Good multimeter

[Kulakovs]

Hi. I'd appreciate if someone could recommend me a good digital multimeter for around 20$-60$. I need a multimeter that can measure AC voltage/current, DC voltage/current, resistance, capacitance, inductance and optionally it could have a clamp meter. And maybe any feedback about "Mastech" manufacturer. Any suggestions?

 

[shrtrnd]

I don't know your application, but if you're serious about quality, look at the Fluke meters. They support their meters with a wide variety of optional add-ons, (like clamps). I'd avoid the fly-by-night manufacturers from unknown companies. The Fluke line typically separates their capacitance meters from the DMM line, but check online, and see what they offer. Inductors are a truely tricky measurement. Their actual value is often rated for the frequency their designed to operate at. I know you buy an inductor with a particular microhenry rating, I'm just telling you this, because if
you're troubleshooting circuits, when you see xxx micro henry written on it, you often
can't actually measure that value with a meter, because the device was designed for that inductance AT a certain frequency. Just trivia. If you're serious about electronics, your meter is your most important tool, you don't want trash.
I'm sure you'll see a lot of following posts, with good advice on your question, from other people on this site.

 

[Kulakovs]

Well fluke products are out of my price league. Actually I was looking at this one, it has nice features like measuring light, sound, temperature, frequency (unfortunately hasn't got clamp meter) and costs around ~70$. But I don't know if I can trust these Chinese manufacturers.

 

[shrtrnd]

A lot of the newer Fluke hand-helds are pretty good, and they've got some models in your price range. When China first started turning insturments out, they were trash. I don't criticize them anymore, because they're getting better and better every year. Only question I'd have on your Chinese mfgr, is will they still be around next year? I suggested Fluke because they have a lot of available accessories, and usually last longer than unknown mfgrs. If this Chinese mfgr has the options you want, and it's cheap, I suppose there's not much to lose. If it dies, you're not out a lot of money.
Good luck with whatever you decide. I use my meters for work, I stick with what's tried and true. I'm pretty sure my readings are correct with the meters I use, consistently, and for years.

 

[NickS]

I bought a Fluke 17b new off e-bay a few years back for $60. It is not as quick as the nice flukes we have at work but it has still been a great meter for my home/hobby use. Plus it came with a thermocouple(for temp monitoring) and tweezers (for measuring surface mount parts).

I would recommend it to anyone looking to escape the grasps of their $5 harbor freight POS(mine is now a sacrificial lamb for risky measurements).