Digital Multimeter under 200$ - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Prithul0218
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 05:56:11 am
content: HelloI’m looking for a decent multimeter for about 180-200 USD for my bench. I am looking for something with good accuracy and possibly good precision on DC volts. DC current measurement capability of 10A or more would be nice.It doesn’t have to be waterproof or survive drops, I don’t really want to pay extra just for these features since it will just be sitting on the bench, and maybe sometimes used around the house. It doesn’t have to be super safe from AC, with certified CAT ratings and stuff, since I don’t work with high voltage AC. In fact I will probably only be measuring AC from a 12V transformer once in a while.I am opening this thread particularly because not only will it help me, but I think there are hobbyists like me who are also looking for something similar, average multimeter, just for the bench, not for dropping from a mountain. There are quite a few new meters in the market but I feel the lack of a fairly recent thread discussing about good multimeters around this budget. I hope others can get help from this thread.Thank you.

author: Prithul0218
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 06:04:08 am
content: BK Precision 2712 seemed like a good fit for my needs but, it’s a fairly old meter. Maybe there’s newer or better ones around this price.

author: maginnovision
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 06:06:55 am
content: The 121 GW is 290 aus which is ~21k yen which is about $195.

author: Prithul0218
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 06:13:26 am
content: Oops! When I saw that it wasn’t available on Amazon, I assumed it was discontinued! Sorry for not checking.However, maybe there’s something better at this price range? Let’s see what others suggest.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 06:23:54 am
content: $200 is very expensive for a home/hobby meter. $50 or so should get you something perfectly fine for non-professional use. Have you watched Dave's $50 meter shootout video? It's quite old now, but it will give you a good idea of how different meters compare and what kind of features might be useful to you. Many of the same or similar meters will still be on the market today.

author: MosherIV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 07:20:50 am
content: How accurate?Sounds like you want a bench dmm. You might get 4 digit at that price.At the price range for new, you will be looking at Siglent, UniT, BK precision, etc(Not expensive brands like Keysight, keithley or Fluke).

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 07:34:17 am
content: As you are in Japan look for used Advantest or ADMCT branded meters. Should be some secondhand ones out there as 2 million count 6871's or maybe 6441 etc. They turn up elsewhere in the world from time to time and my 6871-DC keeps up with my 34401 and 34461A's on DC and Ohms but there is other models out there more fully featured.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 08:08:06 am
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 05:56:11 amOne word: "Brymen"You can get a 500,000 count, 0.02% accuracy Brymen meter with that budget.If you live in Japan you could also look at Hioki meters, they're good/cheap over there.

author: Prithul0218
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 09:41:18 am
content: Quote from: beanflying on October 02, 2019, 07:34:17 amInteresting. Thanks!Any idea where to buy used meters? Only Akihabara I guess?

author: Prithul0218
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 09:45:56 am
content: Quote from: Fungus on October 02, 2019, 08:08:06 amI can't find any way to buy their meters from Japan ://

author: beanflying
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 09:53:32 am
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 09:41:18 amYahoo Japan is still active I gather for secondhand goods? One of the other members Terraoperative has had some success buying secondhand in Japan. There was also several joint ventures with Tektronix and HP in the past to get into the Japanese market so possible you will find some HP gear badged with Yokagowa for example.You will also find plenty of gear ex South Korea if you broaden your searches.

author: LeonR
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 05:33:48 pm
content: Since he's in Japan, why not suggested Japanese brands? What about Hioki, Sanwa, Kyoritsu/Yokogawa?

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 05:53:24 pm
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 09:45:56 amTME will ship to Japan, eg:https://www.tme.com/us/en-us/details/bm857s/portable-digital-multimeters/brymen/Probably some others as well.Something like that 857S will give you everything you need for $140+shipping.If you want to explore the full range of meters the Brymen web site is probably best:https://brymen.eu/product-category/multimetry/

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 02, 2019, 06:02:56 pm
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 05:56:11 amIf you really, really don't care about that stuff then you can save alotof money with a Chinese meter.eg. This one:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33004463675.html(Get two...!)

author: AMR Labs
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2019, 03:18:55 am
content: Check ebay for an HP 974A in good shape. 4.5 digits, Autorange, 0.05% accuracy, 49.999 count, True RMS AC up to 100KHz, dual display, Min/Max/Avg, Rel/%, dB, Hz, ... They often come up on ebay usually around $100 or sometimes even for less. With all the top features, accuracy even after that many years and excellent build quality in my opinion they are an uncommon bargain being overlooked quite often. Just setup an ebay search and one should come up soon, if not already available.This DMM can easily stand its ground next to most modern stuff from Fluke, and is way above the generics stuff out there which look like toys next to this one. Made in Japan for HP under contract by Yokogawa, and discontinued around early 2000's.https://www.keysight.com/en/pd-1000002404%3Aepsg%3Apro-pn-974A/high-accuracy-handheld-multimeter?&cc=SX&lc=engI like them so much I've already got 4 of the 974A, plus one 973A which is one model lower in the line but has a bargraph and capacitance.

author: don.r
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2019, 04:32:12 am
content: There are 2 Keithley 197's on eBay in the US for $50 at the moment. $35 shipping to Japan. 5 1/2 digits and better than 0.02% DC voltage.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2019, 05:28:04 pm
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 05:56:11 amLook at the Vici 8145 bench meter (4.5 digits). It runs on mains so it never needs new batteries and you can stack other equipment on top.There aren't many new DMMs on the market anyway so the old threads are still relevant.

author: Nguyen84
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 10, 2022, 05:49:49 pm
content: How can I find a hp974a with good price? Now on eBay its 200usd!!!

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2022, 06:08:07 pm
content: Quote from: Prithul0218 on October 02, 2019, 05:56:11 amHow good? Unless you quantify that, it's a meaningless statement. Do you care about special features, AC bandwidth, durability, PC connectivity, logging, size, ??QuoteIt's actually been quite well beaten to death and there's not a lot of new information to put out there. The only real new variables involve your location and thus what is available to you at what price.

author: nightfire
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 10, 2022, 10:14:55 pm
content: The question would be: What means "good accuracy"? High precision or being able to hold the precision over a long period of time? I have some old fluke bench DMMs here, the oldest 40 years, and they are still within spec...When you would use it around the house, probably a handheld DMM would be a bit better.Anyway, when you are willing to buy used equipment, go for some reputable brand and a seller with good ratings.Für 200 $ you can get a Fluke 87-V or similar, maybe some 17x model also would fit the bill.As bench multimeter some old Fluke 45 could appear, as well as some HP 3478 or so- but in the latter I only would buy from sellers that can guarantee the ok state of them.HIOKI might be some tip, the stuff they make is quite nice. A DT4252 has a base accuracy of 0,3% plus 5 counts (which is not bad, but not really good..), a DT4261 would probably what you need, but list price in the Hioki JP shop is a bit above your pricing idea...

author: Traceless
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2022, 10:33:08 am
content: Getting a good new Benchtop DMM at that price point is gonna be very hard. If 200$ is the limit you might consider theOwon XDM 2041it has 4.5 Digits, 55k counts and can measure up to 10A current. you can even connect it to a PC via serial. The meter has some drawbacks though. For instance it can be quite slow in general, particularly so in AC mode (*1), you also don't get super high precision low-resistance measurements (500 Ohms is the lowest range available). DC accuracy is okay for the price range. The Owon XDM 2041 has a bigger 5.5 digit-brother, theOwon XDM 3051. While I have no first hand experience with the XDM 3051 Jerry Walker did a review on it in direct comparison with an Agilent 34461A and the Owon was pretty accurate at a fraction of the price (see video below, skip forward to around 21 mins for the DC-voltage comparison). I'm not sure about prices/availability in Japan. In Europe the XDM2041 should be available for <200€ the XDM 3051 for ~400€.(*1) if slow reaction time bothers you I'd look for another meter.