Alternative DMMs to Fluke?

[DaveC]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,

 

[GregS]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,

For portable use, probably not. Some might not
find quality their main concern. For ruggedness, I don't know who wins.
I ordinarily would not use a Fluke as I find them expensive, but
if I carried something with me all the time, it would have to be good,
and price would not be as much concern, unless I kept loosing track of
where I sat it down.

greg

 

[DaveC]

Portable use, true RMS, V-O-A, would like C & L but not necessary. Rugged
build would be nice.

 

[Franc Zabkar]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,

I just use any cheapie with the features that I need. I have built a
5.000 +/- 0.001 volt precision reference which I take to the store to
do my own "select-on-test".

http://groups.google.com/group/sci.electronics.repair/msg/f887bfeec522f727?dmode=source&hl=en
http://pdfserv.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX6325-MAX6350.pdf

- Franc Zabkar

 

[[email protected]]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

I hear a lot of good things about protek. They have a lot of products
with similar specs to Fluke's. I don't own one yet.. I'm still
agonizing over spending the extra cash on the Fluke myself.

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Portable use, true RMS, V-O-A, would like C & L but not necessary. Rugged
build would be nice.

"Meterman" (http://www.metermantesttools.com/mmusen/home/default.htm) is
Fluke, I mean Philips, I mean... whoever owns them these day's own line of
inexpensive meters. I bought one for my brother, and it seems pretty nice.

I've had lots of cheap meters and a few Flukes, and so far the only one I ever
had die was a cheapie that lived in the trunk of a car for years on end. The
others have always been in heated indoor "lab" type environments, so I'd
suggest that in such situations you might as well shop by features & price
more so than a brand's reputation for ruggedness.

What I'm really trying to say here is that I don't think Fluke's are
necessarily a rip-off, just that for me I'm perfectly happy with something
that costs less. This reminds me of an article in some woodworking magazine I
read where a production cabinetry shop purchased a bunch of "prosumer" level
routers (Dewalt, Bosch, Makita, etc. from the likes of Home Depot) and tested
them to see how long they held up in a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week
continuous-use production capacity. The answer... not long! (Something like
a few months!) The experiment was to convince themselves that -- given their
particular situation -- the really high-priced routers they'd been purchasing
were indeed worth the premiums.

I own a Tektronix TX1 that seems pretty indestructable; I like it (although I
wish it would remember whether you were last measuring AC or DC when you
change it from voltage to, e.g., ohms and back -- it always defaults back to
AC!). I used to own a Fluke 87 and was annoyed that it suffered from the
then-common problem of the zebra strip separating from the LCD, thereby causes
various LCD segments to fail. A quick trip through a Panavise fixed it for
good... or at least until I sold it some time later.

---Joel Kolstad

P.S. -- Another pretty common question on here is what college students should
get for meters, and my response to them is also not to bother with a premium
brand until they're really figured out what features they like in a meter and
just how abusive they are with them.

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those $2.99
Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 16:37:20 -0700, "Joel Kolstad"

[snip]

I own a Tektronix TX1 that seems pretty indestructable; I like it (although I
wish it would remember whether you were last measuring AC or DC when you
change it from voltage to, e.g., ohms and back -- it always defaults back to
AC!). I used to own a Fluke 87 and was annoyed that it suffered from the
then-common problem of the zebra strip separating from the LCD, thereby causes
various LCD segments to fail. A quick trip through a Panavise fixed it for
good... or at least until I sold it some time later.

---Joel Kolstad

P.S. -- Another pretty common question on here is what college students should
get for meters, and my response to them is also not to bother with a premium
brand until they're really figured out what features they like in a meter and
just how abusive they are with them.

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those $2.99
Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

I have a Micronta that's served me well for I can't remember how many
years... maybe 20 or more.

...Jim Thompson

 

[Joel Kolstad]

(Following up to myself here)

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those
$2.99 Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

Speaking of these... If anyone wants it, I have a spare one
(http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90899) that
I'll send, completely free of charge, to the first person who e-mails me
(remove "hatesspam" at the end of my e-mail address). I would prefer that it
goes to someone who can't readily visit Harbor Freight themselves, is low on
disposable income, a student, etc. (i.e., if you own a BMW or a Lexus, please
let it go to someone else).

---Joel
(who presently drives a Honda Civic...)

 

[[email protected]]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,
--
DaveC
[email protected]
This is an invalid return address
Please reply in the news group

a used Fluke might be as good qaulity as a Fluke!

just kidding. I don't know the answer.

I bought a cheapy ($30) Right Tech 2323552 or something like that from
Marvac.com cause it had min max and i wanted to test auto sensors. Then
i found out that it didn't have min max AND average the way fluke had
it setup. Even worse min max was manual and limited to voltage!!!
Absuloute junk!. Well, a fluke is about 300 dollars or so. Now i have a
junk fluke wannabe so my inevitable Fluke is now gonna cost 30 dollars
more (to include my cheap shortcut).
Paying for more is worth it only when you pay for the best. The best is
always priceless.
The only problem is that all of us have paid for the best and have only
gotten the bwerst.

Please tell us what your research finds! Although i have given up and
am saving money for that fluke 80 series already. Still doesn't hurt to
imagine that someone out there would be willing to give more than they
take like is prevalent with all these freeware software folks on the
net.

 

[jclause]

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,

---------------------


We use a lot of meters here. The following might be of interest,
where we checked them out a few months back on low AC voltage..

meter reading

Fluke 8600A 1.500 volts bench type maybe 10 years old
Fluke 189 1.4975 about 1 year old
Fluke 83 III 1.497 new
" 1.497 new
" 1.497 new
HP 8060A 1.497 about 5 years old
HP 8060A 1.499 "
HP 3465A 1.497 bench type about 10 years old
Simpson 360A 1.499 bench type about 25 years old
Triplett 9015A 1.498 2 years old
Triplett 9015A 1.501 "
Valhalla 2101 1.500 6 months old. This measures power,
current, and voltage.

Of the above, only the Simpson 360A and the Fluke 8600A have been
recalibrated since leaving the factory.

jc the elder

 

[Keith]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

I've had a few Fluke 77s for fifteen or so years. No problems, except one
wandered off so I bought a pile of $3 HarborFreight DVMs to put in tool
boxes and lend to possible thiefs. They're the sacrificial lambs so the
Flukes stay warm and dry on the workbench in the cellar.

 

[Ben Miller]

www.bmillerengineering.com

AC!). I used to own a Fluke 87 and was annoyed that it suffered from the
then-common problem of the zebra strip separating from the LCD, thereby
causes various LCD segments to fail. A quick trip through a Panavise
fixed it for good... or at least until I sold it some time later.

For what it is worth to anyone with that problem, there is a relatively
inexpensive display retrofit kit available all the time on eBay that
replaces the zebra stripe with a newer type, and also upgrades the display
itself and the backlight. It is worth the money if you want to update a
Fluke 80 series meter. Mine has been working great, and the new display has
larger characters.

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those
$2.99 Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

And you can have them blow up in your hand due to inadequate safety design.
It happens! Probably not an issue for a homeowner doing troubleshooting
around the house, but forget them if you do industrial work. Buy one of the
major brands that has an IEC CAT III or CAT IV rating at least 600V.

As for my preference, my field multimeters are Fluke, and I like their
reliability. However, I suspect that other major brands such as Tektronix,
Amprobe, etc. would be fine as well. I recommend against Rat Shack, Harbor
Freight, etc. for serious work, both for reliability and safety reasons.

Ben Miller

 

[Charles Perry]

Not that there's anything wrong with Flukes, inherently, but I like having
choices.

Are there other brands that are considered as good quality as Fluke?

Thanks,
--
DaveC
[email protected]
This is an invalid return address
Please reply in the news group

I prefer Fluke. All of our lab technicians and field engineers use them. I
would recommend Tektronix, but they have discontinued their DMM line.

Charles Perry P.E.

 

[Michael]

On Thu, 6 Apr 2006 16:37:20 -0700, "Joel Kolstad"

[snip]

I own a Tektronix TX1 that seems pretty indestructable; I like it (although I
wish it would remember whether you were last measuring AC or DC when you
change it from voltage to, e.g., ohms and back -- it always defaults back to
AC!). I used to own a Fluke 87 and was annoyed that it suffered from the
then-common problem of the zebra strip separating from the LCD, thereby causes
various LCD segments to fail. A quick trip through a Panavise fixed it for
good... or at least until I sold it some time later.

---Joel Kolstad

P.S. -- Another pretty common question on here is what college students should
get for meters, and my response to them is also not to bother with a premium
brand until they're really figured out what features they like in a meter and
just how abusive they are with them.

P.P.S. -- They're really pretty awful, but you can buy a *lot* of those $2.99
Harbor Freight meters for the price of a Fluke...!

I have a Micronta that's served me well for I can't remember how many
years... maybe 20 or more.

...Jim Thompson

Jim, your post reminds me that my Micronta handheld, model# 22-188, formerly my
workhorse which I stashed away years ago as a spare, needs a proper fuse. I'd
completely forgotten. I popped the fuse somehow and, because I was hot on some
project at the time, kludged an ad hoc repair by soldering wirewrap wire across
the blown fuse (and me an engineer!). I gotta replace that fuse! Thanks for
the reminder.

I would recommend this meter - or similar - to anyone who is just starting in
electronics. It was inexpensive and is versitile and accurate enough for the
beginner.

 

[Joel Kolstad]

I prefer Fluke. All of our lab technicians and field engineers use them. I
would recommend Tektronix, but they have discontinued their DMM line.

I was surprised to learn that HP (now Agilent) used to make handheld meters --
some guys at work have them; I've always thought of them only as the source of
6 1/2+ digit "bench top" meters in the $1000+ range.

 

[DaveC]

This place lists just about everything not made by Fluke/Meterman or the
other Big Guys:

https://ssl.biggiweb.com/valuetesters/index.php

 

[Spokesman]

How about an Omega HHM290 ? It comes with built in infrared temperature,
Dual thermocouple
inputs, will measure differential temp between the two thermocouples. 5
digiti display. and
not too bad a price.

 

[Smitty Two]

How about an Omega HHM290 ? It comes with built in infrared temperature,
Dual thermocouple
inputs, will measure differential temp between the two thermocouples. 5
digiti display. and
not too bad a price.

Omega is a graphic arts company. They don't make stuff, they just
private brand it and put out slick catalogs. Might as well by a Fluke
with a Fluke label instead of a Fluke with an Omega label.

 

[The Real Andy]

www.bmillerengineering.com


For what it is worth to anyone with that problem, there is a relatively
inexpensive display retrofit kit available all the time on eBay that
replaces the zebra stripe with a newer type, and also upgrades the display
itself and the backlight. It is worth the money if you want to update a
Fluke 80 series meter. Mine has been working great, and the new display has
larger characters.

Thats one think i like about the Fluke, I can replace the LCD cheap
when i crack it.I have a nasty habbit of dropping tools from great
heights, and the fluke seems to survive many big drops, aside from the
odd shattered LCD.

I am sure lots of other big brands will supply spare parts, but will
they supply them for a 15year old model? I bought my current fluke at
the end of my sparky career and it is still going strong. I have
replaced the battery once in this time.

 

[Bill Shymanski]

Jim, your post reminds me that my Micronta handheld, model# 22-188, formerly my
workhorse which I stashed away years ago as a spare, needs a proper fuse. I'd
completely forgotten. I popped the fuse somehow and, because I was hot on some
project at the time, kludged an ad hoc repair by soldering wirewrap wire across
the blown fuse (and me an engineer!). I gotta replace that fuse! Thanks for
the reminder.

I would recommend this meter - or similar - to anyone who is just starting in
electronics. It was inexpensive and is versitile and accurate enough for the
beginner.

Back when I still had a paper route, my very first DMM was a Micronta
with 3 1/2 digit red LED display - had it for years, and it's still in
the basement of the other house but no longer usable. It was designed
with a 1.35 V mercury cell as a voltage reference, floating in the
feedback loop of an op-amp - sadly, mercury button cells are now
impossible to get ( I think), so unless I come up with a substitute the
meter is heading for the recycle bin.

Bill