cheap chinese yellow one)
That really doesn't look much better than the "ultra-cheap chinese yellow one" (centech? heh)...
That said - how do you -know- is it more accurate? What are you using to know this? How are you doing the comparison? What are you testing the accuracy with?
BTW - I do understand that you could theoretically test the accuracy of the resistance ranges with higher tolerance resistors; but that doesn't answer the question of testing current and voltage. Also, from what I have seen with my cheap meters and 5% tolerance resistors, the values on the resistor and what I read are always within the 5%, so it seems accurate enough to me (at least as far as resistance goes)...
One of the things I dislike about my Centech is that they don't read "zero ohms" when you short the leads together, and there is no way to adjust them to do so. (My slightly more expensive meters had a pot for that.) So I don't trust them much at all for reading very small resistances...
Hmm...I don't know what the answer is. I'd like something that isn't complete garbage but for simple non-production Arduino development, I guess I don't need much. But then again, I know you shouldn't skimp on power related stuff. It's can be your worse nightmare if something goes wrong.
I suppose it would be helpful to invest in a good power supply as well. I have using simple batteries and that gets expensive, especially with such little capacitance with 9V batteries and their price.
I believe I'll try to PC power supply > Lab power supply method. I am extremely fluent in understanding PC power supplies. I have seen some lab power supplies internals and many of them are very mediocre. There are a lot of high end PC power supplies out there that are simple conversions to bench supply. Also benchtop supplies are really expensive for some reason...
So maybe I'll save some money on the multimeter and instead invest in a good lab bench PSU.
Yeah, it can suck when you have Fluke, Agilent/HP, Hakko, etc at work, and need to equip your home shop out of your own pocket.
Dealextreme has a couple of Fluke meters. They're not cheap (~US$75), but they're very good prices for a Fluke. I've thought about getting one just because.
Did I miss something? I thought the meters go by the digits they produce, like 2 1/2 digits (cheapo), 3 1/2 digits (alrighto), 4 1/2 (seriouso), 5 1/2 (better than yourso), 6 1/2 (money bagso).
If you use a 2 1/2 meter, you won't get accurate more than the digits it provides, plus some error if components are cheap. You get 2 digits most of the time and the last digit is allowed to vary by 1 (or more otherwise specified very very clearly on manuals).
I'd say if I had a handfull of 2 1/2 meters, I run them with my 6 1/2 benchtop meter in my lab (I don't own it) and I can find out which one is more of a 2 1/2 than the others.
Accuracy is there, price is there with accuracy so shut up and save some m0ney. ;D
BTW, I have not come across something that needs 3 digits yet in my projects, with most my circuits digital.
(also is much more accurate than my old ultra-cheap chinese yellow one)