Moderately priced portable DMM - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: theoldwizard1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 01:40:20 am
content: Well my 20+ year old Craftsman DMM has started acting wonkie ! DCV (auto range) will not read the voltage of a known good 1.5V battery, so I guess it is time to go shopping.This is for general use, around the house and on automobiles. If I had DEEP pockets I would get a Fluke 88V but I don't care how good they are I just can not justify the price. The Bryman BM235 is pretty nice, but being the cheapskate that I am, I was hoping for something decent in the $50 range.Here are my requirements.Good, removable rubber outer case/guard3-1/2 digitsNormal DCV, ACV, DCA and ACA.Continuity beeperDiode testerFrequencyPercent pulse widthCapacitance

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 01:46:11 am
content: Quote from: theoldwizard1 on September 01, 2018, 01:40:20 amIf you are interested in possibly fixing the above, I can make suggestions. If yes, start a new thread under repair and post the model number and some clear focused pictures.As for the $50 meter, plenty of opinions will arrive soon ... I no longer participate in the recommendation threads.

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 02:08:28 am
content: Check out the UNI-T UT139C 6000 Counts Digital Multimeter - about $48

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 03:18:34 am
content: I would say this meter too, UNI-T UT139C seems decent and fast enough in autorange, 1 fuse is hidden in the casing the other is accessible thru the battery door ... the NCV detection may be practicalYoutube review and teardown :

author: gedong
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 04:44:13 am
content: I used UT61E for almost 3 years without problem. my only complaints are no backlight and no auto off. the battery will pretty much died in few weeks if forgot to turn off.i also have UT139C which is bit smaller to complement each other.bought from aliexpress / banggood with free shipping.another interesting DMM is maybe Aneng AN8008/9 or Aneng Q1. compact and seem not bad in < $20 range

author: HKJ
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 01, 2018, 06:58:51 am
content: You can check this list for ideas:https://lygte-info.dk/info/DMMReviewsGood.htmlThe UT61E is a good meter, except if you want to measure current, it has rather high burden voltage in some ranges.

author: kerrsmith
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2018, 12:00:23 pm
content: Just thought I would mention that the ANENG AN8008 is currently on offer at Banggood at around $17:https://www.banggood.com/ANENG-AN8008-True-RMS-Digital-Multimeter-AC-DC-Current-Voltage-Resistance-Frequency-Capacitance-Test-p-1157985.html?p=2D100314686672015046I have been using this meter (and the AN860B+) since they came out and have found them both to be really good meters for the price. I do not use them for high voltage work, just for low voltage and for me they are just what I need. I bought a fairly cheap voltage standard just to test them with and they both show nearly exactly what it says they should.I really like these meters as they have lots of functionality, the only thing I miss is an option to measure inductance but I built my own meter from a kit for this and it seems to work very well (when I wind a toroid it usually measures pretty close to what I calculate).It does not have a removable rubber outer case as you said you were looking for but at the price this may not really matter.Dave did a video on this meter a while ago as well:

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 22, 2018, 12:18:55 pm
content: Quote from: kerrsmith on September 22, 2018, 12:00:23 pmI second these meters.The 860B+ is very solidly built, has proper mA ranges, and a decent rubber housing.You can get one for under $25.